Umm..what’s Papa a la Huancaina?!? That’s what you’re thinking, right? Well, that’s why I’m here; to explain, you see. I grew up on this stuff.  I remember as a kid my mother making this sauce and me sneaking cubes of queso fresco. I was pretty creative with the stuff and used to put it on everything from chicken to potato chips. In Peru, where my mother was born, this is a pretty common appetizer–it’s sort of like their version of veggies and dip. The appetizer hails from Huancayo, Peru; the place where my great grandmother was from. She grew up in Huancayo, a mountain town high up in the Andes. The place of magic and Incas. This sauce hails from there. I’ve started exploring dishes of my childhood lately; probably because I get a little homesick from time to time.  Living away from home makes me want to be there even more.  I also think it’s about this time in ones life where you begin to look back a bit.  Being a kid was so cool. It was cozy; no bills, no worries, no pretending about being a real adult.  Being an adult sucks.  I want nothing to do with it. …

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