Havana Road Cuban Cafe

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Viva La Libertad~~ Libertad a song written by Willy Chrino, a song artist that writes about the meaning of freedom for ALL countries in the world.The sway of the music, the strength of the lyrics, the passion in his voice, and the loneliness that I feel for those who are not free.

HAVANA ROAD SALUTES ALL WOMEN ON THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY! In today’s world where women have made their mark of courage, as humanitarians, political leaders, and entrepreneurs just to name a few diverse areas...

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Potatoes from the Past- A recipe using Idaho Potatoes

Comments (0) | Saturday, January 21, 2012

Nothing says comfort food like soup and potatoes. This recipe was inspired by an old hand written recipe that I found in my mothers' recipe box.

My great grandmother would make this soup on her farm in Cuba ( 1930s) to feed 15-20 family members that lived and worked on her farm. Reading her recipe created an image in my mind of different times, family around a big wooden table, laughter, and the wonderful smells of a Cuban kitchen.

She used roasted red peppers instead of sun-dried tomatoes~ the rest of the recipe I kept intact. I know she used fresh potatoes and fresh coconut milk from coconuts right off the palm trees and instead of a food processor, a huge mortar and pestle!

From my Cuban family to your kitchen~ Buen Provecho! Chef Marta

Potato and Sun-Dried Tomato Bisque

Serves 4

Ingredients

5 peeled and diced medium Russett Idaho Potatoes- boiled until fork tender ( 8-10 minutes )

1 13.5 ounce can of Coconut Milk- Goya

3 1/2 cups Chicken Broth includes the 1 cup you will need to puree the sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 cup of Sun-Dried Tomato Puree ( 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes and 1 cup chicken broth-pureed in food processor)

1/2 cup Extra virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup minced white onions

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoon grated fresh Parmesan Cheese

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup Brandy

4 tablespoons crispy bacon for garnish

Chopped chives for garnish

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and saute the onions until lightly caramelized. Add the minced garlic, salt and pepper and saute for another 2 minutes. Turn off burner and set aside.

In a food processor, add the cooked diced potatoes with the chicken broth and process until silky smooth- light creamy consistency. Turn the burner back on to medium heat. Add the brandy, coconut milk, 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth, butter, potato mixture, sun-dried tomato puree and Parmesan cheese. Cook for 10- 12 minutes stirring at all times. Garnish with crispy bacon and minced chives. Serve immediately! Delicioso

This post was a sponsored post by the Idaho® Potato Commission. Havana Road was paid for creating a recipe and writing a post

Do you know what Crema de Vie is?

Comments (0) | Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Crema de Vie, a delicious Cuban style Eggnog that packs quite a kick! Our family recipe includes, Brandy, Rum, Cointreau-quite a kick! What is your special eggnog recipe? Chef Marta

One Year Anniversary!

Comments (0) | Saturday, October 1, 2011

It is now exactly 9 hours after our first anniversary. Our restaurant Havana Road Cuban Café opened September 30^th 2011.

To be an entrepreneur you have to have passion, drive and an I can do attitude when things don’t always go your way. I cannot explain to you what it feels like to open a restaurant. The dreams, the butterflies in your stomach, the long hours and the great many new friends that you make!

I want to thank all my diners, my guests for making this dream possible for me. To my staff who give me 100 % when they are there-both front of the house and back of the house, to my Mother who shares the oldest recipes with me and makes sure that your lunch or dinner is perfect, to my daughter Ines, for her desserts, to my sister Maria for helping me out when I needed her. Finally to Alan, Laura, and Michael, who are there every day working towards success.

Havana Road is part of all of us who work there. To my diners, it is my home that I open to you to share a meal with your friends. Thank you for supporting me, for helping our restaurant grow, for helping us stay. I love each and every one of you!

Cuban hugs always,

Chef Marta

Making Splashes in the Pond

Comments (0) | Friday, June 10, 2011

I wonder how many of us used Google yesterday. That odd-looking logo is in homage to the Great Les Paul, on his Birthday. Les devoted a lifetime to the design and perfection of the guitar and its music. I guess in one way or another we all end up devoting our lives to something; a book, our children, the other dent on the pillow, our garden, golf (!) I think that it is vital that we all have something that provides sustanence, the fuel that we need to move ahead. I find this at Havana Road in odd little things. I happen to delight in watering the plants (my Mother called it 'water playing' when I was a kid) I love to prepare for Happy Hour, even when I slice my index finger instead of the limes. I delight in talking to Diners who have enjoyed our food.
There is something special about the twelve individuals who make a living by working together at Havana Road. To see where they are going, where they put their money, is sometimes as if I were there too. Ashley spends time in the Appalachian wilderness. Kate and Danni study dance. Ray, who truly has a talent for food, spends his off time in the Marine Reserves. All of the Havana Road Human Resource lives lives of willful expression. They all move forward, sometimes, it seems, not sure where the next rock is out in the pond, as they jump of the one that they are on. I wait for the splash.

Recipe of the Day

Comments (0) | Wednesday, June 1, 2011

So I was looking through an old hand written recipe note book that my Mom gave me, looking for a quick and simple recipe to post with our lunch specials. As I am thumbing through this notebook full of history, memories and great recipes, I found a letter that my Grandmom Ines Maria had written to me back in 1974, the year that my Dad suffered a tragic death.

