tapas

Last night Joy and Mike made a tapas dinner for Elaine, Don, Lisette and I. Mike and Joy recently returned from a vacation in France and Spain, and they had hand-carried gourmet goodies and much inspiration for our meal. As the pictures and menu suggest, we were treated to quite a feast. A description of what we enjoyed follows.

Snacks
fried marcona almonds (I didn’t know these existed – addictive!)
marinated green olives (they looked flavorful, but I don’t like olives)
pimientos de Padrón (padron peppers – the salt helps bring out the flavor)
pan catalan (tomato & garlic-rubbed bread, Mike made this - a traditional start to a tapas meal)

Soups
gazpacho andaluz (andalucian gazpacho – so refreshing)
ajo blanco de Málaga (traditional ajo blanco from Málaga, garnished with green apple – amazing flavor)

Meats
embutidos de bellota (chorizo & sausage – mmm, meat)
jamón serrano, Ibérico ( a wonderfully marbled ham)
jamón de bellota (perhaps the finest of the hams, from pata negra pigs fed on a diet of acorns)


Warm plates
berenjena con miel de caña (perfectly fried eggplant with sugar cane honey)
tortilla espanola con patate (a tasty spanish tortilla with potatoes)
gambas al ajillo (perfectly cooked garlic shrimp)
almejas a la marinera (clams in flavor-packed white wine sauce)
setas con piñones y jamón (mushrooms sauteed with Ibérico ham and pine nuts)
albóndigas con salsa de azafrán (fantastic mini meatballs in saffron garlic sauce)
escolanets (literally, "altar boys" – delicious bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with marcona almonds)

Cheeses
queso Idiazábal marinado al romero (a Basque sheep’s milk cheese marinated in oil with garlic, black peppercorns, bay leaf, & fresh rosemary and thyme)
manchego con membrillo (manchego cheese with quince paste – I love quince paste!)

Desserts
higas (fresh figs – it’s the start of fig season!)
crema catalana (a show stopper, wonderful custard with carmelized sugar)
arroz con leche, como hacen en mieres (rice & milk, mieres-style – cinnamon makes everything better)
pan con chocolate, sal "Maldon", y aceite de oliva (toasts with Michel Cluizel "Concepcion" chocolate, Maldon salt, and olive oil – I could eat this all day)

Thank you, Mike and Joy. Almost every dish above could be its own cool thing.