Maria's Gourmet Delights

25/04/2025

Here is a simple key lime recipie to impress your family an d so simple to make that even a three year old can make this scrumptious desert! You will need 2 cans of condense milk, 6 juicy limes, 1/2 stick of butter, & graham cracker crumbs. Melt the butter and add about 1 1/2 cups of the graham crackers and mix well. I used some margarita’s glasses and compacted the mixture in the bottom. On a mixing bowl add the two cans of condense milk and the juice of the six limes, mix at high speed, the mixture will get creamy and place on the glasses. Refrigerate for an hour. At the time of serving I added wiped cream and garnished it with some grated chocolate. Simple but OH so delicious, surprise your family with a home made desert.

24/04/2025

Last Saturday at Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermen’s Market there was an abundance of freshly picked Valdivia Onions and I decided to make French Onion soup, directly from the farm to my table!

The gastronomical roots of onion soup dates back to Ancient Rome, seen as food for poor people, as onions were plentiful and easy to grow. It is a delicious & heartwarming dish of minced onions with beef stock, toasted bread, and grated and grilled cheese.

One of the myths concerning the creation of the modern day French Onion Soup is that one day King Louis XV after a long day of hunting for deer with his court, the king returned to his lodge to find the cupboards practically bare. All that he and his great-aunt, who was staying there at the time, could find were onions, butter, and champagne. In the manner of 21st-century students around the world, they threw the lot into a pot, stirred, and served, thus, creating a new and marvelous treat.

The modern version of this soup originates in Paris, France in the 18th century, made from beef broth, and caramelized onions. It was introduced to the United States by the New York restaurant of Henri Mouquin in 1861, where his wife Marie Julie Grandjean Mouquin was the chef. It is often finished by being placed under a salamander in a ramekin with croutons and Comté melted on top. The crouton on top is reminiscent of ancient soups.

I cook my onions until caramelized, to deglazed I add 1 1/2 cup of Sherry, if you do not have sherry add white wine or a can of beer, add a qt of beef stock. In an oven proof bowl add one toasted sliced bread, pour the soup, add the Swiss cheese and broil in the oven until the cheese is toasted. You too can be a French Chef!

24/04/2025

Make it a family affair, come to Coastal Alabama Farmers & Fishermen’s Market, located on Miflin Rd, Saturday April 26 and stop by Maria’s Gourmet Delights, for some delicious empanadas and authentic Cuban sandwiches & pastries. The Cubans are super large, @$12, they are great at anytime of the day, big enough for two people. The empanadas come in three flavors; Beef, Chicken & Chorizo, at 2 for $6 or $30 doz, guava pastries, $5 box. This week I will have Cuban Black beans for $8 a qt. Lastly, a must, our delicious chimichurri sauce at $7 a bottle, a great garlic & parsley sauce perfect for the empanadas. We take debit and credit cards. I always have plenty of free samples for you to taste!

Join me till May 31st in the fight & donate $5 or whatever you can to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It is an honor to be part of Team Mission to Remission. Just scan the QR code located in the first photo to make your donation. Maria’s Gourmet Delights will be donating 10% of its sales for this awesome cause!

Thank you for supporting local businesses.
https://coastalalabamamarket.com/home

23/04/2025

Come this Thursday, April 24 to the Fairhope Farmers Market and visit my stand, Maria’s Gourmet Delights, for some delicious empanadas and authentic Cuban sandwiches & pastries. The Cubans are super large, @$12, they are great at anytime of the day, big enough for two people. The empanadas come in three flavors; Beef, Chicken & Chorizo, at 2 for $6 or $30 doz, guava pastries, $5 box. This week I will have Cuban Black beans for $8 a qt. Lastly, a must, our delicious chimichurri sauce at $7 a bottle, a great garlic & parsley sauce perfect for the empanadas. We take debit and credit cards. I always have plenty of free samples for you to taste! Thank you for supporting local businesses. The farmers market is located behind the Fairhope Library!!!!! Note 10% of our sales will be donated from now until May 31 to the Lukemia Lymphoma Socity

23/04/2025

I’m a meat eater and one of my favorite dish is Roast Beef! I start by marinating the Roast the day before, in a measuring cup add soy sauce with several spoons of mustard and rub it in the roast, add the herbs and seasonings of your choice, lastly I add a package of pearl onions and cook at 350 degrees.

