**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. But, all opinions expressed are my own.
Alicia back again with a couple more Spanish recipes for you. One is actually Catalonian, so I'll say Iberian Peninsula recipes for you.
This time I decided to do tapas. Tapas is a small portion of food that is enough to accompany a drink (according to the official Spanish dictionary). You can think of them like appetizers or bar food in America. They got their start long ago when King Alfonso X forbade taverns from serving wine without food to accompany it (to prevent drunkenness).This is how the name tapas came along. Tapas literally translates into cover or coaster. Before the royal decree, coasters were commonly placed over the drinks in order to keep bugs from drowning in the drinks. The little plates with the required food went on top of the cup instead. So the tapas were free at first and just small things like sausages, olives, and meats. But now it has evolved and is a national meal in Spain. You can find it all over. Tapas![]()
I decided to stick to some basics and tried to get as much authentic Spanish food as possible, but I had to substitute in some Italian meats, Sorry Spain. I did get Spanish cheese though. I also don't own any small plates and didn't think of this until I was already home, so we just used our regular plates.
For our tapas meal we had:
Pa amb Tomàquet- Catalonian Tomato Bread
This bread was so simple to make, yet so delicious. I found out about it because my friend posted on facebook about tomato sandwiches. She has some Spanish friends who commented that this is a popular way to eat tomatoes and bread in Spain.
It is very simple to make.
I only used the top half of the french bread, and just toasted the bottom half for us to eat the cheese and meat with. Garlic Shrimp
I saw garlic shrimp on a lot of tapas lists. I didn't look up a recipe because I thought the name was the recipe. This is another one that is so simple, but delivers big time on flavor! I'm noticing that theme with Spanish food so far.
To make:
Overall, this meal was very fast to put together, especially if you're not trying to make it look nice for a picture (haha). And it's very filling. Of course it's not supposed to be a huge thing but be little meals to accompany your drink (we had ginger ale). But if you eat a lot of little meals, it makes a pretty big meal. This would be great to feed a crowd with. Try it and let me know what you think!
If you want to learn more about Spanish cooking and cuisine,Panna has a class that is 6 lessons for $59.99! It's called Modern Spanish Cuisine and is taught by Seamus Mullen of Tertulia. That's basically $10 a lesson. What a deal! It'd be a fun gift for your loved one who is a foodie.
2 Comments
**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. But, all opinions expressed are my own.
Alicia back with another Spanish recipe. My family is taking a country from our heritage each month and making one meal a week from that country. This month is Spain. We've already made Spanish Tortilla and Paella (which I will share with you today). My husband has Spanish blood in him, being from South America, but my Dad also has a bit of the Iberian Peninsula in his DNA as well. Unfortunately it didn't show up in my DNA results. But since he's my dad, I do have an ancestor from there! So we are excited to explore our Spanish heritage.
I was apprehensive at first because I can't say that I'd been exposed to much Spanish food in my life. Once in college a classmate brought Paella to share. It was good, but was a little cold from sitting in a bowl during the whole class. I would say I didn't get the whole effect, because the Paella we made at home last week was AMAZING! So far Spain is 2 for 2! I loved the tortilla, and I loved the Paella. What I'm finding interesting about Spanish food so far is that the ingredients are all familiar to me, but when I combine them in the Spanish way, it's a flavor I never expected! (And a very wonderful flavor to boot!) And the ingredients aren't wildly expensive so I can add the dishes to our regular dinner menu! Paella
![]()
Another thing you might think would drive up cost is the seafood. While that's what most people think of when we think of paella, you don't have to use seafood. We used a mix of shrimp, chicken, and sausage (chorizo). Oh and if a recipe calls for chorizo, it's not Mexican chorizo that we know of in the states. Chorizo means sausage so you can choose your favorite kind of sausage. We used Polish kielbasa (Hillshire Farms). It was so yummy.
