#chezshea

Hola! Chez Shea’s World Table happily returned this weekend after many months of inactivity. Brrrr.... it’s been really cold around here... how’s about we discover a warmer climate? Let’s try Colombia!

The menu:

Chorizo y Tajadas de Plátano

Sudado de Pollo

Arepas

Aji y Hogao

Barras de Limón

For starters, it was a no brainer to serve Chorizo along with Tajadas de Plátano (aka fried plantains). Both of these delectable items have been part of many previous Chez Shea South American meals, and they are both always consumed in minutes. Colombia was no exception!

On such a cold winter’s day, Sudado de Pollo was the perfect meal to warm us up. Comprised of chicken, potatoes, peppers, onions, tomatoes and various seasonings and served with rice, avocado and a squeeze of lime, this traditional Colombian stew was comforting and delicious.

Arepas are fried or baked corn pancakes, made either plain or with a filling. Most Colombians eat them as part of their daily diet in place of bread. As an accompaniment to the stew, I attempted making homemade arepas with queso blanco and cotija cheeses. The process was tedious and long, with many steps and timeouts for the dough to rest, but I was determined to make these myself. Though when it came time to flatten the dough balls and place in the oven to cook, the dough quickly came apart in my hands. I panicked and asked my husband to go into town and pick some up from a local eatery, just in case these were an epic fail. While he was out, I cooked mine anyway in the hopes that they’d turn out okay. Surprisingly, the homemade arepas (pictured on the left) ended up tasting much better than the takeout (on the right). Go me!

Two condiments were prepared for use with the arepas: Aji, made of mostly jalapeno peppers and served cold, and Hogao, a warm creole sauce comprised of tomatoes, scallions and garlic.

A dessert of Barras de Limón was the finale to our Colombian feast. These lemon-lime bars had a graham cracker crust and were a favorite with the kids (as usual).

Guess what? After an extended absence, Chez Shea will be returning to the World Table this weekend to enjoy recipes from and facts about our next featured country!

Chez Shea returns this weekend!