Saturday, December 1st. Give-to-Live!

International Children’s Cancer Foundation 

Third Annual Holiday Bazaar & Food Fair 

11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

La Jolla

 We are proud to announce that MarDelSis will be participating in the Annual Holiday Bazaar & Food Fair organized by the International Children’s Cancer Foundation. ICCF is a nonprofit organization committed to raising capital on individual treatment centers that help only low income families who deal with this deadly disease with a lot of courage but less financial means. 

 Visit our booth for a taste of our mouth-watering empanadas and quiches. We will also be offering delicious “Alfajores de Maizena” (cornstarch cookies with dulce de leche), and other Argentine sweet delicacies. 

Tickets for this event may be purchased directly from us. Let us know how many and we will deliver your tickets with your food order or send them to you by mail.

 Come meet us for a good cause! There is going to be live piano music, silent auction, free raffles (entrance ticket entitles you to enter raffle) and more. 

Read more about ICCF 
See pictures from last year event 
Purchase tickets here

Milanesas this week!

Here I found the milanesas recipe in Food.com. They called them Breaded Sirloin and mention a 30 minutes preparation time.
My kids, grandchildren and husband always want milanesas for diner, for lunch or for their lunch boxes. The truth is that, even when I love them too, it takes me a lot more than half an hour to prepare them, and that is why I refuse to do it. If you are going to make 2 milanesas, then 30 minutes could be right; but, who makes 2 milanesas? And be ready to clean all the bread crumbs left all over the kitchen!
So here are your options:
1. go do the shopping, marinate the meat, break your hands coating the milanesas with bread crumb, fill the house with the dip fried smell...
2. go to MarDelSis site and order milanesas ready to eat or frozen
... your choice!
You need to calculate at least 2 per person per meal. And do not forget to save some to eat in a sandwich the next day.

http://www.food.com/recipe/milanesas-breaded-sirloin-78573#

Did I mention that MarDelSis is doing a promotion this week with Chicken Milanesas?

Check it here: http://mardelsis.com

Hasta pronto!

Laura Gomez

info@mardelsis.com

This week Pinocho's Chimichurri!

Mar del Plata, our home town, used to be very small and empty during the winters but super fun and busy during the summers. Our house was always full of guests from Buenos Aires and every night there was something going on until late at night. Everybody liked to come to our home because my father was known as “the entertainer” of the town; he was always making jokes and making people laugh. He was a serious dentist in the morning and not-serious-at-all after that. Pinocho (Spanish for Pinocchio) used to make the best “parrilladas” and a delicious chimichurri to accompany the meet. I have very present in my mind the taste of my father’s chimichurri. I remember I could not eat too much because it was too spicy for me; a little bit of it with the meet was enough to enjoy it.

 Of course, every Argentinean is going to say that he/she knows the best recipe for chimichurri. The truth is that every house makes it’s own special sauce according to the taste and preference of the family. This week, we are proud to make our own Pinocho’s Chimichurri. Red, spicy and flavorful sauce best to use with grilled meet.

Pinocho's Chimichurri Sauce

Carola and Laura with their father Pinocho

Chimichurri Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup "salmuera" (boil water with 2 tablespoons Kosher salt until salt is dissolved)

• 1/5 cup sweet paprika*

• 1/4 cup oregano* 

• 1/4 cup red pepper flakes*

• 1 cups fresh finely chopped parsley

• 3-6 cloves of garlic finely chopped (your taste)

• 1 cup canola oil (olive oil could take over the flavor)

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 

Preparation:Let the salmuera cool. Add the dry spices* and soak them for about one hour. Add the rest of the ingredients and wait at least 2 hours before using. Note:The oil needs to cover completely the Chimichurri. Some people like to eat only the oil. You do not need to refrigerate this if you are using it in 48 hours. After that, refrigerate and use it for up to one month (never happens in my house).Modify the amount of the ingredients according to your taste. You cannot go wrong :)Enjoy!

Laura y Carola

info@patagoniacatering.com

http://patagoniacatering.com

858-480-1577

Are you hungry?

Here there are some of the pictures we took last catering at a small gathering for a political fundraising in Rancho Santa Fe. Around 35 people enjoyed Carola's Argentine tapas.

Enjoy the pictures!
Laura

Cataratas del Iguazu

Iguazu Falls

Another marvelous place we visited was "Cataratas del Iguazu"(Iguazu Falls). The falls are spectacular, almost indescribable! The sound of the water was extremely relaxing and stirred our emotions in ways that we could hardly believe. It brought some of us to tears. The Iguazu Falls are one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/IguazuFalls.htm

"Taller than Niagara Falls, twice as wide with 275 cascades spread in a horseshoe shape over nearly two miles of the Iguazu River, Iguazu Falls are the result of a volcanic eruption which left yet another large crack in the earth. During rainy season of November-March, the rate of flow of water going over the falls may reach 450,000 cubic feet (12,750 cubic m) per second." 

We also adventured through the tropical forest, taking advantage of the several opportunities for sightseeing such as zip lining, rock climbing, and hiking the trails.

“The falls are part of a singular practically virgin jungle ecosystem protected by Argentine and Brazilian national parks on either side of the cascades. Two thirds of the falls are on the Argentinian side of the river where you can also tour Iguazú National Park where there are jungle trails and bird hikes.”  http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/IguazuFalls.htm

The regional pride is the Yerba mate. Wherever you go you see people holding their mates and drinking their Tea.

Just as in every place I visit, I was in the search for regional food, and I found it in the "chipa" a small cheese bread. This type of bread is traditional from the North of Argentina and Paraguay.

Chipa:

• 2 1/4 cups tapioca flour (500g) or 2 1/4 cups tapioca starch (500g)
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup butter (200g)
• 2 teaspoons salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1/2 lb parmesan cheese (grated, 250g)
• 1/2 lb mozzarella cheese (250g)
•  1/2 lb any other hard cheese (250g, chopped into small squares)

Directions:

Put the tapioca in a big bowl , along with coldish butter (chopped roughly), the mozzarella or any semi-soft cheese (also roughly cut to make the process easier), the grated parmesan cheese, and the eggs.

Start mixing the ingredients by hand until the dough is somewhat formed.

Add the hard cheese cut into small squares to the dough and keep kneading until you have a homogeneous dough (with the exception of the hard cheese squares, which aren´t supposed to blend in).

Refrigerate for 30 minutes .

Take small pieces of dough and form little balls with it.

Cook in a 400°F oven for around 15 mins, checking every 5 mins or so. The result should be crunchy outside and softer inside.