Irresistible: Platanos en Tentacion - Drunken Plantains with Wine and Vodka

Just imagine your shock after following the trace of green plantain's skins all over the house, only to discover that your little Hannibal the Cannibal has eaten the plantains you planned to cook for dinner. I missed that how-to-live-a-wonderful-life class where they talked about having a Basset Hound as a companion. Do not get me wrong, ...they are the most loving creatures. But, they are libertarian anarchists with droopy sad eyes that would make you cry and hug them before the thought of a sweet, caught-you-red-pawed spanking (...with a feather) crosses your mind.

Today, hoping that your beloved pet didn't eat your plantains, we have one delicious and easy to prepare recipe for you: Plátanos en Tentación (Drunken Plantains with wine and vodka). If you are plantain crazy, check out my previous post: Patacones 101 - Tostones (EN/ES) Twice Fried Plantains!

Traditionally, "plátanos en tentación" are prepared with rum or vanilla here in Panama. I still remember from my childhood the "red" saucy plantains which were prepared with strawberry soft drink. I don't have the foggiest idea of where that culinary inspiration came from!

In Colombia they are cooked in coconut milk and served with cheese (queso costeño) and a drizzle of molasses. In Cuba they are prepared with brown sugar, white sugar, spices to taste and a hint of dry white wine (called "vino seco," although it tastes more like vinegar to me!). There are many more variations of this dish from country to country in Latin America, which one is your favorite?

It was great news when I discovered a more adventurous way of preparing it during my latest trip to the South American Wine Country. It was at the "Los Cerros de San Juan Winery" in Montevideo, Uruguay where we experienced it in a scrumptious delicate sauce made with red wine, vodka and fruit juice. Lovely.

This winery is one of South America's oldest wineries, it has been operating since 1854. Walking through its many ancient cellars, I found myself lost in time. The unique aromas, perfuming the trapped air with such peculiarity, have been engraved in my memory...in slow motion, to make sure I would never forget them. How could I if by the end of my wine trip in Argentina and Uruguay last year, I felt like a ghost traveling without barriers of time or distance, the paradise we know sometimes as the perfect winery?

IACP 2007 Conference: Latin Fiesta at Nacional 27

Yes, it is possible to have that much fun away from the kitchen! Maybe it is genetic, and caused by our contagious, almost always warm Latin blood...Continuing with the over due reports on the latest IACP 2007 Conference in Chicago, here we are sharing some fun shots, facts and a video from the International Event: Latin American Fiesta celebrated at Nacional 27 in Chicago last week.

Nacional 27 in Chicago was the venue for the IACP's International Committee Latin American Fiesta. The party was co-hosted by Adam Seger, CCP, General Manager at Nacional 27. Chef Randy Zweiban served an outstanding array of latin american foods featuring delicious tapas and grazing stations. Guests loved the interactive Mojito station and the music. (from IACP Global News Blog)

Even though I consider myself a fan and researcher of Latin American drinks, always exploring new ways how to serve them, they really caught me by surprise at this party. Guests were able to sample and prepare an array of exotic combination of mojitos, including mixes with rhubarb, pomegranate, kumquats, blood orange and basil. A total revolution of flavors!

The food was outstanding, from the traditional black beans and rice, guacamole, lechon, different types of ceviche to some really tasty appetizers far from the common, which for sure made their path into posterity being the talk of the night.

The Panamanian team (Elena Hernandez, Edna Cochez, Alida Castro, Alonso Williams, Charlie Collins, Jenny Guerra, Luis Young and myself -of course-), Patricia McCausland from Colombia and the members from Mexico put together a nice package of door prizes for the attendants to the event including coffee from Panama and Colombia, Rum and Molas from Panama, sauces made by Chef Charlie Collins,  a cookbook by Patricia McCausland, and Mexican candies among others.

A first class salsa dancing program taught the guests elementary and medium level salsa steps. It was so much fun to watch, the perfect way to help the attendants burn those extra calories from the scrumptious dinner and desserts.

Ready for some Latino love? Enjoy this short video from the salsa class!

Read Chef Elena's report at the Global News blog.

Related post: IACP 2007 Conference in Chicago: Rick Bayless Tour

For the complete set of the conference's photos visit My Flickr!

Have a delicious week...

Melissa

by Chef Melissa - CookingDiva · April 23, 2007 · 05:00 AM
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IACP 2007 Conference in Chicago: Rick Bayless Tour

I love Rick Bayless' food and style. He is such an avid professional of the culinary arts who represents Mexican cuisine and culture to its fullest. We had a blast during the IACP conference in Chicago this past week, we took his "Tortillas, Margaritas and Fine Mexican Art" tour on April 10, 2007.

