Super Bowl Recipes - Touchdown!

Head to the end zone for a long pass of recipes from The Culinary Quarterback. Are you ready for Superbowl LV Sunday? The Fried Pig Skin Lovin' Chef has some tasty football food that will leave enough green in your wallet to buy an extra keg for your tailgate party. And be sure to click on any recipe name below to see my recipe of tasty text and yummy photo step-by-step illustrations.

Click on any recipe name to see the original recipe blogpost.

The NFC Conference Champions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are up against the AFC Conference Champs, Kansas City Chief for Superbowl 55. My recipe list below has local food spins according to both cities. The lineup for the Buccaneers features seafood and Cuban food, and for the Chiefs it's all about the beef and pork!

So if you are looking for regular eats for your Superbowl Party, I got your halfback, I mean back. There are no fumbles in this recipe list! 99 Thanks go to my local 99c only Stores and Dollar Trees. Hey, I even find 99 cent deals at regular grocery stores and ethnic markets, so all the bases, I mean, the whole field is covered.

Let's get the Super Bowl LV Sunday party started. 

Both the Chiefs and Buccaneers fans will huddle around a pitcher....of rum and sugarcane kick-ass minty Cuban Mojitos. Viva la Rum!

My video recipe below will overthrow your tastebuds.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans are all about seafood in the Big Guava. And boy do I have a cheap$kate sammie for you I call a Scallop Roll. This recipe is so scrumptious it was featured on the Huffington Post website! Click here to see the write-up. Lobster meat breaks the bank, while scallops are tender and a tasty cheap substitution I find in the frozen deli case. One small 4-ounce package is enough for a Scallop Roll or two.

  Scallop Roll

I love BBQ and so do Kansas City footballers. And the local BBQ sauce is tomato-based just the way I like it, too. If you have a fave BBQ sauce recipe then use it - Out here in L.A. we have Newman's Own that was carried in my local Dollar Tree - talk about a big score!

A baked Rack of Ribs is easy and extra succulent the 99 Cent Chef way. All I do is season them with a dry rub or coat in a fave BBQ sauce, wrap in foil then bake for 3 to 4 hours until fall-apart tender, that's it. You can smoke them your way once they are baked tender like I do right here. My recipe below uses Pork Spareribs, but meaty Beef Ribs can be used as well.

Serve the Rack of Ribs with a classic but simple Potato Salad or Coleslaw.

King crab rules on the East Coast. Now I can't afford to use crab in my recipes, but I've found that imitation crab does the job for this Bottom Feeder Chef. Krab, or imitation crab, is a cooked fish blend that has the texture and taste of lump crabmeat. It may not be for the pescatarian purist, but I've grown to love it.

 Fake Crab

I offer to my Buccaneers comrades the mighty Krab Louis Salad made with fantastic fake krab of course. The king of salads also has asparagus, plus cheap iceberg lettuce, tomato, a hard-boiled egg and topped with Thousand Island dressing. Of course, use real lump crab...if you can afford it!

Another Coastal fan favorite is a California Roll. Like a stadium wave, this Tampa Bay spin on Japanese sushi has traveled to grocery deli cases all around the country. And I substitute cheap imitation crab so you will save big bucks on usually expensive crab meat.



Another meaty meal is a big bowl of Kansas-style Chili. Simple is best and if a hot bowl of Homemade Chili and a mug of icy cold beer are what you crave on game day then you've come to the right place.

What's great about Chili is it can be made a day or two ahead and reheated on the stovetop at low heat the whole gameday! Go ahead and add a can or two of black, pinto or red beans to the chili pot at the end of cooking for a more filling chili bowl. I like to top mine with chopped onion, shredded cheese, and crunchy Fritos Corn Chips!

Anybody can make a Hot Dog right? If you have a fave Kansas City frankfurter, set out the toppings while the weenies steam or saute and let the grandstanders build their own. Here is a favorite of mine in the video below. I use chili from the can and sauerkraut from a jar -- use what you got or can easily get.



