In Winter's Kitchen by Beth Dooley

In Winter's Kitchen.
Growing Roots and Breaking Bread in the Northern Heartland
by Beth Dooley

Books and Food go together well.  In fact, they are two of my favorite things so I was thrilled to get a chance to read this book.  I adored, In Winter's Kitchen and read it slowly, one chapter at a time, to savor it.  Each chapter is about a particular food that thrives in the Midwest, like apples, wheat, potatoes, cranberries, corn, wild rice, turkey and many more.  Beth writes about her family and meets with local farmers at the farmers market and even meets them at their farms.  She talks about conventional food and organic and details the path from farm to table.  Beth connects our love of food with our love of family and love of the land. She reminded me that buying food is making a choice for a better world and a healthy body which is very important to me since I have a food allergy to corn and most canned, packaged store bought food contains some form of corn. So I have to make most of my families meals from scratch everyday.  In Winter's Kitchen has taught me so much about the food I eat and the companies I buy from.

In Winter's Kitchen is part memoir, part food history and part midwest guidebook with really good recipes tucked inside.  There is one recipe per food chapter so for example the Apples chapter has a recipe for applesauce, which I made and it was delicious. This is the first time I made homemade applesauce and it was super easy and super good.  I haven't eaten applesauce in years. Here is a picture.

This is a great book to read this winter.  Read it and then make some great food.
In Winter's Kitchen was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2016.

Here are some links to help further your reading experience.

Visit Beth at her website where you will find lots of information and delicious recipes
http://www.bethdooleyskitchen.com/

Listen to Beth on the Splendid Table podcast.
https://www.splendidtable.org/story/beth-dooley-on-the-joy-of-cooking-and-the-future-of-wheat

Gardens, Kitchens and the Great Midwest.  U of MN episode of Read This Book features Beth Dooley and another of my favorite authors Ryan Stradal.
https://youtu.be/_pLrg10D-Lc

Listen to this story from MPR which includes two recipes from the book.
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/11/18/books-appetites-beth-dooley

An awesome book review from Heavy Table
http://heavytable.com/in-winters-kitchen-by-beth-dooley/

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

Eva Thorvald is a Midwestern woman with a once-in-a-generation palate.  Kitchens of the Great Midwest is the story of Eva's life as told from the perspectives of everyone seated at the dinner party of her life.  Eva's biological father Lars is a great chef who falls in love with her mother, a wine expert who cannot handle being a mother and runs away.  His love of food is passed on to Eva.  At an early age, Eva has fallen in love with hot and spicy peppers.  She grows them in her bedroom, makes her own pepper jelly and hot sauce and tortures her tormentors with her spicy creations.

Eva is such an interesting character. You get to figure out the puzzle of Eva's life.  Each chapter is a snapshot into who Eva is and how she became this amazing chef who hosts the most creative and interesting dinners in the world and people are on the waiting list for years.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest is a delicious book full of wonderful food and recipes and dinner parties.  The food is Midwestern favorites, State Fair bake-offs and your mouth is going to water. Stradal's book is a well written novel about midwestern characters that grab your heart or make you want to punch them in the face.  Welcome to Minnesota nice (which really means passive-aggressive).

Kitchens of the Great Midwest is an enjoyable read, one that is delectable, delightful and delicious. It has inspired me to start a cooking club with friends.  This book is creative, daring and fun.  Stradal has embodied the Midwest and the people who live there in a book and it is splendid.

Book lovers, foodies and wine connoisseurs, Kitchens of the Great Midwest is calling your name.

Read this book,  your palate will thank you.

Book Gifts

Book Gifts.

Last year, I received 6 books for book gifts and I made a goal for myself to read all them by the end of 2014.  I read 4 of them and plan to read the 5th next week.

So often I receive a book and then I add it to my shelf full of books to read and then it lingers there on the shelf for way too long.  So I am determined to read these books this year and I thought I would do a post on it to hold myself accountable.

Here I the books I received for the Holidays and plan to finish reading in 2015.

