My grandfather was a carpenter by trade but he dabbled in boat building and making cast nets by hand. He had a workshop my cousins and I played in regularly and he would always take us aside and show us how he smoked meat in a smoker he made, shelled and cleaned blue crabs or grilled hamburgers on top of a 55 gallon drum which he built a fire within. His specialty was the Cuban sandwich which he would make for my my family and everyone that was in a 100′ radius when family was coming to visit. I believe he learned how to make them during his early days in Tampa after he immigrated in which he rolled cigars in Ybor City.

There are many variations of the Cuban sandwich but I think, at the end of the day, it boils down to what you like so long as you maintain the basics of the sandwich itself. The Cuban sandwich is somewhat of a Cuban version of a ham and cheese sandwich but made with Roast Pork (Puerco Asado), Swiss cheese, ham, pickles and mustard. Although not necessary, and if you don’t have any close at hand in a grocery store or specialty bakery, these sandwiches should be made on Cuban bread to be considered authentic. French bread will suffice if Cuban bread isn’t readily available though, but do not use a baguette.

The other thing about these sandwiches is they need to be pressed. Cuban delis usually use something called a plancha which is like a panini press but without the grooves. I find that the Cusinart Griddler with the smooth side griddle plates works extremely well to press and heat a sandwich.

So without further ado, our recipe for Cuban Sandwiches:

Ingredients:

• Panini Press or Cusinart Griddler
• 1 loaf of Cuban Bread or French Bread
• Yellow Mustard
• Butter
• Sliced dill pickles (like Hamburger style or Sandwich Stackers)
• 1 lb. Boiled Ham sliced at your local Deli
• 1 lb. Roast Pork (aka Puerco Asado or Lechon Asado), sliced at your local Deli
• 1/2 lb. Swiss Cheese, sliced

Preparation:

• Turn griddle on to Medium High Heat. If using the Cusinart Griddler, make certain the smooth side presses are installed as opposed to the grooved ones.
• Cut the loaf of bread into roughly 8″ pieces each (should be enough for 4 sandwiches)
• Cut each piece in half and butter the inside of the bottom of each sandwich.
• Build sandwiches with pickles first, then roast pork, then ham, then cheese
• Spread mustard on the inside top of the sandwich half and press together to make the sandwich.
• Lightly spray PAM or other cooking spray on the griddle (both sides). Place the sandwich in the middle and press down the top. Use some elbow grease and press the sandwich down. You want the heat and pressure to melt the cheese and the bread to turn golden - about 2 - 3 minutes.
• When done, remove the sandwich and cut it in half. For a true Cuban flair, cut it diagonally.
• Enjoy with your favorite beer or Cafe con Leche (1/2 strong coffee, 1/2 steamed milk sweetened to your liking)

Enjoy!!

The recipe is one for the grill so roast some veggies and pour yourself a glass of nice, crisp Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. (more…)

Make sure you have wild caught white, pink or brown shrimp on hand. Ask your seafood market for them if you can. The farmed raised tiger prawns in my opinion are tasteless and don’t work well, so avoid them.

As for size of the shrimp, they come in sizes designated by number of them to a pound. Hence, 21/25 means “21 to 25 shrimp to a pound”. So, as you can see U/15 (15 shrimp and Under to a Pound) are much larger than 100/150 sizes. For this recipe, 10/15 or 16/21 sizes are suitable.

This recipe is great for tailgating, small parties at your house, appetizers on a holiday i.e. before Thanksgiving Dinner as my family does or for sitting by the pool on a summer day. Truthfully, you need no reason to eat shrimp like this. With a cold beer, the whole experience is just a beautiful thing.

Enjoy!

(more…)

I’ve always liked the City of New Orleans despite the Vieux Carre smelling like a Port-O-Potty regularly. Where else can you walk on a small street into a dingy, seedy bar reeking of spilled beer, vomit, sweat and cigarette smoke located within a building that was probably around well before Andrew Jackson was President? You then find yourself downing Hurricanes, Hand Grenades and shooters and making nice conversation with people only to wake up the next morning feeling like a Mack truck ran you down, then shifted into reverse only to back up over you.

