Argentine

Instead of making a more traditional gingerbread, sugar or butter cookie to leave for Santa Claus, this year, I made alfajores. With an outside of delicate melt-in-your mouth vanilla cookie and an inside of creamy dulce de leche, these Argentine sandwich cookies are wonderfully delicious. The cookies have to be completely cooled before spreading on the dulce de leche, so get started on them right away. In Argentina, they are three to four inches in diameter, but I prefer smaller cookies and made mine with a two-and-a-half inch biscuit cutter; feel free to adjust the size to suit your preferences. These buttery cookies pair perfectly with coffee, sparkling wine, or in the case of Old Saint Nick, a glass of milk! Read more for the recipe.

Growing up, I ate a lot of grilled tri-tip. It was my dad's preferred cut of meat because it's affordable, simple to cook, and serves a crowd. It also pairs well with twice-baked potatoes. After we traveled to Argentina back in 2005, we started enjoying grilled tri-tip with chimichurri. The pairing of smoky grilled steak and fresh herb sauce is still one of my favorite entrees. Although you could marinate the meat for more flavor, I think it tastes great with just a liberal sprinkling of salt and ground pepper. It's a rustic dish that's perfect for enjoying in the open air. To get my recipe, keep reading.

While Argentina's not exactly a place known for its beer, it should be known for one beer in particular, the superbly smooth, easy drinking BarbaRoja barrel-aged red ale. Although this beer comes in a Champagne-like bottle with a cartoon pirate label, it's not feminine or cheap-tasting. Rather it's a rich, frothy ale with light body and malty, slight caramel flavor. The red color means it's not nearly as dark and heavy as an Irish stout, but nor is it too light and characterless like an American lager. It's a successful balance of both these worlds. This pleasant brew is the best, most complex beer I've tasted in a long time.

Have you ever tried it? Do you drink Argentine beer?

This story was written by member Eleuthera and comes from the Wine Cellar group in the YumSugar Community.I recently had a chance to attend a wine tasting for Flichman from Argentina. I especially enjoyed the experience because I had a chance to chat with the winemaker, Luis Cabral de Almeida. From my standpoint, it didn't hurt that he was pretty hot also. We began with a bottle of their Chardonnay for $8. Frankly, I didn't want to taste a bottle of $8 Chardonnay as I hate that overly oaked buttery flavor of vanilla predominating, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was delightful and easily equal to wines I have enjoyed at twice the price. In fact everyone of the wines' price points was spectacular.

To learn more about these amazingly priced Argentine wines read more

When envisioning steak for dinner, cuts such as ribeye and tenderloin might be the first to come to mind. But don't forget skirt steak, a thin cut that's supreme when it comes to outdoor grilling.

This type of meat has more fat than a hanger steak or flank steak, meaning even the most mildly seasoned skirt steak will have out-of-this world flavor and juiciness.

Highlight the rich taste of the meat with this Mark Bittman recipe. The steak is served with an elemental chimichurri sauce of garlic, parsley, lemon juice, and olive oil. See it when you read more