Chapter 7

A CUBAN BREAKFAST.

The palm, of course, is the key note for decoration, as it is the characteristic plant of the tropics. But in order to be true to the scheme in mind, that is, to make your surroundings appear truly southern and create a local atmosphere, a marked difference should be made between the arrangement of our usual American interior and the room which aims at the imitation of a Cuban home. Light and air are most important, the factors _sine qua non_, and the scene of the _Almuerzo_ (breakfast) should not recall the hot house, the conservatory, nor the dimly lighted, heavily curtained apartment of our northern dwellings. There should be space, plenty of windows, the fewest possible hangings, and these light in weight and color.

For the mantel and table decorations dwarf palms are very effective, while larger ones of many varieties are appropriate for corners and other available places. Very pretty souvenirs can be made of small palm leaf fans. A Cuban landscape and the name of a guest are painted thereon, and tiny Cuban and American flags tied on the handle make a neat finish.

As most of the dishes served will be new to the guests, it is advisable to have at each place a menu card where they may see how the dishes are called, that they may not only relish them knowingly but remember their excellence.

The hour for breakfast is noon, although it may be taken as late as one o'clock.

Here is a typical breakfast which can be easily reproduced with the material at our command.

_Almuerzo_ _Olives_ _Aeles Sausage_ _Eggs in Revoltillo_ _Boiled Rice_ _Fried Plantains_ _Fish in Escabeche_ _New Potatoes_ _Tenderloin Steak_ _Lettuce Salad_ _Guava Paste and Fresh Cheese_ _Cocoanut Desert_ _Fruit_ _Coffee_

The olives should be served with cracked ice; the Aeles sausage (imported) in very thin slices.

EGGS IN REVOLTILLO.

Fry in a little butter a good sized onion chopped fine; when brown, add three fresh tomatoes and one sweet green pepper cut into small bits. Salt to taste and let simmer until the tomatoes are quite cooked, then add six eggs which have been beaten. Stir while cooking and serve soft as you would scrambled eggs.

BOILED RICE.

Rice in Cuba is an indispensable article of food, and no meal is complete without it. There is no little art required in its preparation, and it is imperative that it should be dry and tender at once. Like most simple things, it has a certain knack to it. Having thoroughly washed the rice, place it in a saucepan with three or four times the same quantity of water; salt generously and allow to boil until the grain is soft but not broken; drain off carefully all the water, cover the saucepan tightly and place at the back of the stove, where it will finish cooking slowly and become dry through the action of the steam. A small piece of lard added a few moments before serving glazes the rice and brings out its flavor. Each grain should stand apart from its neighbors. Some Cubans add a single kernel of garlic after removing the water. The quantity is so small that there is but a suspicion of a taste, and it gives this frugal dish a certain _cachet_.

FRIED PLANTAINS

are essential to every breakfast in the tropics, but they are not always obtainable here. A very good substitute is the ordinary banana. It should not be over ripe. Fry until a rich brown in hot fat. These three dishes should be served at one course.

FISH IN ESCABECHE.

Take three pounds of bonito or halibut in slices, fry and lay for several hours in a sauce made of half a pint of vinegar, in which the following ingredients have boiled for a few minutes: Three or four cloves, a bay leaf, a pinch of thyme, a kernel of garlic, a sliced onion, half a teaspoonful of coloring pepper, three tablespoonfuls of good salad oil and a few capers, olives and pickles. Hard boiled eggs may also be used for garnishing. It is eaten cold, and will keep, well covered in a stone jar, for weeks. (This dish is invaluable in summer.) Serve with new potatoes, boiled, over which a lump of butter and a tablespoonful of finely chopped parsley have been placed.

TENDERLOIN STEAK.

The best restaurants in Habana prepare the steak as follows: Take a tender filet of beef, cut in cross sections an inch and a half thick, wrap each piece in greased paper, and broil over a brisk fire. Remove the papers, add butter, salt, pepper and plenty of lemon juice--say the juice of two lemons for a whole filet. In Cuba they use the juice of the sour orange, but that is not to be had here. This is the _creole_ style, and is simply a modification of the French way. If you want the steak _a la espanola_, it should be fried instead of broiled, and when well done each piece surmounted by a _mojo_. The _mojo_ is a little mound consisting of onions and green peppers chopped very fine, and lemon juice added to the gravy.

Guava paste is easily obtained from any importer, and it is the proper thing to eat it with fresh cream cheese or sliced Edam cheese.

COCOANUT DESSERT.

This is purely a tropical dish, but Americans are very fond of it. Peel and grate a cocoanut; make a syrup out of four cups of sugar and two of water; when the syrup begins to thicken (when it has boiled about five minutes) throw in the grated cocoanut and cook on a moderate fire half an hour more; stir in the beaten yolks of three eggs and a wine glass full of sherry. Remove from the fire.

The final point of your breakfast is the coffee, and in Cuban eyes the affair will be a success or a failure according to the quality of this supreme nectar. The berry should be the best obtainable; freshly roasted, or at least the flavor refreshened by heating the grain in the oven a few minutes before using. Grind and percolate at the last moment. Serve black and _very strong_, in very small cups.