TWO SEAFOOD TAPAS YOU MUST TRY

April 5^th, 2013

    On Saturday we had dinner with two of our Spanish good friends.  We had been talking about it for a while and trying to decide what each one would make for the others to try.  We stock up with the wine and each couple made a few tapas, the result was a fun dinner with way too much delicious food and a mild headache the next morning.  But it was so worth it!!  Our friends made a Spanish omelet with caramelized onions (mmmmmm) which I will soon attempt and post in the blog and a delicious salad.  I prepared a couple of seafood recipes.  The first one was a tuna tartar (Tartar de Atún) inspired in Emeril Lagasse’s recipe and the second one a Crema de Almejas, a dip prepared with cockles in brine and cream cheese.
 

 

    An advantage of these two cold tapas is that they can be prepared way before a dinner party so you can just pull them out of the fridge in the moment you want to serve them.

    Here’s how they looked like.

 

Tartar de Atún

 

 

Crema de Almejas

 

TAPAS FOR TWO

Feb 14th, 2013

    So here is an idea for a romantic and intimate tapas dinner for you and your loved one.  For the menu I chose 4 different tapas that I prepared ahead of time so it all could be served at the same time.  Here is what it looked like.

 

 

 

    I included Cocktail de Gambas (Shrimp cocktail),  Tartaletas variadas (Tartlets), Kumatoes with Marinated Mozzarella, and Gambas con Jamón Serrano (Shrimp wrapped in Serrano ham).   We paired the dinner with a sparkling white wine and finished with fresh strawberries and chocolate brownies for dessert.  It was a perfect evening!

 

    It took me about 2 hours to prepare everything.  I could have saved some time if I had bought store-made mini pies.  If you decide to do it all from scratch like I did (except for making my own Phyllo dough), you should start preparing the mini pies first, then the shrimp cocktail and kumatoes and finally the shrimp rapped in Serrano Ham.  Since some of the tapas require marinating time, make sure you get those started first!

SUNDAY FUNDAY

Feb 10th, 2013

On Sunday we had a tapas party for a group of about 12 people.  We had different people in charge of different tapas so it wouldn’t be that much work for one person.  The meal turned out fantastic and everyone had a good time.  Spanish omelet, Empanada, Montaditos, Ensaladilla Rusa, and Sangría are some of the things we fixed.  Check out the recipes for your next tapas meal!

 

 

YOU'VE BEEN INVITED TO COOK YOUR OWN DINNER

   Dec 11th, 2012

 Last Sunday we had some friends over for dinner and we decided to make some tapas. I didn’t plan very well ahead of time and when they arrived we all gathered in the kitchen and finish cooking dinner together.  We were cooking for over an hour while sipping some wine and listening to Paco de Lucía’s, a fabulous Spanish guitarist.  Dinner ended up being a bit too late for a Sunday night, but it was so much fun to prepare it all together!

    When planning for a tapas dinner many of the dishes can be prepared ahead of time so when people come over for dinner you just need to assemble or warm them up.  Gambas al Ajillo and Montaditos are a couple of the tapas we made for dinner.

    For these 2 tapas, having the garlic sliced, the parsley and the vegetables cut up in serving size, and the shrimp peeled ahead of time would save you a lot of time.  I’m definitely taking note of this next time we have guests!

 

 

    After the long wait it was quite rewarding to sit down to enjoy the fruits of our hard work!