2007 Paul Lato "Duende" Pinot Noir2007 Sea Smoke "Gratis" Chardonnay
1 - 40 year old cooking pot!
When I think of all the times I sat there and watched my grandmother then my mother cooking rice in that old aluminum pot. I can't help but think that my career choice should of been in the Culinary field and not the Printing industry. As I have gotten older my love for spending an entire day in my kitchen prepping and cooking a meal for my friends and family brings a form of peace and calm to my soul. Even now as I sit here typing this story emotions flow threw me of the many family parties and functions I attended as a boy. So as I have gotten older my love and desire has grown to wanting to feed my family a big home cooked meal 2 or three times a week. I have talked before on how it is so difficult getting myself to cook Cuban food though. My families recipes taken with them as they have passed away. In the last couple of years my desire has grown though for resurrecting those family recipes. So that I can eventually pass them on to my children.
This 40 year old pot is a start! It was tucked away for the last 8 years in my father's garage. He actually thought that he had given it away to his neighbor after my mother had died 7 years ago. In a conversation one day we were having he mentioned to me that he had put away a bunch of pans and dishes in the garage. My father is getting older and a bit more forgetful so I figured one day I would attempt to search for it. Yesterday! buried in the back of a cabinet in the garage was that old oxidized aluminum pot and it's lid. I spent the majority of the morning trying to clean it and remove the rust. The pan was mainly used to cook rice, but I do recall both my mother and grandmother making some of my families Cuban staple dishes like picadillo and ropa vieja in it as well. For me there was really only one recipe I wanted to use this pan for.
Last month my father and son made a visit to New York to watch a couple of baseball games in the new Yankee stadium. We went out to dinner before there flight to my favorite Cuban restaurant, Cuban Bistro in Alhambra, California. http://www.cubanbistro.com/ After that meal I decided to email the owners of the restaurant and tell them how much I appreciate the many great meals I have had at there restaurant and if it was possible to have them give me there recipe for Rice Morros y Christianos. A good Morros y Christianos dish is what I hold a true Cuban restaurant accountable for its authenticity. When it's made perfect, as it is at Cuban Bistro, I have flashbacks of my grandmother cooking this dish. Cuban Bistro replied to my email with a thank you and the recipe. My first attempt at making the dish using there recipe was not a complete success. The rice came out a bit mushy, but the seasoning was correct. So this was the reason for searching and finding that old pot. To bring back the cooking vessel that my family used and see if the recipe would be better the second time around.
Dinner last night was a complete success!!! I served Pork Tenderloin marinated in Mojo and Cantaloupe with a pistachio crust. My famous Avocado Salad and the now PERFECT! Morros y Christianos Rice. The wines were a complete success as well. Paul Lato's "duende" Pinot Noir paired well with the pork dish. The wine is a bit young but had beautiful cranberry flavors. The Chardonnay "Gratis" from Sea Smoke which is a list members item only was a perfect blend of honeysuckle, oak and butter. A great example of Central coast Chardonnay.
But the real star of the night was that old pot! It worked its magic and brought back a moment in time so cherished from my childhood that I couldn't help myself from swelling up with emotions as I ate the dish.
Keep your families cooking history close to your heart.
They will serve you well in your old age.
Cheers!
This 40 year old pot is a start! It was tucked away for the last 8 years in my father's garage. He actually thought that he had given it away to his neighbor after my mother had died 7 years ago. In a conversation one day we were having he mentioned to me that he had put away a bunch of pans and dishes in the garage. My father is getting older and a bit more forgetful so I figured one day I would attempt to search for it. Yesterday! buried in the back of a cabinet in the garage was that old oxidized aluminum pot and it's lid. I spent the majority of the morning trying to clean it and remove the rust. The pan was mainly used to cook rice, but I do recall both my mother and grandmother making some of my families Cuban staple dishes like picadillo and ropa vieja in it as well. For me there was really only one recipe I wanted to use this pan for.
Last month my father and son made a visit to New York to watch a couple of baseball games in the new Yankee stadium. We went out to dinner before there flight to my favorite Cuban restaurant, Cuban Bistro in Alhambra, California. http://www.cubanbistro.com/ After that meal I decided to email the owners of the restaurant and tell them how much I appreciate the many great meals I have had at there restaurant and if it was possible to have them give me there recipe for Rice Morros y Christianos. A good Morros y Christianos dish is what I hold a true Cuban restaurant accountable for its authenticity. When it's made perfect, as it is at Cuban Bistro, I have flashbacks of my grandmother cooking this dish. Cuban Bistro replied to my email with a thank you and the recipe. My first attempt at making the dish using there recipe was not a complete success. The rice came out a bit mushy, but the seasoning was correct. So this was the reason for searching and finding that old pot. To bring back the cooking vessel that my family used and see if the recipe would be better the second time around.
Dinner last night was a complete success!!! I served Pork Tenderloin marinated in Mojo and Cantaloupe with a pistachio crust. My famous Avocado Salad and the now PERFECT! Morros y Christianos Rice. The wines were a complete success as well. Paul Lato's "duende" Pinot Noir paired well with the pork dish. The wine is a bit young but had beautiful cranberry flavors. The Chardonnay "Gratis" from Sea Smoke which is a list members item only was a perfect blend of honeysuckle, oak and butter. A great example of Central coast Chardonnay.
But the real star of the night was that old pot! It worked its magic and brought back a moment in time so cherished from my childhood that I couldn't help myself from swelling up with emotions as I ate the dish.
Keep your families cooking history close to your heart.
They will serve you well in your old age.
Cheers!
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