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MMMMIAMI Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere

By Carole Kotkin and Kathy Martin

Imagine the sensuous sweetness of fried bananas, the fiery bite of jalapeno pepper, the homey comfort of black beans and rice, the sizzle of fresh tuna on the grill.

Where are you?  Miami, of course!  It is America's gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America...our portal to exciting taste sensations...a place where Cuban, Jamaican, Haitian, Bahamian, Salvadoran, Peruvian, and countless other culinary traditions come together.

The hottest food trend in America, this zippy fusion cooking style called New World Cuisine is spreading, and fresh tropical food produce is finding its way into the mainstream.  A new cookbook teaches you how to recreate the best of this cuisine for entertaining at home, or just satisfying the soul.  MMMMIAMI:  Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere (Henry Holt & Company; $27.50) by Carole Kotkin, a cooking school director, and Kathy Martin, the food editor at The Miami Herald, hits bookstores everywhere on October 7, 1998.

In MMMMIAMI, authors Kotkin and Martin serve up more than 150 recipes that range from such Miami mainstays as Arroz Con Pollo (chicken and rice), Conch Fritters and Key Lime Pie, to more exotic fare, like Grouper with Malanga-Pecan Crust, Bogota-Style Chicken and Potato Stew (Ajiaco Santafereno), and Nicaraguan Three-Milk Cake (Tres Leches).  There are recipes for soups and stews, salads and dressings, side dishes, salsas, chutneys, and sauces as well as 28 tempting desserts including Free-Form Mango Tart, Carambola Upside-down Cake, and individual Chocolate-Cuban Coffee Souffles.

There's also an information packed guide to buying, storing, and preparing tropical produce, plus menu suggestions with wine choices. Sample a MMMMIAMI-style dinner party that might include...
*Potato and Black Bean Pancakes with Cilantro-Goat Cheese Sauce (page 24)
*Romaine and Queso Blanco Salad (page 80)
*Caribbean Rice (page 80)
*Veal Chops with Silken Mango-Lime Sauce (page 157)
*Bananas in Rum Caramel Sauce over Vanilla Ice Cream (page 325)

or Give this Thanksgiving a totally new twist with a feast that might include...
*Calabaza Sweet Potato, and Apple Bisque (page 50)
*Grilled Whole Turkey with Mojo Marinade (page 129)
*Malanga Souffl� (page 226)
*Carambola-Cranberry Sauce (page 272)
*Guava-Linzertorte (page 300

Cold Mango Soup with Raspberry Puree
 (4 or 5 servings)
 This gorgeous, scrumptious soup is such a show-stopper it’s hard to believe how easy it is to make. The deep pink raspberry puree contrast beautifully with the peach-colored soup; the buttermilk and pineapple juice cut the sweetness of the mango, and the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves add a pumpkin pie-like accent. Don’t tell your guests that all it took was a bit of cutting and a few whirls of  the blender.

 For the soup:
 4 medium mangoes or 4 cups frozen mango puree, thawed
 � cup  pineapple juice
 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
 2 teaspoons honey
 � teaspoon ground cinnamon
 � teaspoon ground ginger
 1 pinch ground cloves
 1� cups buttermilk
 Cold milk or half-and-half (optional)
 For the puree:
 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

 If using fresh mangoes, peel and seed them (page 000), and cut them into chunks. Combine them in a blender or food processor with the pineapple juice, lemon juice, honey, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Process until smooth.

 Scrape the puree into a 2-quart container, and stir in the buttermilk. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until thoroughly chilled.

 To make the puree, process the raspberries and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until smooth. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Pour it into a plastic squeeze bottle with a small tip or into a small plastic food-storage bag, and refrigerate.

 To serve, taste the soup for seasoning and check it for consistency; if you’d prefer it thinner, stir in up to 1 cup milk.  Divide the soup among 4 or 5 chilled bowls. If using a bottle, squeeze raspberry puree over each serving in a decorative pattern. With a plastic bag, twist the top closed, cut a tiny triangle from one corner, and do the same.

 Tips/Techniques:
When straining the raspberry puree, tap the side of the sieve to help the job along. If you try to force it through with a spoon, you’ll clog the strainer.

The kind of plastic squeeze bottle sold at beauty-supply stores is the perfect tool for making stylish squiggles of puree on top of this soup. You can use it for a similar restaurant-style presentation of most any dish with a smooth sauce.
 Variations/Substitutions: You can substitute papaya for the mango, and use orange juice in place of the pineapple juice.

About the Authors: A Miami resident for more than forty years, CAROLE KOTKIN has been teaching cooking since 1976.  She is manager of the Ocean Reef Culinary Center in Key Largo, Florida.  KATHY MARTIN is food editor of The Miami Herald.  She has lived in Miami for twenty years.

 MMMMIAMI Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere by Carole Kotkin and Kathy Martin Publication Date:  October 7, 1998ISBN: 0-8050-5673-4/$27.50

Reviewed by Madelyn Miller

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