Announcing the marriage of Ramon Berenguer III, The Great, Count of Barcelona and Douce I of Rouerge, Countess of Provence. The wedding to be held at the Cathedral of St. Trophime in Arles, this 3rd of February, in the year 1112.”

- an imagined wedding invitation from 900 years ago

It isn’t that the wedding was imaginary, just the form of the annoucement, I have no doubt it was handled with horseback messengers and rolled scrolls and lots of flowery language. The intent was to unite not just the two families, but the lands as well, Douce ceding all interests in Provence to her new husband, who ruled over quite a stretch of Catalonia. For him, his third marriage, for her, her first. They had five children, four of whom survived to adulthood. And, they provided me with a starting point for a bit of inspiration in cuisine from the overall region. My way, of course.

We started off with a version of white gazpacho – with cauliflower in the base – simmereed the cauliflower until tender, then cooled it and blended it with milk, mint, garlic, shallots, almond flour, olive oil, white wine and honey vinegars, smoked salt and white pepper. Then chilled it down. Served it with a tomato sorbet – fresh beefsteak tomatoes pureed with corn syrup, sesame oil, salt and shichimi, strained, then run through the ice cream maker at last minute. Garnished the bowls with green grapes, poached shrimp and toasted almonds. As long as the weather stays hot I’m going to keep playing with these chilled soups with ice creams/sorbets. It’s like a whole new playland!

A ratatouille tarte tatin – the vegetables – eggplant, bell pepper, zucchini, onion – caramelized in olive oil, brown sugar, anchovy, salt, black pepper, peperoncino – into baking dishes, topped with a round of pastry, baked, flipped out and garnished with fresh parsley leaves.

A white wine and vegetable stock risotto, finished with chopped artichoke hearts and a local version of grana padano cheese. Topped with fried capers, toasted sunflower seeds and ground sumac.

Originally I wanted to do this dish with duck legs, but apparently a large percentage of the ducks offered up here are brought in from Brazil and with the new import near-ban that’s going on, all three of my usual suppliers of duck informed they couldn’t get any duck right now – one had a few duck breasts but not enough for the weekend. A trip to Barrio Chino yielded the same results – no duck parts, and only one of the three markets had any duck at all – two spindly little ducks that wouldn’t have made a decent meal for one night, together. So, chicken leg-thigh quarters – skinned them and boned out the thigh, coated the inner side of the meat with black olive tapenade, salt and pepper, then pushed the meat from the thigh up and wrapped around the leg and tied it to create a sort of mega-leg, a chicken drumstick lollipop if you will. Browned them in olive and then roasted in the oven until cooked through. Served on a “hash” of parboiled Andean potatoes, green olives, plum tomatoes, garlic slices, jalapeño slices and a mix of chopped chives, rosemary and cilantro.

Dinner was feeling a bit heavy by this point, so a lighter dessert seemed in order. Diced some peaches and then simmered them quickly in sugar syrup, then cooled them. Two different goat cheeses, a Crottin and a Camembert, lightly dusted one side with sugar and torched, then sprinkled the whole dish with crushed pink peppercorns and mint, and finished with a drizzle of grape syrup.

 Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.”

- Charles Schulz, cartoonist

It was Australia Day once again – how is it that even without my posting themes anymore, the Australians visiting Buenos Aires seem to gravitate to Casa S on Australia Day? I wasn’t even really using it as much of an inspiration, though I did go back to our first Australia Day celebration and pull a little bit from it. My goodness looking back at some of those early dinners, I wonder, what was I thinking? It’s not that the food was bad, it was just not all that interesting. The only thing I can really think is, thank goodness for evolution or intelligent design, or at least having customers who stuck with us and gave us the opportunity to keep improving! Then again – I also look back at the couple of comments we received from those evenings and they were all like, “superb”, “wonderful”, “truly memorable”…. Go figure.

So there were Australians this weekend. And folk from all sorts of interesting places – Sweden, Holland, Argentina, Brazil, the U.S., the U.K., Canada, the Caribbean. Thursday and Friday were jam packed with folk, Saturday was full until last minute – four of the people who were reserved for Saturday showed up on Friday, thinking it was Saturday, and then called me a bit after noon on Saturday to say that they couldn’t change their other Saturday plans (funny how they didn’t get the “other Saturday” event confused), and then around 4 p.m., another couple sent an e-mail to say one was headed into the hospital and they weren’t going to be able to make it. We waited until about 6 p.m. to see if we got any late calls and then put out an all-call with a discount offer, and filled up quickly – in fact, so quickly that I was getting multiple people confirming at the same time, so we ended up having to offer to set up the small table for a party of three.