If the game day is foggy and cold in Tampa Bay, then throw another log on the fire and gather in front of the big screen with a steaming bowl of my cheap$kate Clam Chowder. Buccaneers fans will throw off their warming blankets, peel off their gloves, and line up for a big bowl. And serve it in a hollowed-out loaf of sourdough bread for extra points!

You gotta serve BBQ Pork if you are a Chiefs fan, right? I have the perfect recipe for you, a succulent and smoky BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich recipe. I usually just add pickle and sliced onion, but my Homemade Coleslaw goes on it, too or as a side dish. My recipe is easy and cheap to make, of course. Just check out the video below or click here to see all the tasty recipe details.



Also, you can start with a reverse flea-flicker of a recipe called, Carnitas. Hours of braising reduce a pork shoulder to a tender and succulent Mexican-style taco filling. I even throw in the pigskin for extra flavor. Carnitas are what I order for late-night noshing at a taco truck. And it's a self-serve time saver when you set up a taco bar.



Weave through the living room backfield with a pile of Mexican Carnitas Tacos (slow-cooked pork) and you'll be lucky to make it through without being sacked!

I love Cuban food and so do Floridians. If you haven't tried it before you can get your backfield in motion and drum up a succulent Cuban Roast Pork. It's marinated in sweet orange juice and sour lemon juice. In some ethnic markets, you can get sour oranges and make this pork dish more authentic.

Cuban Black Beans are now my favorite beans. And my recipe is a 3 point conversion of flavors with bell pepper, vinegar and sugar. Make some white rice, too and you have a delicious halftime meal with a hunk of Cuban Roast Pork.

Fried Plantains are a sweet or savory side. Plantains are sweetest when black, and savory when yellow/black. Any way you fry them they are delicious.

And here are more recipes for Game Day, just read on and click on your faves, some familiar and some, like the next one, uniquely a 99 Cent Chef game changer.

Serve my most outrageous Hot Dog recipe, a the LA Street Dog -- a freeway pileup of flavors that make an end-run around any foot long out there.



Of course, simplest is best and I like a hot dog with just mustard and pickle relish. One trick I learned watching local wiener wranglers work and that is to steam the bun like I show below.

When your guests rush through the patio gate, have a bowl of Chips and Salsa to greet them. Now you can just set out a jar of cheap Pace Chunky Salsa or go for extra points with my Mango Salsa Recipe.

Make a simple chopped Pico de Gallo salsa or get a package of dried chiles for an intense Ancho and Red Chili Salsa. I also like a tangy Salsa Verde made with green tomatillos.

All football fans love Pizza on game day. You can avoid the long lines at Domino's or Shakey's Pizza and make your own cheaply with my recipe that uses pre-made cooked pizza crusts from the Dollar Tree store.

What's great about making Individual Pizzas, is everyone can add the ingredients they favor. I like anchovies and an egg on mine -- I know no one else would order that one!

Just set out a stack of individual store-bought pizza crusts and bowls of pepperoni, shredded cheese, black olives, fresh basil leaves, cooked Italian sausage, a fave jar of marinara sauce -- you get the picture. And it only takes 10 minutes or so in a hot oven and they are done! Click here to see how I make them.



Next to pizza and hot dogs, Fried Chicken is a favorite finger food and no one fries chicken better than this Cheap$kate Game Changer.

I've come up with a crunchy coating that will empty the bleachers and have fans storming the kitchen! Get Superbowl Sunday going with my Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe, or use my special flour and spice mix for regular bone-in chicken pieces. Fry up a batch of chicken to handoff when the coin is tossed to start the game.



Bring more Southern flavor to your kitchen, no matter what State you are in. Fans will take a half-time break and huddle around your cast iron pot of my fragrant and spicy Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya and Cajun Gumbo.

 Mom's Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

In Louisiana, we put a dollop of Cajun Potato Salad on our Gumbo. If you don't believe me just check out the video below.