1.  Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward.  I loved Jesmyn Ward's Salvage the Dogs.  It is one of the best books I have ever read and I can't wait to read this memoir.  I received this book from my Secret Santa Carol from the blog http://carolsnotebook.com/

2.  The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.  My Secret Santa, Carol also bought this for me.  This
book looks like an adventure and I can't wait to dive in.  Reading is so much fun!
Thank You Carol.  I love my new books and can't wait to read them.

The next three books, I received from my 2 teenage children and my husband. I'm super pumped about reading these books this year.

3.  All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.  This book is topping all the best of 2014 lists.  It is a WWII novel set in Paris.  Historical fiction is my absolute favorite.

4.  The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin.  Another book
topping all the best of 2014 lists.  I love books about books and I can't
wait to read this.  I'm seriously jumping up and down.  Reading makes me so happy.

5.  Neverhome by Laird Hunt.  I met Laird Hunt in October at the Twin Cities Book Festival and heard him speak.  Neverhome is about a female soldier during the Civil War who disguises herself as a man.  I am choosing to read this as my first book of 2015!  Happy Dance!

My Mom and Step-dad got me three different types of cookbooks.  I won't necessarily read them in the same way I would a novel but I pledge to cook out of them for a year, at least one recipe a month.

Here are my three new foodie books.

1.  Water Infusions.  Refreshing, Detoxifying and Heathy Recipes for your Home Infuser by Dr. Mariza Snyder & Dr. Lauren Clum.  Yep I got a water infuser and I am loving it.  I made Pear and Cinnamon water last night and it is delicious.  Tomorrow, I am making something with Mint.

2.  The Green Smoothie Bible.  Super-Nutritious Drinks to Lose Weight, Boost Energy and Feel Great by Kristine Miles.  I love smoothies and make them almost every day of the week for breakfast.  I am looking forward to trying some new varieties and getting more green in my shake.  Yum.

3.  My Prairie Cookbook.  Memories and Frontier Food from My Little House to Yours by Melissa
Gilbert.  I LOVE Little House on the Prairie books and the TV show and I'm excited to read and cook out of this book.  There are lots of pictures and memorabilia included in the book too.  Double Yummy.

I love all my new book gifts.

What books did you receive as gifts??

The Lovers Set Down Their Spoons by Heather A. Slomksi

The Lovers Set Down Their Spoons by Heather A. Slomksi

First off, I love the title of this book, The Lovers Set Down Their Spoons and I was also intrigued by the beautiful cover.  Inside the book you will find 15 short stories that vary in length from one page to a short novella in length  Each story is beautifully written and imagined.

How you read a short story collection varies from book to book and person to person.  When I started reading The Lovers Set Down Their Spoons, I read one story, then another and then a third.  Quickly I realized that I wanted to savor these stories so I could have time to think about them and swallow their meaning.  So I switched my reading pattern.  I read one story in the morning, usually a short one (1-2 pages) and one story at night, usually a longer story.  This worked splendidly and I fell in love with this book and these stories.

Heather is a wonderful writer and she mesmerizes the reader with her beautiful imagery and prose.  Each story is unique and unpredictable and they leave the reader hungry for life and love and for more stories.  Many of the stories are grounded in reality and characters must face loss, grief or regret but some of the stories take you into a sphere you may not recognize, hidden somewhere in a different mental state or space where heartbreak lives.  Each story is addictive like food and wine.

It is hard to pick a favorite story out of this collection because each story is so good.  My favorite has to be Iris and the Inevitable Sorrow, or The Knock at the Door because it is so creative.  Although Neighbors is also amazing with a little bit of creepy thrown in.  And then there is the last story, Before the Story Ends, which is heartbreakingly beautiful.

The Lovers Set Down Their Spoons won the Iowa Short Fiction Prize and was published by the University of Iowa press.  Heather joins an impressive list of short story writers and she is very deserving of this prize.  I read seven different short story collections in 2014 and The Lovers Set Down Their Spoons is definitely my favorite.

