Dominican Republic - 16th November 2019

It has been a long time since my last post.  And it had been a long time between my last post and the previous one but that is what happens when you chose to move to different countries for work.  It's not easy to settle and make lots of new friends.  And it can be even harder to shop for the various ingredients.  Moreover, after Eric retired, as the expat's spouse, cooking was something he took on and I became the spoiled wife who shows up for dinner.

Since 2015 we have lived in Italy (just 7 months and frankly we binged on Italian food) and Denmark (3.5 years and I was having such great meals at the office that I never felt like cooking at home) and we have finally both retired back in London.  Our plan was to retire in Italy but after 3 awful years attempting to renew a condo in Lucca we decided that we would be better off moving somewhere that doesn't require us dealing with Italian contractors, lawyers, nasty neighbors and the likes.  What you hear about renovating properties in Italy is true.  It's awful.  Don't do it (unless you happen to be Italian, live in Italy and really have no other choice).

I also realize that my last blog post was for for Barbados and that between B and D there is C.  I didn't skip C.  I made Eric and I a dinner from Cape Verde while in Denmark in 2018.  I just never wrote about it.  Maybe I will at some point.  Or if anything just post the recipes since I can't remember anything about the actual evening.

I'm not entirely certain that my choice of recipes for Dominican Republic really reflected what people eat.  But I found this lovely blog with lots of recipes (https://www.dominicancooking.com/) and I just chose what I thought would have made a good meal.

One of the great things of moving back to London (where I lived previously from 1991 to 2002), is that I was able to reconnect with many friends.  And I am looking forward to slowly invite many of them for dinner to sample my cooking from around the world - of course in alphabetical order.  So first on the list of the invitees were Simonetta, Lorenzo & Ilaria.  Simonetta and I go back almost 25 years as we met in London when we both worked for Delta and also lived together in my home for a few years.  It's been great to just resume our friendship.  It's true what they say about friends you make in your youth.  Years pass, we grow grey hair and get a few lines, but you still pick up from where you left off.  Lorenzo her very entertaining partner and Ilaria, their lovely teen-ager (who I suspect might have regretted coming to dinner at some point later in the evening... the poor kid fell asleep on the sofa! - which in retrospect is something I have done more than once at people's houses but on account of too much wine and not out of boredom).

My beautiful big table is currently in Lucca so for the time being we won't be able to host large dinners (which is fine given our crappy electric stove) but still I promise to continue on the journey now that I have time.

Back to the Dominican Republic. Somehow, this being a country in the Caribbean, I expected a lot more spice and flavor but alas, the overall meal was perhaps a bit bland.  And my guests' feedback reflected as much.

As a starter I made Pastelon de Berenjena y Queso  (eggplant and cheese casserole) which is pretty much a healthier, blander version of melanzane alla parmigiana.  The recipe didn't require that you salt the eggplant to remove the water first nor that you fry them prior to layering in the oven dish (which is what you do for eggplant parmigiana) but the sauce was pretty much béchamel.  I messed it up a little as it was only suppose to have shredded mozzarella but I also included grated parmesan.  As a result it was perhaps a bit too thick.  But overall it was probably one of the most successful dishes of the evening (proof that you can't go wrong when you smother food with cheese).

The main course was a series of dishes that makes up "La Bandera" or the flag.  Typically this is a Sunday lunch but - according to the blog with the recipes - it's very traditional in the Dominican Republic.  Also, it seemed pretty simple to prepare so, given I'm a bit rusty in the kitchen, I decided to go with it. 

The center piece of la bandera is Pollo Guisado (braised chicken) which is, well, braised chicken.  I perhaps cooked it a bit too long and as a result it was a bit dry (particularly the white meat) but the biggest feedback was that it was bit bland.  And it's true, not enough spice to it, really.

Accompanying the chicken were a few side dishes:

1. Habichuela Guisadas (stewed beans) which was the least popular dish of the meal.  It didn't taste bad but it just didn't taste, it was too bland. Maybe that's the intention, perhaps it shouldn't overpower the chicken?  Anyway, lots of leftovers of this.  And it's very diet friendly so perhaps I'll just eat it as a side for the next foreseeable future (I don't see Eric wanting this again)
2. Ensalada verde (mixed salad) which was not all green since it included beetroots, tomatoes and onions and was dressed with a vinaigrette made of strawberry vinegar and olive oil.  Everyone liked it but it's difficult to mess up a salad really.  
3. Arroz Blanco (white rice) which was probably the dish that everyone liked the most.  Yeah I know... and to paraphrase Eric "it's rice, what's to say"? Simo at least commented it was "al dente" (which is good) and Lorenzo called it "da boss" but also felt it wasn't enough (true as well).  

Finally the dessert was Habichuela con Dulce (Sweet cream of beans) which was not pleasant to look at (sorry, forgot to take a photo) and doesn't sound like a tasty dish but it was actually tasty.  In Ilaria's words it was a "pleasant surprise, lovely flavor but maybe with less raisins...".  Perhaps the condensed milk and the coconut milk were enough to bring up the sweetness expected of a dessert, despite being made with boring and bland beans.  I perhaps should have cut the recipe in half as there was a lot left over.  Naturally Eric didn't like it (the years pass but some things never change).

As was tradition, I prepared goody bags as well and filled them with Coconetes (Rustic coconut cookies) which were nice and with a nice coconut/cinnamon flavor and Dulces the Mani (peanut candies) which was essentially peanut brittle... I find anything with peanut addictive and so even though I managed not to eat any while I was preparing it, I am afraid I ate quite a chunk when Lorenzo opened the bag to try it.  Needless to say there was none left to take home... Oh well, maybe the wine was enough to make him forget that I ate a lot of it!

It was a lovely evening overall and I'm looking forward to entertaining more going forward.  

And back to more tradition, here is the full menu with scores:

Pastelon de Berenjena y Queso  (eggplant and cheese casserole): 8
Pollo Guisado (braised chicken) : 6.9
Habichuela Guisadas (stewed beans): 5.7
Ensalada verde (mixed salad) : 8.8
Arroz Blanco (white rice) : 8.3
Habichuela con Dulce (Sweet cream of beans): 6.8

Overall Dinner: 7.2

Next we are going back to Africa and this one is going to be an interesting one since I know very little about Equatorial Guinea.

Stay tuned (and I promise it won't be two or more years of waiting...)