What makes your books different from other cookbooks?
Glenn Lindgren: We set out to design Miami 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 Musibay: 
Since our lives are pretty much a running commentary the idea came quite naturally.
Jorge Castillo: We also wanted to convey some of the Three Guys humor in our books...
Glenn Lindgren: ...without making them so funny that no one would take the book seriously.
Jorge Castillo: 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 Musibay: Most of all, we don't take ourselves too seriously. That's important.
Glenn Lindgren: 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 Miami Cuban cookbooks?
Jorge Castillo: 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 Lindgren: 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 Musibay: True, but this is not Nuevo Latino cuisine!
Jorge Castillo: Some very good chefs have taken Cuban food in that direction and they are very creative with some of those dishes.
Raúl Musibay: Yes, but it's not Cuban food.
Glenn Lindgren: 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 Castillo: 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 Musibay: Well, we cook and eat Cuban food just about every day.
Jorge Castillo: 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 Lindgren: We all have very international tastes in food and have never limited ourselves in our eating or our cooking.
Jorge Castillo: As for the recipes in our books, some we make all the time and others we just make on special occasions.
Glenn Lindgren: 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 Musibay: None of us is that crazy about oxtail.
Jorge Castillo: 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 Musibay: We left some recipes out of our books entirely because one of us -- or all of us -- just doesn't like them.
Glenn Lindgren: 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 Castillo: No, nothing that exotic!
Are there special ingredients needed to cook Cuban food?
Jorge Castillo: We have worked to make sure that all of our recipes can be made with readily available ingredients.
Glenn Lindgren: 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 Castillo: 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 Musibay: Even in Cleveland or Des Moines!
Glenn Lindgren: 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 Castillo: 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.
