Grilling in the Highlands of Panama

Living in the high mountains of Panama has lots of advantages, especially when it comes to outdoor grilling. It’s easy to stop by the fresh, open markets, then fire up the gas grill, and prepare the best backyard meals imaginable anywhere in the world.

My shopping list is short, a whole chicken or rack of baby-back ribs, whatever fresh vegetables are plentiful, and a pineapple.

The weather is always pleasant for firing your grill, even if it’s a rainy day, because the temperature is usually just right, about 72 degrees in the late afternoon. A 5-dollar gas tank will last for months of grilling, and they’re available at almost every mini-market in Panama.

Our favorite meat to grill is chicken, it never fails to please everyone. Chicken is low in calories, high in nutritional value, and very reasonable in Panama, as everyone knows. David loves to buy a can or two of Panama beer, punch holes in it along the top rim and perch the whole chicken atop of it. It cooks in about an hour on the closed grill, just in time to have your vegetables grilled and ready to eat.

The vegetables can be pre-cut and ready to toss in a grill pan.  Any kind of vegetable can be sliced thinly, tossed in a bit of olive oil and your special blend of herbs and set above the flames. Each time you glance into the grill, give the vegetables a little stir. The top photo shows our favorite grilling pan to use for any small ingredients. They cook slowly and never fall on the flames.

Dessert is easy when you’re grilling in the Highlands of Panama. Just slice off the bottom of a juicy, fresh pineapple and stand it on end. Holding the green top, slice off the skin from top to bottom. Divide in half from top to bottom and lay on cut side. Slice lengthwise again into quarters and remove the core.   Cut each quarter into 2 or 3 long pieces, depending on the size of your pineapple. Lay the long pieces on the hot grate after you remove the chicken. Wait for grill marks to appear, then turn over to brown.

You will have a luscious, grilled finish to your fresh, healthy and tasty dinner. Boquete Gourmet Host Chef, Greg Henry, on Sippitysup.com, inserted a skewer into the ends of his spears of grilled pineapple and placed them on a dessert plate with a small dish of dipping sauce similar to Dulce de Leche.

The sauce is easy to make the day before your dinner. Simply boil an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for about an hour and a half. When you’re ready to serve your pineapple, open the can and fill small dishes with your “homemade” Dulce de Leche sauce.  You may need to thin it with a bit of white wine.  Shave chocolate or sprinkle coconut flakes over your pineapple and serve.

You can enjoy this spectacular grilled dinner wherever you are, but it’s especially good when you’re in the Highlands of Panama!

Cora

What Do You Wish You Could Cook?

Can you prepare and serve most of the dishes shown in this post? If you have a particular type of dish or cuisine you would like to learn how to cook, please let Boquete Gourmet know what it is.

The Boquete Gourmet has developed this website and is constantly planning new events for the future. The big question is what do my readers want; classes on Chinese cooking, trips to farms, or leandctures about coffee? Anything is possible to arrange, well almost anything, given the resources and location high up here in the mountains of Chiriqui Province, Panama.

The purpose of this post is to ask you what you would like to experience that would add to your knowledge about the Boquete area, to your abilities to enjoy fine foods, or to improve your skills in preparing healthy and nutritious gourmet dishes.

We are lucky to be living in the “market basket of Panama”, where almost every type of food is available, and it’s fresh, abundant and very reasonable.

Boquete also seems to attract excellent cooks and professional chefs, many of whom are willing to share their expertise with locals and visitors alike. We have excellent party planners, bakers, and experts on growing and preparing local products, just to name a few.

Please let me know what type of cuisine you would like to explore, whether it’s anything pictured here, a particular ethnic style, candy making, or something you’ve always wanted to learn to prepare. Now is our chance to sharpen our culinary skills, so please let me know what’s on your mind, and I’ll try to make it happen for you.

Host Chef, Juan Linares will present the last class in a series of “Panamanian Beef: From Tough to Tender” on Thursday, June 29, beginning at 11:00am. Juan and expert butchers from our local Romero’s Supermarket will share their knowledge about various cuts of beef. Participants will learn how to buy the cuts of beef they want, and how to prepare them to make tender and delicious entrees.

If you’d like to reserve a seat for this very informative and entertaining event, please click the June 29 date on the calendar at the right and get your tickets now.

