Posts by Marta:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
- Salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 pounds yellow onions, halved and sliced
- 3 tablespoons yellow Peruvian chile or aji amarillo paste (or diced green chiles)
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 5 to 6 lemons
- Season both sides of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a deep saucepan, add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.
- Remove the chicken and add the onions and garlic and cook at medium-low heat until the onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, stir in the yellow chile and return the chicken to the pan.
- Spoon some of the onions over the chicken, cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until chile sauce has completely infused the mixture and the chicken is cooked through.
- Add the lemon juice and cook another 10 minutes, to allow flavors to meld.
- Quickly eat 12 grapes – one for each month of the past year.
- Wash these down with sparkling cider to celebrate the end of the old year.
- (Mop the floors earlier in the day and…) Throw the bucket of dirty water out the front door to symbolize getting rid of all the bad juju from the past year.
- Put a suitcase outside the front door if we are hoping to travel in the new year.
- Put some money in the mailbox to attract more money and prosperity.
- Yema?
- Jijona?
- Alicante?
- Or do you go straight for the marzipan?
The Winter Olympics and Hot-Blooded Latinas
March 1st, 2010
The Winter Olympics have been going on in Vancouver these past few weeks. No, I have not been watching.
Occasionally, I will peak over my husband’s shoulder (he watches online) and then I can do a five minute rant on “I just don’t get the appeal. It’s cold. The sports are crazy. (Can you call curling a sport?) They are life-threatening…blah, blah… I just don’t get it.”
I would cover my eyes and cross myself during the ski jumping. “Ay, Dios mio!”
Eric laughs and attributes my Bad Winter Olympic Attitude to being a “hot-blooded Latina.” Comfort and warmth are my descriptive words.
I didn’t talk much about the Winter Olympics to my friends, because, to be honest, I just don’t get the appeal and okay, they freak me out just a little bit.
So, imagine my surprise and delight when our own hot-blooded Latina, Jennifer Lopez took a turn on Saturday night live with this sketch about Telemundo and the Winter Olympics.
aram>
Thanks for “getting me,” J Lo. =D
Straddling the Cultural Fence
February 22nd, 2010 Because I’m a blogger (here at TikiTiki, at Babalú Blog and over at My big, fat, Cuban family) I get asked by advertisers to consider hawking their product. They know that Hispanics make up the largest growing segment of the population and it seems they are anxious to market to that demographic.
In my opinion, (I have no statistics, this is completely a personal opinion) the piece of the puzzle that they seem to be missing altogether is that although many of us are indeed of Hispanic descent, we also live and work and play and raise families much like our fully American neighbors. In fact, both my cohort, Carrie Ferguson-Weir and I, Marta Darby, sport very Anglo last names.
We are just as likely to cook up some Ropa Vieja for dinner, as we are to order a pizza from a local restaurant. (But, seriously, if you’re craving pizza, you should really try my recipe for a Homemade Cuban Pizza. I’m just sayin.’)
We carpool to play dates and soccer practices. We play salsa music in the car on the way there. In other words, we are “straddling the cultural fence.” =D
I’m currently enamored with Food Network cooking diva, Ingrid Hoffman of Simply Delicioso. She has a wonderful cookbook with the same name. I enjoy her mostly because I feel like I can relate to her. A beautiful Columbian-American with a very Anglo name. She beautifully pulls together simple recipes with the familiar flavors of our “cultural demographic.”
Because it’s Monday and I like to post recipes for you, here’s Ingrid’s recipe for Limón Chicken, (directly from the Food Network page) which is absolutely fabulous.
Limón Chicken
Serves 6.
Now that you have a recipe to enjoy, let’s get the TikiTiki started with these questions:
Do you live your lives straddling both cultures, as it were? Or do you tend to live a more “Americanized” lifestyle? Or, like Carrie and me, do you just have a very Anglo last name?
Tell me. I want to know.
Báte, Báte. Chocoláte.
