Cuban Ropa Vieja Recipe

The history of Cuban Ropa Vieja is as rich and flavorful as the dish itself. Legend has it that this renowned delicacy traces its roots back to the early days of Spanish colonization in the Caribbean. As Spanish sailors and explorers ventured into the New World, they brought with them their culinary traditions, including a dish called "olla podrida," which translates to "rotten pot" in English.

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Cuban Garlic Slow Cooker Pork

If you’re looking for holiday side dishes for Christmas or Thanksgiving, this Cuban Garlic Pork Tenderloin recipe is a dish that the whole family will love. Delicious and so easy to make. It's one of my most popular recipes for holiday entertaining. The best part is after you do your quick and easy prep, the slow cooker does the rest.

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Cuban Arroz Con Pollo

It is turning out to be a scorching hot summer here in Pasadena. The perfect time for a Stella Artois® Solstice Lager. Stella Solstice is a seasonal beer perfect for a hot summer day. It is a delicious, refreshing golden lager with subtle citrus notes and triple filtered for a smooth dry taste and a crisp finish. Such a refreshing beer calls for the right dish to pair with it.

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The Perfect DIY Veggie Burger Bar

Fall is here and It’s our last chance to bust out the grill before it's too cold to set foot outside for more than 5 minutes. Burger's are one of my favorite things to eat. I love that you can now get amazingly delicious plant-based burgers that satisfy the craving and are delicious!

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Easy Pineapple Soda Pork Sliders

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ChooseMazola #CollectiveBias

In case you didn't know, September is National Cholesterol Awareness Month. I suffer from elevated cholesterol and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to create a lighter version of one of my favorite recipes. Slow cooker Pineapple Soda Pork Sliders. A clinical study showed Mazola®​ Corn Oil reduces cholesterol 2x more than extra virgin olive oil. To learn more about this claim, see Mazola.com.


Pineapple Soda Pork Sliders

Pineapple Soda Pork Sliders

I decided to sub 4 of my original ingredients for better-for-you options. You can reduce saturated fats and cholesterol in your meals easily with simple swaps, such as substituting butter with Mazola Corn Oil. Replacing butter with Mazola Corn Oil is a lighter recipe due to the saturated fat content. Mazola Corn Oil is an all-purpose, cholesterol-free cooking oil that is a smart heart-healthy* choice for your family. *See Mazola.com for more information on the relationship between corn oil and heart health. It has a variety of uses including baking, grilling, sautéing, stir-frying or mixing up a marinade or dressing. My next substitutions are tenderloin instead of shoulder, and hot sauce instead of ketchup. We are now good to go. Here's what you need.

All the fixins.

All the fixins.

Ingredients: 

•2-3 lb pork Tenderloin

•1/4 cup of Mazola Corn Oil

•1 1/2 cups Pineapple soda 

•Sliced Pineapple 

•Sea Salt 

•1/2 cup Hot sauce 

• 2 bay leaves  

•1 can of tomato paste

•6 garlic cloves minced 

•1 sliced onion 

•Salt/ fresh cracked black pepper to taste 

•3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

-Slider buns


Here's what you do:

  1. Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper.

  2. Heat the Mazola oil in a pan and seer the tenderloin on all sides for about 2 mins or until it gets a little browning. Color = flavor

  3. Transfer the shoulder to the slow cooker. Add the rest of your ingredients except for the fresh sliced pineapple and cook on low for 5-8 hours or high for 3-5 hours.

  4. Salt to taste and then add a slice of pineapple to your bun. Stuff as much of your sweet and spicy pineapple pork on the bread and indulge!

Yummy pork ready to be served.

Yummy pork ready to be served.

Time to slice this bad boy

Time to slice this bad boy

Happy Pineapple Triangles

Happy Pineapple Triangles

One slice before adding the pork.

One slice before adding the pork.

Ready to devour

Ready to devour



The Perfect Spicy Rum Bloody Mary

I grew up in Miami, the son of Cuban exiles and for most of my life that was the Hispanic culture, I connected with the most. 15 years ago I moved to Los Angeles and discovered a new-found love of Mexican culture. This inspired me to make a bloody mary recipe that melds my heritage and the Mexican heritage of my new city. A Spicy Cuban Bloody Mary. If you know one thing about Cuban people it's that we love our rum and we're looking for an excuse to have some. Why not have some in a delicious spicy bloody mary? It seems like a winning combination to me. This was the perfect opportunity to create a drink that brings together two of my favorite cultures.

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Enjoy the sweet life this summer with delicious Vidalia onions. Why Vidalia? The bottom line is versatility and great taste. The sugars in this sweet onion will caramelize perfectly when you grill them. You can only get them from April to August so definitely get your butt in gear and pick some up as soon as you can. They are a game changer. I wanted to prepare a recipe that showcases all their delicious flavor but can be eaten by just about everyone with dietary restrictions. This is a vegan-friendly recipe! Another cool thing about this dish is it stands up on its own or on top of your favorite protein. Perfect for a burger topping, on a yummy pork chop, or caramelized on a delicious pizza!

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Napa Summer Wine Picks

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A Cuban "American" Mojito

If you know me then you know I’m always thinking outside the box and trying to do something different. How can I make a delicious Cuban mojito with a twist? In the spirit of #SipOnTheBrightSide, I went down to my local grocer and picked up a six-pack of Mike’s Hard Lemonade. What if I added this yummy beverage to my mojito recipe? It was a hot summer day so I was inspired to elevate my ritual.

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A&W Root Beer Memories

We are right in the thick of baseball season.  The perfect time of the year for grilling and rooting for your home team.  One of my fondest memories in my teens is having a Dulce de Leche A&W® Root Beer floats with my Mom while watching baseball. They were a great compliment to whatever we were grilling during the game. A&W is celebrating its 100th anniversary and I wanted to recreate my favorite #AWMemories with my wife, who never had the chance to experience one of those yumm floats during the game.  A&W Root Beer basted burgers is what I was craving to have with my dulce de leche floats.


After making a list of my ingredients, I headed down to Walmart in Burbank.  It’s the perfect one stop shop for everything I needed to complete my meal.


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