Food Porn

Mike's apartment is 7 blocks away from mine, in a gleaming brand new building.  In the courtyard out back, there is a beautiful pool, a wooden deck with lounge chairs, several tables, and a huge parilla (charcoal grill).  The building seems to be populated almost entirely by rich kids in their twenties, punctuated by an occasional wrinkly Brit on vacation.  The courtyard area turns into a younger, sleeker version of Melrose Place on the weekends, and there are a few sideways looks at the pasty and hairy Canadians if we venture out there on a Saturday.  During the week it is usually pretty dead, so last Monday we invited our Spanish instructors over for dinner.

Since we had only grilled on propane barbecues before, we had a trial run a few days earlier.  It took about an hour and a whole bottle of lighter fluid to get the charcoal going, but after that, I think we handled ourselves pretty well.  On Monday, we went to the San Telmo Mercado for fresh fruit and vegetables, got the butcher to saw us off some thick ribeyes and sirloins, and picked up a bag of charcoal (and more lighter fluid).  Then we hit up the deli for some cheese, and the bakery for dessert.

Dinner was a gut busting success.  Andres and Alejandra brought over several bottles of wine, some cheese, bread and salami for a starter, and a couple of green salads.  Andres showed us the proper charcoal lighting technique (the most important thing is to wave a garbage can lid up and down), and once the coals were hot, took over the grilling duties.  I usually cook a steak for just a few minutes per side on the highest possible heat, then let it sit for 10 minutes to settle before serving.  I was kind of worried when the meat was still on the grill after 30 minutes, but Andres knew what he was doing.  They were a lovely medium rare, and had crusted over a bit on the outside while absorbing the smoky flavour of the charcoal.  We also grilled red peppers with eggs cracked into them, provolone cheese, and asparagus.  There was a watermelon-basil-feta-almond salad, as well.  For dessert, fresh cherries with a chocolate, ricotta, and dulce de leche tart.  We didn't finish eating until midnight.