My husband came home with some ice cream the other night. He told our son to close his eyes and guess the flavor. "Lucúma!" my son exclaimed, so excited. It's his favorite flavor of all time and very difficult to find in the US. I don't like lucúma fruit myself, because it has a very pasty texture. I did enjoy the commercially prepared lucuma ice cream available in South America - it was made with more artificial "essence of lucuma" than real (pasty) fruit. But true lucúma fanatics love both the exotic flavor and grainy texture of the fruit.

I decided to try the ice cream my husband brought home anyway, and was surprised to find it was very creamy, with a perfume-like flavor. It didn't taste quite like the lucúma ice cream I remembered from Peru, although similar. On closer inspection, the container said "Mamey Sapote-Lucuma." I looked up mamey sapote, and discovered that it's a Mexican relative of the South American lucúma, which mostly grows in Peru and Chile. Mamey has a smooth, avocado-like texture and a more delicate flavor - better than lucúma in my opinion!

Loco for Lucuma
More about Mamey
Lucuma Ice Cream Recipe

Papas chorreadas are boiled red potatoes smothered in a rich cheese sauce, seasoned with onions and tomatoes. The verb chorrear means to flow or pour - the sauce in this dish is meant to be "gushing" over the potatoes. This dish is a Colombian specialty - the Colombian version of potato skins perhaps? Perfect for when you are watching futbol or football.

Recipe for Papas Chorreadas

Hector Rodriguez, About.com's guide to Latin Caribbean food, has a wonderful list of Thanksgiving recipes - traditional favorites with a touch of Caribbean flavor. Try mofongo stuffing (made with plantains) or pavochón, Puerto Rican-style roasted turkey.

For more Thanksgiving inspiration, John Mitzewich, guide to American food (and the chef/star of the excellent how-to-make-ceviche video on this website), has this very comprehensive collection of Thanksgiving recipes and turkey roasting advice.

Coffee and coconut are my daughter's two favorite flavors, so she suggested that I combine them for her birthday cake this year. I had to experiment a little, but the results were good - a yellow cake with a touch of coconut flavoring and melted coffee ice cream in the batter, a dulce de leche and coconut filling, and a rich coffee buttercream frosting to cover it all up.

Recipe for Coffee and Coconut Layer Cake

More Cake Recipes...
Coconut Tres Leches Cake
Patagonian Black Welsh Cake
Passionfruit Poundcake with Orange Mango Glaze