In most offices in Miami, a “colada” of café (please don’t call it espresso) is made about 25 times a day. That is a conservative estimate. This means you are riding the caffeine superhighway from sun up to til sun down–a glorious thing. Actually, I know plenty of people who take a shot (perhaps mixed with some milk to make “cortadito”) before bedtime.

What distinguishes Cuban Coffee from other similar brews (Thai, Turkish or Italian) is two things: Mucho sugar and frothing up that sugar into “espumita”. To make it, you’ll need some specialized hardware in the form of an Italian coffee maker called a “Macchinetta”. Realize no one I know actually calls it by its Italian name, even if it is distinctly Cuban sounding “¡Oye Fefo, traeme la maquineta!” alas, we call it a “Cafetera”. Cafeteras come in all shapes and sizes but the principle is the same, pressurized steam goes up through the coffee and out of a spout into a covered vessel. Here’s a really informative page about this device. You can find these cafeteras anywhere, even Wal-Mart has them. I bought mine at Marshall’s for like 6 dollars. Works like a charm.

Although you can use any espresso roast ground up as fine as possible, most Cubanos use one of two pre-ground arabicas:

Bustelo

Pilon

Prepare the cafetera:

1. Fill the lower vessel with water (preferably bottled/filtered) up to the steam release nut.

2. Insert the funnel looking thing that holds the coffee grounds. Insert one spoonful of coffee at a time in to the funnel, packing it down with the back of the spoon after each spoonful. You want the coffee to really be packed in there. Fill to the top edge and then add a bit more to make a slight mound.

3. Carefully screw on the top part of the cafetera. Screw it on really tight, using a towel but careful not to use the plastic handle to do so, it will break.

Prepare your colada container:

1. In a cup or mug (I use a pyrex measuring cup) add your sugar. Depending on the size of the cafetera, you will have to adjust the amount of sugar used. My cafetera makes about 1 cup of coffee and I use about 3 tablespoons of sugar. Adjust accordingly keeping in mind that it should be VERY sweet. Set aside.

Start Making café:

1. Open the top lid and turn heat to high and position the cafetera so as to keep the plastic handle away from the flame/heat as it will melt.

2. Depending on your stove, in about 5 minutes the dark brown coffee will begin to pipe out of the top of the vessel. Watch closely! This is critical as this is the most concentrated coffee which you must use to make your espumita. Remove from heat and pour about 1 teaspoon of coffee into the colada container you prepared.

3. Return the cafetera to the high heat, this time closing the lid.

4. Meanwhile, stir the coffee and sugar together with a small spoon adding wee bits of coffee a bit at a time in order to gain a thick milkshake like consistency. The resultant pre-espumita should be beige, not brown, in color.

5. The coffee will continue to pour out of the cafetera in to the upper vessel and if left under heat for long enough it will run out of water and start making a sputtering sound. You don’t want to let it come to that point. You are to remove the cafetera from the heat when the upper vessel is like 3/4 full or less. This is because we want thick and syrupy coffee, not watery coffee.

6. Add the remaining coffee to the espumita mix and stir, carefully pour into demi-tasse cups or shot glasses and serve immediately with plenty of ice water.

Additional notes:

• Don’t use soap to clean the cafetera, a quick rinse with water and perhaps a rag to wipe down the oily remains of the coffee. Me? I leave that residue in there as it seasons the cafetera. If you insist on cleaning it, run the cafetera through a cycle using half water, half vinegar and NO coffee.
• It is customary to offer visitors café at any time of day.
• Despite everything you’ve ever read and/or felt, the darker the roast of coffee, the LESS caffeine it has (roasting diminishes caffeine’s efficacy)

I heeded my own advice last week and ordered some Sevilles from a farm down in Reedley, California.  I only had in mind that I’d juice them, but they were so beautiful that I felt guilty not using every bit of them.  To this end, I peeled them (zesting some for use),  juiced them (used for mojo), extracted their pulp (from which I fashioned a rope… jk), dried and preserved the seeds (for planting, someday) and made this dessert with their piths.