I wouldn’t be speaking from experience though……

Seriously, culture is what New Orleans has and lots of it. The food is also ridiculously good and good restaurants are a dime a dozen. Whenever I head on business there are a varity of restaurants I hit. Some are old haunts. Some are new to me being introduced by my colleagues who live there. Whatever the case, I dare sa I have never had a bad meal in New Orleans. Most restaurants push the envelope in terms of taste. And of course if you are trying to lose weight…..don’t visit here. Each meal is made with a pound of butter, I swear. But it’s sooooo good.

Seafood is definitely the spotlight but fowl and game are also big contenders. Steaks are found everywhere but in my opinion New Orleans is not about steaks. It’s about Cajun and Creole cooking like Crawfish Etouffe, Shrimp Gumbo, Jambalaya, Seafood Gumbo, Red Beans and Rice and Beignets. I’ve only scratched the surface. There are restaurants that put a spin on classics and sometime even create their own dishes.

If you plan on visiting the “Big Easy” try and stop by one of these restaurants. They will not let you down if you’re out for a great meal.

• G.W. Fins - http://www.gwfins.com/nola/ = Try their Lobster Dumplings as a Starter. They are ridiculously good. The fish dishes are great too.
• The Gumbo Shop - http://www.gumboshop.com/ = Great Cajun and Creole classic dishes for a decent price. Crawfish Etouffe is my personal favorite.
• Mr. B’s - http://www.mrbsbistro.com/index2.php = Hip, contemporary bistro. Great Gumbo Ya Ya and BBQ Shrimp!
• Brennan’s Restaurant - http://www.brennansneworleans.com/ = Very elegant and very old world Southern in it’s service and charm. Renowned for “Breakfast at Brennan’s” which is really brunch. Try a Bloody Mary or Milk Punch before brunch, then settle down for one of many variations of Eggs Benedict followed by either Cherries Jubilee or Bananas Foster. Excellent!
• Antoine’s - http://www.antoines.com/ = Awesome place rich in history and open since the late 1800’s. Come dressed nicely (pants, button up shirt and a coat for men; dress or slacks/blouse for ladies) and not like a tourist to get into some of the better dining halls. Celebrities, Heads of State and even the Pope have dined here! Everything is great here but I particularly like the soft shell crab and Oysters “3 Way” (Rockefeller, Thermidor and A La Foch)

Of course this is just a sampling of restaurants. The list can go on and on!

- Bri

Shrimp are scavengers just like crabs feeding off of just about anything that comes their way. In the wild they eat what they can find and because of this their body chemistry is normal just like nature intended. In a farm, shrimp eggs are thrown into a pond and are allowed to grow under controlled conditions. When a certain size is reached they are transferred to a grow out pond where they put on weight and size. All throughout this time they can be fed a variety of different things depending on the farm itself. Some feed grain, some vegetation. In my travels I’ve seen one Central American farm, which also raised chickens, feed their shrimp by laying chicken wire over the top of the pond, feeding the chickens and allowing them to defecate in the water below. The shrimp ate the feces. Tasty, huh?

Then there is the aspect of disease. In the wild, shrimp have their natural immune systems take care of whatever comes their way in their normal environment. In a controlled atmosphere like a pond, farmers have to maintain strict control over the shrimp’s environment. Crabs can cross levees into the ponds and are known carriers of White Spot and Tau Virus which can kill off the entire shrimp stock in a pond within days. Harmless to humans these diseases are financially catastrophic for farmers so they must be dealt with. Thus, they flood the ponds with antibiotics to prevent disease from braking out. At last check, the FDA has not ruled whether or not these antibiotics ingested by farm raised shrimp are hazardous to humans. Europe and Canada maintain strict inspections on farm raised shrimp with limits on how much antibiotic is found within the shrimp meat. The U.S. maintains no such inspection.

Then there is the environment to consider. Farmers will tell you that farming is the best way to maintain supplies for shrimp for the demand seen worldwide. While this is true to some extent what farmers will not tell you is that in some instances mangroves, wetlands and other environments are completely destroyed to make room for huge shrimp farms which take up countless acres to dig the many ponds needed to grow them. The runoff water from the ponds after shrimp are grown and harvested can also be detrimental as it’s usually full of antibiotics, decayed feed and chemicals and salts that maintain proper water and pH levels.

