New bottle, same awesome taste.

Ron Barcelo Imperial, my favorite rum after Havana Club Anejo and the now extinct Matusalem 15, has a new look but the rum itself is luckily unchanged. El Imperial, (aged at least 10 years) like all Barcelo rums, is aged in oak barrels from Kentucky that have been previously used to age Bourbon. Imperial pairs really well with milder cigars, highly recommended.

What's for dinner? Pastelillos.

Mrs. Baya made pastelillos last night, and as always, superbly prepared. Only different between Mother Baya and Mrs. Baya's recipe is that the Mrs. doesn't add stuffed olives. Both offerings are tasty.

For a serving of five:

1/2 lb. ground beef
2 tbsp. Sofrito
1 packet Sazón
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. Adobo with black pepper (if not add a pinch of it for good measure)
1 pkg of Discos (frozen turnover dough of your choice. I prefer white)
Oil for frying.

Brown the ground meat in a deep pot or frying pan, either one works.

Drain most of the grease and add sofrito, sazon, adobo and tomato sauce.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover the pot. Cook for 15 minutes covered.

Uncover and stirring occasionally.

To stuff the discs:

Flatten with a roller to your desired size.

Add 3 tbsp. (Mrs. Baya overfills to my delight) of meat filling per pastelillo, coat the edge with a little water and fold over.

Press down the edges with a fork to seal them.

Fry in an inch of oil or a deep fryer. Brown and flip, repeat.

Keep in mind that they do expand.

Place on a paper towel covered plate to absorb any extra oil and you're ready to eat.

Enjoy.

The classic Alcapurria.

Like the classic American hamburger, alcapurrias are a staple in our cuchifrito universe. I don't know why some feel compelled to alter this simple recipe, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Adding plantains, yuca or potatoes to your masa is overkill, and in my opinion, not necessary.

Again, Mother Baya, and now Mrs. Baya, make some killer alcapurrias. I offer a simple recipe:


To serve approximately five people:

* 1 pound of Yautía (Taro root)
* 4 Green bananas (I mean green, if they started to turn they are no good for this application.)
* 2 teaspoons Sazón seasoning
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* 1 pound of ground beef (80% good be ideal)
* Oil for deep frying

Cook the filling first, season it to your liking. Adding some sofrito to your ground beef would not hurt.

Peel the yautía and grate it (I hate this part) on a grater into a large bowl. Peel the green bananas and grate them into the same bowl. A fine grating texture would be good. Add sazón and salt and mix together.

Cut a banana leaf (old-school) or parchment paper (new-school)into a round slightly larger than your hand. Put about 1/2 cup of the batter (known hereafter as la masa) onto the round and spread it out a bit. Place 3 tablespoons of the ground beef filling in the middle of la masa. Using the round, fold la masa and around the filling, completely enclosing it. Form la masa into a smooth, oval round and set it aside.

Heat about 2 inches of oil in a large pan or deep fryer to about 350°F. Drop the alcapurrias into the oil and fry until well browned on one side, flip and repeat.

Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and you're ready to go. With Pasteles season approaching these make an awesome one, two punch.

R.I.P. Felix Gutierrez

Mi Tío Félix pasó a vida menor hace unas semanas a casi 94 años de edad. Mayor que mi padre por aproximadamente tres años y medio, Tío Félix, después de mi Tío Valentín, fue muy cerca a mi papá. Ellos se apoyaron mutuamente todo lo posible desde su infancia.

Recuerdo una historia sobre mi Tío Félix. Con neumonía, mientras mi padre vivió con él y su familia después de ser dado de alta del Ejército de los EE.UU., Titi Gina despertó mi padre a las 3:30 de la mañana a ver si el pudia cubrir la ruta de mi Tío de entrega de leche ese día. Mi padre, por supuesto, estuvo de acuerdo y cubrió la ruta por una semana. Mi Tío se recuperó, volvió al trabajo, y el pagaron por la semana que no había trabajado. Tío Félix le ofreció pagar la semana a mi padre, 8 dolares, y mi padre se negó a aceptarlo. Ese es el tipo de relación que ellos tenían, en ese entonces y hasta el final.

Tío Félix era un hombre muy complicado, incluso con los que lo conocian mejor, él siempre decía lo que pensaba (algo que yo admiraba) y fue siempre brutalmente honesto.

Que descanse en pas.

Phillie Phanatics.

The G-Unit minus 1 headed down to Philadelphia to catch the Phillies vs. Mets game at Citizens Bank Park last Friday. While Philly fans of all sports are notorious for their overzealousness and crude treatment of their opponent's fans, I found this to be a great baseball venue. Yes, they are over-the-top in support of their team but I will say that, unlike sporting events here where the 7th inning stretch can stretch one into the parking lot or nearest train station, Philly fans stay put until the game is over, win or lose (I was going to say draw but I don't think that's a possibility without any blood shed.) In addition, they cheer back-up position players as they would star players.

Foods and drinks were reasonably priced, the Cheese Steak was edible and we got to see and hang out with our family from Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, according to Greek translation.

If the Mets don't get there act together soon, these trips to Philly (and the Bronx) may become more frequent.