Hidden behind Retiro, on a dusty gravel road off of the Avenida Libertador, you’ll find the atelier of Argentine artist Carlos Regazzoni. Reggazoni creates majestic sculptures using discarded parts from the train tracks.
Walking down the abandoned path gives you the feeling of being in an different world, where steel giants rule.
I happened to stumble upon this atelier by chance, during a Sunday bike ride. Just goes to show, you can never know what to expect in Buenos Aires.
The time has arrived! The much-anticipated Buenos Aires Cookie Club #2 will be held on Sunday, December 9th, 2012.
To get more details and sign up for the event, please visit our Facebook page! You can also read a fanastic write-up in the Argentina Independent about the event.
If you can’t make it to the event and still want cookies, no problem! I’ve been practicing all sorts of cute decorated sugar cookies (see the Day of the Dead cookies above) and they are available for order. Order a dozen today and share with your friends! Stay tuned for some new and very, very cute cookie shapes that I’ll be selling at the San Telmo market, as well as the Underground Market. I’m talking cookies so cute that you won’t want to eat them, but they taste so good that you’ll just have to.
Viva los cookies!
Sugar Cookies (Pink and blue frosting)
What a success the first Buenos Aires Cookie Club was! There were a few hiccups along the way (how many cookies should everyone make??), but in the end everything turned out beautifully and we were blown away by the positive reaction. This meeting was just the first of many to come, and the grand event will be near Christmas time! Just think: dozens and dozens of beautiful Christmas cookies. Mmmm…
I thought for weeks about which cookie I’d make: peanut butter? gingerbread? biscotti? In the end, I decided to make a childhood classic, that I have fond memories of decorating as a child: Sugar cookies with royal icing.
They turned out decent…I didn’t realize the icing would need so long to dry, so they kind of stuck together during transport. But the taste was awesome! I threw in some orange juice and lots of orange zest to give it an extra kick.
3 cups (390 grams) flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (227 grams) butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange juice
Zest of one orange
Preheat oven to 350F (177C).
Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cream the butter with the sugar, then add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and orange juice and zest. Add the flour and mix well. Divide the dough into two balls and cover with plastic wrap and store in fridge for at least an hour.
Roll out the dough and cut with your favorite cookie cutter. Bake 8-10 minutes, until the borders are lightly brown. Cool completely before icing.
2 large (60 grams) egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups (330 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
Beat eggs whites with lemon juice until foamy, add powdered sugar and continue beating until you get the right consistency. You don’t want it to be too runny otherwise they will drip off the cookies. You can add food coloring at this time.
Have fun with decorating! You can put the icing in a pastry bag, try different tips, different colors, use a tooth pick to swirl it around, anything really. Here’s some inspirational cupcakes that I made:
I’ve said it before, I’m a fan of clubs. Nothing beats getting together with people who share your same passion. For that reason, Juliana from Horneando Algo and myself are organizing the Buenos Aires Cookie Club! The club is a chance for bakers to get together and exchange cookies, recipes and a good conversation.
The Buenos Aires Cookie Club was founded on the idea that many other cookie clubs have had; to bake only one type of cookie (but lots of them) and host a cookie exchange, this way you end up with dozens of delicious types of cookies! This idea orginated at Christmas time, when we don’t have time to bake as much as we’d like, but since we love cookies so much, we decided to host the event every 3 months! Our first event is September 9th at 3pm in Palermo!
Below are some rules and requirements for members of our club:
1) All participating members are asked to pay a $25 membership fee. This fee covers refreshments such as tea and coffee, as well as a recipe book with that event’s cookie recipes, as well as materials to pack and take-away your cookie treats!
2) All participating members are asked to come to the event with at least (X dozen) of the same cookies. The exact quantity will be based on the number of participants.
3) All participating members are asked to send their cookie recipe one week in advance, in order to be included in the quarterly recipe book as well as to avoid cookie repeats!
Just a quick note about the Taste event yesterday, before I jet off to Santiago de Chile for the weekend (work hard, play hard, right?) First of all, a huge GRACIAS to the organizers who made this event possible, especially to BA Delivery who allowed me to showcase my talents in the form of blueberry tartlets.
It was a great time being able to finally meet some of the people that I know only from the internet world and also meet some new ones. My blueberry pies were a hit and seriously were flying off the table. There was a moment when I couldn’t keep up and was furiously trying to serve more and more tartitas y la gente estaba loca, ah! It was crazy. But that’s what happens when you tempt people with free food, no?
Now that Taste is out of the way, I’m focusing all my energies into winning the 2nd annual BA Chili Cookoff. Oh yeah. And even if I don’t win, I do, because there will be bourbon pecan pies and firecracker cornbread for sale as well (made by moi, of course). And for those of you who weren’t able to snatch a blueberry pie at Taste, there’s a rumor that there will be a limited number for sale at the cookoff! (I’m starting this rumor, please spread it.)
One final thought about the Taste event: a vendor’s table is not a garbage can, and yes, I did just see you throwing that pile of trash with curry, soy, hot and who knows what other sauce dripping out, onto my beautiful blue and white checkered tablecloth.
I have a genetic disorder. It was handed down to me from my mother’s side, which with almost every single woman had been infected. I’ve got the dreaded…pie-making gene, even worse, I’ve got the pie-eating gene, which often leads to excess weight gain and sugar highs. Thankfully, along with this gene, I’ve also been handed down the coveted Pecan Pie recipe. With secret ingredients that only a Wisconsin lady can put together to make one, seriously addictive and delicious pecan pie.
What is it about the pecan pie that makes it so good? Is it the crunchy topping with beautiful toasted pecan aromas? Or is it the smooth, carmel-y filling? One might say that the crust is key. Too bad you can rarely find that buttery, flaky crust with a touch of sweetness that you are often looking and hoping for….But what if you could? What if you could find the perfect pecan pie, and what’s more…find it right here in Buenos Aires?
Guess what? Your life just got worth living for. On Saturday, June 9th, 2012 the Argentine Independent is hosting an Underground Market in Almagro, there will be lots of amazing vendors selling delicious products, incluso me, selling my incredible pecan pie, as well as some other delicious pies…cheesecakes, perhaps?
This is not something you want to miss.
I’m happier than you. You may not know or realize it, but I am. Every morning I wake up and I say to myself : “hot damn, I’m one hell of a lucky bitch.”
Now, here’s why and what you can do about it…
1) Grilled Pizza. I have the best recipe for it. You don’t. This pizza will kick the ass of any pizza that you may have thought was good when you were studying abroad for a semester in Italia.
About a week after first arriving to Buenos Aires, my husband invited me to see a play by a local theater group of which his friends were part. Being the curious, culturally-interested girl that I was at the time I accepted. Unfortunately for me, the play we went to see was a strange musical about the Argentina revolution, or something to that effect, and with my basic Spanish skills and scarce knowledge of Argentine history, I wasn’t able to catch a thing.
So, a few months ago when my husband proposed another play to see together, my first reaction was “NO, thank you.” However, after some pushing and shoving, I conceded. I’m such a good wife. Or a pushover. Continue reading
Live, cook and eat abroad 