Argentina

After an amazing trip back to my roots and a renewed culinary encounter in Argentina, I am back in San Diego excited to reproduce these dishes with a touch of my own, influenced by the flavors of Southern California. Having tried many dishes that I used to fully enjoy in the past, I realized that though they bring back memories of my childhood, my palate has adapted to more expansive flavors.
For those who have not yet experienced Buenos Aires , one thing that stands out is the many beautiful sit down coffee shops that you find any and everywhere. The espresso coffee is delicious and served in a demitasse and always accompanied by something sweet, be this a chocolate bonbon, a petit four, amaretti (an Italian cookie made of almond paste) or a tiny ice cream scoop. These cafés are points of meeting with friends and people usually spend long hours talking and catching up. Other places of gathering are the many ice cream shops, where people also spend long hours chatting. The ice cream is delicious and to me, the best I've ever had anywhere, including Italy .
So here goes a recipe for my favorite ice cream

"Dulce de leche" Dulce de leche ice cream

Ingredients:
2 cups of whole milk
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 pound dulce de leche
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup chopped pecans, almonds, walnuts, toasted (optional)
Directions: Bring milk, 1 tbsp of sugar and vanilla to a boil in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Cool it quickly in an ice bath. Whip cream with 2 tbsp of sugar until stiff peaks are just about to form. Fold into the cold milk and dulce de leche. Make sure the mixture is completely cold before freezing. At this point you can fold in pecans, almonds, chocolate chips, walnuts or anything that you can think of! Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, for at least 1 hour.