Trawling for shrimp can devastate the seabed as shrimp nets catch any and everything that cross their path. If you’ve ever seen seagulls flying behind a shrimp boat it’s because they are shoveling over the side by-catch. By-catch is basically anything that isn’t a shrimp. hey can also catch sea turtles which are endangered. But their are protective measures in place to help reduce the by-catch amount and eliminate the catch of sea turtles. And National Marine Fisheries - a U.S. government department that monitors commercial fishing - steadfastly works on preserving the species so that it will not over fished.

All in all, I suggest when you got to the store the next time, look for Blue Tiger Shrimp (or Prawns) frozen in bags. Then also ask if they have wild shrimp from the U.S. Buy a small batch of both, take them home and boil them. Then have a small taste test with your family. I think you will find that the farm raised shrimp are generally tasteless where as the wild shrimp tastes, well, like shrimp.

During my time away my company was acquired, I’ve been traveling on business a lot, my wife and I moved into a new home and the biggest news, my wife and I became parents to a loving little boy. So as you can imagine cooking has not been the forefront of my mind. But now that traveling has slowed down and my wife and I are starting to get sleep at night again, I plan on posting blogs and recipes regularly.

Thanks for the patience with me!

- Bri

As some of you know, my day job consists of selling commercial marine insurance to owners of shrimp boats in Florida and the rest of the states surrounding the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic Ocean. I’ve witnessed first hand what these imports are doing to them, their families and their livelihoods.

For a number of years now, eager and greedy seafood distributors have realized that they can easily import farm raised Blue Tiger Shrimp from countries like Vietnam, Ecuador, Thailand and India for literally a few cents on the dollar and resell them back to their normal customers (i.e, grocery stores, white linen restaurants, family restaurants) for generally the same price they have been charging had they bought the shrimp locally from fishermen. The only difference is the profit margin has substantially increased for the distributors while the price remains the same for consumers like you and me. Local shrimp prices from distributors to a commercial shrimp boat operator used to be around $1.20 - $2.70 per pound depending if the shrimp still had their heads on and what size they were. Imported shrimp can be bought for far lower usually around $0.40 - $1.20 per pound. Obviously, with the greater profit margin distributors are turning their commercial shrimper suppliers away for foreign farm raised alternatives.

Fuel is another major concern as is for the rest of the nation right now. There was a time when diesel fuel ran at about $0.70 - $1.35 gallon for shrimp boat operators. That’s changed to around $2.80 - $3.20 gallon. Now some people would say, “So, that’s what gas is costing me to run my car!” Maybe so, but a car doesn’t take 10,000 - 25,000 gallons to fill up. According to one of my clients and to make matters worse, it’s costing the average shrimper 2 - 3 gallons of fuel to catch and process 1 lb. of shrimp.

Quickly one realizes that our American shrimpers aren’t making ends meet. Paying roughly $3.00/gallon for fuel and collecting only $0.70/lb of shrimp plus having to pay your crew, captain and other expenses like insurance usually leaves a loss for each trip. Boatowners have gotten to the point where tieing the boat up is better than operating it and losing money.

A few years ago a lot of the fishermen banded together to fight the cheap importation of farm raised shrimp saying it was flooding the market with a cheaply produced foreign made product and ultimately costing Americans their jobs. But what resulted was only a temporary duty levied by the U.S. Government on farmed shrimp producing countries. These countries only increased their price slightly or just moved the farms to other countries that did not have the levy imposed. Ultimately, the levy was repealed in 2007 after continuous fighting by American seafood distributors.

Needless to say the fight continues.

Although I could go on and on about this subject, my goal here was not to dissect the problem and get on my soapbox about a solution. The problem is way more complicated than what I have outlined here but you have a general idea what is going on with our shrimpers. The bottom line is make certain you know what you’re buying at stores and, if possible, ask for Wild Florida Shrimp. You’ll be thankful from a taste standpoint and help the local economy in the process.

