Historical December 1985 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
(Editor’s Note: Lee Bailey, an attorney with the law firm of Green, Kanefield & Hoffman in Clayton, grew up in upstate New York and moved to Skinker-DeBaliviere in 1979 with his wife, Silvia PedrazaBailey who is on the faculty in the Sociology Department at Washington University.
They now live in the 6100 block of Washington.) by Lee Bailey I mastered jello at an early age and went on to experiment with unleavened biscuits with blue food coloring, red coleslaw, green peaches, and purple milk. Attempting to channel my culinary instincts, my mother—who taught at a local college and often had afternoon classes, would leave a set of directions for me to follow for that night’s dinner; such as: 1. Put potatoes in oven to bake at 375 at 4:30 p.m.; 2. Combine ground beef in refrigerator with ingredients on counter for meat loaf, put in oven 5:00 p.m.; 3. I will make salad when I get home: She would then call before her class to review the instructions.
My father was an excellent weekend cook, (those Saturday meals of beef stew, baked bread, and fresh apple pie) and he probably enjoys the enterprise of cooking more, than my mother.
In fact, since his retirement, he does most of the cooking. I moved away from home well grounded in the American basics. Silvia, who is from Cuba (not Missouri) introduced me to Cuban food. Early on in our relationship, she made it clear, based on her boarding school days in Maine, she had a distinct dislike for New England boiled dinner and related unseasoned conglomerations typical of the North East. Consequently, I have adopted Cuban food into my repertoire which Silvia admits I prepare as well as she does. I should add Silvia has not learned to prepare a single item from my repertoire except a willingness to eat apple pie.
Following are my adaptations of two of my favorite Cuban foods, Picadillo—a ground beef or lamb dish to be served with rice and Frijoles Negros—black beans Cuban style, also served with rice. PICADILLO (Cut up small) Ground beef or ground lamb (1 lb.-11/2) 1 onion – 1 small box of raisins 1/2 cup of sherry or other alcohol 12 olives or more 1 garlic clove, crushed 1/3 green pepper 1 medium-size can of peeled tomatoes (4-6 med. ripe tomatoes, peeled) Spices to be added. Oregano, ground cumin, paprika, ground mustard, salt, pepper, basil (about 1/2 t. of each, or more, to taste); 1 bay leaf, some tabasco. Fry the ground beef or ground lamb until slightly brown so that the grease comes out. Discard the grease, save the meat. Fry together in a bit of oil, the onion, garlic, green pepper, raisins and olives, until onions are soft and golden (not brown). Add the meat previously half-cooked; and stir. Add the tomato sauce (or canned tomatoes) and the sherry. Stir. Add all the spices listed above. Stir. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring.
Before serving discard the bay leaf. Serve with rice (white). FRIJOLES NEGROS (Black Beans Cuban Style) The most important thing to remember about black beans, is that you have to soak them overnight. Otherwise, they will not open up and cook. Hence, begin a day ahead of time, by washing the beans and leaving them overnight in a container where they are covered by 2 inches of water.
They will cook in this same water. 2 cups of black beans (dried) 2 onions 1 jar of pimentos, red 1 t. sugar 1/2 cup vinegar 6 oz. brandy, sherry, or rum 1/2 lb. chopped ham or sausage 3 green peppers (or 2 big ones) 3 tomatoes 2 cloves of garlic 15 olives or more salt and pepper a pinch of baking soda 1/2 t.-1 t. of each of the following spices: dry mustard, oregano, paprika, cayenne, 1 bay leaf, cumin seed, red tabasco, parsley. Begin by making a sofrito: the basis for most Cuban dishes.
It consists of the cloves of garlic, mashed; the onions, cut up; the green peppers, cut up; the tomatoes, cut up; and the olives.
In oil, fry this with the ham or sausage for a little bit, until onions are transparent. Add the beans with their water, the sugar, vinegar, spices, liquor. Add more liquid if necessary, beans should be covered by at least 1 inch of liquid. Cook by first bringing to a boil and then lowering the heat to simmer. Continue simmering until the beans open up and are tender (from 2 or 3 hours).
After they have cooked add a pinch of baking soda. That will make the beans open up faster if they still seem hard. You can make them in the crock pot and leave them cooking in the morning. You can also pressure cook them for 20 minutes.
But the flavor is best when cooked over a slow, gentle heat for a few hours. Just before serving, add the jar of pimentos with their water, the salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice. Makes about 12 to 15 servings.
Original photograph caption
Lee Bailey with ingredients for Cuban recipes. Photo by King Schoenfeld. The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, December 1985, page 10.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, December 1985.
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Original source: SD_Times1985_12.pdf, printed page(s) 10; PDF page(s) 10.
