Latinfoodie

Empanadas galore at the Emporium

May 27th, 2009 | Category: Argentina, Review | Comments (16)

A few days in Miami fill me with delight. I look out the window and what do I see? Everything alive with color, the sky and the sea two jewels of blue, refreshing and soothing. The palms, with green and yellow fingers waving in the breeze, and hot pink bougainvillea bursting with their fruity shade. So many memories this city holds. Today, it hosts yet another afternoon to treasure far into the future.

At the Eden Roc Hotel and Spa in Miami Beach, I sit on their boardwalk cafe and see the people breezing by, heads bobbing arms swinging, and on the sand in the distance, enormous umbrellas mingle with tanned happy bodies. It’s a brilliant Sunday afternoon and everyone is at the beach, including Mom and us kids. I order a burger and frozen mojito to kick start the celebration. It’s icy and minty and rushes to my head after the first few sips, making me giggly and my shoulders lose. I dig into the burger; it’s juicy and hot off the grill, and sits on a bun that’s soft and chewy, the ideal ratio of bread to beef. In the meantime, the fries are thin and delicate, and beautifully golden.

These are the moments that are worth remembering. When life, in its simplicity, opens itself up and we must take it all in, every taste, every sight, every fragment of the conversation which is full of light, like the day, even the man in a hawaiian shirt who sings Bob Marley out of tune. 

May 16th, 2009 | Category: Review | Comments (2)

Dunia and Espartaco Borga have one mission: to bring a “mestizo” experience to the table. Mestizo, a Spanish word which describes a mixture of European, African and American Indian races comprise much of the population of Latin America.  For the past 8 years, Colombian-Yugoslavian Dunia Borga and Mexican-Venezuelan Espartaco Borga have joined forces in life and in the kitchen to make dishes that exemplify their mixed heritage. From their Cuban-styled chicken with sour orange mojo prepared with champagne to their own version of Mexican chilaquiles with gruyere cheese, this husband and wife team invaded Dallas with delicious traditional Latin American fare that preserves the integrity of classical dishes, yet is continuously refreshed with European elements.

May 9th, 2009 | Category: Review | Comments (4)

Watercress and warm potato salad

At home, we call it berro. I remember my Mom snacking on it happily, trying to convince me to try it by raving about how nutritious it was. I would nibble on a stem and spit it out, my 10-year old palate tortured by its bitter bite.

Fast forward 20 years and inspired by this memory of youth, I find myself ordering it at Libertador, an Argentinian parrillada restaurant in the neighborhood that opened its doors a few weeks ago, bravely emerging in the midst of it all. It is a warm airy space with an open kitchen where  the chef skillfully grills classic cuts of Argentinian beef like lomo, entraña and bife.

During my visit, before indulging in a tender yet beautifully charred skirt steak, I dug into a watercress salad dressed with garlic. The sweetness of the garlic was a successful balance to the pungency of the green; however, its quantity weighed down the leaves, turning the dish into an edible guard against vampires.

Coming home a bit discouraged but bitten by the watercress bug, I rummaged through my cookbooks and found a delicious way to incorporate this ingredient into a simple dish that takes me back, yet settles me into the present with its refreshing yet comforting flavors. 

Watercress and warm potato salad (adapted from Martha Stewart Living Cookbook)

12 small creamer potatoes scrubbed

3 tablespoons olive oil

 salt

pepper

sugar

1/2 lemon with zest grated

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 bunch watercress with hard parts trimmed off

Season potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until golden at 375C(about 45 min.) In a bowl, combine lemon juice, zest, olive oil, vinegar, sprinkles of salt and sugar. Let rest until potatoes are done. Add potatoes to watercress and season with dressing.

May 1st, 2009 | Category: Argentina, Memory, Recipe | Comments (2)

Tapas, shrunken Spanish dishes traditionally served as appetizers or as a light meal, have sprouted up all over the press. Two new tapas-styled restaurants in NYC, La Fonda del Sol and Txiquito were reviewed in the New York Times this week, with the former getting a two-starred “very good” rating from Bruni. 