In my house we like it medium rare, so I calculate about 10minutes per pound. The left overs I use for sandwiches during the week.

Roast Beef is the national dish of England and holds cultural meaning for the English dating back to the 1731 ballad "The Roast Beef of Old England". The dish is so synonymous with England and its cooking methods from the 18th century that a French nickname for the English is "les Rosbifs".

19/04/2025

Plantains are a staple ingredient in Puerto Rican food as well as Cuban and other Caribbean and tropical cuisines. Most people know of sweet plantains, but you can eat and cook with either ripe plantains (sweet) or green plantains. Both are delicious.

Yellow plantains are ripe and have a sweet taste. They are the ones used to make maduros, which are fried ripe plantains. The black-ish plantains are even more sweet and their texture is very soft. For pastelón, you want very ripe plantains, so try to pick out black plantains mostly when making this dish. I do a short cut, in the frozen section of Publix you can purchase the large bags of maduros. Depending on the dish I use I need two to three bags. Let it defrost and you layer the plantains. Onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and garlic are diced, cooked in olive oil with olives, capers, thyme, bay leaves, white pepper and ground meat, in other words picadillo. You will also need six beaten eggs & white cheese. The preparation is simple, refer to the pictures for direction. I call this the Spanish lasagna!

Plantains and bananas come from Asia. History tells us that when Alexander the Great arrived in India, he was surprised by their delicious taste and brought them to Greece. This was in around 327 BC. They spread further across the world thanks to Arab sailors who planted banana and plantain seeds along the east coast of Africa. Although Portuguese explorers introduced the crop to the new world in 1516, bananas played a key role in making it a central feature of the continent’s cuisine, mainly in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines.

Each region has its own varieties and peculiar names: In some countries such as Mexico, Central America, and Spain, “plátano” is the word used for both banana and plantain, and the plantain is distinguished by the name “plátano macho”. In the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, we call the banana “guineo”, while the Venezuelans call it “cambur”. Dominicans call fried plantain slices “fritos” or “tostones”.

16/04/2025

Come this Thursday, April 17 to the Fairhope Farmers Market and visit my stand, Maria’s Gourmet Delights, for some delicious empanadas and authentic Cuban sandwiches & pastries. The Cubans are super large, @$12, they are great at anytime of the day, big enough for two people. The empanadas come in three flavors; Beef, Chicken & Chorizo, at 2 for $6 or $30 doz, guava pastries, $5 box. This week I will have Cuban Black beans for $8 a qt. Lastly, a must, our delicious chimichurri sauce at $7 a bottle, a great garlic & parsley sauce perfect for the empanadas. We take debit and credit cards. I always have plenty of free samples for you to taste! Thank you for supporting local businesses. The farmers market is located behind the Fairhope Library!!!!! Note 10% of our sales will be donated from now until May 31 to the Lukemia Lymphoma Socity

