Ode to Chile

Last night I stayed up until 1 a.m. because I was glued to my laptop watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations: Chile. I love Chilean food, Chilean people and Chilean culture. Growing up my best friend was from Chile and that meant that I reaped all the benefits of having a friend from a different culture. Anthony Bourdain, like most people, knew close to nothing about Chilean food. But, it didn't take long for him to discover just how fresh and amazing it is. Dinner parties with the Chilenos meant lotts of food, lotts of music (which led to dancing) and definitely no shortage of wine in sight. My friend's father, Carlos, made love to his food (just like my father does). There is nothing more enjoyable than to eat something that was made with such joy and eagerness. My most memorable breakfasts with the Orellana's included toasted french bread (split lenghtwise), a spread of guacamole, butter, cream cheese, slices of ham, tomatoes and onions and accompanied with some coffee or tea. YUM! Carlos use to make a spicy aji (which is like a salsa) that had minced garlic, onions, cilantro, peppers and i can't give away the other ingredients...it's a secret..but it's vinegary. Chicken stewed with potatoes in a white wine sauce served with white rice. Tomatoe, onion and basil drizzled with olive oil on french bread. Pickled onions. Steamed artichokes with a vinagrette dipping sauce. Raw egg mixture dipped with french bread. Baked empanadas with beef, boiled eggs and raisans. Salad with home-made vinagrette. Torta de manjar (a log cake with a sweetened cream that is a lot like caramel). wine. wine. wine. YUmmmmmM!! I miss the Orellana's. Not just for their food, but some of the greatest times included it or included making it. Ahhhh...nostalgia.
Anthony Bourdain has confirmed by decision of making Chile one of my next top 3 destinations to visit. But, in the meantime I MUST FIND CHILEAN FOOD IN CHICAGO!!! A google search of Chilean food in Chicago led me to one UNO uno ONE restaurant. Grrraaarrr!! And it doesn't even sound that great. It's called Rapa-Nui. I plan on trying it out anyway. Hope i'm wrong about it. I must get back in touch with my beautiful Chilean family.