To Start
Baquette slices with two choices of toppings:
Sauteed mushrooms and onions, and a Tomatoe avocado bruschetta.
(Complemented by Mauri's appetizer of chive covered "philadelpia" (read-cream cheese) and crackers - delish!)
Accompanied by home made Pisco Sours by Nell
Entree
Reinita (a white fish) marinated and baked in a lemon, thyme, rosemary and roasted garlic sauce
Rosemary roasted potatoes
Roasted carrots & zuccini
Accompanied by delicious red and white wine, provided by Nell
Dessert
Wine-stewed pears with fresh whip cream
The day started with an early morning trip to the fish market. Somehow I managed to convey that I was looking for a fish that could hold it's own - white and firm, and the fish monger grabbed four whole Reinata and told me that would be the right amount for 8 people. I nervously asked if they would be cutting them up for me as he tossed the fish onto the scale, imagining myself in a slime covered kitchen trying to butcher four whole fish, but to my great relief, he assured me that they would fillet them for me. After class, Linda and I decided to squeeze in our daily excursion before going home to get the rest of the ingredients and cook, so we headed toward the artisan market, Los Dominicos (where all of your presents are from, incidentally.) However, we of course stayed longer than planned, and ended up rushing back to the apartment where after shopping we didn't get started on dinner until 7! I had told everyone it would be ready by 8:30, but as usual I underestimated the amount of time it takes to chop vegetables and roast them for 8 people. The kitchen turned into a frantic, crazy circus and I was the ring leader, telling anyone who offered help to chop this or stir that while I tried to juggle the timing of getting everything on the table hot. Meanwhile, the kitchen got even more frenzied when Nell began his Pisco Sour lesson, so with the blender at top speed, roasting veggies, limited counter space, and sizzling mushrooms and onions, the kitchen was a mad house! (Can you tell by my steam and stress induced frizz?) But it was also incredibly fun to be cooking with everyone!
Scooping roasted veggies into a pot while Nell masterfully handles the blender
Tasting Nell's delicious Pisco Sour!
Everything was ready at about 9:10 - not too much later than I had aimed for, and we had been enjoying our pisco sours and appetizers at the bar while everything finished up. Nell's catch phrase is "Nunca Solo!" (Never Alone!) which he says all the time and which means you have to cheers and drink. I like it because it makes drinking about being with other people and enjoying those around you. We had a whole lot of cheersing, which by extension means a whole lot of pisco, so no one seemed to mind the slight delay of dinner. When it was finally ready, I set everything out on the table and made the much awaited announcement.
We all moved into the dining room for the feast, and I tried to make a little speech in Spanish to thank Nell and Mauri for being so welcoming (I think I got the point accross). Then Nell sarcastically grabbed my hand and the hand of the girl on his other side as if we needed to take a moment to pray, and when everyone was holding hands, I said "Con Nell y Mauri, Siempre la fiesta!" and we all let out a big cheer and dinner began. At one point, Nell said I was "chicitita pero con un gran corazon" - little but with a big heart - at which we started singing "Chicitita" together from Mamma Mia followed, of course, by "Nunca Solo!" (We have also sung renditions of "Say a Little Prayer for You" on the streets of Santiago because he loves that song.) I knew the food was good because for the next few minutes, you could only hear forks on plates and some "mmms" - like my mom says, "Silence is the sign of a good meal," so I was really happy people liked it! Dinner was followed by an impromptu and crazy dance party in the living room, and then a lengthy group cleaning of the kitchen, which in Mauri's words was "la bombe" (the kitchen, not the cleaning). All in all, an excellent apartment dinner to culminate an excellent stay!
On my last real day in Santiago, I went skiing with another girl from school who had reserved everything before coming to Santiago. It was a spontaneous last minute decision, and I'm so glad I went! The drive up was a little treacherous as the roads are not plowed and it was snowing the entire day. The mountain road up was labeled by turn, with each turn containing a sign with the number counting up to the top. It was 48 turns to the slopes, and of course, 48 turns back down at the end of the day.
Turn 34 on the way back down.
Pausing on my way down to snap a picture of the blizzard we skied in.
I'll end my Santiago stories with an anecdote about my last dinner in the city. My high school friend Deepti and I went out for an easy dinner on Sunday night before I left, and found a pizza place near my apartment that was open. While we were eating, I got a call from Nell asking where I was and how long I would be there. I assumed he wanted to go out when I got back, which I wasn't sure I could handle, but figured I'd cross that bridge when I came to it. About 45 minutes later, Nell, Mauri, and Janika (another student in the apartment) showed up at the pizza place to say good bye to me! It was so sweet of them to come by! Nell handed me a bag with a bottle of wine he had bought for me and something in a plastic container that looked like a cottage cheese container. I didn't know what it was, and when I asked, they were so excited about it and told me it was a Chilean specialty - Manja - for dessert. We all hugged goodbye and they went off to have dinner, while Deepti and I inspected the Manja trying to figure out what it was. I thought it was some kind of Flan and was confused as to why he had given me a rather large serving of flan with the wine. We decided to try it for dessert, so I opened it up and dumped it upside down on my plate, the way you would a store bought flan. However, it was not the consistency of flan at all! It tasted like caramel you would put on an apple and was thick and gooey. We sat there, forking bits of it into our mouths and doubting that we were eating it correctly. Finally I looked up at our waiter, who was dying of laughter, and asked him what you were supposed to do with Manja. He tried to contain himself, and then explained that it was a spread for a hot cake or a piece of bread, not for eating straight! I thought it had been a little too rich for that! We all had a good long laugh about it, and good reminder that there were a lot more things to learn about Santiago than I could possibly do in a month. We left him a big tip for his help, and I'm guessing a great story for him to tell his friends about the silly tourists that dumped an entire container of Manja on a plate and proceeded to eat it pure.
So with that, I'll leave you with my last sunset in Santiago, looking out my window in the top floor apartment. It has been an incredible trip, and I've learned so much about the language, the city, and the country. Thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll have another adventure to write about soon!