They then reappeared in Saveur magazine, as Los Perretes’ dainty tins packed with octopus and baby sardines from Galicia, meant to be served simply with wine or crackers.  Latin America has also jumped on the tapas bandwagon. Macondo in the Lower East Side of Manhattan serves what it calls comida de la calle (Latin street food)  which include piping hot bacalaitos or stuffed codfish fritters decorated with a sweet and spicy guindilla sauce. There are also the creamy yucca fries topped with garlicky chimichurri. How the chef is able to get these so velvety inside and perfectly crisp outside is beyond me–they are a perfect foil, hot in every bite, to one of its clever cocktails concocted with guava and whisky, tamarind and tequila or peach and pisco.

In Dallas, Texas at Aló, another small Latin American restaurant specializing on contemporary street foods of Mexico and Peru,  draws an emphasis on ceviche and tiraditos. Its food menu includes BITES (SIPS and DULCE), and offers thinly sliced yellowtail and tuna which you can dip in Peruvian sauces as well as cold potato causas layered with smoked salmon, grilled shrimp or arepa crusted calamari. 

Are Latin American tapas the next evolution of latin food? Is downsizing stretching into the culinary world in the way of small dishes? I wouldn’t be surprised if in the coming months, we see more Latin American tapas, a fresh addition to traditional latin cuisine.

April 26th, 2009 | Category: Review | Comments (7)

I celebrated my Easter weekend not with a feast of dyed eggs and glazed ham, but succulent mussels from Northern Maine. Even though they were a far cry from the Spanish-styled garlic-sizzled version that I devoured on Sundays at La Casa de España, a local enclave run and frequented by the Spanish community in Santo Domingo, they were the basis of an unforgettable dish I found deep in the dark streets of Cambridge.

It was an unusually chilly April night in a college town known for its carefree youth; yet inside the sophisticated-country-themed Hungry Mother, my dish was serious business. On the plate, the shells were shiny black cocktail dresses that covered silky, fleshy treasures peeking coyly at me. They bobbed in a delicate broth prepared with strips of tasso ham, green onion confetti, toasted breadcrumbs and a collection of Louisiana spices that left a dash of heat on your tongue.

I lifted each mussel from its shell, brought it to my lips and popped its sweet brininess in my mouth.  Tearing off a small piece of homemade country bread,  I began a ritual during that memorable meal of soaking up the fragrant broth between each muscled mouthful. Pure bliss.

April 16th, 2009 | Category: Review | Comments (2)

As a native from the Dominican Republic, I’ve always been familiar with the spirit of survival that lies deep in the heart of every fellow Dominican, especially those who have chosen to leave the motherland and buscársela in the U.S., in search of a better life. But it wasn’t until recently that I discovered that Dominicans are so much more than fun-loving merengue-dancing people; their hard-working entrepreneurial spirit is confirmed on the sidewalks of uptown Manhattan, in Washington Heights.

It is Saturday afternoon and the Dominican Mecca of Washington Heights is buzzing with commercial activity and dizzying sounds of frantic merengue music.

Caridad Gonzalez, 51, a street food vendor has tapped into her entrepreneurial spirit to make a life for herself and her 16-year old daughter. She doesn’t sell the ubiquitous briny hotdog and limp pretzel you find throughout Manhattan, but a selection of Dominican desserts that can seduce the most conventional of palates.   

Stationed between an ice-cone cart and a table piled high with plastic jewelry on 181^st street and St. Nicholas Avenue, Mrs. Gonzalez stands behind two water coolers filled with sweet, creamy treasures from her kitchen: habichuelas con dulce or sweet creamed beans is a Dominican dessert traditionally prepared during Easter season, which she sells throughout the entire year. Chaca, a thick corn drink known in other parts of Latin America as atole and mazamorra, is the other best seller.

As she ladles the rich warm concoctions into paper cups that she sells for $1, she recounts how she first started preparing these recipes for another vendor up the street from her called Nena La Rubia. She went on her own in 2003.

“I learned to make habichuelas with my mom back home and finished learning all I needed to know with Nena,” she says in Spanish.