Planet Taco by Jeffrey M. Pilcher

Planet Taco. A Global History in Mexican Food by Jeffrey M. Pilcher

Planet Taco is a scholarly look into the history of Mexican food.  Pilcher dares to ask the question, What is authentic Mexican food?  His research and travels take him into modern day Mexico and the Southwest of the United States.  Pilcher examines the Spanish conquistadors influence on Mexican food, as well as the influence of the different indigenous populations, the African slaves, and the influx of the Chinese.  Mexico doesn't seem to have a National food because their history is so varied and represented by many cultures.  Also the traditional food varies based on regional locations within Mexico and in the surrounding areas.

Planet Taco is exceptionally detailed and packed full of educational information.  Included in the book are pictures, maps and recipes.  Pilcher details the history of maize and wheat and taught me that people in the region of Mexico viewed those who ate corn tortillas as lower class (these were primarily indigenous peoples) and wheat tortilla eaters tended to be Spanish or upper class.  He details the rise of Chili Queens and Blue Corn and the American taco and so much more.

Planet Taco is a great book for those willing to put in the time and a great name for a future Mexican restaurant.  I can guarentee that you will learn a lot from reading this book.  The writing style is intellectual and studious and some people will feel like they are reading a textbook on Mexican food.  If you can put in the time to read Planet Taco, it is worth it.  This book would make an excellent companion for those traveling to Mexico for a vacation.

Caution:  This book will make you hungry for Mexican food.  I had three different Mexican style meals while reading this book.  Yum!

Weekend Reflection

Weekend Reflection

Bonjour!  My husband and son went up north ice fishing with the Boy Scouts this weekend.  So my daughter and I decided we would create a weekend in Paris at home.  We would do things the French way.  Watch French movies or films that take place in France, make and eat delicious French food, listen to French music, learn some new French words, and most importantly have a lot of fun.

Friday night:  Watched Chocolat, starring Juliet Binoche and Johnny Depp.  Chocolat is based on the book of the same name by Joanne Harris.  My daughter really loved this film.  Half way through, we stopped to make our own chocolate creations.  Strawberries dipped in chocolate, hot cocoa with cinnamon, and a bowl of melted chocolate goodness to dip graham crackers in.  It was a wonderful evening.

Saturday:  We woke up early to go ice skating and wore the colors of France for the day, red, white and blue.  Then we met my mom at a theater for a viewing of Les Miserables.  A French classic based on the book by Victor Hugo.  We loved it.  We munched popcorn all day, bought some yarn and stopped off for dinner at French restaurant, Salut, in St. Paul.  We ordered a variety of things from the menu and Georgia was willing to try some new things for her first experience at a French restaurant.  We ordered Pomme Frittes of course, French onion soup, Gnocci, Mussels, Cordon Blue chicken nuggets, and a delicious dessert.  We were stuffed.  Bon Appetit!


We came home and watched two short French films.  The Red Balloon and Linnea in Monet's Garden.  The Red Balloon was wonderful and enchanting.  We both loved it.  Linnea in Monet's Garden is based on a book of the same name and I gave this book to Georgia when I returned home from a visit to France years ago.  She still has the book and the doll and so watching the film was kinda cool for her.  Plus it teaches you about Monet, his family and his beloved garden.

We were going to watch another film after this but I ended up with a touch of the stomach flu and had to go to bed.  Definitely not feeling well.

Sunday:  Woke up feeling better so we made plans to go to the Mall of America to visit the Ice Castles there and then have crepes for lunch.  So that is exactly what we did.  We dressed warm for our outside experience and the ice castles were beautiful.  I thought it was overpriced to get inside but we had fun taking all sorts of pictures and finding hidden spots in the ice.

Next stop:  Inside the mall for crepes at Magic Pan crepes.  We ordered a strawberry banana crepe with chocolate.  Yum it was so good.  Dessert for lunch.

Afterwords Georgia got a bad stomach ache and we decided to head home.  The tummy ache didn't go away and so she went to bed quite early.  No, French movie tonight.  Sad.

