My Secret Craving

Anything Argentine. Wait... everything Argentine. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of Argentina at least once. The food, the music, the people, the architecture, the culture, the language. I long to go back and hear the musical lilt of Castellano spoken on the street. To walk through the neighborhoods as the patterns of the 'baldosas' (sidewalk tiles) change from house to house. To see the bright colors of the fresh fruit and vegetables in the produce shops (verdulerías). To smell the fresh breads and pastries each morning in the bakeries (panaderías).

I went to Argentina three times in my life. Added together, I lived there for two years. I would go back in a heartbeat. Half a heartbeat. It pleases me beyond measure that (thanks to my ex-husband) my children are half-Argentine. It pleases me even more that they have renewed contact with one of their paternal uncles who lives about a half-hour from my home. They are getting a glimpse into the Argentine style of life and family as they spend time with, eat meals with and simply be with him.

What fun it would be for me to travel to Buenos Aires with them now that they are young adults and introduce them to the sights, sounds, tastes and energy of that part of their heritage.

Why is all this nostalgia being related on a food blog? Well. Three simple words. Dulce. De. Leche. Nothing takes my mind back to Argentina faster than dulce de leche. Since I can't go there, I've decided to bring a little Buenos Aires into my home today. My very first day in Argentina, I was given a container of dulce de leche as a gift. I promptly went out to the neighborhood frutería and bought a couple apples and a banana. After slicing up the apple, I spread dulce de leche on each apple wedge. It was like eating a caramel apple without the stick and without the mess getting on your face. Did the same thing with the banana. Put a bit of dulce de leche on it, bit it, more dulce, another bite. Voilá... caramel-dipped banana without dipping it.

So today, I'm making dulce de leche. Yes, you can buy it in almost any latin market. In fact, about 15 miles north of me is this lovely Mercado Latino run by a Mexican family I know. (The color isn't exactly subtle, is it?)

They always stock dulce de leche, tapas for empanadas, and yerba mate (pronounced mah-tay) --the three staples of an Argentine existence -- for their Argentine customers. Normally, when I need a "tango fix", I'll go there and pick up a few familiar products. But... today, I'm staying home, spending NO cash, using what I've already got on hand, listening to my tango CDs by Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazzola and making my own dulce de leche.

Dulce de Leche
4 cups milk (I use whole milk)
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Pour the milk into a heavy-bottom sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add the sugar, baking soda and vanilla. Whisk to ensure the sugar dissolves completely. (You don't want gritty dulce de leche, so whisk thoroughly.) Cook on medium low until it turns into caramel. This will likely take 2-3 hours. Stir it occasionally.

You will know when it is done because it will have the delectable deep tanned color that California blondes flaunt and California redheads secretly envy. When the mixture is that beautiful deep caramel color, it is unmistakeably dulce de leche. Some people like it runny; others like it thicker (I'm a thicker girl myself). But at the very least, when you pour some onto the center of a plate, it should stay in place and not make a puddle. That's how you'll know it's ready.

Dulce de leche is extremely versatile. It can be used as a spread for toast in the morning, as a drizzle over fruits or ice cream, as a filling for pastries. It can be spread in between layers of a cake or in between cookies for a caramel-type sandwich cookie. It can be used in frosting recipes. And, amazingly, it is delicious when used to thoroughly coat and cover your fingers all the way down to the second joint... and then, straight into your mouth! Yep, the truth is out. The main purpose of fingers is to be the utensils you use to eat dulce de leche.