For the past five years, she’s risen at 5 a.m. and prepares her dishes until 10 a.m. in her home kitchen five blocks away.  In describing the cooking process, she tries to use only the best ingredients she can find. “I use Carnation milk,” she says proudly, pointing to an empty can of evaporated milk in a plastic bag behind her. She says it’s the Carnation milk that makes everything taste so good and that people like her desserts because it gives them energy. Other ingredients in her habichuelas include whole milk, red beans, cinnamon, nutmeg, sweet potato, and round milk cookies of the Dominican Guarina brand.

Every day she sets up her cart and has Cecilia Ureña, her 50-something friend, help her out until 2 p.m. She then returns to her cart and works until 8 p.m. “I work hard, real hard,” she says. “My parents taught me to work from when I was little.”

Caridad Gonzalez arrived in New York 18 years ago from the Dominican Republic. Little did she know she would end up cooking for her life. With seven kids back in the Dominican Republic, she tries to visit them whenever she can. “One is a college graduate,” she says, beaming. ”None of them has ever given me any trouble.”

She also has a teenage daughter named Karina who will soon graduate from high school.

According to Mrs. Gonzalez, the neighborhood has changed significantly throughout the past five years. “There are a lot more people, a lot more vendors,” she says.   Most of her earnings come from her habichuelas, which are her most popular item. Aside from the $1 cups, she also sells small containers of habichuelas and majarete, a soft corn pudding she makes from scratch, for $2 and large containers for $5.

Although her spirit has been bent but not broken, and her stern face softens only when she speaks of her daughter, her desserts, especially her habichuelas are one of the best in the neighborhood.

She says that aside from all of the Dominicans who live in the area, there’s a large Jewish community in the neighborhood. “They pass by here but they never buy anything.”

Feeling bold in the kitchen? Find the recipe at:

http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/03/19/2008-03-19_spilling_the_beans_on_a_dominican_treasu.html

April 8th, 2009 | Category: Dominican Republic, Review | Comments (6)

Passiflora edulis in Latin, Chinola in Dominican, Maracujá in Portuguese. It’s a wonder that the unique passion fruit has so many identities, although its essence remains the same: tangy, sweet, pulpy and dotted with seeds, which can make it a challenge to eat, but in its different manifestations, becomes a pleasure. Its pungent fragrance reminds me of lazy summers in the D.R.. Tall icy glasses of its juice would wait for me  as I came in from playing in the yard, sweaty and giddy and craving refreshment. As colorful as America’s beloved Sunny D, my Chinola juice would quench my thirst with its bright and summery punch.

I found it once again years later and miles away from home, on a trip to Brazil. Actually, it found me; mixed with the local cachaca to create an exotic version of the caipirinha. It became our signature drink, setting the stage many evenings, with a memorable one spent at a local posada where we indulged in a banquet of local dishes laid out over banana leaves in the middle of the rain forest. It paired exquisitely with the coconut-spiked moquecas and spicy chicken stews, luring us into a happy buoyant surreality until the sun and moon both shared the sky.

Then, once again, a few weekends ago, it reappeared. Here on the 22nd floor of a New York City apartment. It lit up our evening and arrived at our party dressed as a mousse. It was silky luscious creamy and evoked the scent of somewhere lush and warm, which, along with the jokes and friendly chatter, it comforted us from the city’s gray cold.

 So I bring you today, in an ode to passion, a quick and easy rendition of passionfruit mousse. 

Ingredients:

1 can of condensed milk

1 can of “creme de leite”

80% of the same can measurement of passion fruit juice 

Blend and place in a bowl. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm. Garnish with mint leaves or some fruit syrup.