Sunday:  Woke up and put on some French music.  We danced around the kitchen a bit and decided to make French toast for breakfast.  She helped create the recipe and cook the toast.  Yummy.

We had a lovely weekend.  It went by so fast.  Looking forward to the next adventurous weekend to plan.  I wonder what country we will choose to highlight.  Maybe, Italy?

Au Revior

Easy Sexy Raw by Carol Alt

Easy Sexy Raw.  130 Raw Food Recipes, Tools, and Tips to Make You Feel Gorgeous and Satisfied by Carol Alt

I am a health nut and am obsessed with eating real, healthy food although I cheat once in awhile.    I always take my vitamins and try to exercise every now and then.  I am going through menopause and have discovered that I have to eat healthy or I won't feel good.  I will have horrible headaches, sleepless nights and a host of other symptoms.  In my quest to be healthier, I picked up Carol Alt's book Easy Sexy Raw.  I tend to feel the best when eating raw.

My biggest challenge to eating raw is that I tend to avoid green foods.  It's like a little phobia I have that holds me back.  What I have going for me is that I have a shake every day of fresh fruits.  So Carol Alt's book helped me make my diet a lot greener and healthier.  Every day I add a cup or two of spinach or leafy greens to my shake as well as a scoop of Spirulina or Green Vibrance.  This makes it super green.  At first I started with only one spinach leaf and when I couldn't tell the difference I added more.  So my shake gradually turned greener and now I am not grossed out by the color anymore (other people are, by the way).

Alt sets up her book to teach people all about food and what Raw really means.  She starts the book with a great introduction which explains how she decided to go on a raw food diet.  Guess what, you can eat a lot more than just salad and carrots.  Plus you don't need to go 100 percent raw, even 70 percent raw is good.  I decided to go raw for two meals a day and eat a regular cooked dinner with my family everyday.

The first chapter was the most valuable for me.  It's called Uncooked 101:  What you need to know to go raw.  This taught me so much about raw food.  Raw doesn't necessarily mean cold, it means not cooked over 115 degrees.  So get yourself a good kitchen thermometer to test your food.  Alt also introduced me to different gadgets, like Yonanas (this makes ice cream out of frozen bananas and other fruit, I love it!), a Dehydrator, a sprouter, a high speed blender ( I have the nutri-bullet and it's awesome) and more.  She even provides a A to Z shopping list which I found invaluable.

I also liked the recipes provided, there are about 130, but most of all I liked the little suggestions and the changes they brought to my life.  Did you know there are raw milk cheeses?  I didn't but I found some raw milk cheese at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's and my whole family loves them.  Never going back to regular cheese.

So if you want to make a change in your life, feel better, eat greener and gain some energy, give Carol Alt's book a try.  Raw really is easy!

The Hormone Diet by Natasha Turner, ND

The Hormone Diet by Natasha Turner, ND
A 3-Step Program to Help You Lose Weight, Gain Strength, and Live Younger Longer.

Earlier this year in January (2012) I suffered from incurable, painful headaches and no pill could cure them or make them feel better.  I had a horrible headache every single day in January.  I also began to have intense hot flashes and could not sleep at all.  I was physically exhausted and miserable because I was in so much pain.  I knew my problem was hormonal and so I did what every American does with a computer, I googled it.

What I found was the book The Hormone Diet by Natasha Turner.  The Hormone Diet book literally changed my life.  Using Turner's book and visiting my OB/Gyn and Neurologist, I learned a lot about what was happening to my body via my unbalanced hormones.  Menopause.  At age 44.

Turner is a naturopathic doctor and begins her book with a explaining all the hormones inside your body and what happens when they get out of whack.  Turner includes a hormone health profile test that looks at your symptoms and determines where your hormones may be unbalanced.  Turner then recommends a detox diet to rid your body of toxins and hormone disruptors.  The detox diet is recommended for two weeks and I felt so good on it I did it for a whole month.  It pretty much helped heal my headaches and I lost 10 pounds that I have been able to keep off the entire year.

