JTravel

ONCE IN A WHILE...when you're hot and tired and thirsty...and need a bathroom...there is a beacon to welcome you. Many places in the world. Calling to you: This McDonalds in BA did not disappoint. It was cool, it had rest rooms, relaxed type seating, a McCafe with all kinds of coffee drinks, and a dessert cafe with great looking goodies. Lots of business from locals...lingering as we were. DH had this: and I had a McFish. But the highlight of a visit to McDonalds on a hot day in BA is this beauty: A McFlurry as done only in South America. The "bits" are pieces of milk and white chocolate or remarkably good quality. The final touch is a big blob of Dulce de Leche (it really is in everything). After being a tourist for several hours we cannot scoff at that cold, sweet and yummy cup of goodness. It was about $4.50 and it was enough to share...but just barely.

Me Too, Please. It was amazing the look, texture and "feel" of the different doughs. But I'm not happy with mine. Thanks

http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/One-Ingredient-Many-Ways-Cane-Syrup Seems cane syrup is very up to date these days. I picked up a couple of bottles of Roddenbery's Cane Patch Syrup,for $2. each at a closeout place. Just because I never had it. Turns out it is only 35% cane syrup so apparently I have still not had the real thing. I use it in smoothies and drizzeled on stuff.

Thank you for your kind words. It has been work, and fun to do this but now I have a nice record of the food part of the trip. Doing the blog has taken longer (from home) than the 4 week trip I think. Today: Random Shots that don't fit any special day. All taken in Buenos Aires. Grilling meat outside, in La Boca: Ready to grill meat inside in a Palermo Steakhouse: A different kind of pizza, downtown BA, one of the few cheap, grab and go foods we saw. Lots of fruit on the breakfast buffet at NHLancaster: There is a small Armenian neighborhood in Palermo. We ate outside on the sidewalk and shared this one HUGE and very tasty plate of chicken and rice (following stuffed grape leaves). Couldn't even finish it. Whenever we passed this Armenian bakery it was crowded. Finally I made it there at the proper time to have a wonderful "Armenian Pizza" . It was delicious and made a great "rolled up and eaten with hands" lunch.

Glad you are enjoying it. Stay tuned for a VERY old bar in San Telmo, some steak (with purple sauce) a bit of fast food and a BIG ending with meat and cheese enough for a group.

There was crust, a rim around the outside but you're right, very thin in middle. Of the several we had, all were good, all were thin, but this one had the (dried?) herbs and the tomatoes and the taste was just right to us. Even good cold.

Our time in Buenos Aires is divided into 3 parts/locations. First we finish up our tour at the beautiful Hotel NHLancaster...in "Downtown" It's near Ave Florida with lots of shopping and a huge mall. We're busy and there is not much time for sightseeing. Part 2 is 3 nights in San Telmo neighborhood, the "Bohemian" up and coming area. Of the 3 neighborhoods this was most convenient for finding places to eat. We were just getting started on exploring when we moved on to... Part 3 "near" Palermo Soho...it was a hike (almost a mile) each way to dinner. Lots of options once you got to town. We were here 8 nights, divided into two stays as we went to Iguazu Falls for two nights. SO...on our night out on our own...we walk ....to a recommended Italian place. Wood fired oven...right in sight. We ordered a pie with sliced tomatoes. It came Instantly. Either it cooked in 2 minutes, or they have them ready. No matter. It was hot, tasty and very filling with all that melted cheese. With a fridge in our room it became lunch the next day. A nice feature of Grand Circle is the "Home Hosted " meal. We walked with our host to his nearby apartment for dinner. The plan for all the groups (we divided into several groups of +/-6) was to make empanadas. The hostess had the meat mixture ready and we used "discos" of packaged empanada dough since she said everybody used them. We had a starter: Then hot from oven empanadas eaten out of hand wrapped in a napkin. I have to admit I bought the wrappers here and tried them with kids and they were easy to use, and as good as my yeast dough, and my baking powder versions. Still searching for the right wrapper recipe. Dessert was a lovely flan. Lots of wine was served. It was one of "smaller" meals we've had in a home....someone said it was the only meal in S. America where they didn't overeat. A surprise in the apartment...a sign of home...a Wegmans bag brought by a previous guest.

I know this is about Mozzarella, but could you post your method for making paneer with yogurt. How does one get "slightly soured yogurt"? Let it spoil, add acid? This whole cheese thing is interesting with all the different methods. Thanks

One of the on our meals...one evening in Bariloche. Just something small...was this delicious bowl of Sorrentinos. I did not know what they were but they were stuffed with cheese and ham so how could that be bad. They were delicious and DH especially liked the sauce. He was only going to have "a little bowl of soup" which turned out to be a huge bowl of fresh style onion soup. Tasty, but did not photograph well. The pizza in this place looked fabulous and those who had it said it was. Sorry, can't eat everything. We now leave the countryside (Bariloche is a city, but you don't have to go far to be in the mountains and grasslands) and head for the BIG city. We are lucky as the airport has re-opened (that volcano thing again) so we skip the all day bus ride to another city which was then followed by a flight. Now we can just fly a couple of hours to Buenos Aires...our last stop.

