December 15th
A perfect Sunday for a family asado and the beginning of Nai’s birthday celebrations. Fabiana’s friend and her daughter, visiting from out of town, joined us for the asado, making it a slightly bigger crew than usual. But otherwise, it was the classic, nostalgic host family asado. We had all the essentials: chips and guac, lots of veggies, potatoes, and of course everything fresh off the parrilla. We cooled off with a quick dip in the pool while my host dad Juan Carlos finished firing the meats on the grill, and then all sat down for an early afternoon feast.
Asados are always lively at this house—everyone talking at once, voices overlapping, debating and arguing. Not in an angry way, more like a “let me tell you why I’m definitely right” way. I admire how direct they are, but I’ll admit I get lost in the chaos when the pace picks up and conversations run off in all directions. The one thing everyone agreed on – ice cream after lunch.
Dylan, Nai, and I made a quick trip into town to grab a kilo of helado to share. Nai and I didn’t even have to debate—pistachio and chocolate, my two absolute favorites, and a combo I could probably eat a kilo of all on my own.
The evening shifted more into birthday mode as some of Nai’s friends came over to celebrate. In true Argentine style, the party was timed for midnight, when her birthday officially began. We hung out, eating burgers and chatting, until the countdown of 10, 9, 8… led to cheers, a round of singing, and Nai blowing out the candles on her gorgeousss custom cake right after midnight. It was a chocolate-strawberry tower with chocolate ganache, edible butterflies and flower. Between that and the ice cream earlier, today was an elite dessert day. Happy, happy birthday, Nai!
