Ummm... OK... So the gals and I all met in Retiro (where most of them live) to take the bus 108 to Palermo.
Four words: I hate the bus. Trying to find the bus stop is a pain in the butt by itself but trying to follow the route to see where you are and when you need to get off is quite difficult. Alas, we gringos did it.
We found our hole-in-the-wall restaurant called The Argentine Experience. It was gorgeous inside! Two floors of beautiful wood made the place very comfortable. Our program was split up in two groups, the first group went on Wednesday. There was one long table downstairs and two long tables upstairs for us to all sit.
The hosts were all very nice and outgoing and spoke fluent English. Two were from Brazil and one was a porteo (what people from BA call themselves).
We were greeted with chilled mate (Argentine tea) in champaign classes when we walked though the door. We were about a half hour late but it didn't matter much because according to the Argentine clock we were right on time.
My friends and I took a seat at one of the upstairs tables and put on the chef's hat and apron that the hosts set out for us. We knew it was going to be a great night.
First the hosts brought out ingredients for the empenadas (cheese, beef, vegetables, and caramelized onions). They taught us how much ingredients to put in the empenada (which is a lot less than you'd expect because the empendad shell is quite small).
We stuffed our empenadas with as much deliciousness as we could and learned how to fold them. Depending on what kind of meat you put in the empenada, the fold is different. With beef it's the normal-looking fold: a half circle.
We put those on a tray to be put in the oven then we were able to make our "novelty" empenadas which were judged by the "master chefs" in the back. We had to be as creative and artistic as possible with the shape of our empenada. Mine looked like some kind of pastry dessert... I wasn't very creative. But Jessie made an eye, Chloe made an Eiffel tower, Mindee made a bloated dead man, Sheridan made a cat and Carla made a purse. Carla's purse empenada won the novelty competition. The empenadas were so so so so good!!
They also gave us roasted vegetables (carrots, zucchini, etc.), mashed potatoes and chimichurri. Chimichurri is an oily sauce for grilled meat (usually) made with a bunch of herbs that's from Argentina. I thought it was OK on the empenadas but Sheridan thought it was too oily which was understandable.
We then had dessert and mate. The dessert was two vanilla wafers with dulce de leche in between dipped in chocolate-- YUMM!! We also learned how to make and socialize with mate.
We each got one mate gourd per two people; I shared with Chloe.
To serve mate, you need to fill up the mate gourd 3/4 with the mate leaves. Pour in some hot (not boiling) water in the mate to get it wet then put in the straw (with the strainer at the bottom of the gourd) diagonally.
Fill up the gourd the rest of the way with the warm water and it's ready to serve. Usually with tea you have a small tea bag with lots of water, with mate you have lots of tea with a little bit of water that you keep refilling.
Now, there are rules to mate. It can be shared between one, two, or twenty people. One person is in charge of the hot water. They prepare the mate and take their turn. Usually you can get 3-4 sips out of the mate before you need to add more water and pass it onto the next person. Once the next person finishes the water, they pass it back to the water leader who then fills it up and passes it to the next person. Make sure when you're done your sips and it is try, pass it back to the water leader so they can pass it to the next person.
Also, do not move the straw! For some reason, Argentines get angry at that.
Mate is everywhere in Argentina and a great way to socialize with others. It's also very yummy. Because there is so much tea, though, it is very strong. Especially for the first few sharers. But as people drink more, the taste becomes more mild.
After dinner and mate we all took pictures and went downstairs to share bottles of wine and take a couple shots. It was about midnight at this point and everyone decided to go to a place called Sugar Bar in Palermo.
A few students leading about 30-40 other students was a sight to see so my friends and I decided to go to a small bar across the street from Sugar Bar so if we did decide to go later on we could. We split a couple pitchers of beer and chatted. I became so, so exhausted so Mindee, Carla and I took a taxi home.
The second I got in my bed I PTFO'd. I need sleep even though I think I do in this city that never sleeps.
Until next time, hasta luego!
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