blue artichoke: Wandering Gullet: Cuba

I'm sure Cuban food is good, but what I made last night definitely was not. I made Cuban-Spiced Chicken Thighs with Chorizo and Rice; it is the worst recipe I've made in a long while. The recipe is from Bon Appetit, and like many of their recipes, has quite a long ingredient list. What a waste. Luckily, I halved the recipe and don't have much leftover. I made one substitution, Mexican chorizo for Spanish chorizo, because that is all I could find around here. Mexican chorizo is a loosely ground bulk pork sausage with varying seasonings that turn it pink or orange (mine was closer to orange), and is sold in a inedible plastic casing; Spanish chorizo is a firm cooked or cured sausage made from coarsely chopped fatty pork spiced with paprika and chili. I suppose that could have made a difference in the outcome of the dish, but I'll never know. I'm definitely not making this again. It was greasy (from the chorizo) and somehow spicy and bland at the same time. I'll try another Cuban recipe soon, once I recover from the bad taste my first foray into Cuban cuisine left in my mouth.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your least favorite ethnic cuisine?
(Despite this setback, my least favorite cuisine is still Thai.)

Comments

My least favorite, so far, is Indian. I'm not a big fan of curry and that seems to be prominent in most of the cuisine I've tried. Except for Tandoori chicken which was pretty good.

Posted by: Chartreuse BLT | May 15, 2007 06:51 PM

Indian food.

Posted by: black cake | May 16, 2007 02:33 AM

Wow, I love Indian food. My least fave ethnic cuisine so far is Ethiopian. I was surprised to discover they had a cuisine, what with all the famine, but what I had at an allegedly good Ethiopian restaurant frequented by Ethiopians was absolutely awful.

A shame you had such an awful Cuban experience, BA -- my first Cuban meal was in Richmond at some restaurant I can't remember. I had chicken with currants, and it was deeeeee-licious.

Posted by: Red Momo | May 16, 2007 05:52 AM

I was going to say British, but fish-and-chips redeems them a bit. I'll say Kosovar, even thought that's based only on a bad experience in one crappy restaurant.

Red momo, might that Cuban place in Richmond have been Kuba Kuba? It was fantastic, and right around the corner from my house.

Posted by: Green Mango Custard | May 16, 2007 07:49 AM

Hmm... did you live downtown, GMC?

I feel like it was near Main St Grille, which was oddly a vegan restaurant without a functioning grill.

Havana '59, that was it.

I've been thinking about that meal all day long. It was that good.

Posted by: Red Momo | May 16, 2007 04:44 PM

Ah. I never ate at Havana '59, but Kuba Kuba was great. I lived in a house (formerly a brothel, according to lore) next to the Lee statue at Monument and N. Allen. Now I'm feeling nostalgic.

Posted by: Green Mango Custard | May 17, 2007 08:35 AM

All these (2) Indian food haters! I must admit that a lot of Indian cuisine doesn't really appeal to me, but samosas are in the top three things to come from India (along with Ghandi and outsourcing). I can make a meal out of samosas and paneer pakora (homemade fried cheese) and be a very happy Artichoke. Now I'm feeling hungry.

Posted by: Blue Artichoke | May 17, 2007 11:52 AM