Or go straight up the middle with a tray of Teriyaki Spam Musubi. This Hawaiian specialty combines good old American canned spam with Japanese sushi. And does it really work? My easy-to-follow recipe will have your guests eating out of your hands...down!

While everyone's watching the pre-game show send in any of my delicious sideline sides and appetizers, including: Bacon Wrapped Dates and Brussels Sprouts, Tomato & Basil Bruschetta, Deviled Eggs, Portabella Mushroom Fries, Sweet Fried Plantains, Ceviche with Avocado and Black Beans, and Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce.

Football zealots are not just meat-eaters, but potato fanatics too. I like mine grilled, how about you? Well, I got Grilled Yellow and Orange Sweet Potato recipes for you to try.



And just click here to see my Veggie Frittata recipe that will feed all your hungry team players (go ahead and add some ham pieces to fill out the frittata.)

Start Super Bowl Sunday with a couple of omelet recipes, including my French-style Cheese Omelette



And, everyone will huddle around sandwich plates of gooey, cheesy Patty Melts, hearty Meatball Subs, Homemade Deli Pastrami, Falafel Pitas, and steaming Sloppy Joe's.

If you're looking for one-pot meals, so you don't miss any action on the field, just check out my Pork Bourguignon, French Cassoulet, Chicken Tinga Stew,  Mr. Patti's Red Beans & Rice, Baked Pasta with Cheese and Cauliflower, Baked Lasagna with Ground Chicken, Shepherd's Pie, or Sausage & Sauerkraut with Beer recipes.

Baked Lasagna with Ground Chicken

 Looking for a sneak-play recipe? How about a different twist on Buffalo Wings with my African Spiced Water Buffalo Wings? This original recipe features chicken legs, but you can substitute wings.

Tired of stale, soggy stadium hot dogs? I have a great and easy Corn Dog Recipe made with Vienna sausages -- but you can use regular wieners. Your hungry guest will not be offsides dipping these crunchy coated pig skins into my tasty Honey-mustard Sauce.

Since you have the fryer going you might as well make a batch of my Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for dessert. They're as light and airy as the Goodyear blimp.

So get your backfield in motion and click on any of my tasty treat names above to watch an instant reply of recipes from my blog. Your guest will be cheering you on -- from their cheap seats!

National Sandwich Day - Recipes

It's National Sandwich Day every November 3rd. Well, in the cheapskate chateau, it's Sandwich Day any time of the year - and you've come to the right place to get your fill! So read on and click on any recipe name that meets your fancy, and get the goods right here.

Egg Salad Sandwich

John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, is the namesake and is thought to have been one of the first to put some cooked meat between slices of bread while on a gambling binge. I guess they didn't have pizza delivery in England during the 1600s. It started simple, evolving to decadent.

The winter holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner, so bookmark my Ultimate Turkey Sandwich recipe to use up the dinner table leftovers. It's a versatile recipe, so make it your way. I like sliced turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. What makes this holiday hoagie over the top is the addition of a sauteed slice of crunchy turkey skin - I like to use the whole bird, so don't let your dinner guest leave it on the plate. Check out my recipe video below and click on the name above for all the tasty directions.



Jews know how to make a sandwich, and here in LA, the temple to the open-face is served at Cantor's and Langer's Delicatessens.

Now, the sandwiches are expensive there, but they are so stacked with corned beef, brisket, turkey, tongue, etc. that you can easily get two meals out of one sandwich. But if you have been following my blog posts then you may have seen my cheap$kate recipes for Homemade Corned Beef and Pastrami Sandwiches.

Corned Beef Sandwich

I always buy a few on-sale packages to freeze corned beef during St. Patrick's Day - yep, my recipes are a mashup of Jewish and Irish cultures, so get out your green yarmulke and get to cookin'.

They are not that difficult to make, and if you are on a budget, then do it my way. I take a shortcut and start with already corned beef from the grocery store. For corned beef, you boil the beef brisket until fork-tender, then slice it up. Pastrami is the same, but with a short smoking stage. 

