Welcome to da hood

We had recently made friends with a charming couple who coincidently live, in this city of over 6 million people, in the same building as we do!

Incredibly lucky for us, is that they are good cooks. The reason we found this out was that we weaseled our way into a house warming they were throwing simply by offering the use of our chocolate fountain (you won’t believe the number of doors this baby has opened).

Upon popping downstairs to their flat (gotta love a travel time of less than 1 minute!), we were greeted by the couple but distracted by the intoxicatingly mouthwatering smell emanating from their kitchen. Acting on impulse, I rudely went into the kitchen and demanded to know what the source of the smell was. It turned out to be a side of roast beef cooked in beer, with a chipotle bbq sauce, designated to be rolled up in our choice of corn or flour tortilla, served up with THREE different kinds of homemade salsa, served with a delicious salad containing mozza, proscuitto, mixed greens and ripe cantaloupe lightly dressed with an incredibly refreshing vinaigrette containing crushed mint.

Oh but the beef. It was beautiful. Perfectly tender, seasoned just right, hitting that tangy, savory and slightly sweet with complex spices with the warmth of the peppers, it was one of those dishes that made you drool as you chewed.

Not one to reveal secrets, the male counterpart of the couple showed us only one of the ingredients, the homemade adobo sauce he made from some bark he bought (smelled and looked like he put a dirty sock in the jar with spices!) as he couldn’t find it ready made.

The boy and I ate an embarrassing amount of the beef. It was delicious. All the others were very good complements but it was the beef that really stole the glory.

One of the other guests bought a homemade Grand Marnier torte which tasted of brownie on the bottom and some sort of whipped heaven on the top.

By the end of the night I had a pair of invisible pants* under my jeans.

Now my only problem is how to scam my way in again…anyone have any ideas?

Somehow I don’t think rice crispy treats will cut it…



*invisible pants – what I call the marks you get from your trousers when either a) they are too tight or b) you ate too much because you’re a greedy bugger