April 2nd, 2009 | Category: Brazil, Recipe | Comments (8)

Con los pájaros

Hoy concluímos nuestro primer día en Santa Lucia. Después de desayunarr con los pajaritos, disfrutamos del spa que nos quedaba a un minuto de nuestra villa. La habitación, que terminó siendo una villa porque tenía cuarto, sala y cocinita estaba bien cuchi pero tan encrustada en la montaña que desde el balcón la vista era puro arbol. (Anoche había un pájaro loco que se paso la noche entera cantando. Gracias a Dios, que como buena NuYorqueña tenía conmigo unos tapones de oídos, los cuales muy bien usé.) Esta mañana hable con la recepción y les pregunté a ver si habia algo más cerca del mar. Mientras tanto, nos dirigimos hacia la playa y allí comimos algo y luego fuimos a pasear en kayak por la bahía Labrelotte, donde está el hotel WindJammers. Cuando llegamos nos avisaron que podíamos cambiar de habitación para poder ver el amanecer y tener vista hacia el mar. Fuimos a empacar y luego tomamos una guaguita que nos trajo a la nueva habitación. Aquí uno depende mucho de estas guaguitas porque como el hotel esta construído en la montaña todo es super empinado. Anyways, nos fuimos a nadar en una de las piscinas del hotel. Desde adentro del agua la vista era increíble–con la bahia plateada y las montañas verdes a sus lados–empezó a llover y el sol brillaba entre las nubes. Ahora nos vamos a cenar a uno de los restaurantes del hotel y tienen musica en vivo y un come-fuego, malabarista, etc..

En la selva

Anoche visitamos un lugar muy especial, se llama Rainforest Hideaway y es un restaurante en la Bahía de Marigot. Para llegar allá, la vuelta en taxi tomo 40 minutos y nos fuimos con nuestro amigo Desmond, el señor que nos recogió en el aeropuerto. Cuando llegamos a la bahía tomamos un “ferry” que al final termino siendo un yola con motor que nos llevó al otro lado de la bahía donde se encontraba el restaurante. El lugar ha sido construído entre la selva pero el comedor queda en un muelle que se extiende sobre la bahia, al estilo de Neptuno(en Boca Chica) pero un poquito mas elegante. El menú consistió de mariscos, con un suflé de scallops con beignets de cangrejo, salmón y guineos flambeados con ron acompañado de helado de vainilla. Los guineos aquí son exquisitos con un ligero sabor a clavo dulce. Son la especialidad de isla ya que por todos lados hay cosechas de guineos. Durante el día nos fuimos a explorar la selva y en nuestro camino paramos a saborear estos famosos guineos, además de coco fresco, toronja y naranja. Concluímos la aventura con un baño frio en una cascada, pura terapia natural.

Por la costa

Ayer pasamos el dia en barco, navegando las aguas tropicales del caribe sanluciano. Nos dirigimos hacia el sur, parando en otra de sus selvas y refrescandonos en otra de sus cascadas mágicas. Yo pienso que estas cascadas deben tener algún poder extraordinario porque al salir de allí nos sentimos extremadamente tranquilos, casi adormecidos, no se si fue el chorro de agua fría estirando los nervios o la presión del agua que bajaba desde su boca situada a unos 200 pies de altura. De todos modos, al salir de allí nos montamos en un pequeño autobús que nos llevó al pueblo Soufriere (sulfur en francés) situado en la caldera de uno de los volcanes de la isla. Este sigue activo y produciendo gases sulfúricos que huelen a huevo podrido-¡que rico! Luego, seguimos subiendo la montaña  hasta llegar a la plantación de cacao Fond Doux, donde nos explicaron como se cultiva la semilla de cacao, la cual se saca de su fruta, se seca al sol y se muele con los pies (similar al proceso de aplastar uvas de vino). Allí, almorzamos un pollo guisado muy tierno y suculento, pie de lechosa verde, arroz con hierbas y ensalada. Volvimos a abordar el catamarán que nos pasó por los picos mas altos de la isla-Gros Piton y Petit Piton- que se encuentran a mas de 3,000 pies de altura. De camino hacia el hotel, nos dimos un baño de mar desembarcando en otra bahía de la isla, finalmente regresamos cansados y felices.

Hoy nos pasamos el dia tirados en la arena, disfrutamos de un heladito de ron con pasas bajo el sol de la tarde y luego nos preparamos para salir a cenar en el pueblo de Castries.  

March 26th, 2009 | Category: Spanish | Leave a comment