blades
Über Member
Indiana has the third largest Amish community in the country. It is only about a 40 mile drive from home. Lots of horse drawn buggies and even a tourist shopping area. We usually visit every year.
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Yes, we’ve been there a few times (assuming you mean Napanee & Shipshwana). There’s an excellent restaurant in Topeka called Tiffany’s - good luck getting your car parked amongst the buggies!
It's very likely that the first chile peppers (or ajíes, as they're known in South America) came from a triangle between Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. Peruvians cook LOADS of stuff with ajíes. I'd say the most common are aji amarillo, aji panca y rocoto.
blades
Über Member
Yes I meant Shipshewana. I don't care for Amish cooking so I haven't eaten there but I have bought trinkets in some of the stores there. I love one sign they have in one of the store parking lots. It says "Don't even think about parking here." Aggresive, those Amish.
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blades
Über Member
None of them are available in our supermarket but I bought some serranos. There were some yellow ones but I don't know if they are the ones you mentioned. The sign in the store said they were locally grown chili peppers. That could be anything.
The potato recipe (papa al la Huancaina) calls for cream cheese and evaporated milk. I'm substituting a little sour cream for the evaporated milk to give it a little more punch. I should be able to get close to the intended dish. The stir fry is called lomo saltado de cervo. It will get some serrano pepper as well. Next time I visit the latin food store I will see what sorts of peppers they have there.
blades
Über Member
I would post a recipe but I didn't measure anything. As usual I taste tested as I added ingredients. The serrano was too hot for either dish. The sauce for the potatoes was heavenly or at least would have been with 1/2 a serrano. I used olive oil, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, half and half, sour cream, onion, too much serrano pepper, garlic, salt and pepper and served it on boiled sliced yukon gold potatoes. The sauce was just the ingredients combined in a bender. It's a keeper with a bit less capsasin.
The stir fry is a fusion of Latin and Asian cuisine. The ingredients are pork tenderloin, onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato, cumin, soy sauce and vinegar all stir fried in a wok. Oh did I forget the serrano pepper? No but I wish I had cut it in half. So you have meat, sofrito and soy sauce. What could go wrong?
The stir fry recipe calls for aji amarillo or yellow chili pepper but none was avaliable to me. It may be milder than the serrano and suit these dishes better. I don't know. I do know that I will make the dish again with a bit less capsasin. When I do that I'll work up a recipe.
There is plenty more to investigate into Peruvian cuisine. I'm certainly not finished with it.
The stir fry is a fusion of Latin and Asian cuisine. The ingredients are pork tenderloin, onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato, cumin, soy sauce and vinegar all stir fried in a wok. Oh did I forget the serrano pepper? No but I wish I had cut it in half. So you have meat, sofrito and soy sauce. What could go wrong?
The stir fry recipe calls for aji amarillo or yellow chili pepper but none was avaliable to me. It may be milder than the serrano and suit these dishes better. I don't know. I do know that I will make the dish again with a bit less capsasin. When I do that I'll work up a recipe.
There is plenty more to investigate into Peruvian cuisine. I'm certainly not finished with it.
The aji amarillo (sometimes sold in the US as just Amarillo pepper), can get pretty hot. If a Serrano is too hot for you, the aji amarillo would probably be too hot, too. A jalapeño might be an optional pepper. They are lower on the Scoville chart than a Serrano.
I always taste a slice of my hot chilis before cooking with them. They can vary in heat from one batch to another. I've had jalapeños that were almost as mild as a bell pepper, and others that were mouth scorchers.
CD
blades
Über Member
I agree with all of that. I may just redo the dishes without the capsasin to get the flavor the best it can be for me and then just add chili powder a little at a time. Chili peppers are certainly not consistent in their bite and it is hard to get them right. The dishes definitely benefit from some chili pepper but they don't need as much as I applied which was one serrano for a recipe designed to feed 4 people.
Rocklobster
Legendary Member
If the dish allows, I add chilis a near the end so the heat doesn't permeate as much. Then if I want the chili kick, I just search one out and add it to my mouthful..lol...my wife doesn't like the same level of heat that I do so I've come to adapt using this technique...
I make that dish quite often, although I find the evaporated milk a little overpowering - yet it's a common ingredient in other Peruvian dishes. Apparently, the "key" to a good Huancaina is to add a couple of crackers.
Lomo Saltado is a classic Peruvian dish.
Enjoy!
You might find this in your Latin food store. It's the authentic Peruvian stuff:
With really hot chilis, you can also use a "bayleaf" method. I will cut a slit into a habanero or a couple of cayenne peppers from my garden (they are very hot), and put them in a stew-like dish while it cooks, and pull it/them out when the heat is just right.
CD
blades
Über Member
You are a thorough and careful cook to be sure.
blades
Über Member
I used half and half and a dollop of sour cream. It worked out well. Other than the overpowering heat of the serrano pepper, it was really very good. Obviously there is some great cooking going on in Peru.
Windigo
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Resting. I seem to have caught a cold and as I am currently on 3 immuno suppresive medications I hope it will stay somewhat tame.
Packing up and heading back home today. It’s a long drive, 6-7 hours.
Good news is, we’ve narrowed down our retirement community choices to three; one in Hanover (about 16K people), one in Spring Grove (about 3K people), and a rural one between two small villages of about 1K each (that’s the one I favor).
It took three visits over three years for MrsT to come to the conclusion that she would prefer to live closer to Gettysburg (and the national park there) and visit the Amish in Lancaster than to live closer to the Amish and visit the national park.
Now we have to formulate a plan for actually selling our current house and getting one over here.
It’s been a productive trip, and we’re planning on coming back next year for a Christmas festival here.
Good news is, we’ve narrowed down our retirement community choices to three; one in Hanover (about 16K people), one in Spring Grove (about 3K people), and a rural one between two small villages of about 1K each (that’s the one I favor).
It took three visits over three years for MrsT to come to the conclusion that she would prefer to live closer to Gettysburg (and the national park there) and visit the Amish in Lancaster than to live closer to the Amish and visit the national park.
Now we have to formulate a plan for actually selling our current house and getting one over here.
It’s been a productive trip, and we’re planning on coming back next year for a Christmas festival here.