In my Homemade Pastrami recipe video below, I show you how to make corned beef from scratch, but if you can find an already corned beef then go right to the boiling and smoking stage.



For my vegetarian visitors, my sister Denise makes a mean veggie burger made with eggplant. Just watch the video below than also includes a shopping spree in my local 99c only Store for all the ingredients that make up an Eggplant Burger.



For my next sandwich it all in the family, that is my nephew Chef Matt rustles up a Cajun specialty, an Alligator Po'boy.  I suspect not many of you will make this, but the recipe can easily be adjusted by substituting alligator with shrimp or oysters. It is the most outrageous sandwich of the group, and worth a viewing - just for the uniqueness of the bayou reptile ingredient.



A Patty Melt is the most decadent of sandwiches. There is no nutritious lettuce and tomato, just butter, caramelized onions and a slab of fried ground meat. But I do make a less fatty version using ground turkey instead of ground beef.

 Patty Melt Sandwich

You can visit my blog post or just watch the video below to get all the tasty details.



A BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich is one of my favs - it's what we served for our wedding day. I get whole pork shoulder for less than 99 cents per pound at my local Latin market, too! If you have an ethnic market in your neighborhood, do check it out for interesting food ingredients, often cheaper than you can get at a regular market.

Pulled Pork just needs a simple dry rub made with inexpensive dried spices like: cumin, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and sweet brown sugar.

A typical Southern Pulled Pork Sandwich is dressed with sliced raw onion, sour pickles, and BBQ sauce. Just check out my recipe video below to see how I do it.



I make Cuban Sandwiches with tender slices of pork from a citrus-marinated slow-roasted pork shoulder, too. The sandwich is uniquely constructed of Cuban roast pork, ham, Swiss Cheese, pickle slices and smeared with mustard, and all between a sliced browned bread roll.

Cuban Roast Pork

Cuban Sandwich

You have to break a few eggs for the next sammies: a simple Egg Salad and Fried Egg Sandwich, plus a Homemade Egg McMuffin.

Egg Sandwich

My Homemade Egg McMuffin recipe will save you trips to McDonalds, and you can slice the ham as thick as you like, plus go ahead and add an extra slice of cheese.

I'll end this blog post with live music and picnic sandwiches. My wife and I caught a great free concert by songbird Aimee Mann in a seaside park at Marina del Rey. I brought along Finger Sandwiches made with Cucumber & Cream Cheese, Salami with Dijon Mustard, and Ham with Butter.

We set out a blanket, opened a bottle of vino, and ate our sandwiches while Amiee Mann serenaded the picnickers. Just check out the video below to join our picnic.



So click on any recipe name above if you have the appetite for one of my delish and cheap$kate sandwiches.

Cuban Recipes

Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin, in 1987, President Reagan exclaimed: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." He was referring to the Communist-built barrier separating East and West Berlin,  a bitter symbol of the Cold War.

This month President Obama trumps Reagan by crossing into enemy territory to tear down our own misguided economic wall around our island neighbor. On Obama's  second day of a historic visit to Cuba, in a speech addressed to the Cuban people, he declared: "I am here to bury the last remnants of the Cold War in the Americas."

And now The 99 Cent Chef is ending the Cuban embargo, culinarily that is. So in support of President Obama's latest diplomatic coup d'état, I offer up a tasty slate of Cuban-style recipes as a yummy peacetime dividend.

The 99 Cent Chef welcomes all nations into his kitchen anytime. I wish I could really end this embargo on Cuba with a wave of my whisk. Let's move on Congress, this Cold War policy fiasco is so last century -- it's over!

Just let the Republican politicians of Cuban descent, embargo supporting Marco Rubio and Senator Ted Cruz, stew in their own juices and eat crow, as President Obama continues spreading goodwill, and mending fences, to our Latin neighbors.

So let's start with one of my favorite sandwiches, a Cuban Sandwich.

