If you've got ten minutes, take a look at this video by Eduardo Machado and Michael Domitrovich, the co-authors of Tastes Like Cuba, in which Domitrovich prepares a traditional Cuban beans-and-rice dish called Morros y Cristianos:

Margot Atwell attended the book party earlier this week ("held in a gorgeous downtown apartment so modern that the grand piano, played throughout the party by a talented pianist, was made of stainless steel") and reports that Machado's memoir, "about the search for his identity while in exile, uses food as a vehicle to connect with his heritage, and it includes Cuban recipes to help the reader connect with the story."

"Throughout the party," she adds, "caterers circulated with hors d'oeuvres made from and inspired by recipes from the book, such as pumpkin soup, fried plantains with coconut (the caterers' addition), and miniature Cuban sandwiches. Machado and Domitrovich, had just returned from their book tour, which dovetailed with the two-city release of Machado's play, The Cook. Domitrovich told me about an event the authors had participated in at a cooking supply store which involved Machado reading pieces from the book while Domitrovich prepared several dishes from the corresponding recipes, which he was delighted to share with the attendees."

I imagine that scene must have been a lot like this video.