This book is a facsimile of the original 1956 anthology of classic Cuban recipes that were collected and published for the benefit of the "Costales" and "San Marcos" wings of the "General Calixto Garcia" university hospital in Havana. The editors gathered the best in gastronomic cuisine as well as Cuban traditional recipes from the most prominent families of the time. The names credited for the recipes are among the best known in Cuban society at that time. The index attests to the variety and all-encompassing nature of this cookbook: cocktails, soups and broths, poultry, meats, cheese plates, grains, eggs, seafood, rice, pasta, corn, meats, vegetables, salads, gelatins, sweets, cakes, pastries, snacks, ice cream, how to set the table, the secrets of the bar, old recipes and much more. Also included are essays explaining some of the historical origins to Cuban dishes written by distinguished Cuban intellectuals such as Jose Maria Chacon y Calvo, Guillermo Martinez Marquez, Fernando Ortiz, Juan J. Remos and others. THE BEST AND THE CLASSIC OF CUBAN CUISINE...and a necessary culinary syllabus.