You might have noticed that I’m on a kick of chilled soups with ice creams or sorbets in them. I’m having fun exploring them, and the kick will continue for a bit longer, at least as long as we’re having our nice, steamy hot weather in BA. They’re likely to end up with their own chapter in my cookbook, should I ever buckle down and get the thing finished – which is looking good, as Henry’s going to be spending a good part of the next couple of months in Peru, so I’m going to have a lot of uninterrupted time on my hands. Back to the soup – started with the idea of a vichyssoise, and, in a sense, deconstructed and then added other bits in. The soup – onion, potato, zucchini, garlic, thyme, chicken bones, salt and white pepper – cooked together until the vegetables were soft, then removed the bones and thyme stalks and pureed the rest, chilled it down, adjusted the seasoning. The ice cream – sauteed leeks in butter and then pureed them with some watercress, milk, salt, and just a touch of chipotle pepper for heat. Then mixed the puree with heavy cream and ran it through the ice cream maker. Some crispy fried chickpeas mostly for texture, but they also add a nice flavor to the whole mix.

A heart of palm fritter – spiced up with garlic, chives and cayenne – fried up until golden brown and then served over what is, essentially, creamy Italian dressing mixed with pureed avocado – delicious by the way as a salad dressing or with fish, or as a dip for vegetables. Some cherry tomatoes roasted in butter, salt and vanilla, and a little green onion atop. Every time I make these heart of palm fritters people love ‘em – they were actually a creation for one of our vegetarian cooking class series on US regional cuisine that started out as classic Floribbean conch fritters.

I’m also, I know, inordinately fond of my savory tarte tatins – this one a smoky bacon and portobello mushroom one, the sweetness from maple syrup – the real thing, not flavored sugar water. Topped with a little radichetta salad in a light vinaigrette.

The final two courses were reworkings of dishes from that first Australia Day dinner – here, a slice of roasted pork loin crusted in my blackening spice mixture – so first seared to caramelize the spices and herbs, then into the oven to cook to a medium-rare/medium (yes, pork that’s not well done and dried out). Served up with a roasted beet that’s then caramelized in butter, salt, pepper, and a bit of rosehip jam. For a sauce, acelga a la crema – creamed swiss chard – though lightened up a bit, instead of cream I use a skim milk bechamel to which I add grated grana padano cheese and some crispy prosciutto – okay, I know that’s not light, but imagine if it was also a mix of whole milk and heavy cream in there! And I’m not running a spa, after all.

And, a cocoa pionono with a toasted coconut pastry cream (made with a mix of milk and coconut milk plus the toasted coconut), served up with the salted bourbon caramel sauce I’ve been playing with. I should just jar that stuff and sell it.

It’s been one heck of a week with dinners. On Tuesday, originally, we had a private party planned – a group of four who were only able to come the one night, and they were referred by a past customer. They were happy to go the private dinner route, but, asked if we’d offer up the evening to the public, and if we didn’t fill, they’d make up the difference financially. We agreed, and, to our surprise, it was the first evening to fill up, weeks ahead of time – who knew Tuesday would be so popular? We may have to give that some thought – then again, it could have been a one time fluke. The only requests for the evening put us on a pescetarian track, with no shellfish. We ended up going with a menu put together from recent successful dishes – chilled cauliflower soup with litchis and cashews; carrot fritter with carrot hummus and an arugula, orange and feta salad; open charred eggplant raviolón with crispy leeks and mushrooms; blackened salmon with creamy quinua and caramelized brussels sprouts; and, a new iteration on the sesame, fig and bourbon caramel tartlet.

The rest of the week provided an interesting split. Friday and Sunday we had open public dinners, while Saturday we were booked out by a group of employees from an Australian corporation who were on an overseas trip that was basically a company thank you for their work over the last year. We might have gone with all the same menu, except the latter group had a series of restrictions – gluten free, dairy free, peanut free, and pescetarian; while the other two nights only had the restrictions of no shellfish.

The public dinners first – chilled beet soup with onion, marjoram and thyme, cooked together in vegetable stock, then pureed with red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and finished with just a small amount of cream. Served with a jalapeño ice cream – cream, pickled jalapeños, corn syrup, salt – and some chopped chives.

