Love at first bite

I've never been a carnivorous red-meat kind of girl.  Don't get me wrong: every once in a while I crave a juicy burger or a flank steak, but on a daily basis I'd rather have some chicken or ham.  I was not looking forward to Argentine cuisine; I was not expecting to fall in love with their food.

To being with, who knew that Medialunas (literally translated: "half moon") are not just served as sweet pastries but also as sandwiches?  I was fortunate to find a café that was open New Years Day and sampled their medialuna con jamón y queso (pictured) it was quite yummy with a good mix of sweet and salty. 

Yesterday evening I bought two empanadas (one chicken, one ground beef) for dinner for just 2.50 pesos each.  I was expecting thick, chewy shell with a tiny bit of dry meat filling (think: beef jerky stuffed in a sour-dough bread roll).  I was so wrong: light, crispy shell with juicy, tender meat inside.  Even more surprising, I liked the carne one much more than the pollo.  Also an interesting tidbit, which my roommate Claire shared, is that you can tell which empanadas are beef and which are chicken before you even bit into them: the carnes have a tight, spiral seam while the pollos have a thicker wavelike edge.  While those two are the traditional flavors, apparently the porteños try unexpected combinations in their empanadas like pineapple, mozzarella and ham. 

With a gas oven that I'm afraid to light (anyone else seen Backdraft?) and at least three empanada spots on every block, I'm sure I'll be trying many more varieties in the days to come.

My TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) class begins tomorrow morning, so I'm sure there will be much more to report soon.