We here at Forty20Four have a thanksgiving tradition.
It’s a bit odd, but really, does anyone want to eat the same Thanksgiving food year after year? Not us. We’ve had all kinds of weird stuff for T dinner.
This year, we’ve tentatively decided to go to Cuba for Thanksgiving…gastronomically of course. If only we could actually go there; that whole embargo thing keeps getting in the way.
We like Cuban food, and love Cuban music and Rum so the first few ideas for Cuban food came quickly. Currently we’re thinking:
Turkey with Mojo Sauce
Mojitos (which were Hemingway’s favorite drink, not daiquiris)
Plantains (of some kind—maybe like these from three guys from Miami?)
That’s all we have right now. Just in the planning stages. What we’re asking, dear readers is any good Cuban recipes that might work for us in a loosely Thanksgiving type of way.
Vegetable dishes?
Starches?
Deserts?
Bread of some kind?
And although we have some good ideas for music—(Benny More, Cachao, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Buena Vista Social Club) we always need good suggestions.
What’s your favorite Cuban recipe/drink/music?
To answer the question you’re all asking? Yes, we will be watching Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
and not I Am Cuba
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7 comments:
mmm... mojito.... love it!!!
What a cool idea! Perhaps black beans? Tostones (fried green plantains) or maduros (ripened fried plantains)? Ropa vieja? I would also do rice and beans together. Regardless of whether it is English, French or Spanish speaking Caribbean, us Caribbean folks like our rice and beans (on my island we say rice and peas). Try red beans (habichuelas aka kidney beans).
This would be cool, but my very traditional New England husband wants his turkey. :)
First time commenting on your blog!
I am not Cuban but I am from Miami so I can tell you that basically everything that Terri mentioned would be great. I would add yuca (It's a root) with mojo and try to find croquetas as an appetizer. Also, flan or tres leches would be delicious for dessert!
I currently live in Houston but I will be spending Thanksgiving in Miami but enjoying a Colombian meal!
You've gotta have tres leches cake! You've got to!! :)
What cool idea! I'm LOOOOOVE me some traditional Thanksgiving food, but I'd love to do this for Christmas or Easter (when we inevitably end up with almost the same dinner as Thanksgiving anyway...)
@ Terri: Thanks for all the ideas. We're going to have to look them up and test them out. We always have Turkey, we just cook it in a different way each night.
@ Catalina: Thanks for posting. Yucca would be a great starch for dinner. I had a lot of Yucca growing up, so I know it well.
@ Serena: Tres Leche it is. Do you have a favorite recipe?
@ MayLove: I bet changing it up would be fun for Easter or Christmas. We never have the same thing on Christmas, so it'a always different.
How about flan de coco (pretty easy to make dessert), chicharones (apetizer), necessary frijoles negros (black beans), platanos maduros (fried plantains), tostones (as you mentioned already), congri (rice thing) or white white rice, and the all to necessary cuban bread with butter. Don't know where you are located and if you can get cuban bread at your grocery store or bakeries like we can down here. Remember to have some cuban coffee to make cortaditos after that meal--you'll need it.
I know it's turkey day, but in Cubalandia any celebration includes a big Pig made outside in a "Caja China". Google at your own risk =).
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