This letter must have been in response to a letter, or communication of some sort from me letting her know how devastated and lost I felt without Daddy. The essence, the message in her letter was this: "You can live life two ways, in a roller coaster, and experience happiness, anxiety, sadness, anticipation and be thrilled by it all at the same time, or you can choose to live your life on a merry go- round--steady as she goes. No surprises, no thrills, every move planned. I think you are a roller coaster girl, and I know that your father was too. Get back on your roller coaster, I love you, Tati".

Tucked inside this letter was her avocado salad recipe that she made for Daddy all the time. Quick, simple and good. It is an honor to share it with you!

Serves 4

4 Hass Avocados, seeded, cored and diced ( reserve the shell)

1 cup of diced mango -Trader Joe's has great deals on this

1/2 cup finely diced red onions

1/2 cup rosted red peppers

2 cups of diced Roasted Chicken --I get it roasted at the market.

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp sour cream

1 tsp ground brown mustard

1 tsp lime juice

Salt and fresh Black Pepper to taste

Mint for garnish

Place 1 shell of avocado on a plate. Mix all ingredients and spoon into avocado shells and garnish with mint. A delicious simple recipe that can make a light supper or a delightful lunch! Buen Provecho!Chef Marta

Bus load of Children at Havana Road

Comments (0) | Thursday, May 26, 2011

It is a quiet day on the Havana Road. We have a few friends in for lunch, and we're expecting a birthday party group soon, so while people are scurrying around behind me, in that way that restaurant people do, I thought that I'd conjure up a relevant thought or two. Marta is busy making her famous Brandy/Rum sauce reduction that tops off some of our desserts. Speaking of desserts, Ines will be adding some of her hand made ice creams to our menu. They will be a refreshing compliment to any dessert, or as a dessert itself! We can't wait!!

The day started early with a trip to the warehouse and the Fruit Guy. He's funny and has really nice fresh, all-natural products, but he has a way of leering at Marta that I find uncomplimentary; you know how some guys seem to be able to look down a turtle-neck sweater? Well, he's like that, so I go alone. I know how much Marta likes to pick out produce, and now, when things are not screaming at the speed of light, it would be possible, but to paraphrase the great Clint Westwood, 'A girl's gotta know her limitations...'

On that happy note, we are looking forward to a bus-load of young people from The Park School any minute. The success of the previous Park School diners has inspired others to try our menu. Marta comes out and speaks to them in Spanish and in English, shares her memories of Cuba,and speaks to them about the importance of freedom. A spendid luncheon experience is to be had by all. I remember similar experiences 45 years ago when I was their age, and the effect that horizon-expanding experiences meant, and to my fortune, I still, because of those early moments, seek them out. I am sure that we are planting good seeds with these young people.

We took a very interesting meeting with our associate Samad yesterday. We drove over to Mercy High School and met with Sisters Mary Anne and Tess. They are working on a program to enhance the Latina peresence at Mercy, and have sought our help. Marta will be leading the girls to form a Latino Chamber of Commerce to include all the Latin American countries that are represented by different students attending Mercy High School. Marta hopes that this program will expand into a global Chamber of Commerce at the school. Marta and I felt their sincerity, and look at this as a huge opportunity for the company as a whole, as well as for the community.

The bus is here. I gotta go. A couple of dates to remember, first:

June 5, The Marta is on WJZ Morning Show at 7:30 until 8:00.

June 12, The Marta in on WBAL at 7:40 for a Cuban Breakfast, and at 9:40 with Great Cuban Barbeque Recipes.

June 19 Father's Day Brunch. Here. It's gonna be great. Make your reservations early early early. I won't be here. I mean, if I were entitled to any day off, it should be Father's Day, right?

Summer Dishes

Comments (0) | Wednesday, May 25, 2011

So Michael (the Partner) and Judith (his Bride-they are to wed 17 September-Remember where you heard it first) reported yesterday that they fresh-caught crabs on the Choptank (the River) on Sunday. They also reported that they (the Crabs) still had the taste of the mud, where all good crabs go to spend the winter. This is a natural happening, and soon passes, after a few more weeks of sideways walking around on the bottom of the River, eating whatever they can fit into their mouths. (Well, you would be hungry too, it you hadn't eaten since Halloween.)

With this invaluable piece of show-and-tell, our great Cuban crab dishes will wait for early June. We refuse to buy 'imported' (read out of state) crabs; Cuban crab dishes are designed so that the preparations, for coastal folk, begin before the crabs are selected, to insure the very freshest. Stay tuned for Cuban Crab Cakes, Stuffed Portobellos with Crab, and Croquetas con Cangrejo.

There is a lot, speaking of food, construction going on around here. We are devining our New Summer Menu, which of course we test out first on you, our friends and fellow diners.

I am sure that you remember our last week specials, such as our Jose Marti stuffed plantain with our picadillo filling, fairly bursting out of the plantain. It looked like a Gaugan painting, with the warm colors, the lushness, not to ignore the onion rice; have you ever tasted anything so fresh, so simple? "Good recipes are the simple ones," So says Marta's mother, Martha. (La Reina), who has been confined to her home recently. We are all looking forward to her full recovery and return to our kitchen. I'll be sure to keep you informed.

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