February 15th, 2010 Is there anything better than chocolate?
I have a love/hate relationship with chocolate.
I love ANYTHING made with it. I hate that I have no willpower when it comes to just about any chocolatey gooey confection.
I can walk past just about any dessert. I can take or leave a fruit pie. But if there’s chocolate involved I may or may not have been known to knock over small children to get (mine!) my fair share.
Today I have a recipe that is the quintessential chocolate-lovers dessert.
But be warned. This is a relationship that is not to be entered into lightly. In fact, there’s nothing “light” about it.
Besos!
Chocolatón
6 eggs (separate whites and yolks)
1 12 oz. Pkg. Nestlé’s semi-sweet chocolate chips (reserve a few for topping)
2 sticks butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1. Melt the butter and chocolate chips together. This can be done on top of the stove in a double boiler, or in a microwave oven for about 1 1/2 minutes.
2. Stir the melted chocolate and melted butter together until smooth.
3. Whip the egg whites into a fluffy meringue.
4. When the meringue starts to peak, add the sugar, bit by bit.
5. Fold in the egg yolks.
6. Add the (warm) chocolate mixture and the vanilla to the meringue.
7. Gently blend together until it is completely mixed.
8. Pour into a serving bowl or individual cups.
9. Chill for at least an hour before serving.
10. Decorate with chocolate chips.
Do you love chocolate as much as I do?
Eu de Papi
February 8th, 2010 When I was growing up, I remember that each day I woke to a most distinctive blend of aromas.
I knew my dad was up and getting ready for work when the mingled scents of Vitalis, Bustelo, and H.Upmann Finos insinuated themselves into my dreams and yanked me out of my sound sleep.
To this day, the distinctive aroma of Cuban coffee gives me a sense of security. Seared into my subconscious, along with the smell of coladitos is the knowledge that my Dad was working and all was right with the world.
Odd, isn’t it?
I mean I know I’m talking about cheap hair tonic, cigars and coffee. But it was the sweet scent of Eu de Papi to me. My dad was not present much. He worked very hard to support our family and for that I’m grateful. But when he was present, so were the Bustelo and the H.Upmanns. Such was my life.
It occurred to me that my kids are growing up with a completely different view of what Dad and Security means to them.
And that it looks something like this:
Their idea of dad going to work is the whirr of the laptop firing up.
Which is why I make sure there’s always some Bustelo brewing. There’s a certain continuity there, don’t you think? I’d hate for them to miss out on the intoxicating smell of freshly brewed espresso in the morning.
Or maybe I’d hate for Eric to miss out… Or maybe it’s just my own stuff…. It’s all a blur now…
All I know is that the aroma of espresso in the morning means that Dad is working and all is right with the world.
What are some of the distinctive smells that characterize your home then or now? Tell me.
(This story was formerly posted on my other blog, MBFCF.)
Mami and Me
February 3rd, 2010 I sometimes wonder what I would do if I didn’t have my mom.
It’s not so much that I need her in that everyday sense anymore. It’s just that she supplies so much fodder for my blog! I’m being completely honest here. (I know. Shallow.)
There are some things, of course, that I don’t write about, because I do love and honor her. But there are other times where it’s just too tempting….
Take, for example, the latest episode, which we’ll call, “You Can’t Make Soup.”
So, my mom was staying with us for a weekend. This happens at least once a month. And she is unquestionably an Opinionated Cuban Mother. (As am I, but that’s not important right now.)
Oh, and did I mention that she’ll be 96 in a few weeks?
Okay, so, we have my mom staying with us and it’s cold out and she kept saying this would be perfect weather to make chicken soup. Actually, she had no intention of making soup, she was hinting LOUDLY as only Cuban mothers can, that what she really wanted was for me to make the chicken soup.
Okay, so I love homemade chicken soup, too.