Asparagus sauteed in a mix of breadcrumbs and pancetta, served over our “deviled egg sauce”, with some yellow cherry tomatoes.

Green tea semolina fettucine, tossed with a cilantro, basil and mint pesto, smoked salmon that’s been lightly crisped in oil, and toasted strips of nori.

Pollo al Chilindrón – prepared just the way I wrote it up a couple of posts ago in my step-by-step.

And, the sesame-fig cheesecake with salted bourbon caramel sauce.

And, on to our night of restrictions – it was actually kind of fun coming up with a way to work my current repertoire with the various nos. Chilled carrot soup – carrots, potato, ginger, onion, red chilies, mace, orange juice, vegetable stock, all cooked together until the vegetables were soft, then pureed, seasoned with salt and white pepper. The “ice cream” is coconut milk, honey, triple sec, garam masala, salt. Our bread for the evening, quinua-brown rice mini-loaves – the primary gluten free person at the dinner said it was the best bread he’d had since going gluten free – we’re trading recipes for a chocolate cake that he’s come up with.

Sole tiradito (ceviche) with corn puree (using coconut milk), rocoto-macadamia sauce, tomatinos, toasted corn kernels, cilantro, red onions, rocotos.

Rice flour crepes (water, no milk), which have a tendency to dry out if left too long, so instead of wrapping them around a scoop of filling, I made our charred eggplant hummus and spread one side of the crepes with a nice layer of it, then rolled them up. Baked in the oven to lightly brown, served over a fresh tomato sauce and topped with crispy leeks and mushrooms.

Blackened salmon. Since we were serving quinua bread, and, with the no dairy rule in force, I went with polenta cooked in fish stock and finished with a spoonful of margarine. Caramelized brussels sprouts to accompany.

And, finished off with a peach tartlet – almond crust, peach-soy milk custard, fresh peach slices, chopped mint, dusted with powdered sugar.

This week looks like a breeze…!

Those of you who’ve been with me awhile may remember that several years ago I took a series of private cooking classes from one of the best Brazilian chefs here in Argentina, Eduardo Pinheiro. He’s since moved back to Brazil (and I inherited those lovely dark clay soup and stew bowls you’ve been seeing the last six months or so in Casa S photos). Since that time I’ve played around with the recipes he taught me, tried out other versions of them, both traditional and modern, and come up with my own favorite ways of making them. Still, his were the inspirations for a new four-session series of Brazilian cooking classes that we just started here. Session one went off without a hitch, though perhaps a bit of grumbling about peeling the black-eyed peas, a tedious but necessary step in making one of the dishes. Two local cooks attended and one of my former students who has since moved back to the States connected in via Skype video and prepped and cooked along with us. A fun time, and, some good food, had by all.

Acarajé com Vatapá
[Black eyed pea fritters split open and stuffed with a shrimp and fish sauce, green tomatoes, fried dry shrimp and hot sauce.]

Bobó de Camarão
[Stewed shrimp in a yuca, pepper, tomato and coconut sauce, served over rice.]

Next session coming up on Wednesday afternoon, the 2nd of February, we’ll be making Moqueca (fish/shellfish stew) and Casquinha de Siri (crab gratin). There’s still space available!

On other fronts, my frustration with TripAdvisor may have gotten back to someone there – within a few days of the post we climbed from around 100th in the city to around 50th, overnight, with no new postings nor restoration of the ones that were deleted by them – essentially restoring us to where we had been prior to this series of events. A continued series of positive reviews with our new format has really boosted that as well, and, as of this week, we’ve moved up to 27th in the city!

 Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum (the commencement of Thai paves the way for new opportunities)”

A year ago, still in the midst of very thematic dinners, we had a happy camper weekend of celebrating Thai Pongal, the start of the month of Thai – basically a harvest festival. I decided to bring back some of the ideas from that dinner that were particularly successful and work them into our newer format….

Moved the soup up to the opening act. Recipe wasn’t that different from what I did last year, though I made it thicker and intenser by putting in more corn and chilies this time around. The spinach sorbet was the same other than I left out the sugar – the corn syrup provides enough sweetness – and used pickled peppers instead of horseradish for the heat, better flavor combination – also, to keep the texture of the sorbet really smooth, I churned it literally at last minute, pouring it into the ice cream maker as people were having their welcome cocktails on the patio, so it was just perfect when they sat down to eat. Added some toasted corn kernels for a little crunch.