• It’s goin down:

• 10-12Peeled, halved, Seville oranges (naranja agria),  with pulp extracted
• 4 CupsWater
• 3.5 CupsSugar
• 1 Cinnamon stick

It is easiest to peel the Sevilles when they are firm, which is also a sure sign you have a fresh orange.  Hold the orange in the palm of your hand as you peel in a clockwise motion (or counter if you are a lefty) with the other.   I use a vegetable peeler but you can also use a sharp paring knife to peel the oranges. Either way, if you are a fruit peeling badass, you will peel the entire skin in one continuous strip.

Cut the oranges in half, along their “waists”.  Juice the oranges well,  being ever careful not to tear the piths.  I know you wanna get aggressive cuz you be juicin’, but please, be gentle!

Remove the pulp and seeds content from each half.   You want to get to the white, dry part of the fruit. I use a grapefruit spoon to get under one of the segments and then work my way around, scooping out the rest.  Wash them and remove any remaining pulp matter.   Place in a large pot with water to cover, under high heat and bring to a boil.  Once it does, strain the oranges and rinse out the pot.  Do this twice. If you omit this step the syrup and the oranges themselves will be way too bitter (unless you like it that way).

Take your twice boiled oranges and set them aside. Place the pot back on the stove and add the 4 cups water, 3.5 cups sugar and the cinnamon stick and place under medium heat. Stir frequently until the sugar has dissolved.   Add the orange halves to the pot, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cover.

As they cook, the orange piths go from an orangey white color to translucent.  This doesn’t happen all at once and you will see them changing as you check every so often.  They will take at least an hour and a half or more, depending on how chewy you want them to be.  I like them a bit on the less chewy side so I cook for longer (up to 2 hours).   Just taste for texture once they are translucent and see what you like. You will also want to taste the syrup and make sure it has some orange flavor (not just cinnamon). If the syrup is weak, take a couple of 3-4 inch segments of the peel and cook along with the piths for 15 minutes or so. BAM! Orange flavor boost.

Once done, remove to a large bowl and let cool. Once they reach room temperature, place covered bowl in the refrigerator. Enjoy at your leisure; these will keep for a couple of months, at least.

You can eat these straight up or on toast but I like them with a mild, savory cheese such as Monterey Jack, thinly sliced. The salty creaminess of the cheese perfectly balances the bitter sweetness.

My mother usually made this dessert with grapefruit (available year round), using the same method. I’ve also seen this made with lemon. Maybe I’ll go eXtreme and try this with the largest of the citrus fruits, the Pumelo.

Perhaps a new reality show called “The Fattest Gordo” where you eat nothing but chuletas de puerco marinaded in naranja agria.  NBC: you know how to reach me.

Anyway, these citric gems are in season right now but despite that, are still difficult to find.  You can try your local hispanic market but in lieu of that, I have found an online source:

RipeToYou.com

They are only available through February so I suggest you get some, juice ‘em and freeze ‘em.

Update 2/3/09: It seems that ripetoyou.com is having technical difficulties right now and is not accepting online orders. 

“El cocinar es probar”

Now, that may sound vague and uninspiring and I can honestly say it didn’t mean a whole lot to me then.  But time has given the statement validity and today, it defines cooking for me.

As far as sustenance goes, we don’t need much. Technically, you could survive eating buttermilk and potatoes for the rest of your life.  But who wants to live like that?  Not me and probably not you either.  You wanna get better at cooking?  Fer reals?

Taste early and taste often.

• Taste your marinade (before you put the meat in it), if it tastes yummy-sour-salty, you are golden.
• Taste your sofrito after you add all the ingredients but before you add the protein to it… Is it tomato-sweet pepper-sherry goodness?  Aces.
• Taste that water the rice is cooking in, if it’s salty like ocean water, you will be pleased with the result.
• Did you over-salt something?  Try removing some of it and replacing with water or milk, cook for 5 minutes and taste again.
• Is your sauce dull and insipid?  Add some salt or a pat of butter or a squeeze of lime.

Try to hit as many of the sensations you can: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, umami.  If all else fails, salt is your friend.

