Many of the stews in Argentina are garnished with fresh fruit or even dried fruit. This spicy, creamed seafood dish is very elegant and makes a gorgeous presentation dish. Accompany the dish with a simple green salad and a chilled Argentine white wine.

Ingredients

• 2 cups long grained white rice

• ½ cup butter

• 1 2-inch thread of saffron

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 4 cups chicken stock, boiling

• 1/4 cup minced jarred pimientos, or substitute red bell pepper, cooked in water until soft

• ½ cup cooked tiny green peas

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 1 ½ cups milk

• 1 tablespoon habanero hot sauce

• 1/4 cup minced onion

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 tablespoons finely chopped green bell pepper

• 2 pounds lobster, cooked and cubed

• 1 pound medium shrimp, cooked, peeled, and deveined

• ½ pound crabmeat, cooked and flaked

• 3 oranges, peeled and thinly sliced into circles

• 2 ripe avocados, peeled and sliced

• 2 grapefruits, peeled and sectioned

• 16 lime wedges

Instructions

Combine the rice, 3 tablespoons of butter, the saffron, salt, and the boiling chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. When the rice is tender, stir in the pimientos and the peas and keep the rice warm.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large, heavy saucepan and sprinkle in the flour and stir for 30 seconds until it is well blended with the butter, taking care not to burn the mixture. Add the milk, all at once, and the hot sauce, stirring constantly until the mixture starts to thicken. If the mixture is not smooth, beat it with a whisk. Then, remove the cream sauce from the heat and set aside.

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large pot, and add the onion, the garlic, and the bell pepper and saute for 3 minutes. Then, add the lobster, shrimp, and crabmeat and toss the mixture lightly. Add the cream sauce to the seafood mixture, and heat slowly, until the mixture is hot. Serve the creamed seafood over the cooked rice and garnish with the oranges, avocados, grapefruit, and the lime wedges.

Although this drink was served to royalty in the large Mayan cities, the discovery of chile in conjunction with cacao in Cerén indicates that even commoners knew how to make this concoction.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups water

• 1/4 cup cocoa

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1/4 teaspoon hot chile powder, such as piquin

• 1 vanilla bean pod

Instructions

In a pan, heat the water to boiling. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Serve immediately with the vanilla bean for garnish in the drink.

Since Chile has a 2600-mile coastline, I would be remiss if I didn’t include a fish recipe from that country. There is a minimum of grazing land in Chile, so instead of beef being the major source of protein, it is fish and shellfish. The wines of Chile are quite good, so be sure to include a nice chilled Chilean white wine when you serve this Chilean ceviche. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds halibut fillets or substitute sole or flounder

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice

• ½ cup fresh orange juice

• 1 cup chopped onions

• 2 teaspoons Caribbean-style habanero sauce

• 1 fresh ají chile, seeds and stem removed, sliced into rings, or substitute yellow wax hot or jalapeño

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced

• Garnishes: tomato wedges and cilantro sprigs

Instructions

Cut the fillets into 1 inch pieces, place them in a ceramic bowl, cover with the fruit juices, and toss them lightly to coat.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate overnight. Drain off some of the juice and arrange the fillets on lettuce leaves on 4 individual plates and garnish with the tomatoes and the cilantro.