New Year's Eve menu

I am the world's greatest NYE party pooper. I hate staying up late! Here, NYE is a biggie. Big cookout, mostly lamb or mutton, which I dislike. But everyone has an Asado.

One year, when we were living up on the hill, overlooking Loncoche, I had the brilliant idea of making Pastel de Choclo, corn pie, instead of a cookout. Neil agreed and Mom and I undertook the work of Pastel de Choclo. As we sat out on the porch eating our delicious Pastel, something incredible happened. We could smell the meat of all the people cooking in the town below us! All of a sudden, our pastel didn't have that smell! We are quite the carnivores, so our corn-laden goodness came up short!

Lesson learned, this year like all the rest, we are having an Asado!

Chilean Food, Porotos con Riendas

Here is a typical dish, eaten at least once a week. Porotos con Riendas, which translates to Beans with Reins. It beans, with pumpkin-like squash, a sausage-onion-bell pepper saute, and spaghetti, thus the "reins". I love these beans! Also, I add a bit of tomato sauce as requested by DH.

Sometimes these are made with no meat at all, and they are still good! I make mine with ground beef instead of sausage.

Chilean Food, Empanadas

These are another very typical dish, but not one eaten every week like the cazuela or carbonada.
Above are the fried ones. Yum! They are both filled with groud beef, onion, one small slice of boiled egg, one olive (with the pit) and maybe a raisin or two (I leave these out)

They also make baked ones with the same filling. Most latin cultures have their empanadas. Even within Chile, there is a variety to the empanadas. They also make them with shellfish. (gross) My sister-in-law makes them with chicken. Very good.

They also make appetizer-sized ones with cheese or the beef mixture. Here in the south, they make mostly the little ones and they add chile, which is not common in the north.

All Chileans love empanadas. What's not to love?

Chilean Food, Carbonada

This, to me, is the boring part of Chilean food. Here, you see carbonada. Does is look familiar? It should. It is basically the same as cazuela, just all chopped up.
This is a tasty vegetable beef soup.

Chilean Food, Marraqueta

The basis of the chilean diet is not tortillas, as many assume, but bread. The one shown above the the marraqueta. This is the most delicious of them all, IMHO. They are fairly large, each half about the size of a bagle, but lighter. Don't buy them while they are still hot because you end up eating the whole bag!

The most common bread is the one above, the hallulla, pronounced eye-you-yah.

These are good, but I am now sick to death of them! Chileans, however, never tire of them. They are life and breath to them! Give me a marraqueta any day.

Chilean Food, Cazuela de Vacuno

This is, by far, the most typical Chilean dish. Cazuela de Vacuno. Basically its beef and vegetable soup. But, as you can see, all the veggies are in big pieces rather than all chopped up. It has beef, potato, squash, corn, green beans and rice. Often it is garnished with fresh, chopped cilantro.

The interesting thing about this soup is how it is eaten. Americans want to eat a little bit of everything. This is not possible with cazuela. You must, must, must eat the broth first. If you don't, you will splash broth all over everything as you try to eat potato or meat first. Please don't ask me how I figured this out!

Chilean families will eat this at least once a week. It can be eaten as an appetizer or a main course, depending on how much meat you have to put in it. You can also make it with chicken.

It is very tasty and healthy.