Sopaipillas
In Chile sopaipillas are made from wheat flour, lard, pumpkin and salt. In Argentina and Uruguay, a sopaipilla, called torta frita, is a tortilla made from wheat or corn flour and fried in animal fat or roasted in the ashes in a traditional horno. It may be sweetened spreading Dulce de Leche over the torta frita. In Chile, they are fried and made from pumpkin or squash based dough called zapallo.
The sopaipilla is very popular in Chile. It can be salty or sweet, in which case it's eaten as a dessert. When eaten sweet it's boiled or dipped in chancaca after being fried. When served this way they are called Sopaipillas Pasadas. Chancaca sauce is a sauce made of molten chancaca (black beet sugar) mixed with orange peel, cloves, and cinnamon.
At Saniagos, we deep fry our dough and bring it up golden brown, dusted with a mix of cinnamon and sugar, served with our local Bisbee's killer bee honey. Yum Yum.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Ceviche is an appetizer that is popular throughout Latin America. Ceviche is marinated in a citrus-based mixture, with lemons and limes being the most commonly used. In addition to adding flavor, the citric acid causes the proteins in the seafood to become denatured, which pickles or "cooks" the fish without heat. Traditional style ceviche was marinated up to 3 hours.
Modern style ceviche usually has a very short marinating period. With the appropriate fish, it can marinate in the time it takes to mix the ingredients, serve, and carry the ceviche to the table.
At Santiagos, we take fresh shrimp and white fish marinated in lime juice with diced tomato, onion, cucumber cilantro. Prepared fresh daily.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Karina's Specials at Santiagos
click on image
From day to day, Karina will put together a Special of the day for Santiagos that is not on the menu. This gives her artistic freedom, and a break from the menu offerings. That is when her creative juices come alive and you can see her dancing across the kitchen floor as she puts together a unique and authentic dish for the evening meal.
Above is an example of her Saturday Night Special, which was a Chipotle-Mango glazed grilled salmon served over fresh spring greens, cucumbers, avocado slices, radishes, red bell pepper rings, fresh cotija cheese, homemade pico de gallo made with local organic grape tomatoes and red quinoa.
You will never know what Karina is going to come up with next, just rest assured that when you come to Santiagos for dinner, there always the option of experiencing the delicious special from her kitchen.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Story of the Little Fish Taco That Could
Once upon a time, in the little village of Bisbee, Arizona there lived a family that opened a humble restaurant called Bisbee Grille. They had dreams of having the best restaurant in the town, and set out to do just that. They worked hard to get a wide selection on the menu, and hired the best people to fulfill that dream. One of those employees was Karina, and she brought many ideas with her as a cook.
One of those ideas was the fish taco, and it was a great hit. People from all around came to the restaurant to experience the taco. Time went on, the family restaurant grew and so did their dreams. One day they wondered if they could start a new restaurant, dedicated to the tastes in the area and south of the border. But they needed the confidence that it would be a hit, they had to have a dish to seal the deal. "I'll do it!" shouted the little fish taco. "Mmm, I don't know" said Karina; "OH PLEASE!" retorted the taco. "Ok, but don't let me down" Karina firmly stated through fiery eyes.
So they started Santiagos, and began yet another legacy of the family business, with another crack crew of cooks and servers. And what became of the little fish taco who knew it could? Well Santiagos created three soft corn tortillas filled with crispy battered cod, cilantro, cabbage, diced tomato, onion, Cotija cheese and ancho chili sauce, and called it The Rocky Point.