When you taste as you go, you get a better understanding of what influence your ingredients or techniques have on what you’re preparing.  Like anything, the more you do it the better you get at it.  So get to it–and taste, taste, taste.

True fact: The sense of “Taste” used to be known as “Gustation”.  Talk about old-skool Spanglish!

I’d hesitate to call this Nouveau Cuban as it’s really a classic Vaca Frita preparation with a different protein. I don’t see why you couldn’t make it with pork or lamb (fish, not so much). It’s very flavorful and the cubanocity rings in your mouth with each bite.

• It’s goin down:

• For the Mojo (“mo-ho” not “mo-joe”, Austin Powers be damned):

• 3/4 CupFresh orange juice
• 2/3 Cup Fresh lemon juice (lime works too)
• 4-6 ClovesGarlic
• 1 tbspSalt
• Combine ingredients and stir to dissolve the salt.

• Stage 1:

• 2boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.25 lbs.)
• 1/2 chicken bouillon cube

Place the chicken breasts that you rinsed in a pot and just barely cover with cold water.  Add the bouillon and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 20-30 minutes (you really can’t overcook the chicken like this).  When the chicken is done, remove and set aside.   You can discard the broth you just made or you can strain and reuse at your leisure–chicken soup anybody?

When the chicken has cooled enough, shred, along the grain, with your fingers or a fork into 1/2 inch strips or if you like your chicken-fried-cow more crispy, shred even finer.   Place in a bowl and pour in Mojo, such that the chicken is immersed and covered by the mojo.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour but no more than 3 hours.

• Stage 2:

• 1medium onion, sliced into thin (approx 1/8th”) rounds
• 2 tbsp Vegetable or canola or corn oil

Remove the chicken from the mojo and dry with paper towels on a plate. Important: Reserve the leftover mojo.

Place a heavy bottomed, shallow skillet or frying pan under medium-high heat.   Once the pan is hot, add the oil, it will shimmer and maybe smoke a little.  This is good.  Add the dried chicken shreds in one even layer to the pan.   Using my trusty Lodge 12″ cast iron pan,  I can only do about half the chicken at a time.  Do not stir-fry, allow the chicken to brown, nearly burn.  After about 2 or 3 minutes, turn over the chicken evenly in order to brown the other side (the higher the walls of the skillet, the trickier this is).

After another 2 or 3 minutes, toss in the sliced onion and stir fry a bit.  When the onions have begun to get soft ( about a minute) add a “chorro” of the reserved mojo and continue stir-frying.  Oh yeah, un “chorro” equals about 3 tablespoons.  You’ll get some nice steam action to finish cooking the onions along with mad flava.  Stir fry for another minute or so and once the mojo has mostly evaporated, pour out onto a platter.  I like this best with just white rice but I ain’t gonna complain about some frijoles negros over the rice.

As I got older, and as has happened with so many other foods I did not care for as a boy, I really grew to appreciate acp and all it’s variations. This includes “a la chorrera” even though I still prefer “seco” which is this post’s focus.

My lovely mother in law helped me with this dish. She is a rare bird in that her cooking prowess is matched by her patience and tolerance with others in the kitchen (yes, that would be me). This makes learning easy, as long as you don’t ask for precise measurements.

We used boneless, skinless thighs and breasts which made for a bit less chicken oomph, but why pick through bones when a highly trained poultry worker at a sanitary facility has already done this for you? Also, I don’t need to tell you that you should be spending the extra dollar per pound and buying organic birds and bird parts, right?

It’s goin down:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 minced garlic clove
1 lime’s juice
2 tsp salt

Place a cup of water and the remaining ingredients except for the chicken in a double-bagged gallon size zip top bag. Add the rinsed chicken (always rinse meats before using) to bag, toss it up a bit with a spoon and seal, pressing out as much air as possible. Marinate / brine for no longer than 3 or 4 hours but at least 2, turning and rearranging a couple of times. Don’t be afraid to throw in some macerated fresh herbs like oregano or thyme or even an un-macerated rosemary sprig??

