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Latin Chic

HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Diablitos a Caballo

Malbec Prunes

This recipe will make about 40 prunes

I must credit Ana Maria Alvaro, a Chilean friend who hosts grand cocktail parties in Miami, for sharing this easy and tasty pasa palo, which is what we call hors d'oeuvres in Venezuela. While researching recipes for this book, I−learned that Aussies and Brits also serve prunes wrapped in bacon. They call them "devils on horseback," a cute moniker that in Spanish translates to diablitos a caballo.

Ingredients:

2 pieces star anise
1 cup red wine, preferably Malbec
One 12-ounce bag pitted prunes (about 40)
5 ounces dried papaya, cut into forty ¼-inch by ½-inch matchstick pieces
20 bacon slices, halved

Instructions:

Soak 40 toothpicks in water for at least 20 minutes, then pat them dry.

In a bowl large enough to hold the prunes, steep the anise in the wine.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil. With a paring knife, make a small incision at one end of each prune and stuff each prune with a piece of papaya. Soak the prunes in the wine for about an hour, then drain.

Wrap a bacon slice around each stuffed prune and secure with a toothpick. Place the prunes on the prepared sheet pan and bake, turning the prunes halfway through, for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp. Serve warm.

Valencia Martini

Serves 2

Traditional martinis call for vermouth, but I prefer sherry, which, like vermouth, is a fortified wine. Sherry comes from southern Spain, and in my house, my grandmother would sip chilled fino or manzanilla sherry before dinner. These are the driest types of sherry, so they work well in martinis. Sherry can also be sweet, such as cream and moscatel, which tastes best at room temperature to accompany desserts.

Ingredients:

1 ounce dry sherry
4 ounces orange vodka, such as Grey Goose L'Orange
1 ounce orange liqueur, such as Cointreau
2 strips orange zest

Instructions:

Combine all the ingredients, except the orange zest, in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with orange zest.

Continues...

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Excerpted from Latin Chic by Isabel Gonzalez Copyright © 2005 by Isabel Gonzalez. Excerpted by permission.
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