Wild Otter & Recipe

https://youtu.be/Ty8DvjO81FI -- catching a live fish. Mellita's Sweet Black Bean Recipe:

Mellita's was the old Cuban Restaurant on 36th Street Miami (I used to do the runs after engine changes on L10ll's 757 DC10's etc. etc. taxi then to the gates for Eastern) and this was their specialty: sweet black bean soup and a Cuban sandwich (which would be in stacks to the ceiling (I have their recipe for those too). Anyway all that got torn down in the 36th street widening years ago. Has the spice recipe below. The real secret they had was cooking all of that first part together - the other restaurants would blob a layer of olive oil and vinegar on after cooking (made it salty).


You Need: 2 15 oz cans black beans (I use Joan of Arc) undrained
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
3 small (3-4") sweet peppers chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 pound sliced sausage (polish - smoked beef sausage - turkey all fine as is diced ham (they will blend and all taste the same)
1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning (your oregano etc. is in that)
1 Tablespoon cane syrup OR 2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Marsala Red Wine
8 OZ water
Cooked Rice


Directions: in 1 tablespoon Olive Oil, cook down Onion, Peppers & Garlic till softened and add meat & cajun seasoning & fry down till just browning - add 2 Tablespoons tomato paste, 8 OZ water & 2 (I use Tones) Bouillon Cubes, 2 15 oz cans black beans undrained, 1/2 teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon Marsala Red Wine & 1 Tablespoon Cane Syrup OR 2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar. Heat to boiling and reduce to bubbling (simmer) and cook down until mixture is well blended and will coat a spoon or spatula as shown. Serve over rice - or simply serve as a thick soup. -- These will hands down be the best black beans you ever had!


Cajun Seasoning Recipe (doubles as a killer rub for steaks, chicken wings, seafood of any type any way (boil), crawfish etc.):
3 Tablespoons Salt
2 Teasp. Garlic Powder
1 1/2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
1 Teasp. Black Pepper
1 Teasp. Onion Powder
1 1/4 Teasp. Oregano
1 1/4 Teasp. Thyme
1 Teasp. Basil
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

I thought you were eating the wild otter! I have a winter hat made of otter, can’t remember hearing about anyone eating an otter though.

(OK i'll be the one to say it)
But i have heard of people eating a beaver.

This made me soak and prepare some Pinto beans today. Filled the house with good smells and flavors. Thanks.

Gary

Lynx is tasty!

flagold said:

Mellita's was the old Cuban Restaurant on 36th Street Miami

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I never would have come up with the name, but I think I used to go there in the 70s when I'd escape Montana for a week during Christmas. I had never heard of black beans before then, but I was so smitten by the dish I had to find out how to cook it.

Nowadays I buy the big black bean bags from Costco. I love my Cuban soups and breakfasts.

Thanks for the memory lane trip.

"This made me soak and prepare some Pinto beans today. Filled the house with good smells and flavors. Thanks.

Gary" -- You're welcome - never did try it with Pinto beans (will now).

RVBottomly said:

I never would have come up with the name, but I think I used to go there in the 70s when I'd escape Montana for a week during Christmas. I had never heard of black beans before then, but I was so smitten by the dish I had to find out how to cook it.

Nowadays I buy the big black bean bags from Costco. I love my Cuban soups and breakfasts.

Thanks for the memory lane trip.

Click to expand...

Probably so. It had a deli side and a restaurant side, the deli side had stacks of Cuban sandwiches all along the wall to serve the throngs that came in. Eastern had 80,000 people alone as that was the main operations base for South America and 36th street (now widened into a 4 lane connector road called Doral Blvd.) was lined with machine shops, tool vendors, freight operators to ship our engines out (many people don't realize an airline engine shop can re-build turbine engines to new specs (although not zero-timed), and many sheet metal shops since we could take the airplanes down to the rib structure in the heavy check bays. All of that came crashing down when Eastern crashed, the area quickly became a blight and they simply bulldozed it and put in a connector road. A person now would have no clue - but you obviously do. I would have actually paid Eastern to do what I did (engine changes, run ups & taxi the aircraft from the gates at night). The city of Miami would charge Eastern a fortune in gate fees if they left the airplanes at the gate overnight so two of us would shuttle them back to the N. side of the field. Never could get my BP stable to get an ATP and eventually stroked out so a good thing I just did the ground ops I suppose.

Agree that once you've had it you're a hopeless addict of the stuff. That's for sure.