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heat. Pour the sugar into a glass measuring cup. When the coffee begins to percolate, take the first few drops and add it to the sugar. Return the pot to the heat so that it continues to percolate. Beat the coffee and sugar vigorously with a spoon or whisk to form a pale and creamy paste. Add a few more drops of coffee if needed to incorpo rate all of the sugar. Pour in the remaining espresso in a steady stream and mix until well blended. Pour into the individual demitasse cups and serve.

Recipe from The Cuban Table, A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History , published by St. Martin Press

CREMA DE VIE (CUBAN EGGNOG) Makes about 5 cups

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 cup water 1½ cups sugar 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk 1 can (12 ounces.) evaporated milk

PHOTO: “A TUBA TO CUBA”

Cuba N.O. By Alison Fensterstock

4 large egg yolks 1½ cups white rum 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of kosher salt Ground cinnamon Ground nutmeg

Jelly Roll Morton called it the “Spanish tinge” — and when he described jazz to folklorist and field recorder Alan Lomax during the pair’s famous 1938 Library of Congress recording sessions, the piano man made it sound like a recipe. “I n fact, if you can’t manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes,” Morton explained to Lomax, “you’ll never be able to get the right seasoning, I call it, for jazz.” Morton’s seasoning was in the right-hand syncopation that turned blues and ragtime into something else. What he called “Spanish” was more accurately Cuban. These were the tresillo and habanera rhythms, both with African and European ancestry that had become something else in the New World in the 18th and 19th centuries. And now, after traveling north to New Orleans, was influencing what would be one of the greatest developments of the 20th: jazz. The commonalities between New Orleans and Cuba began evolving long before the habanera put its stamp on jazz music, though. Cuba was under Spanish colonial rule for close to 400 years, and for 40 of those, at the end of the 18th century, so was New Orleans. The architecture of the French Quarter shows Spanish influence in its ornamental wrought-iron gateways and balconies, colorful stucco, tiled roofs, and courtyard oases, since rebuilding after two major fires in the 1780s and ‘90s took place under Spanish rule. It’s no accident, then, that if you squint a little bit in the streets of Havana, it can feel very much as if you’ve been transported about 600 miles northwest across the Gulf of Mexico to Jackson Square. Two of the most impressive buildings in the French Quarter, the Cabildo and the Presbytere (flanking St. Louis Cathedral), were built under Spanish rule and have clear architectural siblings in Havana.

HOW TO PREP: Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat until it thickens slightly and registers 230 F on a candy thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Combine the condensed milk, evaporated milk, egg yolks, rum, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste in a blender and pulse until well blended. Pour in the cooled syrup and blend on high speed until frothy. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Recipe from The Cuban Table, A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History , published by St. Martin Press

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