Spanish word of the day: cocinar
Translation: To cook!
When I first was planning my semester in Argentina, one of the first things that I looked into was the cuisine: what are some common Argentinian dishes, anyway? To my delight, there were so many food items that sounded delicious. Not to mention, there’s a lot of Italian influence here, so there had to be plenty of pizza, pasta, and gelato. Plus, there’s not much spicy food, which I like a lot.
The Argentine Institute of Gastronomy was the most amazing adventure. We worked with professional chefs to make some classic Argentina dishes. We read through some recipes together, and then the chefs split us up into teams, each working on a single dish.
Despite all of us being amateurs, somehow we were able to make really incredible food. The main draw is the empanadas, one of Argentina’s staples. It consists of a filling, typically beef, and it’s wrapped in dough and then fried or baked. It has already become my comfort food here.
Empanadas 
Milanesa a la napolitana y puré de papa
Of course, we couldn’t leave without making dessert! My favorite are the alfajores de maicena. They are a cookie sandwich with dulce de leche in the middle, yet another thing Argentina is known for.
Alfajores con dulce de leche 
Pastelitos y alfajores
If you ever have the chance to try any of these foods, I highly recommend it. I have leftovers to last a week, but even still, I’ll be daydreaming about the food for a while.