Caterer's energy is all Cuban

Caterer Marta May of Bloomfield fled Cuba 42 years ago, but the sounds, smells and flavors of her native country are only as far away as the mortar and pestle she uses to grind garlic for mojo sauce.

“If you’re Cuban, you hear a drum and you vibrate,” she said. “Cubans run on espresso and sugar cane juice over ice. They are all very extroverted, creative and energized.”

For nearly 30 years, the 54-year-old May has channeled her upbeat energy into her own catering company, Champagne Taste, planning and executing all kinds of parties, from Wine Country weddings to Moroccan dinners and authentic Cuban Guateque celebrations.

“My passion is events, food and music,” she said. “We do mostly California-Mediterranean cuisine, with a Cuban twist, making everything from scratch.”

Preparations for an authentic Guateque in Cuba may last several days, because it always revolves around a whole roasted pig.

“The pig takes days to cook,” May said. “You have to marinate it, hang it, and cook it slowly.”

On the day of big feast, guests gather around the pig to eat and drink, dance and sing improvisational songs known as “decimas guajiras.”

The celebrations, always held on Sundays, also include savory side dishes like Yuca con Mojo, made from the long, brown cassava root.

“They take off the skin and cut it into chunks and boil the yuca,” she said. “Then they serve it with mojo.”

Plantanos — the firm banana-like vegetables known as plantains — are twice-fried into savory tostones, then sprinkled with salt and lime juice. The sweeter plantains are fried up into maduros and served for dessert with rum caramel sauces.

“Some people don’t like the green platanos, but they always love the sweet ones,” May said.

And there are always two big bowls, the yin and yang of the Cubans’ daily diet: Frijoles Negros (black beans) and Arroz Blanco (white rice), Without those two dishes, the feast would not be complete.

Cuban-style black beans have a bit of spice to them and a deep complexity that comes from the sofrito base, a blend of onions, peppers, garlic and olive oil, sauteed together in a pan. “Then we add cumin, oregano and bay leaves,” May said. You cook the beans real slowly. At the end, you add fresh cilantro and more olive oil.”

If you don’t want to roast a whole pig, you can always roast a Pierna de Porco, or leg of pork. But it must be marinated in the magical mojo paste.

“The garlic should be mashed with a mortar and pestle,” she said. “Then you mix the mojo paste together — bittersweet orange juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano and cumin.”

If you cannot find bittersweet oranges, a common substitute is equal parts lime juice and orange juice, which results in the required tart flavor.

A simple Cuban salad, made with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, oil and vinegar, rounds out the Guateque feast.

“People eat until they drop,” May said. “And then they keep on going.”

And because no self-respecting Cuban will finish a meal without a dessert, there is always a sweet treat at the end of the feast.

“The Cubans have the best desserts,” May said. “The bread pudding is incredible ... La Gran Via in Havana is a famous bakery.”

Another favorite dessert is the Cuban flan known as Tocinillo de Cielo, or Heaven’s Little Pig. Originally from Spain, the rich, eggy dish comes with a caramelized crust on the bottom and a hint of cinnamon and vanilla in the custard.

“Don’t overbake it,” May warned. “You want it to be creamy and smooth so that it melts in your mouth.”

As a child in Cuba, May’s father worked as a police lieutenant in charge of the narcotics division for the government. Her family was comfortable, with plenty of servants to help with the housework.

“In Cuba, young girls of means had nannies,” she recalled. “We didn’t learn how to cook.”

Their lives changed drastically after Fidel Castro came into power in 1959. Her father had to go into hiding in the countryside because he was afraid for his life. He took his family and became a farmer in San Jose de las Lajas, a former American settlement.

An uncle in Miami sent a cruise ship to pick up 110 family members, but because of a looming hurricane, the boat left early with just two family members: her grandmother and aunt.

Sponsored by the grandmother, her father was able to leave Cuba in 1967, then worked three jobs in order to send for his family: May, her younger brother and mother. May was 12 when her family finally left Cuba.

“We only could take 30 pounds of clothes in a suitcase,” she recalled. “We went to Mexico City ... and stayed three months, then arrived in Burlingame in June 1968.”

In California, May started to experiment with cooking as she grew older and moved out of the house, married and had a son, Benjamin, now 20. In 1980, she went to work for a catering company in Sausalito.

