HUNGRY GERALD

Beans are an essential part of HG/BSK dining in New Mexico. Every Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurant serves abundant amounts of refried beans with their dishes. “Charro” beans are also a feature (Pinto beans cooked with bacon, onions, tomatoes, cilantro). The best canned beans are the Goya brand (Disclaimer: Years ago, HG had the pleasure of serving as public relations consultant to this wonderful Hispanic company). Their cannellini beans are exceptional. HG likes them mixed with olive oil and chopped garlic as an accompaniment to rare pan-broiled rib steak. These are also splendid in a bowl of Italian canned tuna seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, sweet onions and garlic. A mound of Goya black beans is topped with chopped onions and sour cream. Worthy companion to fried pork chops which have been dusted with Goya Adobo spice powder. In HG’s New York/New Jersey days, HG frequently dined in Cuban eateries and had fried shrimp with “Moros y Cristianos.” This was composed of black beans topping white, fluffy rice and recalled Spain’s embattled history. BSK likes Goya’s garbanzo beans and uses them in a hearty chickpea soup. BSK uses the brand’s pinto beans cooked with Indian sauce. It’s a favorite (served with rice) after school snack for both Hindu and Muslim children. Sadly, Prince Edward Island supermarkets don’t carry Goya products. The canned beans they carry are inedible.

HG’s followers will note that HG loves Goya products: Beans of every variety; Adobo and Sazon seasonings, green olives, chorizo, etc. Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic owned business in the United States (private and family owned) sells some $1.5 billion worth of their 2,200 (give or take) products annually and employs 3,500 persons. The company was founded by Prudencio Unanue Ortiz in 1936 after arrival in the United States from Puerto Rico. Born in Spain, Ortiz named the company after his favorite Spanish painter, the great Francisco Goya. In 1980, HG had the happy experience of working with the Unuanue family and Goya Foods as public relations counsel. HG admired the family’s unfailing courtesy and dedication to the quality of their products. The company was very philanthropic and was the sponsor of numerous events celebrating the Hispanic presence in America. Today, it is a prominent member of Michelle Obama’s “Eat Healthy” initiative. Also in 1980, a brash young man named Donald Trump was making his first big splash in New York real estate by announcing his ambitious renovation of the dowdy Hotel Commodore at New York’s Grand Central Terminal. Trump, fueled by his father Fred’s multi million dollar fortune, was eager for media visibility. HG handled public relations for the architectural firm designing the renovation. In that capacity, HG had many meetings with Donald. Though grotesquely self important and overbearing, HG found the outer borough youngster appealing. HG and others induced Mayor Ed Koch to participate in the press conference announcing the renovation. Koch, in his usual “haimish” manner, congratulated Trump but diminished the importance of Trump’s great endeavor compared to other things happening in New York at the time. (This was the beginning of mutual dislike between Trump and Koch that continued during their careers). HG has been thinking about the wonderful contribution to America made by the Hispanic family behind Goya Foods and the positive benefits brought to America by the latest wave of Hispanic immigrants from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, etc.. Donald Trump’s disgraceful remarks about Mexican immigrants and his ludicrous immigration policy ought to disqualify him from any role in American political life. However, his presidential campaign goes on. It seems The Donald (like other nonsensical TV “reality” personalities) has captured the affection and attention of a considerable audience. HG can only hope that The Donald is a temporary aberration who will disappear while HG continues to sup on Goya black beans topped with chopped onions and a dollop of sour cream.

HG has written before about the reluctance of most Americans to make squid and octopus part of their everyday diet. Sure, raw octopus is hard to find and cooking it well takes some skill. But, squid? Always available at Whole Foods and many supermarket fish counters. Cheap. Healthy. Simple to prepare. Versatile. Here’s how HG/BSK do it. Squid tubes are cut into rings and the tentacles into manageable clusters. Rinsed and then dried thoroughly. Very thoroughly, so that when fried, the squid will get crispy. Toss them into a pan of hot, smoking vegetable oil. Cook for one minute to 90 seconds. After draining on paper towels, BSK ads them to a pan of gently warmed Sicilian olive oil, thin slices of garlic, Greek hot and sweet pickled peppers. Showers the dish with parsley and some lemon juice. HG likes the sautéed squid (minus the peppers) mixed with linguine and a parsley/anchovy/olive oil mix plus some capers. David Tanis, the very good food writer, likes to top warmed canned cannelloni beans (Goya is the best brand) with squid, surrounded by slices of raw, sweet onion and ripe tomato and drizzled with a bit of olive oil. As far as octopus goes, HG gets some cooked octopus at Whole Foods and treats it like sashimi. Otherwise HG revels in grilled octopus at Greek restaurants (The eateries in Chicago’s Greektown section are expert in cooking octopus). But, the best octopus dishes are found in Europe. HG/BSK remember with fondness eating octopus with the late, great Italian food authority Marcella Hazan and her husband, Victor, at a stately restaurant in Mestre, the industrial town that is Venice’s neighbor. These were baby octopus just pulled from the Venetian lagoon, poached gently and served with only olive oil, lemon juice and coarsely ground black pepper. Sublime. In Madrid, HG/BSK found a funky, noisy, non-tourist bistro that served beautifully tender Polpo Gallego (octopus prepared in the Galician style). After lunching on this dish plus a platter of delectable little fried peppers); Gambas Ajillo (garlic shrimp) and a pitcher of sangria, HG/BSK were fortified to view Velasquez, Rubens, Titian, Bosch, Rembrandt, Goya and El Greco at the nearby Prado art museum. Nice to combine delicious food for the body with exhilarating food for the soul.