Let me clarify, I love MY homemade chicken soup, so I decided to go ahead and make it. I hauled her with me to the store to get the ingredients. (I know, “hauled” is a loaded word, but if you’ve ever traveled anywhere with a nonagenarian, even to the grocery store, you understand what I’m talking about.) In fact, the grocery store trip is another great Mami & me story, but I digress….
We get home and I park her in a chair at the kitchen table so she can keep me company (or so I thought) while I cooked. She was watching intently as I laid out the ingredients. “You’re not going to use cilantro in the soup, are you? I hate cilantro.”
With as much patience as I could muster, I explained the lovely qualities of good cilantro and that once you cook it, it loses it’s bite, but the flavor remains. She wasn’t believing me, and the cilantro went in after a lot of “harrumphing.” She concedes that her grandmother also used cilantro, but still…
“That’s too much cumin!” Nobody likes that much cumin!” I decided to take my chances with the cilantro and cumin. (But, to my credit I did manage to feel a little guilty.)
“Who adds yuca to a soup?” Obviously I do, but I decided to ignore the thinly veiled criticism and add the yuca anyway. It adds such a nice texture…oh, never mind.
When I added the ripe plantains, (Did I say you could watch me cook? Or make noise about everything I put into the pot? Don’t answer that! *sigh*) she made loud (loud!) disapproving noises. The plantains should be green and a little salty, she argued. I’m sure this scene has been played out between countless Cuban mothers and daughters many times.
Again, I took the high road and chose to let the final product become my personal defense.
I endured her criticism on through, “Are you washing the chicken now?”
“No… well, yes. I’m just cooling it so I can handle it.” All the way to “Lemon juice?” That doesn’t go into chicken soup! Everyone knows that!”
Apparently, I don’t know things that everyone else seems to know. (Yes, that was sarcastic. Shut up.)
But…I do know how to make a mean Cuban-style chicken soup.
She sacrificially tasted my soup…
“This is the best, most amazing chicken soup I’ve ever had!” I realized that that was as much of an apology as I was getting. I wondered if she just felt bad and was now trying to be polite.
Then she asked for seconds, which is when I knew I had truly won.
Cuban-style Chicken Soup
1 bunch green onions, chopped up
1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped up into small bits (unless you love cilantro, go mellow on this, but don’t skip it.)
1 Tbsp. cumin
3 Tbsp. olive oil ( for sautéing)
3 Tbsp. white flour
8 cups of chicken stock (2- 32 oz. containers)
8 chicken thighs (keep the skin and bones on for now, they add to the flavor)
1 yuca peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes (I use frozen)
2 red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into cubes
2 ripe, cooked plantains (I use frozen – these add a surprising sweetness), sliced into rounds
6 oz. super thin fideo noodles. (again, go mellow on the noodles as they can easily take over the entire dish)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1. Sauté the green onions, cilantro, and cumin in olive oil. Quickly whisk in the flour.
Keep whisking to avoid lumps. (When the cilantro cooks, it looses it’s bite and leaves an incredible flavor. Don’t skip the cilantro!)
2. Immediately add 1 cup chicken stock, and continue to whisk until well blended.
3. Remove this mixture from the pot into a bowl and set aside.
4. Place chicken thighs and remaining chicken stock in an 8 quart stockpot.
Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
6. Add the yuca, potatoes, and plantains.
7. Simmer for another 40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
8. Remove the chicken thighs from the soup and run under cold water in a colander to cool.
9. Skin and debone the soft chicken, manually shredding it into bite-size pieces.
10. Return the chicken to the chicken stock-onion-cilantro mixture.
11. Add the chicken-chicken stock-onion-cilantro mixture to the soup.
12. Stir in the fresh lemon juice and the noodles.
13. Continue cooking for at least 8 to 10 more minutes or until noodles are soft.
14. Add sea salt and pepper to taste.
It turns out that chicken soup is very soothing to the nerves. Who knew?
Buen Provecho!
(Recipe previously posted on Babalú blog.)
Do You Mofongo? Or Do You Fufú?