 I would like to break bread with the Cuban people one day, as I am a great fan of their cuisine. Locally I've had both good and bad Cuban Sandwiches. Downtown's former Cuidad (now a Border Grill ) served a great mini-version at Happy Hour to downtown power brokers in suits and skirts. At Glendale's Porto's Bakery on Brand Boulevard, nearby mall shoppers get a bargain sandwich deliciously meaty, and cheap at $4.85 (but they add mayo, which is a no-no.) At Cafe Tropical on Sunset Boulevard, Echo Park hipsters hunkered over their Macs, can scarf down $6 sandwiches while sipping papaya juice under Che Guevera posters.

West on Sunset in Silverlake, taxi drivers dine mini-mall style at El Cochinito on $6.95 sandwiches. And my favorite Cuban Restaurant, Versailles , with locations on Venice and La Cienega Boulevards, serves a surprisingly unappetizing one for $9.99 - oily bread, ham, and Swiss cheese, with scraps of roast pork. Maybe it was just a bad day in the kitchen the one and only time I tried it - I'll give it another chance someday.  Sorry, Versailles - I'll always come back for your Roast Pork and Chicken dinners, though.

The Cuban Sandwiches is a dynamite combination of flavors: sour mustard and pickle, tart creamy Swiss cheese, sweet cured ham, and tender Cuban roast pork - all on a crunchy crusted grilled bread roll.

When placed on your plate it is a sleek modernist meal. The sandwich is pressed thin and sliced diagonally -- looking like a crisp, cheesy, meat-filled shark fin, with a slash of cool green pickle peeking out. It's a great tasting sandwich that's also aesthetically pleasing.

Skip ahead to get my recipe of Cuban Roast Pork the most complicated part of the sandwich. The other fillings come cheaply from a typical deli case. And you now have one more use for that leftover Easter ham.

As for the bread, Cuban rolls are not easy to come by, but a sandwich roll, from the bakery section of your grocery store, works fine. I've picked them up for way less than 50 cents each. You could use an Italian or French baguette - just slice it into 2 or 3 sections. My local Latin market makes fresh Bolillos rolls daily. I've even used packaged steak rolls. Once you grill the sandwich, the bread crisps-up well enough. And since this is a pressed sandwich, the shape and texture of the bread is changed significantly.

A  Cuban Sandwiches is similar to an Italian Panini - toasted crisp with meat and cheese. It is Cuban comfort food at its finest. This is the concluding Cuban dish in my month-long series, so give it a go.

And the perfect drink accompaniment is a cool Cuban concoction, made with rum, sugar cane juice, and lime, called a Mojito. As a special bonus, I've called up one of my first recipe videos, "The 99 Cent Mojito," for a timely replay. To see the blog post with my Mojito recipe written out, just click here.

The 99 Cent Mojito -Video

Play it here. The video is 4 1/2 minutes.

Ingredients for Cuban Sandwich (one sandwich)

• Cuban style roast pork - a few chunks or slices. Click here for my recipe.
• 1-2 slices of cooked ham - depending on how thin the ham is.
• 1-2 slices of Swiss cheese - again, depending on how thin cheese is sliced.
• A few slices of pickle - wedges or coin sliced. Usually made with tart, but sweet Bread and Butter is a nice twist.
• Cuban bread roll, split - or any roll. I've used steak rolls, French, Italian, and Mexican (bolillos) bread rolls.
• Mustard or dijon - a smear on each roll side. Some use mustard as a dipping sauce only. It will be good cooked with or without mustard.
• A pat of butter or a teaspoon of oil for grilling. Non-stick spray is okay.

Directions
Remove meat from refrigerator and allow to reach room temperature, about 5 minutes. Add butter (or oil) to a heating pan or grill. Split roll and smear mustard on each side. Layer on pickles, chunks of roast pork, ham and cheese, and place on a heated grill or pan. Brown bread on each side, until cheese is melted and oozing.

