Latin America

Our next Supper Club party was hosted by H & R. H had a specific recipe she wanted to try, and the theme (with help from our secretary C) was born from that. In the words of C: "Latin American Countries with whom the US has/had strained, embarrassing, or downright despicable relations is the theme!  Think Cuban Embargo, think Hugo Chavez, think Iran-Contra (the Contra part), think Pinochet---There are just so many eras, countries, and shameful practices of foreign relations to choose from!"

There is no telling where she comes up with these things, but they are most definitely inspiring. I love Latin American food, and this was my first try at cooking some. Everyone really went with the theme and created some beautiful and delectable dishes.

I was in charge of the starter, and made black bean and banana empanadas, using this recipe from Epicurious:

I tweaked the recipe a little to make the empanada a little more unique. I used twice the amount of banana because I thought the sweetness was an integral part of the flavor, I omit the cheese which I thought would not add much flavor but instead change the smooth texture of the bean/banana mixture, and also did not cook any cilantro with the empanada stuffing. I didn't think that cooking the cilantro with the beans would allow the fresh and bright flavor of the herb to shine. Instead, I made a cilantro pesto with:
-2 tablespoons peanut oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- juice of one lime
- 2 large handfuls of fresh cilantro
and spooned the mixture on top. These empanadas were phenomenal, I must admit. I loved the saltiness of the black beans and onion mixed with the sweetness of the banana and smokiness of the cumin. The cilantro pesto did just what I hoped- brought a really fresh, tangy zest to the appetizer. The pesto would be great for a number of things- shrimp tacos, raw vegetable salad, pasta with chicken and fresh tomatoes.

I paired my appetizer with refreshing mojitos, which I made by the pitcher:

In the summer, you can't really go wrong with a mojito!

Now for the main meal. To compliment H and R's entreé, L and A made rice and beans:

They added to this simple, Latin American staple dish by throwing in red, yellow, and green bell peppers.  Not only did it take the visual appeal up a notch, the peppers added a nice crunch and sweetness.

My personal favorite part of the night was R's Cuban Corn. I intend on getting the exact recipe from him and posting it, because I think everyone should have a bite of this:

I have never had corn like this before, and I don't think I ever want to eat it any other way. The corn was boiled for several minutes then grilled right on an open flame, and rolled in a mixture of cheese, mayonnaise, and chili powder. Before eating it, you took a wedge of lime and squirted it liberally over the whole ear. Heaven. There is no other way to describe this.

And the corn paired perfectly with H's Skirt Steak with Red Onion Mojo:

I never cook steak at home, and also rarely order it out, so this was a great treat. The steak was marinated in a "very special marinade" so said H, overnight, and then topped with the cooked red onions and cilantro. I really loved how light this dish was. Steak can often be very heavy, but the skirt is such a lean cut and the marinade and onions both had a satisfying light flavor.

C and L were in charge of dessert, and they went with a classic:

C got the recipe for this Rose Petal Flan from one of my personal favorite food sites, Simply Recipes. I loved the addition of rose water to the traditional flan. With every bite, you get the fragrance of rose and it adds a very subtle taste that helps balance the sugar. It was a great end to the Latin American feast! (And this was, truly, a feast!)

Comments

[Stefanie]

You have just made me SOOOOOO hungry and I still have several more hours to go at work!!!

[Stefanie]

You have just made me SOOOOOO hungry and I still have several more hours to go at work!!!