A taste of old Cuba : more than 150 recipes for delicious, authentic, and traditional dishes highlighted with reflections and reminiscences / María Josefa Lluriá de O'Higgins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Higgins, Maria Josefa Lluria de, 1918-

Contributor:

Laurie Burrows Grad Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Chef Fritz Blank Culinary Archive and Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Culinary Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cooking, Cuban.

Cooking--Cuba.

Cooking.

Cuba.

Genre:

Cookbooks.

Penn Provenance:

Grad, Laurie Burrows (donor)

Blank, Fritz (bookplate) (donor)

Physical Description:

xxiv, 280 pages : illustrations, map, portraits ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : HarperCollins, [1994]

Summary:

Maria Josefa Lluria de O'Higgins grew up in Cuba during the 1920s and 1930s. There she played on the beach at Varadero, plucked tamarinds from the trees in her grandfather's garden, and inhaled the intoxicating aromas that emanated all day long from her family's busy kitchen. In the morning the scent of boiling milk and strong coffee awakened the family; afternoons were perfumed by sauteing sofritos of onion, garlic, bell pepper, and tomatoes, while the evening air carried traces of sour orange juice marinades. Castro's reign ended the idyll, but the memory of that once-serene land remains the home of Maria's heart. A Taste of Old Cuba brings this exuberant world of sunshine and plantains, fishing boats and fruit vendors, and congenial, leisurely meals to the kitchens and imaginations of American cooks.

A Taste of Old Cuba is organized by the classic Cuban courses of a meal--complete with appetizers, rice entrees, eggs, fritters, and beverages as well as soups, salads, vegetables, meats, and desserts--evoking the gracious gentility for which Cuba was renowned. Maria offers her authoritative recipes, passed down from mother to daughter and friend to friend, for such classics as Garlic Soup, Rice with Black Beans, Mashed Plantains, Picadillo, Roast Suckling Pig, and Cuban Bread Pudding. The stories behind her recipes are as interesting as the dishes themselves. They include tales of catching blue crabs with sticks and string for Cornmeal with Crabs, learning to make her great-grandmother Chicha's favorite recipes, eating rolls of plantains and peanuts from paper cones, and nicknaming the three Garcia spinsters "las Boniatillo" after they brought Sweet Potato Dessert to a party.

In addition to remembering her family and its splendid meals, A Taste of Old Cuba celebrates the dishes of the many cultures--including African, Chinese, and Spanish--that influenced the island's food. Pork Chops with Mashed Plantains is a hearty Afro-Cuban dish, Rice with Dried Shrimp owes a debt to the Chinese population, while Codfish in a Special Garlic Sauce is, Maria assures us, "as Basque as jai-alai."

A Taste of Old Cuba brings the tempting, sumptuous splendors of the traditional Cuban table together in more than 150 classic recipes and more than a dozen of the author's evocative photographs.

Contents:

Saladitos (appetizers)

Sopas y guisos (soups, stews, and pottages)

Pescados y mariscos (seafood)

Carne de res (beef)

Peurco (pork)

Pollo y otras aves (chicken and other fowl)

Arroces (rice entrées)

Arroz y frijoles (rice and beans)

Huevos (eggs)

Frituras (fritters)

Vegetales y viandas (vegetables)

Ensaladas (salads)

Postres (desserts)

Salsas (sauces)

Bebidas (beverages).

Notes:

Includes index.

Local Notes:

Blank Collection copy has dust-jacket retained.

Blank Collection copy has bookplate of Chef Fritz Blank.

Presented to the Penn Libraries by Laurie Burrows Grad.

ISBN:

0060169648 :

9780060169640

OCLC:

30072936

Online:

Publisher description

Laurie Burrows Grad Collection Home Page