And my last tip is about choosing the right pan. We actually bought a 14 inch wide pan with low sides. It wasn't called a paella pan, but looked like the paella pans I saw elsewhere. The only problem we ran into was we only have a 2 burner electric glass-top stove. The biggest burner we have is about 8 inches wide. As such, the middle of our pan was hotter than the edges. It was not such a big deal and everything did get cooked. We just made sure to stir it often and covered it with foil to keep the heat in. Another way to remedy this is to use 2 smaller pans instead of making one large dish. Whatever works for you, just please promise me you'll make this dish! **This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. But, all opinions expressed are my own. Alicia back with another International Heritage recipe for you guys. This month we're doing Spain and so far it has been delicious! I was worried because I've not had much Spanish food in my life, and when I asked for suggestions I received ideas for dishes from other Spanish speaking countries but not Spain. But in the end my friends came through! Today's dish was the first suggestion I'd never heard of or tried. But I'm so glad I did, it will definitely be making its way onto our regular menu. Today's recipe is Spanish tortilla, which is nothing like a Mexican tortilla (which I also love). No, the Spanish tortilla is a whole meal in itself. If you know Spanish you'll know from the title of this section that it's a potato dish (papas=potatoes). And honestly when I first read the ingredients I thought I knew what this was going to taste like. But I was so wrong, in the best way! This is really one of my favorite things I've made so far for this experiment. There was almost a melt in your mouth quality to this. And although everything was fried in oil it wasn't too greasy! Just so, so, so good. I do have a couple tips though. This is the first thing I made in my cast iron skillet and I think it added to the flavor. So if you have a skillet use it. Mine is 10.25 inches and I use it almost everyday now. I love it. So you need a skillet that's about 10 inches wide and 1.5 inches deep. And at one point you have to flip the tortilla out of the skillet. It's pretty easy but be sure to use oven mitts/pot holders to avoid burns. Please make this for dinner some day. You will not regret it.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.
Alicia here, and I'm back with another American recipe. This time, a controversial one. Have you ever seen those lists of American foods, that the rest of the world doesn't understand or thinks is weird? Biscuits and Gravy is always on those lists. It's terrible because this classic American breakfast is super delicious. My father and my husband both claim it as their favorite. I hope you will enjoy this family favorite breakfast too!
Biscuits and Gravy![]()
The foundation of great biscuits and gravy is a great biscuit. My mom always makes these biscuits from scratch and they're always delicious. Plus they are easily made vegan by subbing in almond milk for regular milk. These are always crispy on the outside and soft and flaky on the inside.They're the perfect base for her country gravy. Don't confuse American biscuits with British biscuits which are more like American cookies. American biscuits are more like scones, only more delicious.
My mom got her recipe from her Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, which was a wedding gift. I have a newer version of this classic cookbook and noticed some of the recipes are different (actually many of them). But she still uses this old classic so we share it with you here. If you don't have this recipe book in your own kitchen, you're missing out! We love it. When I was browsing the bookstore and found it on sale I had to buy it because I knew it was a well loved recipe book of my mother. A new version is coming out this year which you can preorder on Amazon.
To top your biscuits you need country gravy, which is thicker and creamier than brown gravy. My mom has been making this gravy for as long as I can remember and it's so delicious. And it's pretty easy too. So stay away from the country gravy packets in stores and make your own gravy, trust me! My mom's is not as white as the gravy packet kind, and that's because it uses the bits from the pan where you cooked the bacon and sausage. A cast iron pan is perfect for this because it helps to develop a great flavor.
I recently bought one because I have so many recipes that call for a pan that can go from the stove top to the oven. I'm so excited to use it and make my delicious recipes. Amazon still has a lot ofgreat deals on cast iron pans, so if you're thinking about getting one, now's the time!
On the side you can, of course, enjoy the bacon and sausage used to make the gravy. Add some eggs and orange juice, and you've got a complete and very filling American breakfast.
And if you're still on the fence about this great breakfast, remember what Daniel Tiger always says..."You got to try new foods because they might taste good!"
|
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
June 2024
|