The meez:

1 large chopped green/red/yellow/orange sweet pepper
1 large chopped yellow onion
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 fat pinch of saffron (think dip, not leaf)
2 medium size bay leaves
1/2 cup Virgin olive oil
1/2 can tomato paste (small can)
1 cup chicken broth
2 1/2 cups Valencia or Arborio or some sort of risotto rice
3 1/2 cups water
1 bottle beer, imported–of course, try Lowenbrau

After the chicken has soaked long enough, take it out and dry it on and off with some paper towels. To your dutch oven that has been gathering momentum for the past 5 minutes over medium high heat, add 1/4c of the oil. Once the oil starts a-shimmerin and a-smellin, place as many chicken parts in there you can without crowding. You are trying to give the chicken some nice brown crust, so as much of it should be in contact with the pan. Brown on the other side and place browned chicken in a dish covered with foil (loosely). Repeat with remaining chicken.

Add the other 1/4c of oil and when ready, add the chopped onion and pepper, reducing the heat to medium now. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, scraping up the browned chicken bits off the pan.

Add the minced garlic and cook for another 4-5 minutes until all these veggies are nice and soft and and quite silky in their extra helping of oil (it’ll come in handy for the rice). Add the oregano, the bay leaves and the saffron and stir some more, until the saffron fragrance tapers (1-2 min). Now add the tomato paste that you mixed with a 1/2 cup of water and cook this SERIOUS sofrito down for a few minutes so as to be more pasty than watery.

Throw in the chicken and it’s juices collected in the plate, making sure to toss all this together to coat the chicken in the sofri. This goes on for another 3-4 minutes. Now, add the 2.5c of rice and toss that with the chicken and sofri for a few minutes. Finally, add the 1 cup of chicken broth and 3.5c of water (ok, 4.5c if you want it sloppy), mix and bring to a boil. Stir, cover and reduce heat to as low as possible on your range. I use a “lumisnake” because my stove’s LOW just can go that low. Now kick back for the next 20-30 minutes and get your beer. I mean, you can go ahead and pound a couple, but save one for the rice!

Your rice is cooked now and there is still some liquid in the pot amongst the rice. This is good, yes. Crack yer beer and pour that bad boy in there and don’t be all slow or careful about it either, it’s not champagne for chrissakes. Look at that sucker foam up! Now cover immediately and turn off the stove. Wait at least 10 minutes before serving. How about a crisp romaine salad with a lime vinaigrette?

1/4 cup The best tasting EVOO you can get your hands on
1-2 tbsp Fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp Fresh minced shallots
1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Salt (to taste)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly with a whisk or a food processor. Taste. It should be somewhat potent in acidity and salt so adjust accordingly. Let sit at least one hour, overnight is even better. Re-Whisk prior to tossing with your salad in a cold bowl. This scales nicely, just keep the ratio of oil to lime juice at about 3:1

This 3 ingredient dish (5 if you count the optional salt and lime) is easy to make and is in the top 4 Cuban food names

Fu #1 = 4 Ripe to nearly Rotten Plátanos

Bring about 3 cups of water to a boil. Peel the plantains by slicing the tip and cutting a bit into the flesh, longways to the other end. Use the heel of your knife to peel. Cut the peeled bananas into 3/4″ rounds and drop in boiling water. The water should just cover. Turn down heat to low and simmer slightly UNcovered for about 15-20 minutes, depending on ripeness.

They should be mushy but still holding their shape (barely). Using a slotted spoon, remove to a fine mesh colander and drain in a bowl, saving the water that drains for thinning the fufú later.

Fu #2 = 8oz. Smoked Bacon

After you start simmering the bananas, stack the bacon and cut in half long ways. Cut across now to make 1″ squares. Don’t try and be Johnny Cuchillo and cut all the strips in one try. Bacon is greasy as a mofo. Wanna see how greasy? Dump it in a frying pan and brown over medium to low heat for 15-20 mintues, turning every few minutes. You don’t want to be smelling anything near to burning bacon. It should smell smoky and bacony.

