If it Tastes Good, it?s Good for YouBy Jose A. NocheaApril 25, 2012 Contrary to the famous quote about food that ?if it tastes good, it?s probably bad for you,? I have a totally different philosophy about that since eating, like other pleasures in life has to be enjoyed to its maximum degree in order to live and enjoy life itself to its fullest, as long as one understands our individual limitations and is done with moderation. The fact that you can sit and eat a juicy and thick steak or a greasy griddle cooked patty melt burger because you are a beef eater like I am, is psychologically and physically positive to your...
Miami Culture Cafe
A celebration of our Miami food culture and unconventional lifestyle.
Latest Food Blogs from Miami Culture Cafe
Deviled Ox Tail By Jose A. Nochea For some, the idea of eating...
Deviled Ox TailBy Jose A. Nochea For some, the idea of eating the tail of an ox may not sound very appetizing. But even though this plate which is believed to have originated in Spain was considered cheap food at the turn of the 20th century, has evolved to become a delicacy on the tables of the world today. In Spain and other rich beef eating regions like Argentina, it is more common to find and buy the tail of an actual ox to make this...
Nochea?s Pork Shoulder Casserole By Jose A. Nochea Baking a...
Nochea?s Pork Shoulder CasseroleBy Jose A. Nochea Baking a pork shoulder is usually the way in which people cook this Cuban delicacy most of the time due to comfort, and there is nothing wrong with that. But the taste that it acquires when you cook it in a thick steel pot on the stove is unique and delicious to say the least. If the pot is old and stained from years of cooking, it even tastes better as it is said to be cured.?Paleta de...
Rice with Vienna sausage By Jose A. Nochea Like most rice...
Rice with Vienna sausageBy Jose A. Nochea Like most rice dishes, this one is a quick fix for a day when you do not have time to get too fancy in the kitchen. Sausages that come in a can which are full of flavor especially once you sauté them in Spanish sofrito. Believe it or not, here in Miami rice with Vienna sausages known as ?Arroz con Salchichas? has become a favorite after the Cuban grandmothers cooked them during the 1960s and 70s...
Polenta with Pork By Jose A. Nochea During the last few years...
Polenta with PorkBy Jose A. Nochea During the last few years of the inspirational effort and talent in the kitchen as her manifestation of love for our family, my grandmother Tata would cook this Cuban favorite for me upon my request on most Saturdays when I was at home. In Cuba during the 1940s and 50s, my mother would enjoy polenta known to Cubans as ?harina? every day of the week as she tells me that most households would serve it for...
Paella Style Chicken Valencia By Jose A. Nochea As far back as...
Paella Style Chicken ValenciaBy Jose A. Nochea As far back as I can remember, my grandmother Tata always called short grain or what is also known here as pearl rice, Valencia rice. From what I have heard is that there are many regions in Spain where this variation of rice comes from. But the one from the region of Valencia is most popular among the Cubans here in Miami. And even when the name of this recipe indicates that this would be a...
The Perfect Hamburger By Jose A. Nochea Like anything else in...
The Perfect HamburgerBy Jose A. Nochea Like anything else in the food word, when words like ?favorite,? ?Perfect,? or ?Best? are used to describe any dish or recipe, it is more of a matter of your own taste than anything else since you, and only you can be the best and only judge to how you want it cooked to obtain full enjoyment and satisfaction. Not only the ingredients used, but things like how the food may come packaged to the form of...
Spanish Style Chick Pea Soup By Jose A. Nochea One of the...
Spanish Style Chick Pea SoupBy Jose A. NocheaOne of the richest dishes in the bean category due to the variety of its ingredients, the Spanish chick pea soup would make the perfect rival for the famous Galician Bean Soup known in Spanish as ?Caldo Gallego?. I also remember that in many occasions when I have served this family favorite in my household, more than one person has spontaneously said that famous phrase ?This soup will wake up even...
Shrimp Creole El Ancon By Jose A. Nochea I remember catching...
Shrimp Creole El AnconBy Jose A. Nochea I remember catching the wooden transport boat with my parents from the port of Casilda to be able to reach El Ancon beach located on the Southern coast of Cuba, in the province of Las Villas. On one of those crossings, a lady was frying minutas, which are breaded butterfly cut snapper filets with the tail left on them. The few times that I went to what I knew as ?La Playa del Ancon? it left very...
Spanish Style Chick Pea Casserole By Jose A. Nochea It has...
Spanish Style Chick Pea CasseroleBy Jose A. Nochea It has been said after several studies that the properties contained in chick peas known in Spanish as garbanzos, are very nutritionally beneficial to those of us who enjoy eating them in any form of preparation. Another excuse to eat them is that distinct rich taste that chick peas have apart from all other beans or peas. In this recipe, chick peas are seasoned with Spanish spices and...
Christy?s French Onion Meatloaf ?Salpicon? By Jose A....
Christy?s French Onion Meatloaf ?Salpicon?By Jose A. Nochea When ever there is a special occasion at home that requires my cooking of some special dish, and specially one in which my oldest daughter Christina is involved, my French onion meatloaf will always be the choice.I remember when my grandmother Tata made this dish and called it ?salpicon? or ?pulpeta?. But in her recipe which was the base for my own variation of this popular dish, she...
