White Truffle
What is more perfect than a piggy being born in truffle season? White truffles arrived just in time for my birthday dinner at Auberge du Pommier!
Cuy (aka Guinea Pig)
A major event for me in 2011 was travelling in Peru for 3.5 weeks. It has been my long time dream to try guinea pig (or as they are called in Peru, cuy). I stumbled upon a celebration in Cuzco where indigenous Quechua women were selling traditionally stone roasted cuy. Mmm ... The other white meat ...
Alpaca
Another commonly seen animal in Peru is Alpaca. Not only do they provide wool, they make a tasty meal too! And no, they don't taste like chicken. (More like lamb.)
Ceviche
Being someone who likes my seafood raw whenever possible, I have prepared ceviche on my own many times. However, it is no comparison to the ceviche at Cevicheria el Fayke Piurano in Lima.
Menu
The first major confusion upon arriving in Peru is thinking of menu as a menu - a book listing out dishes that a restaurant serve. Menu (or cena for dinner) is actually a set meal, usually with an appetizer or soup, a main dish, and either a juice for lunch or dessert and sweet tea for dinner. Unlike the gourmet prix fixe counterpart in North America, these meals are cheap, fast, and most of the time quite tasty.
Scrapple
Coincidentally, 2011 is the first year I have heard of scrapple (thanks to Food Network), and the first year I ate scrapple at Lancers Diner in Horsham, PA. Mmm ... The other grey meat ...
Wish everyone a bountiful & delicious 2012!
