Brunch with Friends: Menu Three

Brunch with Friends has gone international with this instalment!

We were staying in Dean's home while in Buenos Aires (thus having a full kitchen at our disposal) and he had a great many friends both in town and also visiting... It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. Dean was game. And what friend is going to pass up a brunch invitation??

This was also the largest group that has ever sat down to a BWF meal... numbering nine guests. And we were up to the challenge!

Dean and I batted around ideas for brunch but were waiting to see what was in season and looked good at the market before setting the menu. I knew that I wanted to see some typical Argentine products on the menu - like Argentine chorizo and dulce de leche - but in what form was to be determined. 

Quince de Mayo Macarons

I have been quite studious when it comes to learning and attempting to succeed (I'll work on mastering later) the art of macarons. I keep reading and scouring the net for resources, tips and tricks. These are such fantastically intriguing little sweets, I must say.

Here is my second attempt at macarons. This time, I had smoother caps and, again, feet! However a few of the macarons cracked... and I'm still trying to figure if they were overmixed (the ones that cracked were the last ones to be piped) or if they were too wet.

These macarons were made for the birthday of my sister, Beth. Coloured a bright green (her favourite), I named them "quince de mayo" as she was born on the 15th of May and filled them with dulce de leche, a further homage to Cinco de Mayo and Mexican independence. Small, sweet, decadent little treats.

Dulce de Leche Buns

I have never experimented with bread recipes… I figured someone else configured those recipes because that is what works. And while that is true, it doesn’t mean that other combinations won’t work (or, hell, that these combinations haven’t been tried too). I wanted a slightly richer bread and I figured that using milk versus water would help… a bit of butter… and a bit of hope that it would all come together.

This dough rose perfectly. I was absolutely giddy when I peeked under the towel and saw a lovely puffy blob rising in the bowl. Forget waiting until after work to make these buns, I was going to be triumphantly carrying these into the office that same morning. Yep, I was beaming.

Dulce de Leche

I like simple things… and this is precisely that. For those who are unfamiliar, dulce de leche is a Latin American “milk caramel,” though there are other versions and other origins as well.

Bottom line is that this is simple and I like it. All you need is a can of sweetened condensed milk. While I was not so brave as to boil it unopened, it seems that I yielded the same ideal result from a slightly vented can.

Get ready to take notes! (Ummm… not at all, actually.) Take the label off of the can and open it just a crack. Put the can in a pot and fill with water, to about 1 inch from the top of the can. (It looked like the can was going to rust my pot, so I put the can on a bed of parchment paper.. you could probably also use a silicone can topper or an enameled pot. Just a thought.) Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and allow the water to simmer around the can for 2-4 hours (for a softer or harder caramel). I went with the middle ground of 3 hours.

You will need to top up the water throughout the process. And let the can cool (I just left it in the water until the next morning) before trying to handle it. Open the can and scoop out your beautiful caramel coloured confection. Give it a quick stir to remove any lumps but that is absolutely it. Presto: dulce de leche!

Now, what do you do with it?! I used it as a macaron filling and made dulce de leche buns (think cinnamon buns but with dulce de leche instead). You could make tarts. Or just use it as a sweety treaty spread on a piece of bread. Yum yum yum.