With Brazilian black-eyed peas and Honduran enchiladas, White House menu goes Latin for a day

WASHINGTON - Tuesday night's Fiesta Latina concert at the White House was not merely a chance to showcase Latin music. The White House brought in guest chef Maricel Presilla to help tell the pan-Latin story through finger food.

Presilla, chef and co-owner of Zafra and Cucharamama, two restaurants in Hoboken, New Jersey, said every item on the evening's menu was chosen to showcase some aspect of Latin culture, from the Cuban roast pork that is a nod to her own heritage to the Puerto Rican pasteles that she prepared in honour of new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was born in New York to Puerto Rican parents.

Even the "age of discovery" hot chocolate carried a message, harking back to a drink prepared for Mayan and Aztec royalty.

Presilla said she was happily surprised to find tomatillos growing in the kitchen garden planted on the South Lawn by first lady Michelle Obama, and the chef used them in a hot pepper sauce she added to the menu.

Presilla also plucked fennel and parsley from the first lady's garden and used honey from the White House beehives.

"I felt like a farmer - a farmer at the White House," Presilla said at an afternoon preview of the evening's menu. "I don't feel like I'm at the seat of power. I feel like I'm in a great kitchen."

Other items on the menu: Argentine beef empanada with red chimichurri, Brazilian black-eyed pea arrumadinho, Honduran enchiladas topped with chicken hash, Guatemalan slaw and chocolate-cheese flan with hibiscus sauce.