Cuban Books

The Reader's Companion to Cuba - This book offers nearly two dozen captivating eyewitness "reports" from visitors
to Cuba's shores, among them Anais Nin's introduction to the "Fairyland" of Havana, Langstron Hughe's surprising rumba
party, an excursion around town with Fidel behind the wheel, and Tommy Lasorda's baseball interview with pistol
presiding. From Arnold Samuelson's intimate portrait to Frank Ragano's recollections of the Mafia in Havana, the book
provides an infinitely more revealing and personal time-lapse "tour" of this complex country than could possibly be
offered by any standard guidebook. Soft cover. 392 pages. 8 x 5" $16.00

A Taste of Cuba - Here you will find enticing spiced fish and seafood dishes; sweet, creamy flans; savory paella;
warm, hearty black beans and rice; and tropical rum drinks. You'll find almost 200 recipes for appetizers, soups, salads,
breads, entrees, vegetables, desserts, and drinks that celebrate the colorful cuisine of Cuba. Cuban cooking melds
Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous Cuban traditions into dishes that have become uniquely Cuban. Included also is an
invaluable guide to finding uniquely Cuban ingredients, such as plantain, yucca, malanga, and calabaza. Soft cover. 322
pages. 9 x 6" Soft cover. $17.95

A Taste of Old Cuba - Cuban cuisine, though derived from its mother country, Spain, has been modified and refined
by locally available foods like pork, rice, corn, beans and sugar, and the requirements of a tropical climate. The book is
organized by the classic Cuban courses of a meal - complete with appetizers, rice entrees, eggs, fritters, and
beverages as well as soups, salads, vegetables, meats, and desserts - evoking the gracious gentility for which Cuba
was renowned. It offers authoritative recipes, passed down from mother to daughter and friend to friend, for such
classics as Garlic Soup, Rice with Black Beans, Mashed Plantains, Picadillo, Roast Suckling Pig, and Cuban Bread
Pudding. The stories behind the recipes are as interesting as the dishes themselves. 280 pages. Hard cover. 9½ x
7½". $27.50

Memories of a Cuban Kitchen - More than 200 classic recipes provide an introduction to a rich and varied
cuisine. The dishes that appear in each category - appetizers and snacks; soups and stews; meats and poultry;
fish and shellfish; rice, beans, and eggs; salads and vegetables; desserts; and drinks - best represent everyday
Cuban cooking. A glossary of Cuban ingredients provides a guide to commonly used components. Each chapter
begins with insights into the origins of the dishes or evocations of life in days gone by. Soft cover. 334 pages.
9½ x 7½" $16.95

Cuban Home Cooking - This handy cookbook contains some of the best home-style recipes you'll ever find for true
Cuban home cooking. It is the complete guide to the most popular recipes from the largest Caribbean Island in the West
Indies. Easy-to-prepare recipes include treasures such as Pollo Asado, Picadillo, Hot Oxtail Stew, Paella, Flan, and a
fabulous Diplomatic Pudding. Distinctive flavors and easy preparation techniques abound in this practical compilation of
home recipes, updated to reflect today's more health-conscious diets. 111 pages. Soft cover. 8½ x 5 ½" $11.95

Cuban Santeria - Cuban-born Raul Canizares describes the practices and rituals of Santeria - from magical
herbal prescription and healing to spiritism and animal sacrifice - and explains how for many years the religion has
been maintained under the guise of Catholicism. Most initiates are sworn to a code of silence, but Canizares
believes the time has come to relax this code and move Santeria, a religion of beauty and resilience, out of the
darkness and into the light so that a more accurate picture of this rich tradition can emerge. Discusses the gods,
initiations, rituals, history and legacy as well as anecdotes from the author's own involvement. Eleven color plates
and black-and-white illustrations. In English or Spanish. 176 pages. 6 x 9" $14.95

