April 29 | Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a beautiful place with beautiful people and amazing cuisine. Four years ago today, we got married on the beach in the DR surrounded by our friends and family. So it should come as no surprise, we would revisit this experience with Around the World in Quarantine.

Color Scheme: Teal and Tangerine

Tablescape

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Menu

First Course: Empanaditas de Yuca and Tostones

Empanaditas de yuca are a smaller version of an empanadas. This recipe called for a meat filling with which I used a meat substitute. I also fried them in the air fryer instead of oil. They turned out great.

Tostones are always a favorite of mine. Well, plantains made any type of way of really of a favorite of mine! We’ve had tostones before with ATWIQ: Puerto Rico, but this recipe called for thinner tostones. For this recipe, garlic powder is optional, but I would suggest it’s a must. You do have to be careful when using an air fryer because the recommended length of time was a bit long, and my first batch was a bit brown. Nonetheless, they were delicious.

Second Course: Ensalada Verde

This is as simple as it gets, a green salad. We needed our veggies with this dinner, and this was the perfect way to get them. From my research, green salads are a staple with meals in the DR. For the dressing, I used apple cider vinegar as the fruit vinegar.

Third Course: Bacalao Guisado con Papa and Moro de Guandules

Moro de guandules is yet another Caribbean version of rice and beans. I love this recipe because it incorporates coconut milk and tomato sauce, a very unique and rich combination. For the “bean” in this recipe, pigeon peas are used. The moro de guandules was topped with bacalao guisado con papa, a seafood dish with salted cod and potatoes. I really want to love salted cod. I’ve tried it in three different recipes, but there’s something about it that we both don’t care for. It may be the fishiness of the salted cod. Needless to say, this wasn’t one of our favorites.

Fourth Course: Habichuelas con Dulce and Dulce frio

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One thing to know about me is that I cook too much food! So, I actually made two desserts, but the way our stomachs are set-up, we couldn’t eat both of them. I chose to start with habichuelas con dulce, a sweet bean soup with white sweet potatoes and raisins. This was so so good! I almost forgot it was beans. Though we didn’t get to try it, I am excited for the dulce frio. Making it reminded me of tiramisu.

Beverages: Presidente and Santo Libre

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We began the night with Presidente, a beer made in the DR. It was really good and crisp. My husband remembered it being at the resort when we got married. As the night continued, we transitioned to Santo Libres. Similar to Cuba Libre, a Santo Libre uses Brugal Rum, a rum from the DR, and lemon-lime soda instead of coke. I actually enjoyed the Santa Libre better. We planned to end the night with mamajuana but didn’t make it to that point. If you know about mamajuana, you know that stuff is potent!

Final Reflection:

While the bacalao guisado con papa fell flat, everything else was delicious. It was so exciting to move ATWIQ back outside and celebrate our anniversary on a beautiful spring night. Overall, ATWIQ: DR was another success!