It’s that time of year again – when I go all out menu-wise and my family welcomes around 100 people into our home over the course of an afternoon. There’s always a theme, there’s usually wine pairing, and there’s a feast with little cards explaining what the heck I made. This year’s theme is “Fiesta!” because I’m heading to Peru for a few months in January to play in a percussion festival. So no wine pairing this year, but lots of fresh seafood, limes, rum and tequila. Plus a bunch of my preserves – from jam to pickles to butters – are for sale and all proceeds go towards paying my Peruvian cajòn teacher while I’m there, and keeping a roof over my head (though I plans that involve a hammock).
Here’s the menu:
Peruvian shrimp and avocado causa: layers of spiced mashed potatoes with sweet pepper aioli
Sustainable marinated turbot and shrimp ceviche, Peruvian style with lime, fresh chili peppers and boiled sweet potato and corn
Grilled chicken and beef anticucho skewers (kebabs) on cilantro rice with fresno-chili sauce (not with the traditional beef hearts, though…)
Plus guacamole, pico de gallo salsa, roasted pasilla chili pepper salsa and tortillas
Then the sweets:
Suspiro de Limena (The sigh of a woman from Lima): caramel mousse with port and Italian meringue)
Dos Leches (“two milk”) four-layer cake with honey, almond milk and coconut milk, a caramel filling and coconut cream frosting
Fresh mangoes, grapes, oranges, blackberries and raspberries with fresh lime juice and chili pepper salt.
Did I mention margaritas? And sangria? Plus my mom’s famous strawberry-pineapple punch, and great company since about half the population of St. John’s pops by over the course of the afternoon, god love them.
If you’re wondering what ceviche and causa are, they’re the things in the photo at the top on the left and centre, respectively.
In the fridge at this moment are the fresno chili pepper salsa, the pasilla pepper salsa, the causa, the four-layer dos leches cake, the marinating anticucho skewers and the cilantro rice. Tomorrow I’ll make the fresh picco de gallo, the guacamole, the ceviche, and the Italian meringue with port for the suspiro de Limena. Then we’ll boil the sweet potatoes and corn, wash the blackberries, raspberries and grapes and slice the mangoes. then I’ll dump a little chili pepper and salt in the lime zest in the fridge from today to sprinkle on top of some the fruit (I’ll leave some on the side for those whol like it hot, and leave some fruit un-spiced for those who don’t). So far I’m happy with the results, though the dulce de leche is more coconut-y than I’d like. The mayo-lacquered shrimp and avocado causa was just right, though. My fish guy says the turbot will be amazing. He was very proud of the flash-frozen wild 
fillet.
Blending three bunches of cilantro for the rice was a trial, but I didn’t even electrocute myself or break a spoon!
And my mom and I took turns (mostly her) stirring the dulce de leche while it evaporated for an hour and a half or two hours over low heat. Patience is a virtue. She has it. I’m working on it. It will be a life-long goal, and I’m, admittedly, young.
See you tomorrow!
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