Please do post on your cheese adventures. Sounds like a good project for the kids. Iv'e only ever done it with lemon juice. Around here I guess I will find rennet in a natural foods store...or maybe Wegmans. Need to check. IF one is only making say a gallon of milk into cheese it could be a challenge to divide tablet.

Next day in Bariloche it is time for the visit to an Estancia/Ranch. Beef is a huge export from Argentina and this kind of cattle operation is supposedly how it is done. So whether visitors are on a group tour, or backpacking through South America...this is a highly popular activity. Out of the city and off the paved roads (and the grid) we bumped along to the ranch. As at other venues a place has been built to take care of visitors needs... a nice eating hall, large kitchen, bathrooms etc. We are welcomed with these sopapillas and chimichurri sauce. As always there must be Mate to drink, in tea bags here. The area with the visitors dining hall is only one locale of the workers, there is another area with the main house and several other homes, and the other employees are scattered in various locations where they will be needed. The ranch is owned by a wealthy "international" person, who according to the manager is very good to his workers. For instance, all of the children of the workers are bussed into Bariloche to attend a private school and their education is paid through college if they wish. The manager of the ranch, who was European, explained about the operaton and (again) the effect of the volcanic eruption. There were several inches of ash on everything...the cattle ate it, drank water and it set up inside them and they started to die. The team then arranged for 40 tractor trailers to come and get the cattle and drive them to land near Buenos Aires. It was a huge operation, but I am sorry I have forgotten how many head of cattle they had on their 50,000 acres. Those cattle had not yet returned so we saw only a few hundred, and some sheep. We walked a bit to get an idea of the vastness of the land, and the quietness. Next we watched a sheep being sheared the old fashioned way...with heavy hand scissors. Since it was heading toward fall and winter we were thinking that the sheared sheep might be the sacrificed lamb for the next group. Because the meal today centers around lamb and it's been in the fireplace cooking for us. Plus a chicken for those who don't eat lamb. Time to chop the lamb and pass it out... Dinner is served...bread and chimichurri And an empanada of course... A plate of goodness...roast lamb, 2 salads, Goodbye ranch...thanks for our introduction to the cattle business.

It did have that name and I have found recipes online. It sounds like a LOT of work and I don't think a home cook could get the layers that thin. But when I next need a special dessert I'm going to try it. Today I used 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk and made Dulce de Leche in the microwave. It took at least an hour, heat, stir, repeat.....a lot. But I was doing other things and there is nothing hard about it. With that done ahead making the cake would be easier.

If you want to talk more about the travel aspects of this trip you can PM me. I think it was good to see parts of both Chile and Argentina...not that there is not enough to fill quite a bit of time in either country...especially if you are interestd in more active/ outdoor things.

This topic is interesting to me...I'm looking forward to seeing what you all work out. Not inclined to deep fry, but the salt idea might have possibilities.

Chilean sopaipillas I DID find some, from the same place at the fish market in Puerto Montt where I had the cheese and shrimp empanada. Not ours, but took the picture of them when others got them. Served with pebre it looks like. That woman in that shop "knew" dough, you can just tell they are crispy and light.

, DH would consider beer to be food...as perhaps some of you will too. We went to visit this small family run brewery and restaurant for a "tour" and lunch. Tomas Gilbert took over the beer making from his father who now runs the restaurant which is very much in the after ski sort of style. Tomas now brews and bottles a total of 700 bottles per week in three types... lager,stout and red. As you can guess with those numbers it is for "local consumption" only. I'm not a beer drinker but DH thought it was excellent. Our starter was a shot of excellent squash soup, a tiny empanada, and rolls...this time with a kind of hummus. DH had the lamb stew, a generous portion which he really enjoyed. I chose the ravioli (seen behind the beer) which was either trout or salmon...sorry I can't remember. It was very good though I thought the fish got lost with pasta and sauce. They had these gorgeous alfajores for sale too. A last minute reminder:

On the way to the brewery we find the perfect stopping spot. It's an overlook with great scenery Not as sunny but still beautiful. AND....there is shopping. Not only hand knit sweaters, and jewelry, and other crafts. But one couple had a nice selection of local products. Tea, and pate and packets of spices. I bought one packet for "all Patagonian foods" and another for empanadas. The husband had the grill going, there were going to be grilled meats. The perfect combination. Our tour guide stocked up on the "Mountain Wine" a sort of spiced wine that we shared the next day.

