Havana Feast

A few weeks ago, I wanted to cook a special meal for a special occasion.  For some odd reason, I decided I wanted to make Cuban food.  I had been searching for days on Food Gawker, and even though I found 100 recipes I wanted to try, what ultimately happened, was that it gave me ideas for my own recipes.  And it just kinda of worked out that all the foods centered around a Latin theme.  As I picked up some of the staple ingredients at various grocery stores, it took me back to a time in my life where I lived within walking distance of a fantastic Latin-American restaurant.

I vividly remember the first time I ever went to Cafe Citron.  I was living in Baltimore for the summer with one of my best friends, and we went to DC one night to pick up a chair or drop off a chair from someone (okay these details are fuzzy, but I swear I remember everything else). Well, my brother had been living there for a few years and he wanted to meet up with us for dinner.  So a group of us went to Cafe Citron in Dupont Circle.  I remember I was wearing a children's XL bright orange Syracuse t-shirt and jeans (which is strange, because I never wear t-shirts like that in public, unless I'm coming back from the gym and have to take care of an errand).  The restaurant decor is outrageous and fun and bright, with yellow walls and a two girls covered in glitter and feather headpieces dancing on the bar, and loud Latin music that makes you want to get up and sway your hips.  They have the best and strongest mojitos in the world.  I promise you will never find a better mojito anywhere.  Seriously.  They're amazing.  They also have delicious food that is reasonably priced.  Years later, when I moved to DC, I would take anyone who came to visit me there for dinner and drinks.  And after my evening GRE classes, me and one of my classmates would find ourselves sitting at one of the high, round bar tables sharing a pitcher of mojitos, and slowly erasing everything we just re-learned about seventh grade algebra.

So let's get back to the feast I cooked and how ridiculously good it was...  I made spicy jumbo shrimp using olive oil, crushed garlic (yes, I actually used my new garlic press), and cayenne pepper in a ziplock baggie.  I kind of guessed with the cayenne pepper, and maybe went a little overboard.  The shrimp was freakin' spicy!!  We enjoyed it anyway, but maybe next time I won't put as much in.  I wish I could give exact measurements, but the truth is, I have no idea.  See, my mom sent me a jar of cayenne pepper in the mail, but somehow the glass broke in transit.  Needless to say, my new, white gym socks, which were also in the package, were a lost cause.  But I managed to salvage most of the pepper and just kept it in a plastic baggie.  So I wasn't even shaking it out of a jar, rather, I was actually taking spoonfuls and throwing it into the bag until everything looked kind of red.  I popped the shrimp in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, flipping them over a few times.  I'm paranoid about cooking things thoroughly, so I may have left the shrimp in longer than needed.  

I also made a salsa-type mixture of black beans, mangoes, tomatoes, fresh corn, and avocados.  That was easy, but it took a surprisingly long time to dice everything.  Just drain and rinse the black beans, chop up the mangoes and tomatoes into cubes, and use a tool to get the corn off the cob (I actually have this little tool, since I'm technically not supposed to bite into corn because of my dental work).  Throw all of it in a bowl and toss with a little bit of lime juice.  Serve it on a plate, and lay sliced avocados across the top.  I've actually seen similar recipes like this served on top of quinoa.  I may have to try that next time.

Lastly, I made oven-fried plantains.  Imagine larger, denser, and tastier fried bananas.  It baffled me that I was even able to find plantains in a small town, but I did.  And they were perfectly ripe too.  All the recipes I found online said to use plantains that are mostly black on the peel because that's how you can tell they're ripe.  After peeling them, I cut them in half, and then sliced them into think strips.  I threw those on a baking sheet and then drizzled olive oil and sea salt.  They were in the oven for a very long time.  I was following a recipe that said to put them for 10 minutes on each side on 450*, but I felt like I kept them in there for a half hour to make them extra crispy.  I've noticed that I use recipes as loose guides, and kind of alter them to what I think works better for me.  My recommendation is to put them in there for 30 minutes, flipping them every ten minutes.

My dinner was quite the success!  It was paired with a nice bottle of pinot grigio that was recommended to complement spicy foods, and it certainly helped with the shrimp.  I felt very pleased with the way everything turned out and would have to say that this is probably the best thing I have ever cooked.  There were many different flavors and textures, and overall it turned out to be a pretty healthy and balanced meal.