January 25th, 2010 I got a kick out of this video of Guy Fieri – of the Food Network show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. He was in Miami looking for a great “mofongo.” I like how he says it, “MA-FAHNG-OH.”
He found what he was looking for at a place called Benny’s Puerto Rican Cuisine.
Sadly, I am 3,000 miles away, so I just have to make my own. But we Cubans call it, Fufú. (This is already starting to get good, isn’t it?)
Fufú
3 large plantains (not completely ripe – just a few flecks of black spots)
3 cups of chicken stock
¼ lb. Pork meat (a fat, boneless pork chop with the fat on it works great) – sliced into super small pieces
Water
Olive oil
5 cloves garlic, mashed
¼ cup yellow onion, diced into small pieces
About 4-5 tablespoons softened butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Lemon
I know there are a lot of steps, but don’t let that scare you. This is a pretty simple dish.
1. Cut the ends of the plantains (discard).
2. Score the plantain skin lengthwise – do not peel!
3. Slice the plantains into 2-inch rounds.
4. Place the plantains in the chicken stock in a large saucepan.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until tender – about 30 to 40 minutes.
6. In a separate saucepan or small frying pan, place the pork and just cover with water.
7. Bring that to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the water is gone.
8. Add a bit of olive oil to the cooked pork and fry until they are brown and tender.
9. Remove from the pan and set aside.
10. Sauté the garlic and green onions in olive oil or if there’s enough fat in the pan, just use that.
11. Return pork to the pan.
12. The plantains should be fully cooked by now, remove them from the broth (be sure to save that broth) and remove the peels (they should fall right off).
13. Mash the plantains with a hand masher using a little bit of broth. You are going for the consistency of thick mashed potatoes. Don’t try to get all the lumps out. We like the lumps!
14. Add the softened butter and mash it into the plantains.
15. Add the mashed plantain to the fried pork, onions and garlic, stirring constantly over low heat.
16. Add salt and pepper to taste and generously squeeze the lemon over the whole thing before serving.
17. Serve it hot!
So, tell me… Do you Mofongo? Or do you Fufú? I want to know.
Benny’s Puerto Rican Cuisine is located at 2500 SW 107 ave. Miami FL, 33165. tel. 305-227-1232 open Tues.-Sun. closed Mondays.
(This recipe previously appeared on Babalu Blog.)
When it rains…
January 18th, 2010 It’s raining like crazy here in So Cal. And seriously, we don’t know what to do with ourselves when there is “weather.”
Mostly, we stay indoors and complain to each other via text or telephone. But then, we also feel like we should be making some sort of hearty soup or such for dinner.
I’ve had half a dozen conversations with friends today who all feel like this kind of weather calls for a big pot of chili.
Me? I’m Cuban. This kind of weather calls for a nice big pot of Ropa Vieja. =D
Buen Provecho!
Crockpot Ropa Vieja
The Meat:
1 ½ – 2 lb. flank steak
½ green pepper, sliced into strips
½ Spanish onion, sliced into strips
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Coarse Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
½ cup red wine
1. Put all these ingredients into the crockpot in order. Add water to just cover the steak.
2. Set it on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours.
3. When the meat is very tender (comes apart with a fork), remove from the crockpot and finely shred it into a separate dish.
The Sauce:
The pepper, garlic, and onion from the crockpot
3 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 cups beef broth
1 small can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1 tsp. oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1. With a slotted spoon, remove the onion, garlic and peppers from the crockpot and sauté in a large frying pan.
2. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste and beef broth.
3. Add the shredded beef to the tomato mixture and cook together for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve with white rice.
It’s the perfect dish for a cold and rainy day.
(previously posted in another form on Babalu blog.)
A Slice of Heaven
January 11th, 2010 I have a friend, Ana Quincoces (don’t-hate-me-because-I’m-beautiful) Rodriguez who has a fabulous Cuban cookbook called Sabor! A Passion for Cuban Cuisine. It’s gorgeous, just like Ana, with beautiful color photos throughout.
