Happy 2012!

A great night with dear friends.  We rang in the new year with an incredible fireworks show over the bay; viewed from the comfort of our own home!  Happy New Year! ¡Feliz año nuevo!

Zapallar

Zapallar, to me, is a refuge.  An escape.  A little bit Tahoe, and a little bit Carmel.  I feel right at home!  Although, I could never afford to live here, it's only an hour or so away.  And, El Chiringuito is one of my favorite restaurants in Chile.  It's something Margaret Thatcher and I have in common!   

Better get used to this face when she hits teenage-hood.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Southern Hemisphere!

Happy Thanksgiving!

     I love experiencing Thanksgiving overseas. It's a gorgeously sunny, warm day here, and  I am proud to share this American tradition.  It's a nice way to bond (with gringos and others, alike) over this universally known meal of comfort food!  I've made green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry- orange-cinnamon relish, and stocked up on good Chilean rosé wine.  Last night Luke and I brined the turkey in a giant ziploc bag from Williams Sonoma  and luckily, we have a huge transformer for the roaster!  Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving to friends and family all over the world, I am thankful for you!

     My dad adapted this from a Bon Appétit recipe years ago, and he makes it most years.  It's the only stuffing I make.  It's so delicious, I can't imagine trying anything else, nor would I want to!

Caramelized Onion and Chestnut Stuffing (with rosemary, sage and dried apricots)

Yields: Serves 8 to 10  

Ingredients:

1 pound country-style French bread or regular French bread, crust trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 stick of butter

2 large onions, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
3 celery stalks, chopped

1 7- to 8-ounce jar vacuum-packed steamed chestnuts, quartered (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth

2 eggs, beaten to blend
1 cup chopped dried apricots

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread bread cubes in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Transfer to large bowl; cool.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté 10 minutes. Add rosemary and sage; sauté until onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes longer. Add celery and sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chestnuts and stir to blend. Transfer onion mixture to medium bowl. Mix in parsley. Add broth to skillet and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add to onion mixture. (Bread and onion mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately. Store bread at room temperature; refrigerate onion mixture.) Stir onion mixture and apricots into bread. Season with salt and pepper. Mix eggs into stuffing.

To bake all of stuffing in baking dish: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.

Wining & Dining

I recently bought a new camera, and it was taking amazing pictures... for the first few days.  Then I messed with the settings (I never, ever read instructions, waste of time when you can just force it), and I noticed that the pictures kind of sucked.  Just not the quality I had expected from that camera.  Anyway, my husband fooled with it last night and it turns out I had it on the lowest resolution possible.  No wonder!!! In Argentina I  tried to take Christmas card worthy pics that were all weirdly exposed!
    These photos from the annual Marine ball were taken BEFORE we fixed the problem.  Quality not that great, but we had a fantastic time at the Santa Rita Winery!!!

Beautiful landscape!  Sorry the pictures aren't closer, and I had a sweater over my dress, so you can"t really tell what I'm wearing.

Happy Birthday Marine Corps!!!

Colonial estancia which is actually, a national monument.

Esmeralda Homecoming

We were lucky enough to witness the Chilean Navy's training ship pull in today after six months at sea.  This was the second year we've been able to be among the waiting families on the pier.  Always joyful to see all the families reunited!  The CNO was present along with the Minister of Defense.  Recent graduates from the Naval Academy are required to go to sea aboard the Esmeralda, which travels to various ports throughout the world each year.  This year women cadets were permitted aboard for the first time.

Shopping in Argentina (Mostly involving animal by-products)

 Oh the leather!  Gorgeous handbags and boots, plus beautifully made saddles and tack.

 Nice to see a lot of book stores with so many beautiful children's books!  (Hard to come by and very expensive in Chile)