The Habana Cafe Cookbook
"Best Cuban Food"--Beach Life, 1998\ "Best Cuban Food in Tampa Bay Area"--Tampa Bay Magazine, 1999-2003\ "Reading this book is like sitting at the Gonzalez-Hastings kitchen table with a cup of espresso, exchanging favorite Cuban recipes with your best friend."--Pat Baldwin, retired food editor, St. Petersburg Times\ The Habana Cafe's list of "Bests" began in 1997, soon after the Cuban family restaurant opened its doors on Florida's Gulf Coast and served its first steaming platters of homemade...
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The Habana Cafe's list of "Bests" began in 1997, soon after this native Cuban family restaurant opened its doors on Florida's Gulf Coast and served its first steaming platters of delicious homemade food. Culinary wizard and owner Josefa Gonzalez-Hastings now shares the cafe's secrets of Cuban cooking as a celebration of her heritage. Many of the recipes were passed down from her mother and aunts; others are "nuevo Latino cuisine" -- a fusion of traditional Cuban foods with modern dishes. Cuban food and preparation have always been varied, she says, flavored by the ancestry of the island, with contributions from Spanish conquistadors, African slaves, Asian laborers, and Indian natives. Customer favorites are all represented here -- from appetizers and soups, seafood and vegetarian entrees, to classic dishes, desserts, and beverages -- with simple, straightforward directions, colorful photographs, and a glossary that will transform even the beginner cook into a proper cocinero cubano. Gonzalez-Hastings shares family stories and photographs of life in pre-Castro Cuba, recreating the days when Havana was a dining mecca, Ernest Hemingway frequented its restaurants, and the island gave birth to the daiquiri. As Josefa says, two things are always certain at her table -- "food and good times." With The Habana Cafe Cookbook, they will be certain at your table, too. Publishers Weekly Gonzalez-Hastings, chef and owner of the popular Habana Cafe in Gulfport, Fla., aims to blend a guide to Cuban cuisine, her own emigre family lore and today's fusion Nuevo Latino cooking. Alas, her slim volume fails to deliver: Gonzalez-Hastings's personal anecdotes combine nostalgia with anger at Castro without fully evoking the world that was lost, and she presents her recipe instructions in a perfunctory style, with too many fundamentals relegated to a superficial glossary at book's end. Novice cooks will be baffled by the absence of technical explanations, while Latino cooking fans will wonder why Gonzalez-Hastings includes dishes like Salmon on Mini-Bagel Crisps but omits Cuban staples such as annatto oil, calabaza and boniato. And though immigrant cuisines are always transformed on American soil, this chef advocates the use of bottled mojo sauce, Badia spice mix and bouillon cubes without useful comparisons to homemade alternatives. Gonzalez-Hastings is on more sure footing when she ties stories about the restaurant to specific dishes (e.g., the Cuban Sandwich or Moros y Cristianos [black beans and rice]), and there are buried treasures, such as her mother's Ham Croquettes. But when it comes to Nuevo Cubano cuisine, readers would be better off with Joyce La Fray's Cuba Cocina! or Mary Urrutia Randelman's classic Memories of a Cuban Kitchen. Gonzalez-Hastings's illustrated paperback may be welcomed as a souvenir of dining in the cafe, but as a cookbook, her mojo simply lacks mojo. 20 color, 10 b&w photos. (July) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
ForewordxiiiAcknowledgmentsxvIntroduction1About Cuban Cooking7Saladitos AppetizersEndive with Herbed Goat Cheese9Watercress Mini-Sandwiches10Cuban Sandwich10Elena Ruz11Finger Sandwiches12Anchovy and Cheese Mini-Circles12Salmon on Mini-Bagel Crisps12Short-Order Appetizer13Cuban Baguette13Mushrooms al Ajillo13Stuffed Mushrooms14Avocado Appetizer14Scallops Wrapped in Bacon15Frituras de Bacalao (Codfish Fritters)15Ham Croquettes16Bleu Cheese Dip17Yogurt and Cheese Dip17Sopas SoupsFrijoles Negros (Black Bean Soup)18Garbanzo Bean Soup20Split Pea Soup20Navy Bean Soup21Sopa de Cebolla (Onion Soup)21Vichyssoise22Cream of Cheddar Cheese Soup22Cheddar Cheese and Broccoli Soup23Ajiaco (Cuban Vegetable Soup)24Beef Vegetable Soup25Caldo Basico (Beef Consomme)25Rabo Encendido (Oxtail Stew)26Oyster Stew26Shrimp Bisque27Gazpacho28Strawberry Soup28Blueberry