Week 3: Colombia

This past week's country was Colombia. A country that seemed somewhat in our comfort zones, but still exotic enough to make it exciting!

After Rick drew Colombia, I jumped right into the research and after a bit of digging, I found several things I wanted to try--like coconut rice, Colombian red beans and Papas Chorreadas (Potatoes with Cheese). I knew I wanted to try my hand at making plantain as a side dish, which was also something I was excited about (I LOVE plantain--and so does Courtney ;-D ). So this week, for the first time, we prepared a full menu for our country and not just a main dish: plantain as a side, as well as arepas and pollo con leche de coco (chicken with coconut milk thanks to http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/ for the authentic recipe name).

The recipes we chose came from three different sources, so you'll have to click each dish for each recipe: pollo con leche de coco | arepas | plantain. The ingredient list for the whole feast was a bit exotic but not extremely so. The plantains only required plantains and cooking spray (go figure!), the arepas just needed instant masa (as pictured below), butter and oil. The main dish was a bit more complicated, as it required two special ingredients that we don't normally keep in our pantry: coconut milk and Sazón Goya con Azafrán (also pictured below). Sazón Goya con Azafrán is a Hispanic seasoning blend popular in Colombian cooking containing saffron (azafrán). We were fortunate enough to find each of these special ingredients at our local Wal-Mart thanks to our large local Hispanic population.

Instant Masa, Plantain and Coconut Milk

Sazón Goya con Azafrán

The meal, although somewhat complex in composition, was not too difficult to prepare. Courtney prepared the marinade (with which she actually improvised a bit and it was great!)  for the chicken which we let the chicken sit in for the afternoon. Cooking the main dish was as simple as browning the chicken, sautéing the peppers/onions/garlic and then simmering them all with the coconut milk and sazón Goya. Courtney also helped me prepare the plantain, which was as simple as peeling/slicing/baking in the oven (make sure you don't get an under-ripe one like we did!). The most complicated part of the meal was the arepas (corn meal cakes), which required making dough and then carefully pan-frying and serving hot. The plantain were delicious, but we concurred that the recipe needed salt for next time. The arepas were quite a pleasant surprise--although Courtney likes corn tortillas, mom and I don't particularly care for them so we had a bit of hesitation with the arepas--but we both LOVED them--very tasty and quite a treat! The coconut chicken was, in a word, OHMYGOSH. It was scrumptious! The coconut milk was slightly sweet and cooking it with bell peppers, chicken and sazón Goya made it incredible. I think it's safe to say that Colombia week has been our favorite week thus far with the coconut chicken and arepas--and although I've said that we'd try the other recipes again, I can say with confidence that we'll definitely do this one again! If anybody wants to try it, shoot me an email and we'll make it happen! ;-D

Pollo con leche de coco, plantain slices and an arepa

Sorry for the late blog again this week--the family took a weekend trip to Atlanta (hi Ashley and Haley and Ron and Cindy and Howie and Zach!!)--now that we've come back home, I'm able to get Colombia's blog up ;-D Thanks to Colombian native Shakira for providing the music for tonight's blog-writing:

This coming week, we're bending the rules and will not be drawing a country because of a special holiday our family likes to observe (I'll give you a hint: it's on January 25th)--do you know which country it'll be?