I arrived in Peru two days ago. I spent New Years Eve on an airplane and it was less exciting than I would have hoped for. It was a cramped flight from Miami to Lima, and the Peruvian woman next to me kept leaning on my shoulder as she fell asleep with her mouth open.

Once I arrived, I passed customs with ease and stepped outside to meet my ride. Apparently, I don't look like a Peruvian, so I was instantly assaulted by at least a dozen taxi drivers looking to hustle me for a few extra bucks. (Note: When in South America, don't tip the taxi drivers. They are most likely calling you a Gringo, and they've already hustled you for a tip by the time you are finished negotiating a price).

For my first dinner in the country, Christina and I went to a restaurant called Long Horn Steakhouse, that specializes in... guess what... Steak! We ordered the Meat Skillet for two, which included veal skewers, pork chops, steaks, chorizos and another type of sausage. This last one was the surprise.

Let me first start by adding this disclaimer: I did not knowingly eat blood... in the beginning.

I first cut into the sausage I noticed it was not the consistency of the typical sausage of bratwurst I have been used to eating. Sticking the fork in wasn't as easy, because the wurst was less rigid that typical. Once cut, subsequent cuts tended to squish the filling out onto the plate rather than cleanly slicing through it. It was a very dark filling, and was quite delicious.

Christina: Disculpame

Waiter: Si
Christina: ¿Cómo llaman eso? (pointing to the sausage)

Waiter: Morcilla cocida

Christina: Y señor, ¿de qué esta hecho?

Waiter: De sangre, señorita.

Morcilla cocida.... also known as black pudding, blood pudding, blood sausage, bloedworst, and a few others depending on where in the world you are dining. It is a type of sausage made by cooking blood or dried blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. Pig or cattle blood is most often used, and typical fillers include meat, fat, suet, bread, sweet potato, barley and oatmeal.

By the time we knew what it was we were eating, we had already finished the first one. Then we found out. Then, I ate the second one. It was delicious!

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