March 13 | Guatemala

In reviewing the countries we’ve visited, I noticed we weren’t giving Central and South America the love that it deserved. Up until this point, we had only explored to Brazil and Peru. So, I began researching countries in that area and landed on Guatemala.

Color Scheme: Light Blue and Navy

Tablescape

• Light blue table cloth | In choosing my color scheme, I always consider what I already have at home. Since the Guatemalan flag is light blue and white, this worked perfectly. If I recall correctly, I purchased this tablecloth at Missions Thrift for $2.
• White chargers | When you don’t have what you need, you improvise. I have more than enough gold chargers, so I painted two of those white. I think they turned out pretty good!
• Blue plates | I’ve probably had these plates for nearly a year. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to use them and this was it. The added detail was perfect for the dinner.
• Flowers | I love gerbera daisies! I was struggling with what flowers to incorporate and these beauties were $4.99 at Whole Foods. A nice pop of white for the tablescape.

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Menu

First Course: Tostadas with Guacamole, Black Beans, and Red Sauce

Fun fact about Around the World in Quarantine: I mess up on occasion. This was one of them! While plating, I accidentally grabbed the sweet refried black bean for the dessert instead of the regular refried beans and slathered it onto the fresh tostada. Oops! Nonetheless, the guacamole and the red sauce were absolutely delicious. The sweet refried black bean tostada wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what it was supposed to be. Looking forward to trying the correct version at some point this week!

Second Course: Tapado

Now, this might not look like much, but it is EVERYTHING! This stew comes from the Garifuna culture and is so full of flavor. It’s the perfect blend of coconut milk, vegetables, plantains, seafood and spices. For the seafood, I used snapper, shrimp and clams. I would definitely make this again.

Third Course: Chiles Rellenos and Coconut Rice

For those of you who are unaware, I’ve been a pescatarian for almost 10 years and Donnell has been on this journey for a year now. I often choose seafood recipes, but this one caught my eye. It reminded me of the stuffed peppers I used to love as a kid, but it was much different. These peppers are stuffed with green beans, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and spices. It is then dipped in a batter of egg whites, egg yolks and flour and fried. I modified this recipe slightly by using soy crumbles instead of the eye of round and putting the chiles rellenos in my air fryer. Paired with the red sauce and coconut rice, it was perfection. If you choose to make this recipe, I would give yourself plenty of time. This one took me a while.

Fourth Course: Rellenitos de Platano

I chose this recipe because it uses one of my favorite fruits that doesn’t get enough respect, the plantain. This dessert is essentially a mashed plantain filled with a sweet refried bean paste (yep, the one I accidentally added to my tostada!) and fried to perfection. Once again, I used my air fryer instead of frying in oil. Though it doesn’t look like much in this picture, it was a good finale. It wasn’t overly sweet and the inner sweet refried bean paste complemented the outer plantain well.

Beverages: Ron Zacapa 23

If you are a dark rum lover, this is for you! I would also argue that bourbon and whiskey lovers would enjoy as well. This rum was very smooth with a touch of sweetness. We experienced Zacapa 23 on the rocks and also neat. While we both prefered it on the rocks, Zacapa 23 neat was just as good.

Final Reflection:

Guatemala was an excellent choice. Unfortunately, my photos do not do justice for any of these dishes. Everything was delicious (minus the mishap), and I would highly recommend!