Calling all wanna-be chefs.

Today I was treated to a cooking class with Chilean Cuisine Valparaíso.  And what a treat it was.  I helped create a feast of cheese empanadas, red pebre, green pebre, pastel de choclo, pisco sour and Chilean tomato salad.   My dear friend and teacher, Boris, taught me the age-old secrets of making empanada dough.  I'm not sure if I’ll use my new skills to expand Indiana’s milk business into an empanada-leche venture just yet, but the batch we made today was delicious.   We have German visitors arriving in the morning and I can’t wait to try the recipe out on them.  I might even add an Aussie twist and make a ham and pineapple filling. 

The class was presented in Spanish and although I didn’t catch everything my teacher made sure I felt comfortable.  After we had filled our bellies and drank our sours we all took turns singing our national anthems.  Boris and Lissette danced the traditional cueca for us and as I clapped along to the lively music I felt a real sense of emersion into the culture and the pride of a nation.