15/04/2025

15/04/2025

I love Peruvian food! If you've been primed on Peruvian food, the conversation likely started with the country's mindboggling variety of potatoes. But culinarily speaking, Peru is the Hope Diamond of Latin America, home to dishes and flavors you won't find anywhere else. Peruvian cuisine is among the most varied and best in the world. It's a reflection of its three main geographical zones, the coast, the Andean highlands and the jungle, and an incorporation of influences from different times and immigrant cultures.
One of my favirite dish is Ají de Gallina (Spanish for chili pepper chicken) is a traditional Peruvian dish which has its roots in the social upheaval of the French Revolution in 1789. ... This is a shredded chicken dish in a spicy sauce flavored with cheese, garlic, nuts and Peruvian chili peppers. As with many things history has various different versions. Aji de Gallina is yet another typical Peruvian food that does not originally come from Peru. Chicken fricasee which is still served in France is certainly similar and the story goes that on arrival in Peru a bit of spice was added in the form of yellow chillies or aji panca and voila, a new classic was born. Others say the dish had its origins in Inca times although it was not gallina (hen) that was used but a different bird. And others still contest that it was a medieval Spanish recipe.
Aji de Gallina recipe
· Cook chicken in a crock pot & then shred into thin strips.
· Soak some white or French bread in evaporated milk
· Saute a red onion, garlic and chillis ( aji mirasol or aji panco or combination) & Add the shredded chicken and cook on a low heat.
· Add salt, pepper, Tumeric & sazon to taste
· NB. Aji is a kind of chilli. Aji panco gives a yellow colour but many debate the dish should be made with aji mirasol which gives a reddish tinge. Both these chillies are large and fairly mild. We are not talking about Mexican style chillies here.
· Liquidise the soaked bread with a cup of pecans and add to the onions, garlic and chillis & chicken
· Add some more evaporated milk or heavy cream depending on the sauce consistency you want
· Grate some parmesan into the sauce at the end.
· Serve with white rice on the side. Garnish with olives and parsley.

14/04/2025

Early Romans & Greeks used to mix their wine with sugar, spices and whatever was on hand. This drink was called Hippocras and at times it was heated like mulled wine. Hippocras is believed to be most likely the common ancestor for Sangria.
The Spaniards were doing something similar with grapevines planted by the Phoenicians around 1100 B.C., and then with vines planted by the Romans.

Sangria was introduced in the US during the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City. Today, under European law, Sangria can only be produced in Spain & Portugal and must have less than 12% alcohol. Today the best Sangria is homemade!

I cut some fruits such as apples, grapes, pears, or you can just drain a can of fruit cocktail. For a bottle of cheap red wine I add Sprite, Brandy, and Vodka. Sangria is a refreshing summertime drink.

13/04/2025

The coffee plant was introduced into Cuba in 1748, but coffee farming did not develop into a proper industry until the 1790s, when the island received an influx of French citizens fleeing the Haitian Revolution. Mostly cultivated on plantations in Cuba’s mountainous regions, coffee grew to match sugar in economic importance in the mid-19th century. Domestic consumption skyrocketed as Cubans incorporated the readily accessible crop into their daily routines. What is known outside Cuba as café cubano became the standard form of coffee for Cubans on the island.

Traditional café cubano is brewed in a cafetera moka, a stove-top espresso maker of Italian origin. The first few drops of coffee are added to a cup containing demerara sugar and beaten vigorously until the mixture turns light brown and a thick espuma ("foam") appears. (Unlike the mechanically produced crema that tops traditional espresso, espuma arises specifically from this characteristic sugar-espresso mixture during the brewing process.) Once the brew is complete, it is poured over the mixture, and the espuma rises to the top. The resulting drink is dark and much stronger than many other coffees.

Café cubano is commonly served in ceramic demitasse cups at home or in restaurants. Styrofoam or plastic cups may be used when the drink is being purchased from ventanitas (walk-up window vendors). Café cubano in larger quantities, typically four to six shot-sized servings, is called a colada. When topped with steamed milk, the drink is known as a cortadito, and café con leche refers to a tall mug containing much more milk than coffee.

11/04/2025

Make it a family affair, visit Coastal Alabama Farmers & Fishermen’s Market, located on Miflin Rd, Saturday April 12 and stop by Maria’s Gourmet Delights, for some delicious empanadas and authentic Cuban sandwiches & pastries. The Cubans are super large, @$12, they are great at anytime of the day, big enough for two people. The empanadas come in three flavors; Beef, Chicken & Chorizo, at 2 for $6 or $30 doz, guava pastries, $5 box. This week I will have Cuban Black beans for $8 a qt. Lastly, a must, our delicious chimichurri sauce at $7 a bottle, a great garlic & parsley sauce perfect for the empanadas. We take debit and credit cards. I always have plenty of free samples for you to taste!

Join me in the fight & donate $5 or whatever you can to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It is an honor to be part of Team Mission to Remission. Just scan the QR code located in the first photo. Maria’s Gourmet Delights will donate 10% of its sales to such a noble cause.