First we visited El Milagro Tortilla Factory, the house of quality tortilla products in Chicago. It was an eye opening experience. Even in my many years of living in Mexico, I didn't have a chance to experience  this kind of production. Too bad they didn't let us take photos, but you know...company policy I guess. From how to process corn to get its skin off and create flavorful "masa," to how to meticulously select the tortillas so they all match in shape and size. The goodness of modern technology applied to such an old art. Fantastic!

Then we visited a Mexican and Latino Culture Museum, where we learnt about the influence our culture has in nowadays life in the US. Fantastic! After that we had a lunch at a local traditionaly-loved Mexican restaurant. The place was packed with Mexican descendant customers, probably second and third generation immigrants. That's a good sign, don't you think?

Then, we experienced the highlight of the day: a Tequila tasting and class, deliciously accompanied by some of Chef Bayless creations.

From Chef Bayless Tequila class:

Contrary to popular belief, tequila is not made from cacti. Tequila is actually made from the Blue Agave plant, which is classified as a succulent. Tequila is exclusively produced in five regions of Mexico, Jalisco, Nayarit, Michoacan, Guanajuato, Tamaulipas and is well regulated by the Mexican government. Almost all aspects of the production of tequila come under regulatory practices, from fermentation and double distillation of tequila to its aging, bottling and distribution.

For the love of farmers' markets

There is an almost romantic relationship between a cook and the food markets. It is an idyllic, prolific desire to find the veggies, fish, seafood, meats and other ingredients in their most natural environment. We want to talk to them.

Since having a vegetable garden, or raising a few cows in our backyard is not always a choice, we chose to visit the farmers markets, dairy farms so we can have the freshest produce, milk and meats from animals which have been grass feed and raised humanely.

Farmers markets are a traditional method used by farmers worldwide to sell their produce directly to consumers. By avoiding the increasingly industrialized food production, and the broker fees involved in the process of selling those products in supermarkets, the consumer gets the freshest ingredients at excellent prices.

This time we are sharing some photos we took a few weeks ago, while taking C.J. Schexnayder from Kleph blog (an American food blogger based in Peru) in a tour of Panama City's markets. We had so much fun!

From San Felipe Neri Public Market in Panama City, Panama:

From The Fish Market (Mercado del Marisco) in Panama City, built by the Japanese Government:

In the News: Esos Diarios Virtuales (Those Virtual Diaries)

It was great news to find the article written by Armando Carrasco on the blog phenomenon which is propagating like fire in Panama. The name of the article is "Esos diarios virtuales," or "those virtual diaries" in English, it was published today Friday April 20 in Ellas Magazine, Diario La Prensa.

I personally think that Armando did a great job portraying what is going on right now in the Panamanian blogosphere, as well as recreating the beginning of it. He goes on to explain how good a blog does for you and your company, and the best ways to start a blog. He gives credit to a group of local blogoholics, which I feel honored to be part of with The Cooking Diva blog.

Armando mentioned to me today that he hoped that people will get the message, he tried to expand the subject as much as he could, so people will get inspired to start blogging if they have not done it yet. One thing I know for sure, it is that he will start his own blog really soon, and with that spirit I am predicting it will be a total success!

I have scanned the three-page article to make it available to the readers that have not been able to secure a copy locally, and for the ones outside of Panama. It is in Spanish, BUT...as I always say, how about if you start now practicing this beautiful language!

(ES) Les comparto la grata noticia de encontrar en la Revista Ellas del dia de hoy, el artículo sobre blogs en Panamá escrito por Armando Carrasco. Literalmente abarca el tema de una manera comprensible, lo que estoy segura motivará a muchos lectores a crear su blog! La fiebre del blog,…me encanta! He escaneado las tres páginas para que los que no han tenido oportunidad de obtener la revista, lo lean on-line.

Para obtener las imágenes en alta resolución, les invito a visitar mi Flickr! Entren donde dice “all sizes” y encontrarán las imágenes en diferentes tamaños.

As some of you may know, I just came back to Panama from the IACP (International Association of Culirary Professionals) 2007 Conference in Chicago. It was awesome! I have so many delicious stories and reports to share with you, along with some great photography too. Stay tuned and you wont regret it!

