Nieces, Nephews, and Nudity...

Pedro, myself, and sixty surviving Alfajores sought out old Richmond, Virginia, this past week. An important part of the family lives there, and the sixty-three of us were seeking inspiration out east. Among nephews, nieces, giggles and laughs, we unearthed an old, nearly-forgotten recipe that has remained buried and fragmented in our collective memory for decades.

After a few days of hard work at my brother’s house, we rediscovered the perfect predecessors to the Maitelates Alfajores you have come to know so well. We baked; we ate; we baked again; we ate again. We tried different presentations, continually eating. We also slept, but just a little… there was much more to discuss, and of course, to eat!

And then we made a sweet discovery! We found, before us, a nude Maitelates Alfajor. Nude? Yes, nude, but still… done with good taste. No chocolate on this one. Shocking! Let’s call it the skinny dude, the diet(y) friend, a nude you could show your parents without embarrassment, the perfect guest for your tea party. Yum!!!!

And it’s funny, because I didn’t want to do this before… I kind of had this love thing with chocolate – my personal touch – that was keeping me from trying the traditional “nude” version of the alfajor. But, I found in my family the energy, the courage, and again, the inspiration to take the challenge. Family is a gift, an awesome privilege to have around. And I humbly and respectfully believe I have a great one. Lucky me!

Try my new taste of South America in the form of these two buttery, shortbread cookies bound together with handmade Dulce de Leche, and a final touch of powdered sugar melting in your mouth. Guilt-free.

Fernandito, Inaki, Elisa, Belen, Fernan & Maida, you ROCK!

More info? Click here

Have you Maitelated at 17,800 feet?

One of the favorite things I used to do with my father when I was little was to go up the mountain any random Sunday morning. Chile has the most spectacular mountains you can possibly imagine, The Andes.

And it doesn’t take much to escape to them when the city gets all crazy and stressed and contaminated.

Now that I’m older and exercising is one of the last words in my dictionary, I’ve realized that in order to be up there again, I would need to find a way that didn’t require my physical presence (and poor fitness situation)… mmmmm… and then guess what came to my mind… of course… MAITELATES!!!

So, this is the story! My cousin Joaquin was going to climb EL PLOMO this January, one of the highest summits of the Chilean Andes… and by “high” I mean HIGH: 17,800 feet. So this is what I did. I sent a big box of Maitelates to Chile.

The box’s first stop was my father’s house,

on Christmas day, while my two parents, four siblings, and seven nephews were celebrating the Holidays. Bad idea, right? Right.

The big box lost some serious weight, and, according to my informants, only two alfajores survived. Of those final two, one ended up in my brother in law’s belly… and the last one??? Well… That was the one that made the great trip to the Mountains with Joaco, my good cousin.

A four day adventure, waking up at three in the morning in order to conquer the summit, having to deal with the coldest cold, crossing frozen glaciers, and only one Maitelates left to lift their spirits.. tough, really tough!

But they made it to the very top!!! How proud was I when I saw the pictures up there!!!! Nice job guys. TEAM WORK!

Love it!!!

(I’m so tired from all this writing…

you see? I told you I was in bad shape…)

Enjoy the pictures!!

1. The conquer and master mind behind the expedition and the whole idea: Joaquin Molina

2. Ignacio Di Prospero at the summit. Thanks Ignacio!!

3. Family members of the expedition: Joaquin Molina, Luis Alberto Infante, Juan Rodriguez

4. Joaco in the middle of the ascent

5. My happy father, with his happy daughter in the middle of a happy situation

The Best of 2009!

Before even thinking of starting 2010, I just want to honor the great 2009 that just passed. Here are my very own best of 2009!

Let’s start from the start. Maitelates began, featuring only one Dulce de Leche flavor, and during 2009 expanded to NINE!!!! Special thanks to all those brains (and palates) that helped in the developing and creation of the beautiful variety available today: Dulce de Leche, Coffee, Roasted Almond, Coconut, White Chocolate, Strawberry, Michigan Cherry, Quince, and Dulce Peanut.

Personally, 2009 had a bumpy beginning. My family in Chile was dealing with the worst nightmare possible. Then, a miracle showed up and everything turned into peace and joy… July. To celebrate the good news People Magazine randomly mentioned that my Alfajores were the best cookies that a Hollywood star had ever eaten. After that, Maitelates jumped from Ann Arbor to the Moon! December.

I started the year with a handbag full of 12 friends. I finished it with a big bag full of many hundreds of friends, and love them all! Need a friend? Go to the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market and find many! Or go to Wild Swan Theater, or go to my neighbors, or go meet the Nemeth’s, or ask for Barbara at the YMCA. Good people!! My favorite! (After those two other favorite ones that I get to see every day and I also get to chase protecting the Alfajores FROM THEM.)

Gratefulness, that is how I remember the good 2009. Awesome year, awesome moments. Thank you all for being a part of it! Thank you!

Congratulations to Ben, the winner of our December 09 Breakfast at Ronald McDonald House Raffle. Enjoy the big big big box of Maitelates!--------->