If the pork and ham is thick-sliced you can zap it in the microwave 20 or 30 seconds to heat it through. You can also heat the meat in a pan for a minute. You want the meat to be hot in the sandwich when served.

 This sandwich looks uniquely thin because it is pressed while cooking. Some cooks place everything from a cast iron pan to a foil-wrapped brick on the sandwich. I just used my large metal spatula (or any spatula, really) and pressed the sandwich during cooking. It gets thin enough. Also, you could cook it in a Panini press -- or heck, even on a dorm room George Forman Grill !

A Cuban Sandwich is served sliced at an angle -- so one sliced side tapers into a point. It's easier to inhale that way. Serve with my 99 Cent Mojito!

It's always a savory conundrum - do I order Lechon Asado (roast pork) or Pollo Asado (roast chicken) when I dine at a local Cuban restaurant. Usually what happens is my wife orders the chicken and I get the pork, so we just share. And now, I'm happy to share another Cuban classic with my readers - the luscious and pleasing pork entree, Lechon Asado.

Cuban Roast Pork holds the exalted culinary status of Southern BBQ Pulled Pork, grilled Mexican Al Pastor, or baked Kahlua Pig from Hawaii.

It's slow-cooked with a marinade of sour oranges, garlic, and oregano. Since sour oranges are hard to come by, unless you live in Miami, I combine regular orange and lime juice. In all, it's a killer citrus and garlic combination that makes slow-cooked pork butt (or shoulder) sweet, caramelized, fragrant, and fall-off-the-bone tender.

Ingredients for my Cuban Roast Pork recipe are budget-priced at any market. I get pork shoulder on sale for about 99 cents a pound at my local Latin market, and the other fruit, veggies, and herbs are cheap anytime.

A classic Cuban meal involves Black Beans and White Rice. Read on for a quick Black Beans recipe. Everyone has made white rice (you can use generic quick-cooking.) I also did a favorite Cuban side of steamed Yucca a couple of years ago. For an extra rich sweet side try my Fried Plantains recipe that's described next. A healthier and less starchy way to go is to accompany roast pork with my Cuban Salad at the end of my Cuban themed blog post.

Cuban Roast Pork is the kind of dish you start baking after breakfast, so it's ready for dinner. And since a large cut of meat is used, you will have plenty of leftovers for a couple of Cuban Sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 6-8 pounds of pork - shoulder or butt, with or without bone. Boneless cooks faster, but is more expensive.

Marinade

• 2 cups of orange juice - or fresh squeezed (about 6 oranges)
• 1 cup of lime or lemon juice - from a bottle or fresh (about 2-3 whole lemons or limes)
• 2 tablespoons garlic - chopped fresh, or from the jar.
• 1 tablespoon of oregano - dried or fresh
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Take large pork shoulder and pierce deeply all over with a knife, so it will absorb the marinade. In a large bowl, mix together orange and lime juice, chopped onion, garlic, and oregano. Place pork in a large pan, ceramic or plastic bowl or a large Ziploc bag . Pour marinade over pork and season with salt and pepper. Cover with lid or foil.

Store in the refrigerator a couple of hours or overnight. Turn pork a couple of times to make sure marinade is evenly distributed over the meat.

Later, place pork, still covered or foil-covered, in a 350-degree oven. Leave the bottom of pork exposed to water, to keep the pork moist, during long baking time.

Bake 5 - 6 hours. Baste with marinade, from the bottom of pan, every hour - cover and continue baking. After a couple of hours, you may need to add water, a cup at a time, as liquid cooks out.

Check tenderness of pork at about 5 hours. Done when pork easily separates with a fork. Cook another hour or two if not tender enough. Cooking time may vary, depending on the size of the pork roast.

I've even cooked it for 8 hours for a large pork shoulder with bone. Just make sure there is water or broth in the roasting pan to keep the pork from drying out. And keep it loosely covered in foil.

