Spanish Food Recipes-Hispanic Holiday Beverages

Hispanic Holiday Beverages

If it is said that America's immigrant groups make our society a "melting pot" of cultures, then during the winter we must turn it up a notch and become a "blender of diversity," because our numerous ethnic groups have each played a part in making their respective Holiday beverages our own American classics.Take Mexican hot chocolate, for example. The ancient Mayan civilization of Mexico made the first chocolate drink, called xocoatl, for special occasions and important ceremonies. In those days, chocolate was a luxury item, and cacao pods were often traded as currency throughout the Yucatan and Central America. The Maya added spices to their frothy concoction, including vanilla ,chile pepper, and achiote. It was seen as a remedy for fatigue and prized for its energy-inducing effects. Mexicans today still enjoy a much spicier version of hot chocolate than we do in the U.S., but Mexican hot chocolate is gaining in popularity thanks to the spread of Mexican cuisine into the American diet.Nowadays, you can even find Mexican chocolate tablets in most supermarkets to make your own hot chocolate drink at home.I like a brand called Ibarra, which has cacao nibs and a nice cinnamon flavor to it. But you can easily prepare your own chocolaty elixir at home with a mixture of dark or bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, milk, and for the more adventurous, a little cayenne pepper, to spice up your winter nights.

Coquito is another Hispanic beverage that is commonly consumed during the Holiday Season. This egg nog-like drink has its roots in Puerto Rico and is a celestial combination of coconut cream, milk, vanilla, egg yolks, condensed milk, evaporated milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Usually imbibed around Christmas, it would not be an authentic Puerto rican beverage without the national obsession—rum, of course. The name coquito might be derived from either one or two sources. The Spanish word for coconut is coco, and coquito could be a more affectionate take on the fruit's name, which is common on the island. Another origin of the word might be the coqui, the beloved tree frog that resides in Puerto Rico's tropical forests and serves as the island's unofficial mascot. The frog produces a constant "coh-kee" sound that inspired its name, and perhaps the creamy beverage borrows its moniker because it is equally as adored. Though the sound of drinking an amphibian is not appetizing, I have never seen a person say no to a second glass of coquito after trying it once. Nat King Cole may have been singing about chestnuts, but if he had tried some coquito, he would have been belting out salsa tunes instead!
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Chicken and Rice Spanish Food Recipes

Arroz con pollo(rice and chicken is a very popular spanish food recipe that is common to many Spanish ethnic culture and is not difficult to make

Ingrediants:
3 lbs. chicken, cut into small pieces
6 Tbls. Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 Tbls. Chopped Garlic
salt and pepper
6 tsp. chopped parsley
5 pimentos
1 tsp. paprika
1 pinch saffron
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups white rice



1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

2. In a large deep pan heat the oil and saute the chicken until golden on all sides.

3. Remove to a warm platter.

4. Add the onion, garlic, and parsley. Saute until the onion is soft.

5. Add the pimentos, paprika, saffro, broth, wine, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.

6. Add the rice and cook over medium high heat, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, stirring until the rice is semi-dry but some liquid remains.

7. combine the chicken in the rice. Cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes.

8. Turn the rice and the chicken over with a fork from bottom to top; cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.

9. Transfer rice and chicken to a serving platter and garnish with a little parsley.

Spanish Food Recipes-Cuban

Cuban food differs from many other Spanish food recipes in some subtle but important ways.Cuban cuisine is a combination of Spanish, African and Caribbean cuisine. Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish and African cooking, with some influence in spice and flavor from other Caribbean islands. A small Chinese influence can also be accounted for, mainly in the Havana area.
Eastern Cuban cuisine forms the basis of Criollo cooking ( Criollo stands for "creole"), which shares a great deal of recipes with other Caribbean cuisines, but has the main difference of not using peppers.
Typically a meal would consist of rice and beans usually cooked together, and a main course consisting of mainly pork or beef. Meat is usually served in light sauces. The most popular sauce, used to accompany roasted pork, and the viandas, is Mojo , made with oil, garlic, onion and lime juice. Boliche is a beef roast, stuffed with chorizo sausage. Ropa Vieja is beef simmered in Criollo sauce with peas until it falls apart. A vianda or root vegetable, such as yuca, malanga, and potato are also prepared. Plantains, unripe bananas,corn and salad are also common to the Cuban meal.
Cubans make simple desserts made mainly with fruit and sugar, such as dulce de coco (ground coconut flesh boiled with sugar) or casquitos de guayaba (guava flesh boiled with sugar). Guava paste (made with guava, sugar and gelatin) is Cuba's most popular desserts. Most Criollo desserts are very, very sweet and this has established the custom of eating these desserts along with salted cheese or cream cheese, that help to offset the sweetness of these dishes. Other common ingredients in Criollo desserts are cinnamon, lime and vanilla. More Cuban Food.

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