Skip to main content

Cuba!

What's better than pineapple rum mojitos and slow cooked red meat? Not much.

Ropa Vieja is the national dish of Cuba and we had it with friends. I must confess that I cheated and used the crockpot. Don't judge. It was easy and made the house smell delicious. Double win. The dish is the Cuban version of a beef stew with lots of fun things like green olives, capers and peppers. I've already made this dish twice, it's that good. Serve it on buttered noodles, or rice or polenta or some other starch and you're done.

I loosely followed a couple of different recipes this one and this one.

A's Rating: 7
M's Rating: 7
H's Rating: 8

We have made this recipe a total of 4 times. It is that good. And, if you're lazy like me and use the crockpot it's ridiculously easy for a midweek meal.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Micronesia

Micronesia is a federation of small islands that includes Guam, Wake Island, Marshall Island and a few others. There doesn't appear to be a distinctly "Micronesian Cuisine" but there are some notable dishes from the individual islands. I chose Chicken Kelaguen which comes to us from Guam.  The dish is found anywhere you can find Guamanians, they love it and I do too. To be classified as "authentic" one must make the finadene marinade and BBQ the chicken after it has marinated overnight. (Some sources say to use a store bought rotisserie chicken and recommended Costco.--Yeah, I love that chicken too, but last time I checked, there were no Costcos in Micronesia.) Finadene 1 cup soy sauce 1 cup lemon juice 1 bunch of green onions (chopped) 5 hot red peppers (I used dried peppers) Chicken Kelaguen Naan bread (lightly grilled) 1 whole chicken 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 coconut 1 bunch green onions (chopped) 5 hot red peppers (chopped) salt and peppe...

Equatorial Guinea

 (Yeah, I didn't know it was a country either) The dish tonight = chicken with peanut butter sauce and boiled plantains. If you're looking for a non-traditional/non-American carb, grab a plantain. They pack a punch.  They're deceptively starchy and bland. However, if you're hungry and you're in need of carbohydrate replenishment, they're amazing.  They're also pretty good as a side dish to a chicken peanut butter stew. The dish tonight was interesting. The relationship between peanut butter, tomatoes and oregano was incredible. It was a beautiful polygamous marriage that actually worked. Rating: 7 out of 10 [Note to self: Do not overestimate the power of a habeñero. Even though this is the devil pepper the entire thing is warranted in this recipe. Leave some out and you'll regret it.]

Samoa

Samoa is a little island in the Pacific Ocean about 3,200 kilometers north of New Zealand. Lonely Planet calls it the place where "emerald shores meet azure waters." Sounds pretty much like every other island in the Pacific. We chose to make Masi Samoa which are coconut cookies. Please do not confuse these with the Girl Scout "Samoa" cookie. They are not  the same thing. At all.  The best part of this recipe is the way your house smells while the cookies are baking. The 4 year old walked into the kitchen just as the cookies were finishing up in the oven and proclaimed, " Hmmmm ça sent très bon !!" (It smells very good!).  Apparently these cookies come in neatly piled stacks tied with ribbon on the streets of Samoa. Whenever we make our way there I will gladly pick them up and devour them as fast as possible.  They're a cross between a shortbread cookie and a scone. Although delicious as they were, we found that slathering them with nutella ...