I bring this to your attention for a couple of reasons:
A) Because if you love Cuban food, you’re going to want to own this book.
B) Because if you turn to page 204-205 of this fabulous cookbook, you’ll find this:
Yes, that’s my recipe for the aptly named My Big, Fat, Cuban Torrejas. I’m telling you, Ana knows Cuban food! =D
For those who don’t know: Torrejas as a type of French toast, which are stuffed, fried and then baked and are to die for!
As you’ve probably gathered by now, I love any excuse to eat guava (or leche condensada too, but that’s not important right now).
And so I concocted an amazing (if I do say so myself!) brunch item based on my love of all things guayaba.
My Big, Fat, Cuban Torrejas
4 egg yolks
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
3 whole eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil (for frying)
Guava paste cut into (about 20) slices
12 oz. tub of cream cheese
8 slices of thick bread. (I found something called Texas Toast – extra thick bread, but pan Cubano works well too.)
Powdered sugar
1. Whisk together: the egg yolks, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the 3 whole eggs.
3. Spread each slice of bread generously with the cream cheese.
4. Place about 4 or 5 slices of the guava paste on the bread to make a sandwich.
5. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or griddle. (use enough to just cover the surface)
6. Create an “assembly line” – quickly dip the sandwiches in the egg/milk/cinnamon mixture.
7. Take the soaked sandwich and dip into the beaten egg mixture.
8. Fry these in the hot oil – just until brown, turning once.
9. Place the fried sandwiches in a baking dish and place in a hot oven 400° for about 10 minutes, or just until the guava melts.
10. Dust with powdered sugar and slice into quarters. (Or halves if you think you can handle it. =D)
The torrejas can be eaten hot or cold. I prefer the hot, fresh taste of melted guava. No syrup necessary. The sticky sweetness of the melted guava makes it juicy enough.
Serve with a sweet, hot cafécito.
“De aqui p’al cielo.”
(previously posted on Babalú blog and My big, fat, Cuban family.)
Happy New Year!
December 30th, 2009 On New Year’s Eve, at the stroke of midnight, we Cubans are BUSY.
When the clock strikes 12 we:
As you can see, I’m ready with all my Cuban superstitions traditions for the New Year.
And yes, I’ll be wearing my red underwear for luck because I’m not taking any chances. (That was a total over-share, wasn’t it?)
Happy New Year from the TikiTiki!
Do you have any fun New Year traditions that you’d like to share? Please tell me.
What’s Your “Turron” of Choice?
December 14th, 2009 There are some things that are unique to my Cuban culture that I take for granted. Particularly at Christmastime.
Like most people and most other cultures, there are things we grew up with that seem normal. But outside of our cultural context are just plain weird.
Let’s take TURRONES for example. (Pronounced TOO-RON-EHS. Well, sort of…)
See? Already my non-Cuban readers are saying “Huh? What the heck?” (they’re probably asking other questions, but this is a family blog. =D)
It’s a sort of nougat-like, umm…, candy-ish, sweet…. with nuts….or not….made with egg yolks…. or almonds… and… *sigh* Impossible to explain!
My mom and I went to the local mercado (which is technically a little Mexican market that stocks all kinds of products by Goya, but that’s not important right now) where I shop for the stuff I need to support my guava and mojo criollo habit. 
And there it was. An entire shelf dedicated to the turrones. And of course, we all know that you must have the turrones for the traditional Cuban Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) Celebration.
After we stuff ourselves with lechón, there is dessert. And part of the traditional Noche Buena dessert set up is a mix of turrones.
And everyone has their favorites. In fact, we can get quite passionate (Cubans, being passionate?? Shut up. =D) about our turron of choice.
So, for those of you who can identify…
Which is your favorite turron?
For you Cuban-Americans living in places where turrones are hard to come by…. Most varieties are available here.
Me? I’m a Yema girl myself. (But I’ll deny it if you tell anybody. =D)
