Maria was silent for some time. “Señora,” she said, “my hacienda is at ten thousand feet in the Sierra; that would be a good climate for you. I myself will take you there and fix up a little casita for you. I have money, so do not let yourself be troubled. You must say in el Peru.”
Who knows but that I might have accepted the offer of Maria, save that the chills and fever became worse, and that nothing that she cooked could tempt a nonexistent appetite? I knew that I must fly north as soon as Lyn and Manuel came back.
I was packed and ready to go when the cable came announcing their arrival. Victoria and Maria had done everything possible to make the house beautiful; there were huge clay ollas filled with tall calla lilies in the hall, gardenias and roses everywhere. Even Tuti had been bathed and brushed, and the menu had been much discussed. Maria had been planning for days the first dinner they should eat in their own house after a long absence. The chief dish, she said would be one she was sure they’d never heard of. She had learned how to make it from a Mexican painter who had been a guest in the Señor Doctor’s house. The Mexican artist had been very famous “and a little mad,” she confided. Then she giggled, childish, infectious laughter. “Even the dish is a little crazy,” she said. “It’s called el platillo loco … ‘the mad plate.’” But it was “muy sabroso,” and she smacked her lips.
Now I must confess that I never tasted the “mad plate,” for at Lyn’s and Manuel’s gala dinner it was all I could do to drink the pretty little broth that Maria had prepared especially for me, but my host and hostess loved it … and, needless to say, they loved the cook along with it.
But in case you’d like to try it, here is the way Maria told me she made it, one afternoon, as she sat on the grass under the orange tree. I sat in the deck chair and took down notes in Spanish just as she gave the recipe to me.
El Platillo Loco. Stew a chicken until it is tender. Remove the meat from the bones, and cut it in small pieces. In the broth gently simmer ½ cup diced carrots, then ½ cup diced potatoes, and the same amount of chopped onions. When all are half-cooked, add ½ cup each of cubed pineapple and apples, 2 quartered tomatoes, ¼ cup chopped green olives, and the following sauce: Crush together 2 whole peppercorns, 4 cloves, a quarter-teaspoon of cinnamon, a dash of caraway seed, marjoram as desired, and 1 tablespoon chopped, hot pickled chiles. Simmer gently until the vegetables are tender.
The ingredients of the “mad plate,” according to Maria, may vary with the season, using what fruits and vegetables are obtainable. Sometimes cooking bananas are used, sometimes squash. When properly prepared, it should be a blend of all flavors, with none pre-dominating.
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