The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-10-02
Cooking of the Cuban&

The kitchens OF the Cubans are always
either in the courtyard back Of the house
or on The roof. Unlike the Irish. they
never dream Of making the kitchen sit
ting or diniHg-room- And. unlike the
Americans, they do not cook three times
day. Twice a day the Cuban servant
or housewife goes TO her kitchen and does
her cooking; at ten O'Clock the breakfast.
which is served az eleven. and about SIX
O'Clock TO cook the dinner, which is serv-
ed al eight. In the morning at SIX or
seven O'Clock coffee is served. though Cox
this purpose the kitchen is not used. The
coffee is cooked in French cOffee-pot on
the sideboard Of the olniug-room. As for
cofIee. nowhere in the world. Paris and
the German cities included. 90 they make
such excellent coffee rs that made by the
Cuoans. They use the coffee grown on
the island, and oftenumes the housewife
picks the beans from eofee-bed Ia her
courtyard. just as we would pick green
peas in our own gardens. Cuban coffee
is very black and strong but never mud
dy like the Turkish The coffee-bean IS
usually cheap and plentiful. and the Gu
ban cook has learned that to make good
coffee and not brown water he must not
be too sparing OF the raw material He
never allow less than a full tea cup Of
ground coffee TO a pint of water.
At breakfast. at every place. stands 8
bottle OF red Bordeaux or Catalonisn wine
which is drunk freely as water. The food
is usually abundant and noUriShing- At
ter breakfast, and not with Il, coffee Is
served.
At breakfast they have the inevitable
honey. and fruit, and eggs, the last being
cooked in styles about the same as In the
States. In addition. a favorite breakfast
dfch ic fauTarInfu SrPak served
with sliced fried potatoes.
The island has niEety different kinds of
rice. which the natives cook in almost
ninety different ways. In Cuba rice grows
in the water or it grows on dry land :,
some varieties come TO maturity in three
months, others not for four TO six months.
Besides the ordinary ways OF cooking rice
in puddings. curries, and so on. the Gu
bans have d dish of their own. rice cas-
serole. 1t is usually served as an entree.
Its ingredients, sufficient TO fill a mod
erate-sized casserole. are pound OF rice
two pints of weak stock. two slices OF
fat ham. one one teaspoonful Of salt. The
casserole, when ready, is used. of course.
as a border for ragouts and fricassees.
Translated from the Spanish. the Cuban
recipe for this dish is:
After having washed the rice in water
two or three times, drain il well and put
Il in a stew-pan with the stock. ham. and
salt; cover the pan and let the rice grad
ually swell over a slow fire, occasionally
stirring to prevent its sticking. When
1t is quite koft strain il, pick out the
pieces of ham. and. with the back of a
large wooden spoon. mash the rice into
a perfectly smooth paste. Then well
grease a mould and turn it upside down
for a minue or two 10 drain. then put
some rice all around the bottom and sides
Of it. place a piece of soft bread IN the
middle cover il with rice: press II in
equally with the spoon. and let II cool.
Then dip the mould into hot water. turn
the casserole carefully on a dish, marx
where the lid Is TO be formed on the top.
by making an incison with the point OF
a knife about an inch from the edge all
around. and put in a very not oven. Brush
il over with little butter and bake about
half an hour. or rather longer. Then care
fully remove the lid. which Will DE formed
by the incision having been made all
around, remove the bread in small pieces
with the point Of a knife. being careful
not to injure the casserole. Fill the center
with the ragout or fricassee. which should
be made thick; put on the cover, glaze
il, place Ct in the oven to set the glaze.
Serve as hot as pOssible.-American
Kitchen Magazine.