That’s the motto of Goya Foods and HG agrees with every word. Goya, based in New Jersey, is the largest Hispanic-owned business in the United States. The products that this family enterprise produces are absolute staples in the HG/BSK pantry. HG was pleased to see that Cook’s Illustrated, the very rigorous cooking publication, recently taste-tested canned cannellini beans and picked GOYA’s Cannellinis as the winner. Here are some quotes from the tasters: “creamy and firm,” “nice nutty flavor,” big and meaty,” and finally “very satisfying.” To all of this, HG says “Amen!!”. HG eats these beans with pork chops (well dusted before frying with GOYA Adobo). BSK mixes these beans into BSK’s incomparable escarole and pancetta soup. Guided by knowing Florentines, HG accompanies very rare steak with the beans (flavored with lots of garlic and olive oil). BSK mixes them with a can of tuna fish, chopped red onion, olive oil and Italian parsley. Department of full disclosure: Some decades ago, HG conducted a public relations campaign for Goya and flooded the country with recipes featuring Goya products. HG very much enjoyed working with Goya. A lovely family that took pride in their products. Another HG bean favorite is GOYA Black Beans. Very tasty. Heat a can. Top the bowl of goodness with chopped raw onion and a dollop of sour cream. Good eating. Try Goya’s hot sauces and salsas as well. Muy autentico.

HG does not fancy canned goods — too many meals of “mystery cans” in HG’s youth (see the post Mom And Depression Canned Goods). However, there are exceptions. Alwadi Al Akhbar brand Baba Ghannouge is canned in Lebanon and is delicious. HG adds crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and smoked Spanish paprika to this eggplant dip. Serves it with a selection from the Whole Foods olive bar (kalamatas, artichoke hearts, giant lima beans) plus warm pita bread dusted with zaatar (a middle eastern spice mix). Nice mezze. In another geographic mode, HG likes the Mexican products of Juanita’s Foods: Chicken (or pork) Posole. Hot and Spicy Menudo (tripe stew). Mucho flavor. Of course, HG is a huge fan of most Goya products, but especially their canned beans (white, kidney, garbanzos, black). Black beans mixed with rice (topped with raw onions and a few canned chipotle peppers) is an HG/BSK household favorite. (Cubans call it Moros y Cristianos — Moors and Christians). For chipotle peppers (plus other pepper varieties) look for the Herdez brand.

Okay, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, available in every super market and grocery in the United States, is a dumb cheese. Thoroughly generic, absolutely processed and totally boring; however, HG admits, the cheese has its place. HG likes it with a chunk of guava jelly. Goya produces guava jelly in a big round, flat can. Very cheap. Very good. HG also likes it spread on buttery Ritz crackers (yes, HG likes some proletarian treats) and topped with fiery jalapeno pepper jelly. The best cream cheese ever was produced by the Daitch Dairy stores in The Bronx and Manhattan. Today’s closest approximation can be obtained by mail order from Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Be forewarned. It’s not cheap.

Chicken thighs for dinner. So much better than flavorless chicken breasts (and cheaper). Here’s how HG and BSK do it. Make a marinade of olive oil,lemon juice garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, coriander. Add a tablespoon or two of Greek yogurt. Mix well. Give it a light dusting of Goya adobo. Marinade in the refrigerator for two or three hours. BSK is going to barbecue and serve with canned white beans (enriched with a garlic and parsley sofrito) plus BSK’s unique mix of zucchini, corn niblets (frozen corn does just fine), New Mexico chile powder and a bunch of fresh herbs from the BSK garden. HG and BSK will eat outdoors on their terrace, sip chilled red wine and watch dusk make beautiful patterns on the surface of Las Barrancas, the colorful bluffs located on Native American lands. Sounds good? It is.

Goya is a family owned ethnic foods company whose products are HG essentials. Their tag line is “If it’s Goya it has to be good.” And it is absolutely true. Their Adobo powder is magic. Dust your roast chicken with it before you pop the bird in the oven. It is obligatory on pork chops. Their Sofrito makes any soup or stew sing. A favorite HG quick meal. Cook some rice. Heat a can of Goya black beans. Pour the beans over the rice. Top with chopped raw onions or scaliions. Some Sriracha to taste. South Americans call this dish “moros y cristianos” — Moors and Christians. Slices of orange and ripe avocado are a pleasant accompaniment. A quick dessert is a hunk of Goya guava paste served with some cream cheese (try to find a better cream cheese than that Philadelphia crap). Nice with the last sips of your red wine.