Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban

Product Description If you are one of the more that two million people who have visited the web site at iCuban.com: The Internet Cuban, you already know who these Three Guys are. If you are one of the more than six billion people alive today who have not, a little explanation is in order. They are Three Guys From MiamiTM who share a passion for good food, good conversation, and a great party. Are you are new to Cuban cuisine? If so, then you are about to enter an exciting world of flavor. Cuban cooking combines the tastes of Spain with the tropical flavors of the Caribbean. Throw in some New World spices and ingredients and a strong African influence and you have the essence of Cuban cookery. These recipes also reflect ingredients and methods that were refined by Cuban exiles after they came to the United States. Here they found an abundance of foods that were either very scarce or completely unavailable in Castro's Cuba. Fish and seafood are two examples of foods that were only rarely enjoyed in Cuba after 1959. It was also impossible to get real olive oil-an ingredient that gives so many Cuban dishes a distinctive Latin flavor. Exile in the U.S. also exposed Cubans to ingredients they never saw in Havana. Salmon is very popular with Miami Cubans, for example, but unheard of in Cuba. Wherever possible the Three Guys have made these dishes simple to prepare. You don't need to be a professional chef to create any of the recipes in this book. Best of all, you don't need to be Cuban to cook and enjoy them. If a Swedish guy from Minnesota can cook Cuban food (and he does it very well), you can too! They have madge several appearances on the Food Network. Glenn Lindgren first came to Miami in 1984 and fell in love with the city, the people, and the Cuban culture. A freelance writer by profession, Glenn documents the antics of the Three Guys From Miami in books and on the Internet. When not in Miami, Glenn and his wife live in Minnesota with their son and two daughters. Raul Musibay, born in Cayo la Rosa, near Bauta, in the province of Havana, spent one winter in New Jersey but has been a full-time Miami resident ever since. He is the manager of the Red Bird Amoco station there. He and his wife have two married children. Jorge Castillo was born and raised in Cayo la Rosa, Havana. He came to the United States via the Mariel Boatlift in 1980, then left Miami after three months to live in Iowa, where he became a respiratory therapist. Now the regional sales manager for a major medical products company, he makes his home in Miami's West Dade with his wife and two daughters. From Publishers Weekly This cookbook boasts solid renditions of Cuban dishes, but readers will have to suffer through the cheesy repartee among its three authors, who have a Cuban culture Web site, www.iCuban.com. A brief introduction entices with information about Cuban migration to Miami, but margin notes to the recipes tend toward repetitious and obvious exchanges. A recipe for Fried Stuffed Potatoes, for example, begins with Raúl commenting, "This is one Cuban snack that if you haven't tried, you probably don't know what in the heck it is." Still, the food itself is alluring. Avocado and Pineapple Salad is refreshingly unusual, and marinating Cuban-Style Skirt Steak in a mix of onion, herbs and sour orange juice before grilling delivers maximum flavor with minimal work. The authors nicely cover savory snacks like Cornmeal Pancakes, numerous types of empanadas, and Plantain Chips. They also remain true to authentic Cuban cuisine by not skimping on the frying, though fat-phobic Americans will probably avoid the Fried Pork Chunks. Occasionally the recipes slip into a cutesy tone (one for Cuban Bread cheerleads, "it's a little sticky, but you can do it!" then begins a later step with, "When you return from the pool..."). Overall, this effort stands out less because of its appeal than because it has so few competitors. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a di