To serve, break off large chunks of pork and arrange on a plate with white rice and black beans (or salad and sides mentioned earlier). To have a total Cuban dinner experience, pour over roast pork my easy-to-make Mojo Criollo Sauce with sliced onion (click here for the recipe).

 

Black is beautiful for the sweetest Fried Plantains. Green is the color for nutty, potato-like Tostones. When shopping for plantains keep this in mind.

For my continuation of all things Cubano, I'll show you how to prepare both Fried Plantains and fried Tostones. It's an easy and quick dish to make; the only hard part is finding plantains. I go to my local Latin market where they sell for about 50 cents a pound, just the right price for this El Tightwad Cuisiner. Since the majority of the Los Angeles populace is Latino, I find that plantains are carried in almost every large supermarket.

 Maybe you've accidentally bought one thinking it was a regular banana? If you bite into a peeled one, you will get a mouthful of bitterness, but fry up a batch and you will be surprised how mild and sweet it is.

Like French fries, plantains are cooked in oil until brown. You do have to watch the ripened black plantains closely when cooking -- because of the high sugar content they can burn. Tostones don't have that, so they brown more slowly. Plantains are quite large, and just one makes enough for a couple of servings.

If you want a sweet Fried Plantain, buy it almost totally black. It is not rotten, just super sweet. If you get it yellow, you'll have to wait a few weeks to get the desired ripeness. In the photo, my plantain was not totally black, so the result was fine, but it could have been sweeter. For Tostones, green is best, but I've used yellow, too.

This is a perfect side for my Cuban Style Roast Pork. And Tostones double as tasty canapes that can be served like tortilla chips or crackers at a party.

Ingredients (each plantain serves 2)

• 1 green plantain
• 1 black plantain
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of vegetable oil for frying.
• Salt and pepper to taste (optional).

Directions for Fried Black Plantains
Add oil to a medium-sized pan or pot. You don't need the temperature to be as hot as you would for making  French fries, but go with a low/medium temperature, so you can easily watch that the banana slices don't burn.

A plantain doesn't peel quite as easily as a regular banana - there's a bit of technique involved. While oil is heating up, chop off the banana ends and slice into the peel lengthwise from end to end. Go just deep enough to hit banana flesh. It may be easier if you first slice the banana in half. The skin should peel right off.

Next, slice the banana at an angle so you get about three-inch-long pieces that are about one inch thick. I've also had them sliced small like a typical banana, and that's fine too. Add slices to the pan with oil and fry about 5 minutes on each side.

Go for a dark brown color. You will need to watch closely toward the end, as brown can turn to black quickly. Drain on a paper towel and serve warm.

Directions for Tostones (green or yellow plantain)
Heat oil the same as above. I managed to cook both of these plantains in a 1/2 cup of oil. Chop off plantain ends, slice into skin lengthwise from top to bottom, and peel. Green plantains are a little trickier to peel. Sometimes the inner peel will stick to the flesh, so just scrape it off.

I use a "two times" frying method. Cut plantains like you would a normal banana; there's no need to cut at an angle, but do cut them at least an inch thick. Add plantain slices to hot oil and lightly brown, about 2 minutes each side. You are getting the plantains to soften for pressing - the next step.

Take out cooked plantains and allow to cool for a minute. Arrange plantain coins on a plate or cutting board. I used the bottom of a drinking glass to press each fried plantain. You don't need to squish completely flat, just enough to burst the slices, so the flesh will finish cooking completely.

 Next add pressed slices back into the oil for a quick 3-minute fry (or until medium brown), on each side. Serve hot or at room temperature.

I first tried Cuban food at the venerable Versailles Restaurant on Venice Blvd. I love the place for its Roast Chicken and Roast Pork. I think everyone in L.A. has eaten there at least once. And the price is right, just over $12 for dinner, which includes black beans, white rice, fried plantains with a basket of delicious Cuban bread.

Now, the bedrock to any Cuban dining experience is black beans and white rice. White rice is simple enough - I have no special technique - just follow package directions. But I do have a few tricks to up the flavor profile for canned black beans (or any canned beans you may favor).