Hoping to hear from you soon at boquetegourmet@gmail.com,
Cora

Make the Best Sourdough Pancakes Ever – Use Your Own Starter!

Make no mistake, my sourdough is the best sourdough anyone could make in a few short weeks. Some sourdough is one-hundred years old, but mine is only about 2 months old and it’s wonderful!

I got my starter from Artisan Baker, Mort Rabkin. our local “Rye Guy”. Mort started his sourdough many months ago and the flavor just keeps getting better and better.

The students in Mort’s “Sourdough and Other Natural Starters” class learned how to feed and care for their tiny bit of starter they received from Mort a week before their class. Their starter became their new-found friend. It grew and grew for 10 days before the class, and each participant made a “sponge” from their starter and brought it to class.

This is where the fun began. Students baked bread from Mort’s seasoned starter, made their own loaves of bread from their sponge, and then
blended a new, all-natural starter of their own design.

This is where I come in, by contributing the best “Sourdough Pancakes” recipe anyone who is “feeding” sourdough can make. It’s really quite easy, as long as you begin the night before you’re planning to have pancakes for breakfast.

SOURDOUGH PANCAKES
The night before:
Measure 1 cup starter into a bowl and mix in 1 cup flour and 1 cup milk. Cover and let sit overnight at room temperature.
The next morning:
Add 1 beaten egg, 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon each baking soda and baking powder, 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 tablespoon sugar and mix well.

Heat a lightly greased griddle until a few drops of water jump around on the griddle. Spoon the batter onto the griddle and cook until bubbles appear all around. Turn and cook until golden brown. I serve the pancakes with homemade maple syrup. It’s easy to make by boiling 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water for one minute and add a teaspoon of maple flavoring.

My grandmother taught me to make this simple syrup many years ago, and it’s almost as delicious as the original, more reasonable, and much easier to keep on hand.

I haven’t been able to find Mapleine Brand favoring in many years, but Frontier All Natural Maple Flavor is excellent. McCormick makes Imitation Maple Flavor that is available everywhere, but their list of additives is long.

The only thing that would make these pancakes better would be to serve them with a hot, steaming cup of Cafe de la Luna coffee from Finca Dos Jefes, Boquete’s premier boutique coffee growers.

Enjoy your sourdough!
Cora

Explore the New Kitchen Store in David

La Cocina has recently opened their doors in David, offering low-cost housewares of all types, lots of plastic containers and cookware.

To get to La Cocina, take the first left off the highway and drive past Romero’s until you get to one of the 3 traffic lights in David. Elmec is on the left and the new La Cocina Kitchen Store is on the far right corner, right across from Elmec.

The owners are very helpful, and they have items that are not readily available in other shops. Actually, I believe this is the only exclusive kitchen store between here and Panama City.

The first thing I noticed was the huge selection of mixing bowls beginning at only $1, the stacks of aluminum cookware and good-quality 5-piece wooden spoon sets for $2. I bought a set of spoons, which are just right for mixing up some artisan bread dough. I painted orange stripes on the handles to match my kitchen and to make them easy to find in my drawers.

If you are looking for plastic containers, pitchers, plastic and ceramic plates or bowls, La Cocina is the place to visit.

You won’t find any electrical appliances at La Cocina, which is unfortunate. I’d really like to find a place to buy an electric juicer, a big electric fry pan and a milkshake maker. With Lauretta’s “Gourmet Burgers & More” cooking class coming up, I know I’ll need a milkshake maker.

The owners were very glad to have us visit their shop. They are trying to bring items for the kitchen together into one place, making it easy for cooks like us. I asked if they handled wooden cutting boards, and the response was “Yes, we will be getting them soon.”

A very nice stainless steel thermos bottle was $4, just what I needed to keep a delicious cup of Boquete’s fine coffee hot to drink anytime. It fits perfectly into my car’s console.

I love kitchen gadgets, and La Cocina has a limited supply of basic gadgets. In the photo below, you can see their selection of gadgets on the back wall.

I’ll keep checking back to see the new items La Cocina will be offering and pass along interesting acquisitions to you, as they appear.

Upon leaving La Cocina, I turned left and walked one block to the new Cuidad De David Hotel, the perfect place for lunch!

Don’t you just love David?
Cora