Thank you for supporting local businesses.
https://coastalalabamamarket.com/home

11/04/2025

Make it a family affair, visit Coastal Alabama Farmers & Fishermen’s Market, located on Miflin Rd, Saturday April 12 and stop by Maria’s Gourmet Delights, for some delicious empanadas and authentic Cuban sandwiches & pastries. The Cubans are super large, @$12, they are great at anytime of the day, big enough for two people. The empanadas come in three flavors; Beef, Chicken & Chorizo, at 2 for $6 or $30 doz, guava pastries, $5 box. This week I will have Cuban Black beans for $8 a qt. Lastly, a must, our delicious chimichurri sauce at $7 a bottle, a great garlic & parsley sauce perfect for the empanadas. We take debit and credit cards. I always have plenty of free samples for you to taste!

Join me in the fight & donate $5 or whatever you can to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It is an honor to be part of Team Mission to Remission. Just scan the QR code located in the first photo.

Thank you for supporting local businesses.
https://coastalalabamamarket.com/home

09/04/2025

Come this Thursday, April 10 to the Fairhope Farmers Market and visit my stand, Maria’s Gourmet Delights, for some delicious empanadas and authentic Cuban sandwiches & pastries. The Cubans are super large, @$12, they are great at anytime of the day, big enough for two people. The empanadas come in three flavors; Beef, Chicken & Chorizo, at 2 for $6 or $30 doz, guava pastries, $5 box. This week I will have Cuban Black beans for $8 a qt. Lastly, a must, our delicious chimichurri sauce at $7 a bottle, a great garlic & parsley sauce perfect for the empanadas. We take debit and credit cards. I always have plenty of free samples for you to taste! Thank you for supporting local businesses. The farmers market is located behind the Fairhope Library!!!!!

08/04/2025

I love Peruvian foods and one of my favorite dish is Papas a la Huancaina - This delicious platter originated during the constructions of Peru’s central railroad, the women of Huancayo prepared for the workers boil potatoes with a cheese, pepper, and milk sauce, this dish became known as “Papas a la Huancaina”.

I love making this classic recipe of Peruvian cuisine that is a perfect combination of ají amarillo (the yellow chili pepper), potatoes, garlic and fresh cheese. Almost everyone that tries this cold starter is won over by its creamy texture and its spicy touch on top of sliced yellow potatoes.

There is a saying in Peru, “el gr**go que come ají, no se mueve de aquí”, which loosely translates to “the American that eats hot peppers, will never leave Peru”.

Ingredients serves 4

½ cup aji amarillo paste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup evaporated milk
4 soda crackers
8 oz. queso fresco (fresh white cheese). Can be found in the Mexican cheese section in your local supermarket
Salt
Iceberg lettuce leaves
6 yellow potatoes, boiled and peeled
Black olives
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in slices
Parsley sprigs
Instructions

Put the aji amarillo paste in the blender, add oil and milk and process with the crackers, queso fresco, and salt, until smooth.
In four plates put four lettuce leaves, some thick potato slices, and cover with a few tablespoons of the sauce.
Garnish with black olives, hard boiled eggs and parsley.

06/04/2025

Many of you have asked me to post the recipe for Guacamole, here is a brief history of this delicious dip plus my recipe. Hope you enjoy making it, I love to eat it on toast for breakfast, great way to start your day!

Guacamole dates back to the time of the Aztec Empire in Central America during the 1500’s. During this period avocados were a favorite food and the Aztec loved their “aguja-mullí” an avocado mixture. When the Spaniards discovered the region, they fell in loved with the mixture. Guacamole is the perfect power snack with nearly 20 vitamins and minerals as well as good fats.

The name avocado was born in 1915 when a group of farmers decided to come up with a name besides “aguja-mullí”. Hence the name Avocado was born!

I chop tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapeño, and place in a bowl with about five avocados and mix together adding, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of cumin and the juice of one or two limes. Serve with tortilla chips, it’s also great as a sandwich wrap.