Old Havana Cookbook: Cuban Recipes in Spanish and English (Bilingual Cookbooks) (Hardcover)

by Rafael Marcos (Editor, Translator), Rosemary Fox (Illustrator), Hippocrene Books (Corporate Author) "This tasty soup was usually served at late suppers in olden times..." (more)
Key Phrases: Platos Adicionales, Side Dishes, Avocado Sauce

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A useful and very useable collection." -- British Bulletin of Latin America, April 2001.

Product Description
Havana is one of the oldest and most picturesque cities of the western hemisphere. It was a popular winter destination for North American tourists in the 1950s, and this cookbook recaptures the spirit of Old Havana-- Habana la vieja-- and its celebrated culinary traditions. Cuban cuisine, though derived from its mother country, Spain, has been modified and refined by locally available foods like pork, rice, corn, beans and sugar, and the requirements of a tropical climate. Fine Gulf Stream fish, crabs and lobsters, and an almost infinite variety of vegetables and luscious tropical fruits also have their places on the traditional Cuban table. This cookbook includes over 50 recipes, each in Spanish with side-by-side English translation-- all of them classic Cuban fare and old Havana specialties adapted for the North American kitchen. Among the recipes included are: Ajiaco (famous Cuban Stew), Boiled Pargo with Avocado Sauce, Lobster Havanaise, Tamal en Cazuela (Soft Tamal), Quimbombo (okra), Picadillo, Roast Suckling Pig, and Boniatillo (Sweet Potato Dulce), along with a whole chapter on famous Cuban cocktails and beverages.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 123 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books; illustrated edition edition (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781807670
• ISBN-13: 978-0781807678
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #470,177 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buena Comida!, February 16, 2009

By	Slammajamma (Florida) - See all my reviews

I got this book for my wife for Christmas. It's great, and has Spanish on one page and English on the opposite, so you can learn some words and phrases if you feel so inclined. There is a wide variety of recipes, and they're great. My wife loves to cook, and this has become one of her favorite cookbooks.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Havana cookbook, June 19, 2008

By	Cathy Garcia "Cathy G" (Clewiston, Fl.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased this book because my family is from Havana, Cuba, and I felt I could get some good authentic recipes. I was very dissapointed. My grandmother who has shown me how to cook cuban food was even surprised at some of the ingredients in the recipes. The recipes are from foods we eat but the ingredients were way off. Sorry just my opinion

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lacking, December 15, 2004

By	Nigel - See all my reviews

This was an interesting, early attempt at compiling a cookbook of Cuban recipes. Having the book in two languages may help your local library, but most chefs speak one language or the other -- the result is a lot of wasted space. The simple graphics and lack of photos are uninspiring and there is nothing here that will entice or motivate you. A better choice for contemporary Cuban cuisine: Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban <ASIN: 158685433X>.