I know a lot of people have no use for tours, and we used to travel on our own but now we like the comfort of a tour, and the learning that takes place. Grand Circle has cut back on the number of meals included, but we thought on this trip that the quality and interest value were very good. We did a family winery, a fish market in Santiago, a nice old restaurant in Valparaiso, the rodeo demo place, the upcoming cervecceria, and the whole lamb grilling on the estancia, and a meal in a home. Of course all of them are tourist places, we do come to see what there is to see. Usually there were 2 meals provided, sometimes only breakfast. Most of the included meals were late lunch. Fine with us but some of the more timid travelers who did not want to go "out" in evening were kind of stuck. On our own we tried to get something "small" , often without much success. Later we learned to split because we were just eating too much. Unlike the provided meals we tended more to just get a pizza, pasta, or even just soup (it was huge too). So not a full meal with salad or starter and dessert. Breakfast with all the cakes and sweets could have been our dessert. A big difference when we were on our own in Buenos Aires at the end was we tried whenever we could to eat outside since that is a treat for us in March. Places were smaller, English not spoken but we managed. We ate a couple of pizzas, and I discovered Sorrentinos...large round ravioli like stuffed pasta that were fabulous. All the Italian food we had was delicious. Local? Well it's very popular with the locals and the people who make it are local. We were just with Spanish speaking customers instead of English speaking ones and we were not in a "locale". Of course you get to choose when you're paying. I'm not thinking "our own" food was so much better, though I could have gotten by on the peach drink and the cheese and shrimp empanada. No doubt I missed a bunch of local dishes but we enjoyed what we had. Sorry no Chilean sopaipillas, but some Argentine ones to start lunch on the estancia. It was a one way trip, Peru (for DH) , Chile, Argentina (Patagonia) and Argentina (Buenos Aires....with a side to Iguazu).

THIS is why you come to Bariloche! We rode up the chairlift at a ski area just outside of town. It was cloudy when we arrived, but after we went inside for a piece of cake the weather started to improve. The signature drink of the cafe at the top of the lift was hot chocolate with whipped cream and a shot of brandy. And these are some of the cakes they were selling, note that lemon pie is still popular. This is the one I would love to make with its dozens of very thin layers of cookie(?) interlaced with old friend Dulce de Leche, and almonds. How DO they make those layers so thin? One last view with the sun out, of the surrounding lake area. Then we're off to an overlook, with goodies for sale, and a VERY local cerveccer

Bariloche is known for its chocolates...having to do with its European immigrants. There are shops all over town selling adorable boxes of your choice of hundreds of kinds. Delicious of course. But for pure WOW factor the Mamuschka store can't be beat. Why the Russian doll theme I do not know but for display and presentation the "red" store is amazing. Other stores have other color themes, there is great competition. And there is this window of things having to do with good eating.

This trip log is what it says it is...pictures of the food I ate in Chile and Argentina. Not exciting enough...sorry. SO now it's Bariloche, Argentina...hit hard by the volcano but starting to recover. The only hotel meal (aside from breakfasts) of the trip in the gorgeous Hotel Cacique Inacayal overlooking the lake. The town has many German families from both before, and after World War 2. The influence shows in the delicious baked goods. Breads with dinner: Poorly described on menu, turned out to be a sort of strudle with vegetables, and a beet "trail". Main of our first Argentine steak, strangely overcooked (for Americans?) since we had expected practically raw. Tasty but we were not too impressed. Wonderful breakfast buffet, again with a variety of "cut them yourself" breads and the usual fruits and yogurt, butter and jams.

We're going over the Andes from Chile to Argentina and this is what we see. This is not snow in the mountains, it's "ash"/sand/pumice (tiny crushable rocks)from the June volcanic eruption. Everything is covered except the road which has now been cleared. After going through the the Chilean border crossing (leaving) we drive several miles and enter Argentina. A few miles later we arrive in the town of Villa la Angostura, our first stop in Argentina. Here we eat lunch, learn about a new kind of money ( but they take Chilean pesos too) and switch buses (and all the luggage) for our trip on to Bariloche. We split this lovely deep fried chicken dish... with fries. Another couple had this piece of "apple pie" We used the last of our Chilean money for a packet of alfajores and it's on to Bariloche, land of lakes, mountains, skiing, and chocolate.

Next we go over the Andes (at under 4000'), see the destruction from the volcano eruption last June, and end up in another very European looking place. But for now...just a couple more sweets to remember Chile by: BAGS of Manjar, and a batch of over the top Alfajores robed in chocolate.

Lunch is "on our own" at the fish market in Puerto Montt...with the fishing boats tied up right outside. There is lots of good looking produce, including these huge garlic cloves...and some "sea products". Since I know almost nothing about fish and seafood I'm not much help here. But lots of fresh fish and also smoked(?) and dried ( the strings of things hanging)shellfish and fish. My lunch was "surprise" an empanada ...this time with melted cheese (of course) and tiny shrimp. The shrimp didn't add much but the whole thing was delicous with the great crust which the cook was pressing out in a pasta machine. I'd love that recipe. After lunch we spent our time in the "artisan market".

Sorry no piggy bowls...not for sale...and HUGE. Don't know if there is a "piggy bowl village" but there is a town where they hand make the small, plain bowls for Pastel de Choclo.