Ushuaia, Argentina

Greetings from the end of the world!

It is a bit chilly down here after a week in the 100 degree heat of Buenos Aires. But after four days of 38 degree weather (remember: it's still the summer!), I'm adapting--and remembering why I decided to leave cold, cold Colorado! I have officially started cooking for my self and given up (mostly) on going out to eat--at least for now. Ushuaia, it turns out, is a fairly pricey place. A cup of instant coffee goes for $3. A beer is $5. But the fish market has good, local catch for super cheap! I bought 2 large fillets of some sort of small tuna for only 20 pesos--about $5.00. I also got some shucked clams for half that price! As the seas have been too rough for fishing, everything in the place is frozen right now. I keep popping in to see if they have gotten in any cetolla (king crab) but the fish monger says it has been at least 10 days since he's had any. 

View of Ushuaia

And then there's the wine--which is also good, and cheap. Unfortunately the hostel has a no outside alcohol policy. It was flaunted one night, obeyed last night, and will be flaunted again tonight! I am not paying 30 pesos for the worst wine on offer in Argentina (even if it does happen to be wholly drinkable)!

Sea lions on Isla Lobos

Over Budget

I keep trying to stay on budget and it doesn't seem to be working. I can stay on track when it comes to many things--but not when it comes to food!  I had a nice welcome to Buenos Aires lunch today at a place called El Querandi, which also doubles as a tangueria at night. I had planned to eat at La Cava de El Querandi, the posher restaurant's younger sibling--and more casual (aka cheaper!) wine bar--which is located right next door to the tango hall. Needless to say I ended up quite happy with my lunch, even though it was more expensive, and a totally different experience than I had been anticipating. I had a half bottle of 2010 Alfredo Roca Malbec which was big, rich, and quite tasty. And cost a bit over $10 (definitely over priced, but that's what happens when you sit down in the wrong place!). I ate the tagliatelle verde with seafood, which turned out to be quite good. The seafood tasted fresh, which is always a plus, though the tagliatelli were . But once I realized I was  in the wrong place I kept eyeing La Cava through the glass wall at the end of the restaurant. I'll keep you posted if I venture back to the wine bar. But with so many options in Buenos Aires I don't know that I will.

Yerba Mate

Yerba mate is the national drink of Uruguay. Uruguayans don't seem to go anywhere with out their thermoses full of hot water and their mate gourds brimming with yerba--be it to the beach, the park, or work. They even carry their set with them just walking around town.

 Mate is a plant in the holly family. The leaves, and sometimes the twigs, are harvested, dried, and chopped up. Mate is a very herbaceous "tea" and can be bitter if steeped in boiling water. Mate contains more caffeine than tea, but less than coffee.  To prepare mate you steep the leaves in hot (but not boiling) water.

Drinking mate is generally a social affair. A group of friends will gather and share a gourd of mate, refilling the mate gourd from the thermos of hot water. (That doesn't mean you won't find people taking a mate on their own.)

The gourds can be quite beautiful. The  silver straws that go in them often have intricate designs as well. The straws are quite different from a typical plastic straw. They are silver, with a small spoon shaped, sealed bottom that goes into the gourd. They look like a flat tea strainer.

Bar 62

*** (That's the rating! Out of 5)
This is a fun restaurant in hip--if that word can be used in Montevideo--Pocitos, a residential neighborhood of Montevideo that is a short bus ride from the center. If you go to Montevideo, stay in the Pocitos area; this is where the better restaurants and cafes can be found. Plus there's the beach.

The restaurant is welcoming, the service solid and friendly, and the food is good.One thing I'm learning about Uruguayan restaurant etiquette is that you just walk in and sit down where ever you like. You don't have to wait to be seated, just take your pick. (Unless of course it's a reservations type place--but I have yet to see or eat at one of those.) At Bar 62 I started with a Uruguayan rose of Cab Franc that was  very enjoyable. (You'd think it would be easier to find local wines on the menu, but unless you go to a restaurant that specializes in Uruguayan wine, the wine selection tends to favor Argentina.) They serve nice bread (which I presume was made on site) with a mayonnaise accompaniment. I'm learning that instead of butter Uruguayans opt for mayo. Nothing wrong with that when they season it so well. I ate the whole ramequin full! For lunch I had a sesame-coated seared tuna (definitely more cooked than I normally like my tuna, but still pink on the inside). This was served with an avocado, mango, and cherry tomato salad as well as a nice arugula salad. The portion was quite large--and I ate every last bit of it.