Remove bacon to a towel lined bowl. Go ahead and burn your tongue and lips eating a few bacon squares, they are irresistible. Cold lager will heal that nicely.

Right on the stovetop, CAREFULLY pour out the rendered bacon fat into a small bowl or ramekin. Leave the bacon bits in the pan as much possible.

Fu #3 = 4 Garlic Cloves

Mince those bad boys up and cook over low – medium low heat, in 3-4 tablespoons of the bacon fat you saved.

Stir every few seconds and smell, wait, smell, now when the smell starts to go less pungent and a bit sweet, add the drained platanos.

If you cook the garlic too much (sour, acrid smell), START OVER. This dish relies heavily on perfectly cooked garlic more than anything else. But, since you are doing this over low heat (right?), you will have plenty of time to judge when the garlic is at it’s peak.

Final Fu = Mashin, Saltin and Juicin

Mash up the plantains with the garlic and bacon fat jazz-o-ma-tazz. Focus on distributing the garlic pieces throughout the platanos. Add the bacon bits and do the same. If the mix is too dry, add some plátano runoff juice. If the mix is too pasty, add some more bacon fat. If your bacon is weak, add a bit of salt, like a 1/2 teaspoon, to draw out the sweetness of the ‘nanas. Fresh squeezed lime juice always brightens the mood too.

Serve with arroz blanco and a beef dish like Palomilla.

What makes this dish distinctive is the combination of the briny olives and the dry sherry as the “deglazer”. My mother hates olive oil but doesn’t seem to mind olives. My fiancee, the inverse. Needless to say, you can’t please everyone. For an interesting contrast and a bit of a sweeter sauce, add some dry seedless raisins with the olives and one chopped carrot with the potatoes. I went savory this evening.

Once I’ve separated my chicken parts, I will salt them and allow them to sit, uncovered in the refrigerator for a bit, perhaps an hour. This will season the chicken and leech out any excess moisture that would interfere with browning. Prep your veggies and get your meez together…

Brown the chicken pieces in two batches if you have a smaller pot (as I do). Once the pot is good and hot, add the olive oil and once the oil is fragrant and all wavy gravy in the pot, add the chicken–skin side down. Pour a glass of your favorite beverage, imbibe and focus on not moving the chicken.

After the skin is golden brown with some spotting (about 6 minutes), turn the pieces over, even scraping a bit so as to not leave behind huge chunks of the skin. Note that small little bits of the skin stuck in the pan are good great though. Transfer the browned chicken off heat and cover with foil loosely. There were will be a quite a bit of fat (from the chicken plus the initial olive oil), 4 tablespoons of which should be left in the pan.

To the fat/oil mix, add the chopped onion and green pepper, reduce the heat to medium and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
if the pan seems dry, add some more of the fat that you didn’t throw away.

You know it’s time to add the sherry when the garlic fragrance peaks. Better earlier than later. Now deglaze–pour the sherry in all at once, scraping any burned bits from the bottom of the pan. Allowing the liquid to reduce a bit (about 2 minutes) add the broth, tomato paste and bay leaf. Add the reserved chicken and and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 30 minutes, open and add the potatoes and olives as well as the carrots and raisins if you like. Bring to a slow simmer and cook with the lid slightly ajar for another 30 minutes, until the taters are tender.

At this point, remove the chicken pieces from the pot while we work on the sauce. Turn up the heat in the pot to medium bringing the liquid to a slight boil and reduce the liquid for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, careful not to let potatoes stick to the bottom. You want this sauce to be thin, but with a bit of body to cling to the rice when served.

While the sauce reduces, remove the skins from the chicken parts and extract the breast meat from its bones. You can also do this for the thigh and leg but I prefer the dark meat on the bone. Once the sauce has reduced in the pot a bit, adjust the seasoning with salt and white pepper.

Return the chicken meat to the pot and stir gently over medium heat so as to get a nice coat of fricasé love all over the chicken. Once the sauce returns to a boil, turn off the heat, cover and allow to sit for a few minutes (or as long as you can bear, it’s better the next day). Immediately before serving, add the squeeze of lime and stir.

Serve over white rice with maduros.