Her mentor for Cuban food is Nitza Villapol, an American home economist known as the Julia Child of Cuba, who published several, authentic cookbooks.

“I have all of her cookbooks — that’s the real thing,” May said. “She ended up in Cuba because her husband was a diplomat.”

May eventually started her own catering company, Champagne Tastes, in Sonoma County. She serves as the in-house caterer at the Bodega Coast Inn in Bodega Bay and the Healdsburg Golf Club at the Tayman Park Golf Course.

Now a vegan, May has given up the beloved roast pork of Cuba, along with the Cuban sandwiches made with Cuban bread, mojo roast pork, sugar-cured ham, salami, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard.

“Most Cubans die of heart attacks, because of the pork, and diabetes, because of the desserts,” she said. “It’s that sweet tooth.”

May’s family back in Cuba, however, do not have the means to put much pork or flan on the table.

“My family in Cuba is starving to death,” she said. “They are just trying to survive.”

Still, the strong spirit of the Cuban people never allows them to give in to hopelessness and despair, May said.

“We always see how to make a joke out of life,” she said. “We move on, and we do something with it.”

You can reach Staff Writer Diane Peterson at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com.

Recipes

Cuban Pierna de Puerco

Makes 6 to 8 servings

10 pound rear leg of pork (with the skin on and bone in)

Marinade:

3 oranges, juiced

6 limes, juiced

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons cumin powder

2 bulbs garlic (peeled & crushed in a wooden mortar)

Mix marinade ingredients. Stab the pork all over with a fork and rub the marinade into the pork. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator, turning it a few times so the marinade penetrates the holes.

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Cook the pork at 350 degrees for about 4 hours, or until the skin on the top layer turns brownish and very crispy.

Remove from oven and use the crispy skin as an appetizer. Slice pork before serving on a large platter.

"The Cuban Indians used to eat their food in clay bowls or dishes," Marta May said. "For a typical Cuban celebration, that tradition is honored."

Cuban Black Beans

Makes 6 to 8 servings

2 cups dried black beans

For sofrito:

5 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions diced

2 red bell peppers diced

1 bulb garlic (peeled and crushed in a wooden mortar)

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons ground cumin

4 dried bay leaves

For garnish:

½ bunch cilantro, washed and diced

-- Olive oil

-- Pimientos

For beans: Soak beans over night in plenty of water.

Rinse. Place in a pressure cooker and cook for about 45 minutes.

For sofrito: In a soup pot, make sofrito with 5 tablespoons of olive oil, onions, peppers and garlic, cooking until onion is translucent. Add the herbs and cook for a few more minutes. If it looks dry, add more olive oil.

When sofrito is ready, add the cooked beans and simmer for a half hour, until beans are soft and creamy. After turning off the heat, add the cilantro, some olive oil and pimientos on top.

Cuban Flan

"Tocinillo del Cielo"

Makes 6 to 8 servings

11 eggs

2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

2 cups whole milk (or Half & Half)

4 whole cinnamon sticks

For caramel:

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

-- Grated coconut, for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Open and set aside 11 eggs, using all the yolks and only 6 of the whites. Add and blend in the vanilla extract.

In a stockpot, mix the condensed, evaporated and whole milk together with the cinnamon sticks. Simmer the mixture till hot, but not scalding. Put aside and allow to cool. When milk is cool enough, remove the cinnamon sticks and discard.

Mix the egg mixture and the cooled milk mixture together and set aside.

In a small saucepan, make caramel by dissolve the sugar and the water over moderate heat. Bring the syrup to a boil covered, then uncover it and leave undisturbed till it turns golden. Bring to a boil again, swirling the pan, until it is a deep caramel.

Pour right away into a Corningware casserole dish (must have a lid) that is 8 x 8 x 2½-inches deep. Swirl the pan to coat the bottom. (You must work fast because the caramel solidifies almost immediately.)

Pour the egg and milk mixture through a fine sieve into the casserole dish (on top of the caramel). Mixture should come up to middle of pan or so. Cover it with the lid and place in a 325-degree oven for 15 minutes. Check it every 15 minutes and do not cook longer that 45 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is. It should be cooked through with a soft and silky texture. Let cool uncovered, so it will continue to set.

Chill for at least 3 hours before inverting it onto a flat platter. Garnish with fresh grated coconut.