The Hormone Diet is not a typical diet book, it is really a prescription for how to live a healthy life.  Turner includes recipes, exercise tips and so much more.  Since February I have been drinking a smoothie full of healthy fruits and vegetables for breakfast with a scoop of protein powder.  I have been ordering and taking the vitamins Turner recommends and have been pretty much stalking her webpage and her Facebook page ever since and I feel better.  I consult Turner's book and her recipes on a regular basis. I now wish I lived in Toronto so I could attend her boot camp and workshops and have her as my naturopathic doctor.  So since that will never happen, I do the next best thing, I read her books.

My favorite smoothie recipe:
1 cup blueberries
half a frozen banana
2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed
1 cup of plain soy milk
1 scoop of protein powder.

Now, I add a cup of spinach to it as well.  I call it, salad in a cup and it's delicious.
Read The Hormone Diet if you want to get healthy and understand your body.

The Orchard by Theresa Weir

The Orchard. A Memoir by Theresa Weir

City girl, Theresa Weir reinvents herself when she falls in love with a local apple farmer at age 21, whose orchard is supposedly cursed.  She grows up despised by her mother, abandoned by her father and she ends up trying to survive by working in her uncle's bar in Burlington, Iowa when cute farm boy, Adrian Curtis walks in the door.  Her uncle warns her to stay away from Adrian but she is drawn to him like a bee to honey.

She marries Adrian after a short courtship and expects to have found a loving family.  Instead she finds herself rejected as white trash and never accepted in the family.  Theresa's in-laws despise her and run their apple farm with a hard hand.  They spray herbicides and pesticides on the apple trees to protect them from the codling moth.  Adrian comes home reeking of chemicals, the smell and taste of it is everywhere.  The apple farm has been in the Curtis family for generations and their farm practices are slowly ruining the land and making people sick.

The Orchard is a powerful page-turning memoir.  From the very first page I was hooked and could not put the book down.  The Orchard is shocking, raw and true, and I will never look at another apple in the same way again.  In many ways The Orchard is a fairy tale gone horribly wrong, from the wicked mother in-law to the poisoned apple, readers will hope for the happy ending.

Theresa Weir aka "Anne Frasier" is a well known mystery and romance writer, although this is the first book I have read of hers.  Theresa details a difficult and genuine time of her life with grace and wit.  Don't let the cover deceive you, The Orchard is an unforgettable story that will possible change your perceptions about farming.  I am adding The Orchard to my list of the best books I have read in 2012.  It is thought-provoking, timely and necessary for all to read if you care about the food you eat and the world we live in.

The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy

The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy

The Baker's Daughter is a novel that will warm your heart and tease your palate.   Germany is a country of people with mountains of pride and a somewhat painful past.  It is a country of beer, bratwurst, bread and war.  Elsie,  the baker's daughter lives in Garmisch, Germany during the second world war.  Elsie is young and naive and becomes a witness to shocking horrors that she didn't believe Germans capable of.

Fast forward to El Paso, Texas in 2007 where we meet Elsie and her daughter Jane, as they are interviewed by local reporter, Reba Adams.  Reba is drawn to these two women, their stories and of course their delicious baked goods.  A picture hangs on the wall of Elsie and her mother on Christmas Eve, 1944, in Germany, and Reba is curious is about what really happened that night all those years ago.  Reba has her own secrets that Elsie and Jane work to pry loose as they wonder why she wears her engagement ring around her neck.

In this amazing parellel storyline, we learn Elsie's and Reba's story and how their two histories intertwine.  My grandmother was 100 percent German and Elsie reminded me of her.  My grandmother was not a baker by trade but she did bake.  Her cinnamon bread was the best.  The Baker's Daughter contains some recipes for the delicious bread mentioned throughout the story and I can't wait to try one of them.  I loved the German words, the culture, the historical setting and time period in the book, all of which made me long for my lost German heritage.

My grandfather flew in Ninth Army Air Force during the war and McCoy mentions the Ninth in the book as a group who visited Garmisch, Germany.  It makes me wonder if my grandpa was stationed there or visited after the war.  This book contained a lot of personal connections for me.

