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Be the first person in your neighborhood to have a copy of our NEW book by pre-ordering now! You will not be charged until your order is shipped.
A table of contents and list of recipes is available by following this link...
The book is about four weeks AHEAD of schedule -- delivery may be available as early as the first week of September!
The Original -- Still Great:
Three Guys From Miami Cook Cuban!
"Three Guys From Miami Cook Cuban" is a 234-page Miami Cuban cookbook packed with full-color pictures and 100 great Miami Cuban recipes.
- iCuban.com: Now Celebrating 10 Years on The Internet!
- What a long, strange trip it's been...
It began as a site about fishing, a place to showcase pictures of large catches of fish, both real and imagined. It was meant to be a fun site that celebrated a unique name, a common love of good times and good food. The authors fully expected that most of their relatives would visit the site at least a few times a year. They never really expected that anyone else would.
On July 9, 1996, the site that would become iCuban.com: The Internet Cuban was let loose upon an unsuspecting world.
Now 10 years and more than 4 million visitors later, the site has become one of the most popular Cuban sites on the web.
The Three Guys From Miami -- Raúl Musibay, Glenn Lindgren and Jorge Castillo -- are all brothers-in-law. Brought together by fate, they became fast friends who share a passion for good food, good conversation, and a great party.
One of our first website designs -- very simple!
For a couple of years, Raúl was the star of the show. The "Three Guys From Miami" name didn't happen until later.
We're 10 years older and a million miles from where we started!
We loved to pose around Miami!
Our original business name: "Manganson Blanco, Inc"
The Three Guys are on a mission: to preserve and promote Cuban culture!
The Three Guys are on a mission: to preserve and promote Cuban culture!
The Three Guys also have made several appearances on the Food Network, were featured in a Public television documentary, have appeared on the Travel Channel, and are frequent guests on public radio.
Surprisingly, they are also the authors of two books, "Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban" and the forthcoming book, "Three Guys From Miami Celebrate Cuban."
The site that began as a whim soon became a major source for all things Cuban.
"Originally, the site was about Florida fishing and we covered a few Cuban topics," Lindgren says. "Soon, people started writing in asking if we had a certain Cuban food recipe. We obviously had many recipes of our own, and we'd also ask family and friends for their recipes. Soon we had a large and growing collection."
The Three Guys have also done a lot of research on old original recipes from Spain -- they form the bedrock of many Cuban dishes. Their Caldo Gallego recipe for example, is based on several original recipes for this dish from Spain.
The site also expanded over the years to include a guide to traveling to Miami. The Guys wanted to show people how to enjoy the Cuban and Latin side of the great city.
"We show people how to enjoy the Cuban side of Miami with the best places to go, to shop, to eat and have fun," Lindgren adds.
And what does the future hold for the Three Guys From Miami? The trio is still working on a regular cooking show that would capture their humor and personalities.
"We're just one sponsor away from making that a reality," say Castillo.
The Guys also continue to make public appearances, pose for magazine spreads, and appear on TV and radio. And yes, there may be another book in the offing.
"We have received hundreds of recipes over the years," Castillo says. "We must have received 20 different black bean recipes alone -- everyone has their own family favorite."
"Of course we have added our own touches -- we rarely make the same dish exactly the same way we did the last time!" Musibay adds.
"Every once in awhile we receive a recipe that just knocks our socks off," says Castillo. "It's hard to improve on a really great recipe!"
Another major source is The Three Guy's attempts at duplicating dishes -- either they eat something in a restaurant that they like or they receive an email from someone asking for a recipe. With a lot of trial and error, they come up with something that tastes a lot like the dish they remember.
Our new look -- for 1999.
"We started getting email from people coming to Miami," says Castillo. "They would ask, 'Where is a good place to eat?' 'Where can I get a good Cuban sandwich?' 'Is there something to do beyond South Beach?' 'What do Cubans like to do in Miami?' That's how the Three Guys From Miami travel section of our site got started."
This is what an earlier version of the Three Guys From Miami site looked like in 2003.
They began with a strong base of recipes from several generations of the Castillo and Musibay families. These are the recipes Musibay and Castillo ate in Cuba -- the pair's mothers are the major sources for these dishes. In turn, the roots of many of these family recipes can be traced to the work of Nitza Villapol, the "Betty Crocker of Cuba." Castillo's sister Esther still faithfully uses her copy of Nitza's cookbook.
"I actually learned how to cook Cuban with Nitza Villapol," Lindgren says. "The Miami family sent me a paperback copy of her book in 1983, and I eventually worked through most of the dishes. Jorge could always call his family in Miami for cooking advice, but I had to rely on Nitza as my guide. Nitza's recipes became a starting point for many great Cuban dishes of my own that evolved as I got more proficient with Cuban food."
The Three Guys have also have received many recipes from the visitors to their website over the years.
