Caracas Arepa Bar, New York City

Right across the street from Porchetta is a Venezuelan arepa bar, called Caracas. I actually had no clue what an arepa was until I set foot in this place. My hosts in New York City were from Venezuela, and they insisted that I try an arepa before I left.

Caracas has both a take-away and a sit down joint, side by side. Our hosts were in a bit of a rush, so we opted for the take-away place. They do have tables at the take-away restaurant, so we quickly ate our food there and went on with our day.

Caracas has 4 locations in New York. One in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn, and one in Queens. I'm not sure what the other locations are like, but the take-away restaurant in Manhattan was a very charming and ecclectic place with a WHOLE lot of energy.

As soon as I walked in, I felt like I had left New York, and stepped into Venezuela. Latin music was blaring, the staff were all speaking Spanish, and the decor and bright colors of the place screamed Latin America!

At each table, was a jar of aji sauce, which we poured onto everything we ate. Aji sauce is a blend of tomatoes, cilantro, and hot peppers. Venezuelan food, surprisingly, is very mild so adding this sauce to our food was a nice addition.

We started by sharing a plate of tequeños, deep fried Venezuelan cheese sticks. This, with a whole lot of aji sauce was awesome!

Tequeños

So what is an arepa you ask? The arepa is a thick cornmeal patty that kind of resembles an English muffin. They are not as fluffy and soft as an English muffin, but chewier and more dense. They are filled with all sorts of fillings and you eat them like a sandwich.

I ordered the La de Pernil arepa. This was filled with roasted pork shoulder, tomato slices, and a spicy mango sauce. As mentioned, Venezuelan food is quite mild so even the spicy mango sauce wasn't all that spicy.

La De Pernil Arepa

J ordered Los Muchachos, an arepa filled with grilled chorizo, spicy white cheese, jalapenos, and sauteed peppers.

Los Muchachos Arepa

F orders the same thing everytime, which is the De Pabellón arepa: shredded beef, black beans, white salty cheese, and sweet plantains.

De Pabellón Arepa

My first Venezuelan experience was definitely a positive one. As mentioned, I was definitely suprised at how mild the dishes were.

Caracas Arepa Bar

93 E 7th Street

New York, New York

Telephone: 212-529-2314

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Alfajores, Attempt Numero Dos

My failed attempt at making alfajores last year has been haunting me. One, I hate failing at anything, and two, I really wanted to learn a dessert that incorporated the heavenly dulce de leche that I know and love. If you haven't tried dulce de leche yet, you need to! It is a wonderful Latin American milk-based creation that tastes very similar to caramel or toffee.

An alfajor is dulce de leche sandwiched in between two shortbread cookies. Although my cookies did not turn out perfectly, I have made big strides since last year, and am just happy that I did not have to discard all of my hard work this time around. My shortbread actually tasted like a cookie, and my dulce de leche was not runny (I need to thank Bri for pointing me to David Lebovitz' dulce de leche recipe).

This recipe involves three steps:
1. Make the dulce de leche
2. Make the shortbread cookies
3. Assemble the alfajor

This recipe makes about 20 cookies.

Alfajores
Dulce de Leche
(Adapted from David Lebovitz)
- 1 can (13 oz.) of sweetened condensed milk
- few flecks of sea salt

Shortbread Cookies
Makes approximately 40 cookies
- 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 sticks of butter at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup of confectioner's sugar
- 1/4 cup milk (optional)

Method for Alfajores
Make the Dulce de Leche:
1. Preheat the oven to 425° F (220° C).

2. Pour one can of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish. Stir in a few flecks of sea salt.

3. Set the pie plate within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pie plate.

4. Cover the pie plate snugly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours. (Check a few times during baking and add more water to the roasting pan as necessary).

5. Once the Dulce de Leche is nicely browned and caramelized, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, whisk until smooth.

6. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Warm gently in a warm water bath or microwave oven before using.

Make the Shortbread Cookies:
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

2. In a separate bowl, sift the flour and salt.

3. Slowly add the sifted flour and salt into the butter mixture, and mix on low speed.

4. If your mixture is too crumbly, add in the milk, and mix on low speed until a dough is formed.

5. Roll the dough into the shape of a flat disk, and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigrate for 30-60 minutes.

6. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

7. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick, and cut the dough with a round 2 inch diameter cookie cutter.

8. Place the cookies on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes. This will ensure your cookies keep their shape while baking.

9. Bake 15 - 20 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. Cool the cookies on a rack.

Assemble the Alfajor:
1. With a butter knife, spread the dulce de leche on a shortbread cookie.

2. Sandwich the dulce de leche by placing another shortbread cookie on top.

3. To garnish, sift confectioners sugar on top of the cookie until it is fully covered.

The goal is to get as much dulce de leche in the sandwich without it spilling over the edges. I always get greedy and fail at this part (blush).

Because I tend to put too much dulce de leche in the middle, I store the alfajores in the fridge to avoid the dulce de leche from becoming too soft. If it does become too soft, the cookies start to slide, causing the sandwich to be lopsided.

Looking for some more dessert recipe ideas? Why not try these ones:

Easy to Make Palmiers

Orange and Nut Date Cups

Low Fat Tiramisu

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