Have an extra tasty day!
Melissa

by Chef Melissa - CookingDiva · April 20, 2007 · 12:59 PM
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From the Tropics: Fiesta Cashew Mole with Grilled Chicken

The “mole” is one of the most enigmatic and interesting foods from the whole world. It´s preparation and final result depends upon the diversity of ingredients used from city to city in México, and the personal preferences of the cooks. It is a very personal, unique dish which with the help of your imagination and personal touch will reach new dimensions in your kitchen.

This is a very time consuming dish to make, but the results are definitely worth the effort… until the last bite. Start three days ahead. Although traditionally in Mexico the mole is served with turkey, it is really not that important because the star is the mole itself. Serve it with any kind of meat: chicken, turkey, beef, pork, shrimp, or just plain with steamed white rice. This mole keep well refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to a month. If you choose to freeze the left over mole, thaw it in the refrigerator and then heat in a saucepan or microwave oven, adding some chicken broth if needed.

Pet Owners Making Own Dog Food

Pet owners from the U.S. and other parts of the world are living a horrendous situation IF they have been feeding U.S. made kibble and canned food to their beloved furry friends.

We are lucky to have two beautiful and healthy dogs as companions: Silky-Lu (a Weimaraner girl) and Hannibal the Cannibal (a Basset Hound boy). Since day one they entered this home they were fed raw food, including raw beef, chicken liver, chicken necks or wings, raw free range eggs with the shell, and an array of selected fresh veggies suggested by the Barf Diet and Weston A. Price Foundation nutrition guidelines. Silky and Hannibal have never being sick, ...they are two healthy beautiful specimens with bright spirits and full of energy.

As a pet owner I can just imagine the pain and despair the people and all those sweet dogs and cats are living right now. What could be worst than thinking you are providing your furry friend with a good diet, when the truth is that you have been killing them slowly, poisoning them without knowing it. If this is your case, well, blame the kibble company or the vet if you want, although I won't speculate. How about the dog breeder that sold you the puppy and didn't give you good advice on what to feed him/her, they probably didn't know any better.

The following is a comment by William C. Douglass II, MD:

With the tsunami of horrible news of the mass poisoning of our pets has come a second wave of bad advice from amateurs and nutritional experts of all varieties including veterinarians and university PhDs.

The Associated Press tells us: “But veterinarians warn that making balanced meals for pets can be complicated and should only be a temporary remedy until the scare passes.” The “scare”? Hundreds, and possibly thousands of our pets are dead or dying and yet “veterinarians” (unnamed) are calling it a “scare”? The problem is that vets have been completely taken in by the pseudo science of the pet food industry. The vets are perked and petted just like the pharmaceutical industry perks and pets the doctors of humans. There are, in both cases, reasons for going along for prestige and financial gain. “Making balanced meals” for dogs and cats is not complicated. They only need raw meat and raw animal fat – nothing else for a “balanced” diet. It’s that simple. My two cats, Paint and Pistol, never had a thing to eat but raw chicken liver during their entire lives. They were never sick. They never went to a vet.

We will keep you posted...

by Chef Melissa - CookingDiva · April 08, 2007 · 01:45 PM
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Two (True) Panama Easter Stories

Panama Easter Story #1:

A friend was shopping and purchased two bottles of non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice at our local grocery. The checker said she couldn't allow her to buy it because it was Holy Week. My friend does not bear stupidity well. "Look, she said, it says non-alcoholic. What part of 'non' don't you understand?" She demanded to speak to the Manager. He agreed that it said "alcoholic" and whatever "non" meant was not important - it was Holy Week. That was the manager in one of Panama's finest groceries! My friend demanded to speak to the owner, whom she knows well. The manager turned a little pale around the ears and said, "Oh, sell it to her!" and stomped away.

Panama Easter Story #2:

I was standing on the balcony of our apartment on the 5th floor looking across the street at the refuse station which was, as usual, a bit untidy and swarming with pigeons. A young half-starved man, early 20s, a Kuna Indian, was feeding the pigeons bread. I was struck by the sweetness of this Easter scene: a starving young man, sharing his only food with the pigeons. Then with a quick motion, he grabbed two of them and stuffed them into his knapsack. End of story.

Please stay tuned, lots of delicious recipes and stories will be posted soon!

Melissa

by Chef Melissa - CookingDiva · April 08, 2007 · 10:05 AM
Permalink · Comments (6) · TrackBack (0) · Categories: Ethnic Cuisine: from Latin America · Food & Drink · Food Humor · RECETAS - Cuaresma