The Baker's Daughter is a multi-layered book with themes of war, immigration, and human cruelty.  It is also a story of full of love, food, compassion and survival.    This is a book you will definitely want to savor.
Gutenacht.

Food Rules. An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

Food Rules.  An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

This simple little instruction book contains 64 rules to a new and healthy you.  This little book could change your life and is a great addition to the kitchen of anyone who wants to eat and be healthy.

So much of our modern food is fake food, food created by science.  One of my favorite rules is not to eat food that your grandma or great-grandmother would not recognize.  So basically if it genetically engineered or modified and comes in a package it's probably not a real food.   Doritos, Twinkies, cereal, granola bars all qualify as science food not real food.  McDonalds and gas station food equals science food and means you are eating meals consisting of corn and soy and devoid of your body's necessary nutrients.

The three rules that Pollan focuses Food Rules on is Eat Food, Mostly Plants, Not too Much.  Seems simple but for most Americans this is very hard to do.  Pollan recognizes the challenges Americans face in our fast moving society but he also states the facts that Americans are living shorter lives because we are not eating real food, we are eating way too much food and not enough plants.  We need to simplify our decisions about food and shop on the outskirts of the grocery store and frequent local farmer's markets. 

Since I have read this book, I have already gifted a copy to someone and plan to immediately begin re-reading Food Rules. I want to keep the information in the book continually in my conscious mind so that I can make better choices for myself and my family.  I am eating better, shopping wisely and am happier.  Thanks Mr. Pollan.

Author Mark McGinty Guest Post

Hometown Track Minnesota Author in the Spotlight Guest Post

The Best Cuban Holiday Dishes

One of the best parts of being part of a Cuban family is the food. Especially during the holidays. Whether you married into a clan of crazy Cubans or grew up smack dab in the middle of a kitchen steaming with black beans, roast pork stuck with garlic, sangria, and loud passionate voices, the Cuban holiday kitchen is the home of the epic feast, and a place where the world’s best holiday dishes are born and loved.

It starts in late November.

Thanksgiving: Boliche

Photo courtesy http://imcookinhere.blogspot.com/2005/03/boliche.html

There are several ways to make boliche but it’s essentially an eye round roast hollowed out with a long carving knife and then stuffed with chorizo sausage, ham, or bacon usually mixed with a paste of garlic, oregano, onion, cumin, black olives,  or whatever you decide will taste great! It’s roasted for several hours over a bed of potatoes, apples, green peppers, celery and onions. The vegetables caramelize with the juices from the meat and the cup of red wine your pour over them as they roast and then the meat is sliced into 1-inch “steaks” and served with rice, fried plantains (platanos) and plenty of red wine. It is a very unique dish, and because of the intricacy and care that goes into its preparation, a Cuban holiday dish that is best enjoyed on special occasions. Perfect for a Thanksgiving feast.

Christmas: Lechon

Photo courtesy http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/lechon-kawali-bagnet-part-ii

Quite possibly my favorite Cuban holiday dish, as long as it’s slow roasted over Christmas Eve night and ready the next day, dripping with a tangy mojo (moe-ho, not moe-joe) and served with lots and lots of rice. When you wake up Christmas morning, you’re greeted with the sweet smell of this slow-roasting pork marinated in a light garlic-citrus. Your mouth waters all day while you open presents, sip Christmas coffee and nibble on Christmas sweets. When it’s time to feast, you pile hoard and hoards of this ripe meat onto your plate and cover it with a mojo glaze. And like a Christmas turkey, there are enough leftovers to last for days!

New Year’s Eve: Cuban Sandwiches and Sangria 

Photo courtesy http://ilivetodayav.ning.com/profile/LaDolceVidaCubanBakery

The greatest sandwich in the world goes great with a cold beer or a tall glass of sangria on ice. A great meal to start (or end) a night of partying.  For more details on this awesome sandwich, check out my article The Cuban Sandwich – How to Spot a Fraud!!