Montevideo Market

The General Store Truck

The One Pot Burner

Not only is it cute, it's practical!

Mercado del Puerto

Bienvenido a Montevideo! For my welcome to Uruguay meal I ate lunch at a swanky restaurant in the Mercado del Puerto. I was expecting this Mercado to be more along the lines of the Boqueria in Barcelona. It's not. Here the market consists almost entirely of parrilladas, restaurants specializing in MEAT (welcome to Uruguay!). When I say meat, this is over the top. They have whole racks of sausage, chicken (splayed flat as well as pieces), offal, cuts of beef, pork, lamb, the list goes on... all sitting over charcoal cooking. Each parrillada in the Mercado has a counter where you can sit and watch your meat grilling, or a seating section. There are only a few actual shops in the market, and they consist mostly of Uruguayan chotskies.

 So for lunch I played it safe. I decided I would have a spur-of-the-moment splurge, welcome-to-South America meal. I chose El Palenque which was the nicest looking restaurant in the Mercado and also one of the more crowded. I ordered grilled swordfish and a glass of medio y medio. Medio y medio is the other national drink of Uruguay (after yerba mate). It is half sparkling wine half still. Mine was pretty good and went straight to my head, which is a good thing because the fish was sub-par: a very large piece of swordfish lightly floured and pan fried, swimming in oil, and very overcooked. The zucchini strips sauteed in olive oil with garlic and onion were excellent. All of this for $690 (34.50 @ 20 pesos/U$S) which puts me way over budget for the day (which would be ok if it were at least worth it!). Lesson to self: Do not be tempted by the "nicer" restaurants. If I'm going to splurge on this trip it's going to have to be for a restaurant whose reputation precedes it!

Oregon Truffles?!

That's right, wild Oregon truffles. And you (and I) thought truffles came from France and Italy (and occasionally from Croatia and China). I recently read about the existence of Oregon truffles, and didn't quite know what to think. Then a few weeks later, in Berkeley, I happened upon a sign in Berkeley Bowl (a grocery store with the most incredible fungi selection!) offering Oregon truffles. 

Oregon mushrooms on offer

I needed a Christmas present for someone (my mother!) with a very strong affinity for truffles. So I decided to splurge and get her some tasty tubers. She almost believed that I had given her a stocking full of coal! But really, who keeps coal in a jar of rice?

We prepared them very simply over pasta. And we had so many that for breakfast the next day my mom and I had some tasty scrambled eggs with truffles. (If you know you are opting for the egg dish, keep your truffles in an airtight container with the eggs.) Family consensus decided that French black truffles and white Italian truffles are more aromatic. But for a local counterpart, at a fraction of the price (Italian whites can go for upwards of $1000/lb), these domestic truffles are a very viable--and tasty--alternative.

Oregon whites mixed in with the black? Or Chinese mixed in with those from Oregon? More truffle study required!

Here are two simple ways to serve your truffles: 

Pasta with Shaved Oregon Truffles

Cook egg pappardelle according to instructions to al dente. Once cooked, mix in butter and Parmigiano Reggiano. Serve onto pasta plates. Sprinkle with fleur de sel. Shave fresh truffles over the pasta. Serve immediately. 

 

Pairing Suggestions: A nice Burgundy would be perfect. You can also try a Chateauneuf du Pape. (We drank a 2006 Siduri Truett Nolan Pinot and a 2005 Chateauneuf from Domaine de Beaurenard--both drank beautifully, and I especially liked the Beaurenard.)

 

Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs with Oregon Truffles
Mix eggs with a drop of table cream and set aside. Over medium heat melt butter in a saute pan. Add chopped green onions and a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute a few minutes until they start smelling cooked. Reduce the heat to very low. Add the eggs and cook very slowly, stirring constantly. As the eggs begin to thicken add the shaved truffles. Serve with toast and butter.

Cooking the Holiday Inn Way

I lucked out at the library book sale! I thought I was pulling out an old Junior League cookbook from the stack of cookbooks. But it's much better than that! I scored Cooking the Holiday Inn Way, from 1962, in excellent condition--for $1.00. This book gives descriptions of each Holiday Inn across the country and lists one to three recipes for each hotel. And these recipes look good! They predate the cooking with Campbell's and jello recipes of the 1970's and assume a certain basic knowledge of cooking techniques. The recipes are seafood heavy (although by no means do they neglect meatier dishes like Brunswick Stew). This is a fun cookbook and I can't wait to try some of Holiday Inn's old recipes.