Old Havana Cookbook - This cookbook recaptures the spirit of Old Havana and its celebrated culinary traditions. Fine Gulf Stream fish,
crabs and lobsters, and an almost infinite variety of vegetables and luscious, tropical fruits also have their places on the traditional Cuban
table. This cookbook includes over 50 recipes, each in Spanish with side-by-side English translation - all of them classic Cuban fare and old
Havana specialties adapted for the North American kitchen. Among the recipes included are ajiaco (famous Cuban stew), boiled pargo with
avocado sauce, lobster havanaise, tamal en cazuela (soft tamal), quimbombo (okra), picadillo, roast suckling pg, and boniatillo (sweet potato
dulce), along with a whole chapter on famous Cuban cocktails and beverages. Hardback. 123 pages. 7 x 5" $11.95

Cuba Cocina Cookbook - Here is the most complete guide ever to the robust and soul-satisfying flavors of Cuba, both the
traditional foods and the exciting nuevo dishes rapidly becoming so popular here and on the island. Caribbean food expert and long-
time proponent of Cuban cuisine in America, Joyce LaFray has included hundreds of recipes from home cooks and restaurants that
reflect the flavorful cooking of this tropical island. Distinctively delicious recipes include fresh red snapper served with a tangy
citantro-lime sauce, a crab dish that incorporates crisp plantains and a mango vinaigrette, and a Creole stewed shrimp prepared in
the style of the province of Santiago de Cuba. Alongside the traditional arroz con pollo, ropa vieja, pollo frito and roast suckling pig
are recipes for nuevo-style roast turkey with black bean stuffing, ginger-sherried roast pork, and pork medallions with yuca and
mojo. On the more indulgent side there are dozens of island cocktails, with and without alcohol, and a sumptuous array of desserts:
flan with rum sauce, mango-coconut cake, and a creamy custard called natilla. For those new to Cuban cooking. an exhaustive
glossary covers the essential terms and ingredients. a shopping list offers Cuban names for major ingredients. Paperback. 272
pages. 8 x 10" $16.95

Smoke: The Romance and Lore of Cuban Baseball - By Mark Rucker and Peter C. Bjarkman Smoke is a
vibrant illustration of Cuban baseball history. From Cuba's 1850s pioneers to the steady flow of big league talent
produced by the island today, this volume captures Cuban baseball's heritage and brings it to life. Smoke
features an impressive collection of more than 400 images, many of which have never before been published.
The product of extensive firsthand research, Smoke examines Cuban baseball with a unique depth, conveying
the game's cultural and political contexts in an exciting mix of art, history, and lore. $29.95

Havana Before Castro - A fascinating look at Havana, visually rich with hundreds of photos and other unique images, this
addition to the literature on one of the world's urban architectural treasures is authored by an architectural historian, Peter
Moruzzi. Through vintage and contemporary photographs, brochures, postcards, and artifacts evocative of time and place,
Havana before Castro tells the story of the city that was the most popular exotic destination for Americans during the forty
years between World War I and Castro's revolution. See how Havana evolved from America's Prohibition haven and rich
man's playground to a heady blend of glittering nightclubs, outrageous cabarets, all-night bars, and backstreet brothels. Visit
Havana's seamy Shanghai Theatre as well as its glamorous Tropicana, Montmartre, and Sans Souci nightclubs. Linger at La
Floridita -- the cradle of the daiquiri cocktail (one of Hemingway's favorite watering holes) -- rub elbows with Frank Sinatra
at Sloppy Joe's Bar, and learn why Cuban cigars remain the world's most highly prized. Follow the parade of corrupt
presidents who, along with American mobsters such a Meyer Lansky, welcomed the mass tourism that led to Havana
becoming a tropical Vegas swirling in a haze of rum and cigars, backed by a conga beat. Paperback. 256 pages. 8.9 x 11"
$30

2012 Cuba Calendar - Visit Cuba through these colorful
photographs: stroll old city streets, admire the Spanish-
style architecture, dance the night away, then relax on a
tropical island beach. Write you appointments in the daily
grid spaces provided. 12 x 12". $14.99