In San Francisco, there is a restaurant called 'Cha Cha Cha's' that has the most fabulous foods - combination of Cuba, the Caribbean and Puerto Rico. When I was working at the hotel, the owner and I were both crazy about the food and it was amazing how many of the brides we worked with were familiar with the restaurant also and requested food from their book for their weddings. The food is fun to cook, uses lots of chiles and is just overall wonderful eating!
I just looked on Amazon and you can get the book for $2.98+!! What a deal.
http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Eat-Cha-Festi...5692&sr=1-1
Just to whet your appetite for this wonderful book -
Book Description
New World cooking is hot, hot, hot -- and very cool. At San Francisco's famous Cha Cha Cha restaurant, located in the heart of Haight-Ashbury, the big flavors of Cuba and Puerto Rico come together and dance in vibrant dishes served against a backdrop of laughter, a loud Latin beat, and fabulous altars to the voodoo saint-gods of Santeria. As colorful as the restaurant itself, this unique, festive cookbook offers sixty terrific recipes for Cha Cha Cha's signature tapas and entrees (perfect for entertaining!), all accompanied by the stories, icons, and relics of Santeria, as well as full-color photographs of the dishes themselves. Savvy cooks are discovering that the spices and ingredients of the Caribbean are as fun to cook with as they are to eat. Cook! Eat! Cha cha cha!
About the Author
Philip Bellber is a first-generation American whose Puerto Rican family raised him on savory rice and beans, teaching him early a love of Caribbean food. Born and raised in New York City, he now lives in San Francisco. Ian Reeves is a former hard-rock miner, glue factory worker, chicken farmer, and floor mechanic. This is his first book.
Anyway, all the talk of chiles and peppers got me to thinking of these recipes - and here's one that is wonderful!
We used the aioli with fried plantains & black beans, black bean cakes, polenta rounds, oh so many things.
* Exported from MasterCook *
PASILLA AIOLI
Recipe By :Cook, Eat, Cha Cha Cha
4 pasilla chilies, seeded (these are dried chilies)
3 Tbsps Pasilla powder (use chile powder if you can't find packets of this)
2 T. Olive oil
1 1/2 slice white bread, crusts removed, soaked in 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 lg egg yolks
1/4 c Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
white pepper
2 tsps minced garlic
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 c Soybean oil
Freshly ground pepper
In med. pan of boiling water, blanch chilies for 2 min.
Drain, reserve 1/3 c. water.
In processor, combine water, chilies, pasilla powder, & olive oil; puree to smooth paste.
Add remaining ingred. except soybean oil; puree.
With machine running, drizzle oil in.
Store airtight in frig. for up to 10 days.
Yield:
"4 c"
-----
And their Sangria recipe - we used it a lot at the hotel also - Patrick, the owner, would make it and we all had trouble staying out of it!
The Sauteed Mushrooms with a sauce you can't stop dipping sourdough bread in, the Warm Spinach Salad, but especially their sauces and spices - just great!
(can you tell I love this book????
)
I just looked on Amazon and you can get the book for $2.98+!! What a deal.
http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Eat-Cha-Festi...5692&sr=1-1
Just to whet your appetite for this wonderful book -
Book Description
New World cooking is hot, hot, hot -- and very cool. At San Francisco's famous Cha Cha Cha restaurant, located in the heart of Haight-Ashbury, the big flavors of Cuba and Puerto Rico come together and dance in vibrant dishes served against a backdrop of laughter, a loud Latin beat, and fabulous altars to the voodoo saint-gods of Santeria. As colorful as the restaurant itself, this unique, festive cookbook offers sixty terrific recipes for Cha Cha Cha's signature tapas and entrees (perfect for entertaining!), all accompanied by the stories, icons, and relics of Santeria, as well as full-color photographs of the dishes themselves. Savvy cooks are discovering that the spices and ingredients of the Caribbean are as fun to cook with as they are to eat. Cook! Eat! Cha cha cha!
About the Author
Philip Bellber is a first-generation American whose Puerto Rican family raised him on savory rice and beans, teaching him early a love of Caribbean food. Born and raised in New York City, he now lives in San Francisco. Ian Reeves is a former hard-rock miner, glue factory worker, chicken farmer, and floor mechanic. This is his first book.
Anyway, all the talk of chiles and peppers got me to thinking of these recipes - and here's one that is wonderful!
We used the aioli with fried plantains & black beans, black bean cakes, polenta rounds, oh so many things.
* Exported from MasterCook *
PASILLA AIOLI
Recipe By :Cook, Eat, Cha Cha Cha
4 pasilla chilies, seeded (these are dried chilies)
3 Tbsps Pasilla powder (use chile powder if you can't find packets of this)
2 T. Olive oil
1 1/2 slice white bread, crusts removed, soaked in 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 lg egg yolks
1/4 c Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
white pepper
2 tsps minced garlic
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 c Soybean oil
Freshly ground pepper
In med. pan of boiling water, blanch chilies for 2 min.
Drain, reserve 1/3 c. water.
In processor, combine water, chilies, pasilla powder, & olive oil; puree to smooth paste.
Add remaining ingred. except soybean oil; puree.
With machine running, drizzle oil in.
Store airtight in frig. for up to 10 days.
Yield:
"4 c"
-----
And their Sangria recipe - we used it a lot at the hotel also - Patrick, the owner, would make it and we all had trouble staying out of it!
The Sauteed Mushrooms with a sauce you can't stop dipping sourdough bread in, the Warm Spinach Salad, but especially their sauces and spices - just great!
(can you tell I love this book????
)
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
www.achefsjourney.com
