Alfred Travieso is a reserve police officer for the City of Woonsocket. He's also helps prevent theft at the Woonsocket Walmart. But he and his older brother Robert are famous because they love to cook, and their recipes come directly from their Cuban heritage.

The brothers recently appeared on "Backstage Entertainment", a local cable TV show, where they were featured in a segment called "The Cuban Chefs", where they prepared Picadillo from their traditional Cuban Recipe.

"This recipe has special meaning to me because when I was young my Mom use to make it once a week and I enjoyed watching her make it," Alfred says. "I loved the taste of it and could not wait to mix it with the white rice and black beans."

The recipe was passed on to the brothers by their mother. When she passed away in November of 1996, they made the recipe a family tradition that they made whenever they saw each other. Every two months or so, Robert comes home from Secacus NJ, and they share momma's Picadillo in their first dinner together.

"When we do get together we call ourselves 'the Cuban Chefs' and everyone, Alfredo's wife Terrie, Roberto's wife Fran, kids Haley and Alfred Andrew have to leave the kitchen including the dogs, who sit there waiting patiently!" They don white chef hats and aprons and actually dance around the kitchen as they prepare dinner.

"We are still young at heart. Not bad for me being 39 years old and my brother 42 years old." People who saw them on television dancing to Ricky Martin's "La Vida Loca" while they cooked in the kitchen sometimes ask why. "We answer the same way every time, you got your sports stars stretching out before a big game to get prepared, we just feel like dancing to get prepared, it gets us ready plus adds a lot of comedy and laugher, we make up our own dance steps, must be in our heritage!"

Alfred is a musical type of guy. He's a DJ who brings his Sound Force Unlimited service to events around Rhode Island. His dancing had gotten him enough attention to have gotten him invited to appear "Dirty Dancing Havana Nights", but he had to pass because of his DJ committments.

Sometimes people ask their opinion of the celebrity chef Emiril. "We are much better, plus we are younger and cuter and we don't stretch a cooking project out. We take the fluff and BS out and show you, the home viewers and readers that you don't need a college education to prepare great meals. And if he was standing in front of us right now I would give him a 'Bam' with his own frying pan... Hey that rhymes!"

Keep an eye on the local cable access chanel for their episode of Backstage Entertainment. They promise that when you see the Cuban Chefs in action you get everything you would see in a great movie. Drama, Comedy, Action, Suspense, Violence (That's the whacking of Emiril with a frying pan, preferably a 12 inch skillet) and love, hopefully and usually after dinner with the wives.

Demand for Robert and Alfred's family recipe is so great, that The Rhode Island Gourmet Guide published it in their April/May 2002 issue also Try Foods International will be featuring it in this year's Wal-Mart Family Cookbook coming out in late fall of 2004. They've given RI Roads permission to present it so that our readers can taste the flavor of Cuba.

Picadillo

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 medium onion (minced)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 leaves of Bay Leaves
• 6 pepper stuffed olives
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• ½ cup of red cooking wine

In another saucepan, add tomato sauce and wine and cook over low flame for 5 minutes.

Then heat 5 minutes more on high flame.

Pour sauce over cooking beef. Raise flame on beef to cook thoroughly. Add more tomato sauce if visually needed. Cooking time 30 minutes.

Serve with Black Beans and White Rice.

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Black Beans

Black Beans are a staple to Cuban cooking, and its amazing in how many dishes it can be used. The following serves 6 as a side dish. It can also be thinned with chicken stock to make black bean soup, another common Cuban staple.

• 1 pound dried black beans
• 4 cups of water
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• ¼ pound salt pork, chopped
• 1 pound smoked ham hocks, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups chicken stock
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Place black beans and water in large stockpot. Cover and boil two minutes. Turn off heat and let stand covered for 1 hour.

Remove the lid and add the rest of the ingredients, except the vinegar, salt and pepper. There should be enough water to just cover the beans, so if necessary add a bit or water. Cover and simmer until the beans are tender, about 2 hours. Take out the hocks and remove the bones. Return the meat to the pot.

Add the vinegar, salt and pepper. Simmer long enough to heat the vinegar.

Moros Y Cristianos (Moors and Christians)

Black Beans and White Rice

• 2 cups of cooked white rice (1 cup of dry uncooked rice)
• 1 cup of cooked black beans (recipe above)

Drain the beans. Does not have to be well drained, just get rid of the excess liquid.

Stir with the white rice until evenly incorporated.

Alfred explains the name of this dish. It refers to the wars between the Moors (blacks) and the Spaniards (whites). "This blend of black beans and white rice, is common on every Cuban table, every day, and it is a reminder of the Spanish influence on Cuba. Don't get me wrong there is no daily ritual, where Cubans reflect on the Spanish invasion of 500 years ago. But I just want to point out that history does not exist in a vacuum, it influences everything, including food. "

Padre Pico Street, Santiago de Cuba
17 in. x 11 in.
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Framed   Mounted

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