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What makes your books different from other cookbooks?
Glenn: We set out to design Cuban cookbooks that were a little different from most books. For example, we have never seen another cookbook with a running commentary as ours has.
Raúl: 
Since our lives are pretty much a running commentary the idea came quite naturally.
Jorge: We also wanted to convey some of the Three Guys humor in our books...
Glenn: ...without making them so funny that no one would take the book seriously.
Jorge: We believe we have created books that are fun to read with easy-to-prepare recipes. We worked very hard on making all of the recipes simple and easy to follow.
Raúl: Most of all, we don't take ourselves too seriously. That's important.
Glenn: We like to say that is we're not having fun in the kitchen, we're not doing ANYTHING in the kitchen.
How do your recipes differ from the ones in other Cuban cookbooks?
Jorge: Many of the earlier books pretty accurately duplicate various dishes as they were served in Cuba in the 1950s. Our recipes are the result of 50 years of Cuban food evolution in the United States.
Glenn: These are the classics re-interpreted in the "Miami Style" to reflect not only an abundance of food in the United States, but also the many influences of other cultures in the melting pot of Miami.
Raúl: True, but this is not Nuevo Latino cuisine!
Jorge: Some very good chefs have taken Cuban food in that direction and they are very creative with some of those dishes.
Raúl: Yes, but it's not Cuban food.
Glenn: Nuevo Latino may be popular in some circles. However, most people are surprised how delicious traditional Cuban food, with a touch of Miami spice, can be all on its own.
Jorge: We're not that excited about Nuevo Latino. That's why you won't find any recipes in our books for green corn tamales with raspberry vinaigrette!
How often do you cook the recipes?
Raúl: Well, we cook and eat Cuban food just about every day.
Jorge: Some people may be surprised that we also cook and eat Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Columbian, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, Jamaican, Vietnamese, and even a couple of Irish dishes!
Glenn: We all have very international tastes in food and have never limited ourselves in our eating or our cooking.
Jorge: As for the recipes in our books, some we make all the time and others we just make on special occasions.
Glenn: We also included several recipes because we know that there are people out there who really want them, even though they are not our favorites.
Raúl: None of us is that crazy about oxtail.
Jorge: Don't get us wrong, we have eaten oxtail many times -- it's just not our first choice and it's a recipe we don't make very often.
Raúl: We left some recipes out of our books entirely because one of us -- or all of us -- just doesn't like them.
Glenn: I have never acquired a taste for one dish that is considered a delicacy in some parts of Cuba: sesos fritos -- fried beef brain. We DO NOT have a sesos fritos recipe in either of our books!
Jorge: No, nothing that exotic!
Are there special ingredients needed to cook Cuban food?
Jorge: We have worked to make sure that all of our recipes can be made with readily available ingredients.
Glenn: Twenty years ago you couldn't find many Latin ingredients anywhere outside of the major cities. Finding typical Cuban ingredients was even more difficult!
Jorge: With more interest in Latin cooking and an ever-increasing Latin population, many of these previously unheard of ingredients can now be found at the local grocer...
Raúl: Even in Cleveland or Des Moines!
Glenn: In addition, many cities, both large and small, now have Latin and ethnic markets. The small "mom and pop" shops often carry the full range of items that are essential to the Cuban kitchen. These include tropical fruits like mangoes, guava, and papaya; root vegetables like yuca, malanga, and boniato; and of course, the ever-popular plantain!
Jorge: For those so unlucky that their community remains untouched by Latin culture, we have provided a list of Latin food sources in both of our books.
