Week 9: Argentina

After Courtney drew week 9's selection, I received an e-mail from my mom saying "Don't cry--it's Argentina!" I certainly didn't cry--I was quite pleased with the selection! Although I was a bit disappointed with the first experience I had with Argentinian culture (seeing Evita on stage last fall), I was quite pleased to delve into Argentinian cuisine. It's a unique cuisine in that not only does it hold true to its regional characteristics (South American styles), but it also has a very strong tie to its European connection.

Courtney jumped in and researched recipes for Argentina and came up with some great options right off the bat. We knew that we had to try the Argentinian staple chimichurri sauce, so in addition to that Courtney found recipes for side items - Receta por Berenjenas en Escabeche (an eggplant side dish) and Ensalada Rusa, a European-inspired potato salad. She also found a recipe for empanadas that she really wanted us to try (a margherita version, which emphasized the Italian flavors of mozzerella cheese, fresh tomato and basil), but mom and I talked her out of it since we weren't quite convinced of its authenticity as well as the fact that we just had the Russian counterpart the week before. The menu we agreed upon was quite delicious though (I also told Courtney we could try the empanada recipe she found another time--don't let me forget!).

Chimichurri sauce

The menu we decided upon was Costillas Con Chimichurri, Receta por Berenjenas en Escabeche and Ensalada Rusa. Costillas con chimichurri (literally "ribs with chimichurri") I somewhat cheated with--instead of short ribs, I opted for top round steak. The berenjenas en escabeche (eggplant in brine) was a recipe we insisted upon since we've had an eggplant in our refrigerator since Japan week that had to be used! The ensalada rusa (Russian Salad) was an interesting find and tie-in to the previous week's fare and according to Courtney's research is hugely popular in everyday Argentinian fare. All of the ingredients were readily available at the local grocery store, so it's a very accessible menu for all who'd like to try it. Courtney found all of the recipes from From Argentna with Love, a food blog dedicated to Argentinian food. The one menu item we wanted to include but had a difficult time finding was mate tea, but the meal was quite satisfactory without it.

Peas and carrots for Ensalada Rusa

The chimichurri sauce was very flavorful and easy to prepare--while I used dried parsley and curled-leaf parsley, the flavors were still distinct and delicious! The most difficult part was chopping the herbs to the right size, which was not too difficult at all. The ensalada rusa was also very easy, as well--we simply had to boil the potatoes and the carrots and peas and mixed them with the dressing (in which we substituted sour cream for mayo--which we somehow were out of at the house--but the sour cream ended up working very well). The eggplant (berenjenas en escabeche) took the most work of the three dishes--first it had to sit in salt for an hour or so, and then simmered in water and vinegar. I actually ruined the eggplant by letting it simmer at too high of a temperature and causing all of the vinegar to be absorbed very quickly which resulted in a highly-vinegary eggplant concoction--I would STRONGLY advise anyone interested in the eggplant recipe to keep a close eye on it while it cooks and to simmer at a fairly low heat.

Simmering eggplant

The chimichurri sauce was a big hit--I enjoyed it more than the meat itself, actually--I would definitely recommend preparing the beef short ribs to have with it rather than the top round steak. The ensalada rusa was also a great hit--the potato and pea and carrot salad is a recipe I certainly plan on bringing to a church potluck in the future! As I mentioned before, the eggplant (berenjenas en escabeche) was an unfortunate victim to my hasty cooking, but the pickled eggplant recipe looked promising and I'd like to try it again. Overall, I would recommend this menu to you all--especially the chimichurri and the ensalada rusa--both would be exotic yet simple additions to your family's weekly dinner menu.

The completed meal

Week 10's selection, the Australian Outback, is coming up next--and no, we're not having "shrimp on the barbie"! Check back in soon to find out about our next stop on our adventure around the world!

Week 8: Russia

Although geographically nearby to week 7's Japan, the menu for week 8's Russia was quite different than the previous week's. And although I have stated in the past (in the Japan blog, actually) that I'm just plain weird about Asian food, Russia is the big (erm, yes, very big) exception--maybe because it's heritage is so strongly European in spite of it's location on the map. Wikipedia clarifies it's positioning as being in "Eurasia," which makes a lot of sense. To me, there's a certain romanticism to Russia and Russian culture--although the country's had its rocky points in its history, its roots go back as far as the 3rd century A.D. The countries to which I can trace my heritage always intrigue me the most, but Russia is, once again, an exception to the rule. The culture and countryside look absolutely beautiful in all of the pictures I've seen (seeing St. Basil's Cathedral is totally on my bucket list) and the culture intrigues me. Ok, so now you know how enamored I am of Russia and why I was so happy to see it after having Japan the week before!

Deep red beet juice

While deciding on the week's menu, we quickly came to the conclusion that our meal had to include borscht; a classic Russian beet soup (which is served hot, not cold like we initially thought). Although all of us were a bit nervous about the beets (having never tried them before), we were all curious to try the authentic Russian staple soup. The other item on the menu was pelmini, a meat-filled dumpling that's a cousin to ravioli and potstickers. Up to this point, Russia's menu has probably had the most accessible shopping list--everything on the shopping list could be found at just about any grocery store. While the borscht recipe called for fresh beets, we used the canned variety which worked quite well; the pelmini called for ground pork, but I opted for a finely minced pork chop instead (thanks for the hard work on that, Courtney!). *Another note about Russian food: much of the cuisine was reminiscent of some of the Czech and German foods I grew up with (featuring beef, cabbage, sauerkraut, sour cream, mayonnaise), so choosing menu items that didn't reflect those recipes we were used to too closely.

Shaping the Pelmini

The cooking/prep methods for the meal were not too complicated, but were a bit labor-intensive. I was in charge of the borscht, which was made up of several different steps of chopping and cooking vegetables in various pots and pans and then combining ingredients in one big pot eventually to simmer together. Also, while the recipe called for 1 lb. of beef with which to make a stock beforehand and then continuing to prepare the soup, I took the shortcut of using canned/pre-made beef broth and browning bite-sized pieces of stew meat that I simmered with the vegetables until tender. Mom and Courtney were in charge of the pelmini and did a great job with its very labor-intensive steps. Mom made the simple dough (which had to rest for at least half an hour) and then she and Courtney began the arduous task of filling 34 pelmini which had to be cooked in 6 separate batches. The work was worth it, though!

Borscht with sour cream & pelmini

We served both the borscht and pelmini with sour cream (as suggested/traditional), as well as brown mustard for the dumplings. We all (except Rick) loved the borscht with the sour cream (I added a bit of vinegar to mine which off-set the intensity of the beet flavor)--it was really not much unlike a vegetable beef soup that we're all familiar with. The pelmini were VERY tasty without the sour cream or mustard, but the sour cream put them over the top! While they were a bit rich (and too doughy for mom's taste), each pelmin was a tasty treat alongside the healthy borscht made with a variety of vegetables and lean meat (well, it was healthy until I put an inordinate amount of sour cream in mine--shhh, don't tell!). Overall, Russia's been another one of those menus I'd be happy to re-use throughout the year and would highly recommend to everyone!

Courtney's already drawn the selection for week 8--and for this week, we're jumping to another hemisphere yet again. This week's choice is Argentina--just from our brief research so far, we've found that Argentinian cuisine is a unique mix of Old European and South American flavors and traditions that'll prove to be some of the most interesting thus far for sure. Do you have any favorite Argentinian recipes?

Once again, thank you for reading the blog and being patient with me while catching up. As always, if there's a country you want to join us for, drop me a line and we'll make it happen! I look forward to hearing your input and recipe suggestions!