In place of the salad we did last year, which I wasn’t overly thrilled with – it wasn’t bad, but just wasn’t “it”, here, a carrot fritter flavored with garam masala, served over a spicy carrot hummus, and accompanied by an arugula salad with sprouts, orange segments and goat’s milk feta, all lightly dressed in olive oil, smoked balsamic, salt and pepper. Much better, and the favorite course of the eve for several guests. One young man turned to his mother and told her that these were better latkes than she made….

Almost no change in this recipe from last year, simply in presentation – though made the crepes with semolina rather than flour. For serving, left them whole rather than sliced and served over the raita so that it was easier to eat than the dipping sauce fashion of last year’s plating.

A couple of requests over the weekend for pescetarian, so instead of the lamb dish, I decided to start with a Tamil Nadu curry, but rather than make it as a curry dish over rice, I took the same spices: turmeric, chili (I used a mix of two chili powders – de arbol and ancho), cumin, fenugreek, tomato, tamarind, shallot, black pepper, anise, and coriander – and rubbed fillets of grouper in the paste and let it marinate for several hours. Went through three different presentations on this dish – first night sauteed the fillets and served with Andean potatoes that had first been boiled and then sauteed as well, sliced cherry tomatoes, and eggplant fries. Too much stovetop cooking going on at the last minute. Second and third nights, placed the fillets onto a piece of buttered foil, added the parboiled potatoes and cherry tomatoes to it, put a slice of lime on top, and wrapped it up, then served it up in the foil. One night, as pictured, I sliced the eggplant and fried it, but decided the dish needed something green on it, so instead, the last night, charred brussels sprouts added atop at serving time – photos didn’t come out, ah well. Good, but in contrast to the other dishes, my least favorite of the evening.

And, finally, taking the same flavors from last year’s dessert, but changing it around, a cocoa crust, a ginger, lemon and black cardamom cheesecake filling, dark chocolate ganache, candied lemon peel. Just a step further on.

Not to be confused with Chicken of Aragon Pie, which seems to be a chicken pot pie from Britain, flavored with lots of t’arragon, the pollo al chilindrón, one of Aragon, Spain’s best chicken dishes, is a slow cooked chicken stew with a strong red bell pepper base to the sauce. There are also versions of al chilindrón using other meats, since the style of cooking really just refers to the sauce. And, of course, with any classic dish, there are as many ways to make it as there are Spanish grandmothers living, or not, in Aragon. Not being a grandmother, nor from the area, I’ll just lay claim to having played around with several versions and coming up with my own.

First, our ingredients – a kilo of chicken breast, cut in large cubes off to the left, a couple of large tomatoes briefly pulsed in the blender to a chunky sauce consistency, and 1 cup of chicken stock mixed with 1 cup of white wine, both on the right. On the cutting board, 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic, a chopped large onion, a chopped red and green bell pepper, a handful each of green and black olives, pitted and chopped, a stalk of rosemary and a large bay leaf, a couple of slices of jamón serrano, also chopped, a couple of tablespoons of brandy, and a couple of hot paprika. Not shown, about ¼ cup of chopped parsley used more for garnish than anything, and a loaf of rustic olive oil bread.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.

Pour in the brandy and flame it, let it go until the flames die out, stirring regularly. Remove chicken to a bowl using a slotted spoon and let it sit aside for the moment.

Add onions and garlic to the pan and cook until soft and translucent. Although normally at this point I’d add some salt and pepper, I don’t in this dish because of the serrano ham and olives, which are going to add a fair amount of salt to the finished stew. Better here to wait until the end and add a little if need be.

Add the chopped jamón serrano and cook for two minutes to start rendering its fat and lightly crisp it.

Add the peppers and cook for about five minutes until they start to soften.

Add olives, herbs, and paprika, and stir well to combine, let cook for about a minute.

Add tomato, stir well and cook another minute.

Add stock and wine mixture and put the chicken back in the pot. Mix it up well, bring it to a simmer and turn the heat down low. It will cook over low heat for about an hour.

Meanwhile, of course, you’ve whipped up a nice, rustic, loaf of olive oil bread. Okay, fine, go out and buy one. Slice off nice thick slices and lightly toast them.

After an hour the stew will have thickened up nicely and all the flavors will come together. Toss in a handful of chopped parsley. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.

Serve each person a thick slice of the toasted bread with a couple of ladles of the stew over it. Tuck in and enjoy it!