Soup28Ensaladas SaladsSpanish Salad29Spanish Salad (Catering)30Caesar Salad30Watercress and Endive Salad30Avocado Salad31Sliced Tomato and Mozzarella Cheese with Fresh Basil31Vinaigrette31Chicken Salad32Platos Principales Main DishesFillet of Fish Breaded in Plantain Chips34Bacalao a la Vizcaina (Codfish)35Filetes de Pargo con Almendras (Red Snapper with Almonds)36Salmon with Mango Salsa36Lobster Thermidor37Shrimp Ajillo38Camarones Enchilados (Shrimp Creole)38Seafood Gumbo39Arroz con Calamares (Rice with Squid)40Picadillo40Ropa Vieja (Old Clothes)41Palomilla Steak42Steak Diane42Higado a la Italiana (Sauteed Liver, Italian Style)43Pot Roast43Boliche (Stuffed Pot Roast)44Boliche a la Naranjada (Pot Roast with Orange Sauce)45Carne con Papa (Beef Stew with Potatoes)46Albondigas (Meatballs)46Veal Stew47Veal Marsala48Ajies Rellenos (Stuffed Peppers)48Lamb Stew49Lamb Chops with Orange Glaze50Roast Duckling a la Naranjada (Roast Duck with Orange Sauce)50Pork Chops51Masitas de Puerco Fritas (Fried Pork Chunks)52Lechon Asado (Roast Pork with Mojo Sauce)52Frijoles Colorados con Puerco (Red Beans with Pork)53Patas de Puerco con Garbanzos (Pig's Feet with Garbanzo Beans)54Arroz con Chorizo (Rice with Chorizo)54Summer Dill Chicken55Chicken with Endive Spears56Arroz con Pollo a la Chorrera (Chicken and Yellow Rice)56Arroz Relleno (Stuffed Rice)58Aunt Alina's Paella58Macarones con Pollo (Macaroni with Chicken)60Vegetales Vegetables & AccompanimentsFried Sweet Plantains62Fufu de Platanos (Mashed Plantains)62Platanos en Tentacion (Baked Sweet Plantains)79Yuca con Mojo (Yuca with Mojo Sauce)79Malanga Puree80Arroz Blanco (White Rice)80Moros y Cristianos (Black Beans and Rice)81Mashed Butternut Squash82Asparagus with White Butter Sauce82Mushrooms with Sour Cream83Hollandaise Sauce83Potatoes au Gratin84Postres DessertsFlan de Leche85Cream Cheese Flan87Ducle Griego (Pound Cake with Walnuts)87Guava Mousse88Rum Mousse88Strawberry Rum Mousse89Chocolate Mousse89Raspberry Mousse90Creme Fraiche with Raspberry Preserves90Strawberry Parfait90Strawberries Romanoff91Vanilla Ice Cream with Very Berry Sauce91Cherries Jubilee92Fruit Salad with Rum Dressing92Fruit au Gratin93Mango Cheesecake93Mango Butter94Peach Melba94Rum Balls94Manzanas Rellenas en Almendras (Stuffed Apples with Almonds)95Natilla (Vanilla Pudding)95Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding)96Bread Pudding96Light Rum Sauce97Bebidas BeveragesThe Home Bar99Cuba Libre (Free Cuba)100El Presidente100Habana Pink Rum Cocktail100Habana Tropical Punch101Blackberry Delight101Mojito101Daiquiri103Pineapple Daiquiri104Banana Daiquiri104Peach Daiquiri104Sangria105Rum Sangria Punch105Malta Shake105Mango Shake106Crema de Vie (Cream of Life)106Cafe con Leche (Coffee with Milk)107Iced Cafe con Leche107Glossary109Index112
\ Publishers WeeklyGonzalez-Hastings, chef and owner of the popular Habana Cafe in Gulfport, Fla., aims to blend a guide to Cuban cuisine, her own emigre family lore and today's fusion Nuevo Latino cooking. Alas, her slim volume fails to deliver: Gonzalez-Hastings's personal anecdotes combine nostalgia with anger at Castro without fully evoking the world that was lost, and she presents her recipe instructions in a perfunctory style, with too many fundamentals relegated to a superficial glossary at book's end. Novice cooks will be baffled by the absence of technical explanations, while Latino cooking fans will wonder why Gonzalez-Hastings includes dishes like Salmon on Mini-Bagel Crisps but omits Cuban staples such as annatto oil, calabaza and boniato. And though immigrant cuisines are always transformed on American soil, this chef advocates the use of bottled mojo sauce, Badia spice mix and bouillon cubes without useful comparisons to homemade alternatives. Gonzalez-Hastings is on more sure footing when she ties stories about the restaurant to specific dishes (e.g., the Cuban Sandwich or Moros y Cristianos [black beans and rice]), and there are buried treasures, such as her mother's Ham Croquettes. But when it comes to Nuevo Cubano cuisine, readers would be better off with Joyce La Fray's Cuba Cocina! or Mary Urrutia Randelman's classic Memories of a Cuban Kitchen. Gonzalez-Hastings's illustrated paperback may be welcomed as a souvenir of dining in the cafe, but as a cookbook, her mojo simply lacks mojo. 20 color, 10 b&w photos. (July) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.\ \