Speaking of taste tomorrow I’ll discuss the difference in flavor between a wild Florida shrimp and a farm raised Blue Tiger. I’ll also explain the differences in the 3 main species of shrimp found around Florida and the Gulf and where you can buy them. Ultimately, we’ll get into some of my favorite shrimp recipes such as BBQ shrimp, Fried Coconut Shrimp and Orange Glazed Shrimp just to name a few.

This dish should be cooked in a dutch oven or saucepan. I use a 5.5 qt. Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven as the enamel coated cast iron gives the best in overall even heating and searing for the pork chops. This dutch oven is one of the most used tools in my kitchen and helps leave the pork fork tender when done!

Ingredients:

• 4 bone-in pork chops or pork steaks, thawed (if frozen)
• 2 - 3 Tblsp Olive Oil
• 3 Tblsp Mustard Seed, ground
• 3 Tblsp minced Garlic (about 4 - 5 cloves but add more if you like!)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 (28 oz.) can of Diced Tomatoes or 5 - 6 tomatoes, diced
• 1 Tblsp chile powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 1/2 cup water
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Rinse pork under cold water and pat dry.
2. Take 2 Tblsp of the mustard seed and 2 Tblsp of the garlic and coat both sides of the pork steaks. Season with Salt and Pepper.
3. Heat the dutch oven on medium high heat and pour the olive oil in. It should be enough to even coat the bottom of the dutch oven.
4. Place and arrange pork in the pan. If the Pork Chops or Steaks are too big, you may have to work in batches of 2.
5. Sautee pork for 2 - 3 minutes and flip them over. Sautee another 2 minutes.
6. Remove pork to a platter. Add onions, remaining 1 Tblsp of garlic and green pepper to the pan and sautee while stirring frequently for 5 - 10 minutes or until onions are translucent. This should help get the browned pork off the bottom of the pan (or fond as the French call it).
7. Add tomatoes and water then stir to combine.
8. Bring back to a boil and add the remaining 1 Tblsp. of mustard seed, chile powder, cumin, oregano and thyme. Stir to combine.
9. Reduce heat to medium low and re-add the pork back into the pan arranging evenly to cover with the sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
10. Check pork to see if it’s tender by placing a fork into a steak. It should almost go through like butter with slight resistance. If necessary simmer another 10 minutes.
11. Once done, kill the heat and move the dutch oven off the burner.
12. To serve: place a steak on one side of the plate opposite some hot white or yellow rice. Ladle the sauce over the steak and rice. Serve with fried sweet plantains and sliced avocado and tomato on the side. Makes 4 servings.

Now that the site seems to be set, I plan on discussing a new recipe later this week I picked up while on a business trip to Ft. Lauderdale a few weeks back. While visiting one of my clients (who also happens to be a close friend), he and his wife asked me to stay for dinner. They had their nanny there who is from El Salvador and helps out with the children while they both work and keep their respective businesses going. She prepared an amazing pork steak quickly sauteed then braised in a spiced tomato reduction sauce (Puerco Enchilao). It was absolutely mouth-watering and because of that I had to go ask how she made it (of course). In her broken English and my very rusty Spanish, I was able to get the recipe.

When I got back home I tried it out on my wife who thought it was quite tasty and especially went well with fresh sliced avocado and tomato as well as fried sweet plantains (Plantano Maduro). Although this is more of a Latin style dish, it’s common to see dishes like this in Florida. Simple yet robust with flavor.

Look for the recipe around this Friday!

Cheers,

Brian

Turns out I won’t be using my friends company here in Orlando. I know it’s nothing personal as this is just a small time blog and he’s got bigger fish to fry. So I had to search for a new designer and found Unique Blog Designs. I chose them as their site looks very creative, efficient and organized. It seems like they know what they are doing and all I see online is rave reviews about how wonderful it is to work with them. So far so good as I just gave them the order to start the project literally this weekend.

The redesign should take no more than 2 - 3 weeks depending on revisions and such. Plus, there is a certain amount of learning on my part to implement Ad-Sense and referral links in useful areas as, when it comes to code, I’m a true knucklehead. When the site is redesigned I’m hoping to have a new logo, a little better use of graphics to make the site more aesthetically pleasing and a new area where guests can upload their own recipes for others to try on their own and comment on. It should be great when it’s done.

Until then; eat, drink and be happy!

Brian