Peppermint Patty Ice Cream Sandwiches!

These are for chocolate lovers everywhere. If you are lacking the chocolate gene, you may want to steer clear of this recipe!

For these peppermint patty ice cream sandwiches you will need peppermint ice cream and triple chocolate cookies. The ice cream will require 3 days of lead time. The cookies just one day ahead--or get an early start on them. You can follow the link to the ice cream post and you will find the cookie recipe below. These sandwiches are super tasty. The creamy ice cream pairs very well with the over-the-top chocolate cookies. If you are scared of chocolate, this is not the right recipe for you! You could also substitute chai ice cream for the peppermint for a very different spice treat sandwich.

Link to Peppermint Ice Cream
If you froze your ice cream in a baking tray, freeze a separate cookie tray. Use a cookie cutter to cut out ice cream patties from frozen sheet of ice cream. Place patties on the frozen tray and refreeze at once. If your ice cream has been frozen in containers let it warm to a scooping temperature. Line the inside of ramekins with  plastic wrap. Put a scoop of ice cream inside the ramekin and flatten to form a patty. Freeze the ramekins. Take out patties when ready to assemble sandwiches. 


Cookie Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
5 ounces semisweet chocolate (half of this chopped in chip-sized chunks)
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (100% chocolate)
1/4 cup cocoa nibs
1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon (125 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Making Cookies
1. In a small bowl, sift both flours, cocoa powder and baking soda together.

2. In a clean, dry bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt half of the semisweet chocolate and the unsweetened coco, then let cool to room temperature. Mix the other half of the chocolate chip-chunks in a bowl with the cocoa nibs.

3. Whip the butter until smooth. Add sugar and continue whipping. Add salt and vanilla then add the egg. Mix to incorporate.

4. Stir in the melted chocolate, then the flour-cocoa mixture. Lastly, mix in the chocolate chunks and nibs.

6. Let the dough firm up at room temperature about 30 minutes.

7. Flatten into a disk, cover in plastic wrap (or a zip lock) and refrigerate at least one hour.

8. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

9. Lay one sheet of plastic wrap down on the counter and place to ball of dough on top. Knead it for a moment or two to soften it to the point where it will allow you to roll it out. Place another sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough (it should be sandwiched at this point) and roll to about 1/8-1/4 inch thickness.

10. Use a cookie cutter (the same diameter as used for the ice cream) to cut out round cookies to

11. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies take on a slightly dry sheen to the top. They will firm up as they cool.

These cookies will keep for a month or so in an airtight container (depending on the humidity level).

Sandwich Assembly
Once the cookies are fully cooled and the ice cream patties are frozen hard--make a sandwich!! Serve on a plate and cover with chocolate sauce.... Yum!!! You can also assemble these ahead of time and freeze the sandwiches. Or top the cookie with a scoop of ice cream and pour chocolate sauce on top.

Berkeley Farmer's Market

Here are some photos from Berkeley's Sunday Farmer's Market. This market is definitely one worth seeking out. There is an abundance of variety, in both produce as well as prepared foods. If you're in the Bay area check out this market!

Potatoes: We'll have to see how they compare to their Andean counterparts!

California Citrus: They look pretty, but they just don't compare to Louisiana citrus in flavor!

Won't run out any time soon!

Buddha's Hand, the perfect zesting lemon!

Anyone feeling piggy?

Dried fruit: I missed this in Colorado! Colorado has the sun and fruit for this, the state is just missing the entrepreneurs to tackle the job. 

M, La Maudite

Here's a beer I drank a few days ago: Maudite by Canada's Unibroue. It is definitely a bigger, thicker beer than Unibroue's La Fin du Monde (which is my current malted favorite). Maudite is a solid beer that packs a big punch--and at 8% ABV it is even less subtle than being blown over by a passing freight train. That said it has the same addictive quality as La Fin du Monde and it's worth a try. Maudite is an aggressively hopped Belgian-style amber ale that has 22 IBUs. While it's an excellent beer, I prefer La Fin du Monde.

Pairing Suggestions: This will go well with really stinky cheeses. You could also pair it with richly sacuced barbecue.