All you have to do is saute a little onion, bell pepper, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar, and sprinkle in some oregano. Mix it into a small pot of black beans and cook for 10 - 15 minutes. It's so simple but makes a lot of difference.

When I roast a hunk of pork, I'll put on a pot of black beans made from scratch (my recipe in under Hindsight below,) since they are both slow cooking. But most of the time I go with convenience and just use pre-cooked black beans.

So next time you get a cheap can of beans, try out my delicious veggie additions for extra flavor to make boring canned beans into something savory.  And be sure to check back for more Cubano recipes!

Ingredients

• 1 can of black beans
• 1/4 small onion
• 1/4 of bell pepper - any color.
• 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic - fresh or from a jar.
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar - any type you have on hand like white, apple, or rice vinegar.
• 1 tablespoon of oil - vegetable or olive oil.
• Pinch of oregano - fresh or dried (optional).
• Pinch of pepper - canned beans have enough salt for my taste.

Directions
In a pot over medium heat, add oil and saute onion and bell pepper until soft, about 5 - 10 minutes. Next, add chopped garlic and cook a couple of minutes.

Next, add a can of black beans and a teaspoon of vinegar. Turn up the heat until beans start boiling, then reduce. Cook on low heat, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will reduce and thicken.

Cuban beans are typically served with white rice.

This recipe also works well with canned red, white, and pinto beans, and with black-eyed peas.

Hindsight
*For fresh-made, follow directions on a package of dried beans. First, add a tablespoon of oil in a large pot and saute a whole chopped onion and bell pepper for 5-10 minutes until soft. Add a tablespoon of garlic during the last minute of cooking. I like to cook veggies with a couple of bacon slices (if you want to keep it vegetarian, leave it out).

Pour in 8 cups of water and add the black beans.

Next add the sauteed veggies, including some bacon grease, to the pot.

Add a teaspoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste, and finally, sprinkle in a teaspoon of dried or fresh oregano and a whole bay leaf.

For more flavor, you can substitute an equal amount of chicken or vegetable stock for a portion of the water when cooking beans. Low boil or simmer until beans are tender, about 3-4 hours. For shorter cooking time soak beans overnight before cooking - this will save you an hour of simmering. Check on beans every hour to make sure the liquid does not cook out. Add water or broth if needed.

During the last hour of cooking, I uncover the pot so liquid cooks down and thickens slightly. Check on the beans a few times to make sure water doesn't totally cook out.

Crunchy radish, a tangy vinaigrette, and creamy avocado -- my Cuban Salad makes a light beginning to typical meat and carb-heavy Cuban meal. This salad goes perfectly with a Cuban Sandwich or Cuban Roasted Pork.

 It is a simple salad made with budget produce from my local Latin market. I got one bunch of radishes for about 33 cents, a tomato at  79 cent per pound, a large avocado for 69 cents, and a yellow onion at 33 cents per pound. With these prices, I look forward to standing in the grocery checkout line again soon!

In my experience with Cuban cuisine, the salads always start with avocado, tomato, and sliced onion, with a light refreshing vinaigrette. Sometimes a few greens are introduced - in my version, I left them out and added sliced radish.

All it takes is a minimal amount of chopping - and a quickly whisked olive oil and vinegar salad dressing to finish. My light and crunchy Cuban Salad is a fine accompaniment to any lunch or dinner entree, Cuban or not.

Ingredients (single serving)

• 1 tomato - sliced or cubed
• A few thin slices of onion - amount depends on your taste.
• 1 avocado - sliced or cubed
• 4 whole radishes - sliced

Vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons of vinegar - white, but any will do. You can also use lime or lemon juice instead.
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Assemble sliced or chopped veggies in a serving bowl or plate. In another bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper for a couple of minutes, until well blended. Pour salad dressing over Cuban Salad. Serve cool or at room temperature.