A mother-daughter conversation on food and cooking (mostly)

Monday, November 10, 2008

South American Dinner

















Maybe the Republicans are right, and the country will lapse into moral decline now the Democrats are in power. Starting with us--this was the second morning in a week that we woke up to unwashed dishes and the multi-bottle litter of entertaining.

I served a South American dinner for six. The menu:

Sweet potato chips (purchased)
Basque sheep cheese
Nuts
***
Shrimp Cebiche
Vegetable Cebiche (hearts of palm, broccoli, mushrooms)
Homemade Bread
***
Chicken in a Red Chile Sauce with Peas and Olives
Quinoa Pilaf
Pickled Onions
***
Fruit Tart

The loaf of bread pictured above contained 1 cup unbleached flour, 1/2 cup spelt flour, 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/4 cup coarse cornmeal. I used molasses for the sweetener.

The tart was pretty with mixed berries, all on sale this week!

Remember we wondered how to make pickled onions like Santos? I found the method in The South American Table by Maria Baez Kijac.

Peel a medium red onion, cut in half, and slice into paper-thin half moons. Cover with hot water and soak 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Add the juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the onions, mix well, cover, and let stand at room temperature for three hours or until they turn pink. Best served the same day.

2 comments:

Eva said...

Wow! You're really on a tear here. That tart might be one of the prettiest things we've had on our blog. And the menu sounds so exciting -- just different enough from anything I've had before. Red chile and peas?

Our refrigerator broke yesterday. So we're eating out of coolers tonight.

Kris said...

I am very sad about your broken refrigerator. What is going on at your place--this, and a busted oven, too?

Yesterday morning while getting ready for guests we had a Major Plumbing Emergency (sewage in the bathtub). We managed it with Liquid Plumber and a plunger, but I have a sense of foreboding, kind of like a Gothic novel--something Bad is going to happen.