The Three Guys From Miami provide Cuban cooking tips and advice for professional and amateur chefs all over the world. Their recipes have been included in several cookbooks, newspapers, and national magazines.
"We don’t really have a master plan," Lindgren says. "We have been blessed with many opportunities and I guess our gift is being able to pursue whatever comes along, even if that represents a major shift in our direction."
"When I met Glenn 25 years ago, I would have never believed that we would have been able to accomplish as much as we have," says Musibay. "I never dreamed I'd be on national television singing with Willy Chirino as I did last fall."
The site that began as a whim soon became a major source for all things Cuban.
"We have received hundreds of recipes over the years," Castillo says. "We must have received 20 different black bean recipes alone -- everyone has their own family favorite."
'What do Cubans like to do in Miami?' That's how the Three Guys From Miami travel section of our site got started."
"We know that there are many visitors to Miami who would like to have the Cuban experience, but they just don't know how," Musibay says. "There are also many second, third and fourth generation Cuban-Americans living in other parts of the United States, possibly in areas where they have little access to Cuban food, music or entertainment. Maybe their ties to Cuban culture died with their grandparents."
For more than 25 years, the Three Guys From Miami have been perfecting their Miami Cuban recipes by cooking and eating -- oh yes, a LOT of eating -- Cuban food. All of the Three Guy's Miami Cuban recipes have been tested in their own kitchens, a long process creating, collecting, and refining.
Doing a cooking demonstration in the early years at Burdines (now Macy's). We didn't even have a book yet!
All of the food section illustrations on this page came from a very early version of our recipe pages!
Raúl appeared on Clasica 92.3 FM radio's Zona Cero show last month. Hosts Omar Moynelo and Javier Ceriani spoke with Raúl about our new book, "Three Guys From Miami Celebrate Cuban." The highly popular morning show is the must-listen Spanish language radio program in Miami. Many thanks to Omar and Javier for having Raúl on their program!
Raúl Entertains Listeners of Zona Cero
Cuban artist Nelson De La Nuez has created a new piece of art called "Old Havana." It really captures the essence of Old Havana before Castro -- the Havana of all Cuban's fondest memories. De La Nuez is famous for creating artwork on all four sides of the canvas.
De La Nuez grew up in Havana until age six. His father was thrown in Morro Castle prison twice for speaking out against the government, and the family eventually fled to the United States. De La Nuez, who now lives in the Simi Valley just outside of Los Angeles, has really made a name for himself as a pop culture artist -- kind of like the Cuban Andy Warhol. He is collected by celebrities, including Jay Leno, Paris Hilton, Howie Mandel, Burt Reynolds and many more. "Old Havana" is one of the first De La Nuez originals with a Cuban theme.
Readers of this website can get a special price on one of the canvases. Each canvas is individually hand painted along with a silkscreen and is a numbered, limited edition, signed by the artist. For more information on purchasing "Old Havana" on canvas, contact
Stacy Bell, (click here) De La Nuez Studios. (To get the special pricing you need to contact her via email!) See all of the great art by visiting the artist's website at
www.popcultureart.com.
"Old Havana" -- Cuban popular art by Nelson De La Nuez.
Sonia Martinez is a master of beautifully styled and presented food! OK, she does have an advantage with all of that tropical foliage that is so abundant in her adopted home, Hawaii. Sonia's book,
Tropical Taste is now available on
Amazon.com!
Sonia is unique in that she has added a touch of Cuba to many traditional Hawaiian dishes. There are many similarities in the raw ingredients -- both cultures enjoy many of the same tropical fruits and vegetables.
We have yet to develop a taste for poi, but the way she serves it in baked orange shells looks very appetizing.
If you enjoy Caribbean food, Tropical Taste is definitely worth adding to your cookbook collection. If you have been to Hawaii and enjoyed the local cuisine, this book is a must. Highly Recommended
Three Guys Book Review...
Tropical Taste Captures Island Flavors
The Critics Weigh In on Our New Book!
"Three guys from Miami have an awfully good time concocting tasty Cuban fare.
"Lindgren, Musibay and Castillo are the "Three Guys from Miami," a hearty band of bon vivants who offer a delicious array of Cuban-inspired foods accompanied by cultural anecdotes and off-the-wall humor. In the midst of dazzling photography capturing street scenes and food styling, the Three Guys tender 100 recipes that range from the basics of roast pork, black beans, white rice, fried plantains and yucca with oil and garlic, to milk shakes and assorted alcoholic beverages, Cuban toast, empanadas, glorious lobster creations and desserts—as well as hangover and stomach-ache remedies. Each recipe comes with some entertaining banter between the three guys that might touch on the ritual of family gatherings, or the importance of music with food, or how to "Cubanize" a turkey. Readers will also learn how best to substitute for impossible-to-find ingredients.
"For us, the party never ends," say the authors. Grab a seat and join the fun!"
Copyright 2006, Kirkus Reviews
