I’d been looking forward to June 26 for a long time. Besides the fact that it was my dad’s birthday (happy late birthday Dad!), it was the scheduled night for our bi-monthly meeting of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pans! We decided at our last meeting that our next culinary stop would be Latin America, from Mexico all the way south.
Immediately, my brain started reeling… I have so many Latin-style dishes, so many that I just love to cook and eat, and with our meeting being on a Saturday, my options were more open than a weeknight, as I’d have more time. Our meeting included two new people this time as well: my sister Leigh, and none other than Jenn! I was so eager for Jenn to meet these women, and for them to meet her… anyway, back to the food.
We met at Amy’s house, greeted by a bucket of wine and beverages, as well as a pitcher of white wine sangria featuring homemade limoncello, fresh citrus, and prosecco.
A lovely bowl of mangoes helped decorate the counter
As everyone arrived, the dishes started to be plated. First, a delicious crab ceviche atop fresh cucumbers and avocado made by Beth. I LOVED the fresh flavors, and the cucumber added just the right crunch:
Also, something nicknamed Yucca Surprise by Tina. She started with the intention of making a yucca pastry dough, but was surprised by how difficult it was to mash and get smooth. Even with all the difficulty, the shrimp-stuffed pastries were delicious, and the yucca in the dough made the texture just fantastic.
Liz brought chorizo-stuffed tomatoes which, upon eating, made me wish I had a bucket of the filling at my disposal to eat with eggs, potatoes, in a tortilla…
I’d decided to bring Venezuelan arepas, a tender corn cake that’s split and then stuffed with a variety of ingredients. I made slow-cooked three-pepper chicken, and brought queso fresco, avocado, and sour cream as fillings.
My mom ended up bringing the Puerto Vallarta-Style shrimp burgers that I love so much… for some reason, the components escaped my camera, but they appear on my plate (in a minute!)
We gathered in Amy’s gorgeous screened-in porch, chatted a bit more, and sat down to eat.
Oh, there are some of the burger components! Mini buns with a mesclun salad mix for topping. My plate was packed to the gills!
From the top: Liz’s stuffed tomatoes, my mom’s shrimp burgers, Tina’s Yucca Surprise, my arepa, a jicama, mango, and cucumber salad and a radish salad, both brought by Eo. For some reason, I didn’t get a picture of those individually either… too much sangria!
We enjoyed a leisurely dinner, punctuated by great conversations about music, food, recipes, and family. We laughed, shared stories, and ate…oh did we eat… and then came dessert. Dessert was absolutely amazing! Amy made a delicate tres leches cake topped with fresh raspberries from her garden and fresh whipped cream.
Leigh brought a cinnamon bread pudding topped with dulce de leche and berries spiked with espelette.
Each serving of bread pudding was then topped with dulce de leche whipped cream. I could’ve bathed in it…
As usual, it was a wonderful night full of great food and great friends. I always leave our dinners as full as can be, with sore cheeks from laughing and smiling for hours.
Thanks for being a wonderful host, Amy, and for this great picture of all of us (and the back of Liz‘s head!)
Where will our next meeting bring us? Only time will tell…
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