When it comes to sangria, don’t buy the bottled stuff. Try this homemade version:

One bottle red wine (use a nice burgundy)

1 cup rum

1 cup orange juice

Juice of 1 lime

Half a cup of sugar

2 cups of water (trust me, you’ll want to water this down a bit!)

Mix all of the above into a pitcher and then add the following:

2-3 cinnamon sticks

1 orange, sliced into thin wedges

Cherries, pineapple chunks and whatever tropical fruit you like!

Stir with a wooden spoon (using a wooden spoon is part of the charm)

Stick it in the fridge for about 30 minutes and serve cool. Have plenty of extra rum and wine available so you can make a second pitcher after you finish the first.

Drink gently.

New Year’s Day: Ropa Vieja

Photo courtesy http://www.takoma.com/archives/copy/2008/08/WOP_WorldinaGlass.html

When it comes to preparation, rope vieja is my favorite Cuban holiday dish, or favorite Cuban food (no, favorite food PERIOD). This is a joy to cook. Imagine a kitchen smelling of simmering flank steak steaming in a kettle flavored with garlic, lime, tomato, onion, and bay leaves. Once the steak has been simmered and shredded, it’s slow cooked in a pot of chopped green peppers, garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, tomato sauce, and lots of dark, red wine. Serve it over a bed of rice with plenty of platanos and slices and slices of fresh Cuban bread.

Freeze the leftovers and when you thaw them weeks later, the sauce has been soaked into the meat creating the most tender, most tasty Cuban dish you’ll ever know.

What are platanos?

Platanos are simply nothing more than ripe, sliced plantains cooked in olive oil until they’re crispy and golden brown. For best results, once they’re light brown, turn off the burner and let them cool in the olive oil until they’re lukewarm. Then drain, top with salt and serve as a side dish to any of the above Cuban entrees. They’re awesome!!

Photo courtesy http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/01/06/platanos-maduros-fritos-fried-plantains/

Here are some more ideas for excellent Cuban side dishes:

Avocado Salad

Photo courtesy http://gliving.com/mango-avocado-salad/

Sliced avocado served with raw onion, cilantro, oil and vinegar or lime juice. The above photo uses mango instead of onion. Works for me!!

Black Beans and Rice

Photo courtesy http://slow-cooker-collection.yumsugar.com/Slow-Cooker-Cuban-Black-Beans-Rice-530398

Although this is commonly served as a meal unto itself, it also makes a great side. Serve with fresh chopped onions.

I grew up with this stuff, and now I’m making sure my daughter, who is 5, will experience these Cuban holiday dishes too. She seems to enjoy them as much as I did. When she gets a little older, I’ll teach her how to prepare these feasts and soon, perhaps she will begin to prepare them herself, and may even teach them to her children.

I almost forgot the best part: dessert!!

Flan de Leche

Photo courtesy http://makescoffeenervous.blogspot.com/2010/08/great-leche-flan-adventure.html

My mother used to do this homemade but you can find it in bakeries or even in a small, single-serving container like pudding. This simple yet elegant caramelized custard is a common dessert in Latin America. It might take a few tastings to get used to – then again you might love it before it even touches your tongue!

Panatela Borracha

Cuban drunken sponge cake. Soft and sweet and dripping with juicy syrup than covers your fingers and runs over your palm and down your wrist. Bliss.

Fresh Papaya and Sliced Mango

Photo courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/yummyinthetummyblog/2693721496/

Who says you need to kill yourself making dessert? Sweet tropical fruits are a great finish to any Cuban meal. Just make sure you wash them down with a swig of rum!

Most of these recipes can be found in Clarita’s Cocina a Cuban-Spanish cookbook that has been in my family for decades. To read about how these dishes become part of the Cuban lifestyle in America, check out The Cigar Maker.

For more information on Cuban Cuisine, click here.

Mark McGinty is the author of The Cigar Maker and Elvis and the Blue Moon Conspiracy. His work has appeared in Cigar City Magazine and La Gaceta.