From Argentina With Love

Dining Out Article--Awake to Argentina

 

I recently wrote an article on Mendoza's wine country for Dining Out magazine--it's on newstands now  in Orange County/Long Beach, CA.   It can be read here: Download OC_Argentina in PDF .

 
 
 
 

Argentinean Business Seminar and Networking Event

 
If you live in Denver and can take the afternoon to explore the business opportunities that are available in Argentina, this is the perfect event for you!  The Casa Argentina de Colorado is hosting the Consul of Argentina for an afternoon of networking and a roundtable about Argentina's business and economic growth.  And of course, refreshements will be served!

All the details are on the flyer above!  Hope you can make it!

A Taste of Argentina

 

I won't be able to attend this awesome event, hosted by the Argentinean Consulate General and the Casa Argentina de Colorado at the elegant Denver Athletic Club--but I hope you'll be there!

The event is FREE, and will have a selection of fabulous Argentinean wines to try, as well as empanadas from Maria Empanada. 

If you're able to attend, just RSVP to the email address above, so you'll be on the list, and join everyone in celebrating Argentina's wine, food and culture.

Salut!

Liz Caskey's South American Cooking

 
 

Liz Caskey is like Wonder Woman--she's an American who worked on Wall Street but then decided to pursue her dream and become a chef and sommelier and move to Santiago, Chile.  Along the way, she fell in love with Chilean Francisco Ramirez, her husband/partner/collaborator/photographer.  She launched a boutique travel company, giving personalized luxury tours across Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.  She's written (and been written about) in a slew of magazines in both the U.S. and South America, and has produced television shows with Anthony Bourdain and Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie.

She's someone I'm also lucky enough to count as a friend, and in all my emails with her over the past few years, she has been encouraging and supportive and willing to share her resources.  So I'm happy to celebrate her book with her--a recipe guide across South America--guiding the reader step-by-step through the best recipes from the continent.  Empanadas?  Quinoa Soup?  Corn Pie and Chorizo?  She's got them all.

She starts the book by highlighting the people, countries, and native foods and specialties of the countries in the book, along with unique cooking techniques and equipment.  Then she delves into the meat of it--and takes you on a whirlwind tour, from appetizers to desserts, of the very best that countries Argentina, Brazil,Chile, Peru and Paraguay have on their plates.

What's great about Knack South American Cooking is that it is simple, step-by-step, and laid out with easy to follow photographs and directions.  Liz also included several variations with each dish--for example, adding beef to a stew, serving a different side, or making a dish vegetarian--that add to the scope and variety of the recipes.  The recipes are uncomplicated, with ingredients that, if unfamiliar, are fairly easy to find.  I kept thinking as I read it over, how I would have loved to have it for all those folks who email me for their kiddo's school reports, 4-H clubs, and Girl Scouts projects on Argentina who have contacted me over the years for authentic recipes.  This would be just the book for them!

Knack South American Cooking would be a great addition to your collection, written by someone who has first-hand travel experience in all the countries she writes about.  It's available to purchase in my Store.  With all Liz's past projects, I can't wait to see what this Superhero comes up with next!

A special thanks to Amy at Globe Pequot Press.

 

Rosca de Pascua--Easter Bread Ring--From the Archives

 

With Easter just a few days away, I thought I'd repost my original recipe for Rosca de Pascua, the traditional ring-shaped bread-like cake served in Argentina at this time of year.  Easter marks the end of the Lenten season-- the beginning of which we marked by celebrating the Tres Reyes and eating its signature cake--the Rosca de Reyes--the Rosca de Pascua's cousin.

Next year I'd like to make Rosca de Pascua and finally get around to baking it with the hard-boiled eggs nestled in the top of the ring.  After baking, the real eggs are removed and replaced with life-sized chocolate eggs.

But not this year--my suitcase is laid out on the bedroom floor, steadily being filled with things I'll need to take on my trip to Argentina.  This Easter, we'll be eating Rosca de Pascua at my in-laws' house in Mendoza!  I can't wait to see what homemade treats my suegra Florencia is cooking up for us.

I'm  excited to see how they interpret the holiday in Argentina--what delicious, traditional foods are served, and whether they, like us, dye eggs, hunt for them, and eat truckloads of chocolate.  I'm bringing along some chocolate bunnies from home for the kiddos just in case!

And of course I'll be sharing all my adventures in Argentina with you along the way--stay tuned!

Facebook:Rebecca Caro or the From Argentina With Love group page, and twitter @RebeccaCaro.

 

Rosca de Pascua

Easter Bread Ring

For the Bread:

3 tablespoons yeast

3/4 cup warm water

pinch of sugar

1 lemon, zested

1/2 stick butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 can sweetened condensed milk

1 egg

4 cups flour

1 egg, beaten, to paint the top of the bread

 

For the pastry cream:

2 egg yolks

1 cup warm water

1/2 can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons corn starch

a dash of vanilla

 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, swish around some warm water to warm the bowl.  Dump the water, then add in the 3/4 cup water, the yeast and the sugar and dissolve.  Let sit for about 15 minutes, until the yeast is risen and bubbling.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix the lemon zest, butter, vanilla, 1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk, egg, and beat together.  Add to the bowl of the stand mixer and beat on low speed for 5 minutes.  Add in the flour a cup at a time, mixing to incorporate, until you have added all 4 cups.  You will be left with a sticky, dense dough.  Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, set in a warm place covered with a towel, and let rise for 1 hour.

After the hour is up, punch down the dough and remove it from the bowl.  Put it on a floured and oiled counter top and roll in to a long, even cylinder.  I found it easier to do two smaller cylinders and connect them at either end to make the ring, but you can do it either way.  You can use a buttered and floured ring pan, a bundt pan, or (as we did) a rimmed round pizza pan with an empty 28 oz. can in the center.  (Empty the contents of the can first, clean out, remove both ends and the label.  Butter and flour the part of the can that will touch the dough)  Lay the cylinders of dough out on the pan to form a ring.  Cover with a towel, set in a warm place, and let rise 2 hours more.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Start the pastry cream--heat the egg yolks, water, sweetened condensed milk and corn starch in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stirring constantly.  As the mixture gets hotter and comes to a boiling point, stir more rapidly.  As it starts to thicken, remove it from heat.  The consistency should be like a pudding, not thick enough to stand on its own.  Stir in the vanilla.

Spoon the pastry cream onto the top of the ring of bread.  It will ooze over the edges, that's ok.  Paint the remaining space of the bread with the beaten egg.  Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until the bread is a nice golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  Decorate with confectioner's sugar and sliced Maraschino cherries.