Uruguayan

Friday night after the Swope event, we were out with friends at Moggers to enjoy a little food and a couple of drinks. Jimmy turned to me and said, "Name a country." Without hesitation, I responded, "Uruguay."

Why? I have no idea. I was tired and it just popped into my head. What was Jimmy asking? Inspiration for his Saturday night menu, which we were going to enjoy before catching up on Top Chef. Or course, Jimmy hadn't qualified his question and I just answered it randomly. I know if he had said, "What type of cuisine would you like to have tomorrow?," I would never have said Uruguay. Probably Thai or Chinese. Maybe something Moroccan as there has been a lot of talk about tagines lately. But never Uruguay.

Why? I've never had it and probably never will. It's meaty and about grilling, roasting and asado. Asado is the traditional grilling of beef over hot coals. Of course, since we're all vegetarians, Jimmy is not going to be doing any beef asado. But thankfully, there are other influences important to Uruguayan cuisine and he whipped up a delicious pasta with Sauce Caruso.

What is Sauce Caruso? A Uruguayan sauce created in honor of a visit to South American by the famous tenor, Enrico Caruso. After, it spread the globe and every restaurant in Uruguay is encouraged to include it on their menu. Sauce Caruso is made from cream, sliced onions, mushroom, warming spices and walnuts. It also traditionally includes ham, but of course Jimmy left that out, but added some seitan. A light purple-y color, tossed with campanelle and tossed with a little cheese, the sauce was delicious. And Jimmy sent us home with leftovers. (Just as delicious the next day!) Amazing. So, he took the peculiar challenge and won it. Five stars.

And dessert? Ellie made the traditional Uruguayan dessert of rich, delicious browning topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Seriously, they invented it and we thank them. Possibly the best brownie ever...

I'm not sure where Jimmy got his recipe from, but here is a recipe for Sauce Caruso if you are intrigued. And you should be.