Madrid, Part 3

Tags

Iberian ham, Madrid, Mercado de San Miguel, Tapas

Is there any bad food in Spain?  If so we did not find it!  We spent a lot of time at tapas bars/ places.  We liked the small portions and the variety.

Check out our favorites.

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The breaded zucchini was to die for.  I will be trying to recreate that in the near future.

Hubby was very fascinated with Iberian ham.  Walking around we saw several ‘museums’ of ham.  Yes, that is what they were actually called!

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Hubby called these babies true pieces of art.  I snapped this outside of a store.

Another spot I wanted to see was the Mercado De San Miguel.  Just the structure was amazing.  Inside all the food and wine was even more amazing!

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It is a great place to meet up with friends for a tapa and a glass of fantastic Spanish red wine.

Needless to say, we did not go hungry.  Far from it.  We enjoyed the small dishes but more importantly, we enjoyed the atmosphere.

Madrid, it is a wonderful place to be.

Tomorrow I will wrap up Madrid.  Sad, however it has been fun reliving our trip.

Happy Hump Day!

 

Barcelona, part 6

Tags

Barcelona, sangria, Spain, Spanish wine, Tapas

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It seems so sad that this is the last part of the Barcelona series.  All good things must come to an end.  But before we leave this beautiful city, I need to share the food!  We went native!  We had a lot of tapas.  It was fabulous!

Here were some of our favorites…

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Cheese risotto

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These were the softest potatoes that I ever remember having!

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This was Hubby’s favorite! Potatoes cooked in garlic with a tangy yogurt dressing.

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Grilled veggies.

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Grilled peppers.  I will be trying this!!

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Calla

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Seafood!

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Mussels.  I never knew how yummy these are.  I ate some every single night.

Of course, we sampled some of the drinks…

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Love the reds!

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Sangria!

I love how simply the meals seemed.  The portions were small.  Lunch and dinner was more of an experience than just something we did when we were hungry.

I cannot begin to express the wonder that we felt about this place.  It was one of the best vacations we have ever had, and we have had many!  Barcelona was a state of mind.  It was so easy to slow down, enjoy long dinners, and take long strolls around the city.  I will not forget my first Gaudi experience.  I am bound and determined to find a way to bring him into my home.

Thanks for tagging along!

Christmas present!

Tags

Barcelona, Christmas, Spain, Spanish wine, Tapas, traveling

Every year for Christmas in lieu of buying presents, Hubby and I plan a trip.  It has to be somewhere we have never been.  We toss around ideas for months and finally settle on the destination the beginning of December!

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Any guesses as to where we are headed Christmas afternoon?

Yes, Barcelona!!!  Tapas, wine, sun, relaxing….. That is on the agenda!

Does not get much better,

Happy Hump Day!

Tapas Party- Music and Wine

Tags

Bossa Nova, Carol Saboya, Nova Bosa, rioja, Tapas, tempranillo, wine

If you remember, we threw a Tapas Party on Friday evening.  We had a ball!  Today I thought I would share the details about the music and wine selections!

Hubby was in charge of the playlist.  This was a trip down memory lane for him.  While his father was in the military ages ago, he was stationed in South America.  I know you are thinking what does that have to do with the party.  Through his search, he was able to relive some of the evenings with his father.  I thought that was pretty cool!

Our guests were able to experience the sounds of Nova Bosa, Bossa Nova, and Carol Saboya.  He was able to mingle those with soundtracks of Tapas music.  Why I was surprised that a genre of Tapas music is available  still makes me laugh.  I thought a couple of times Friday evening, as I was looking around that our home had the feeling of a Tapas Bar.  People sitting and standing conversing while soft music played in the background.  Hats off to Hubby!

When it came to wine, we decided to visit our favorite wine shop.  They actually sell to restaurants.   They are only opened on Thursday and Friday afternoons.  We usually swing by on our way home from work.  They are so friendly and love making suggestions.

We told them what we were doing and he smiled.  It was like a father getting ready to pat his son on the shoulder and say, there, there you have come to the right place.

Of course they asked what type of Tapas were to be served.  Then they were off.  We settled on these three…

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a Rioja… of course!

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This one had monastrell, syrah and tempranillo.

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I laughed when they brought this one out!  A wine with Tapas in mind!  It was tempranillo.

Each one was bold, dry, full, and Spanish.  They were perfection!

It was all in the details.  I just love details!

Tapas Party

Tags

blue, candles, entertaining, Tapas

On Friday evening we had several friends over for a tapas party.  We had so much fun!  This was the first time we had entertained for that number of people.  Maybe because I was planned ahead and did a little every day the entire preparation and party was seamless.  Sometimes it pays to be a type A.

I took a few pictures of the before the party.

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The dining room was the central location for all things tapas.  The color was blue.  The plates were smaller.  I wanted our friends to be able to move around while eating.  Talk and eat standing up if they so desired!

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Candles were the centerpiece for the tapas table.  Later in the evening when the sun was going down, the glow was tremendous.

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Many of our friends were bringing tapas also.  I set up a ‘label station’ so they could write down their dish and decorate the label.

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Here are mine.  I’m not an artist!  Many people really did get in to the ‘label station’ though!

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Outside we had the drink station.  It was a perfect place for it.  It was a gorgeous evening.  People could easily pour a beverage of choice and come back inside or stay and linger.

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I love these!  What a fun and simple way to decorate!  I put them at both ends of the table.  This was the wine end.

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This was the beer end of the table.

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Our patio table glimmered Friday.  Again, simply candles.

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Yes, I did actually cook!  One of the tapa dishes was Sauteed Garlic Mushrooms.

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The garlic part!

We had a marvelous time.  Not a lot of food was left over.  In fact only bread was!  It was a perfect end of the week.  Cannot wait for our next one!  I’m thinking fondue!  Wouldn’t that be cool!

Happy weekend!

Cooking with the Daisies

Tags

entertaining, music, Tapas

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This weekend we will be hosting a Tapas Party.  I cannot wait.  I have been wanting to have one for quite awhile.  We really enjoy having people over.  This will be a treat for us!  Great food, wine, conversation, and friends…what is not to love!

I have been doing a lot of pre-planning for our event.  One is the menu.  So today, instead of sharing a meal that I have cooked (that will come…) I will be sharing the planning part!

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I found this cookbook at a Half Price Book Store in College Station, Texas last summer.  I cannot not say enough how much I LOVE Half Price Books.  I have set a limit of how much time I can spend in that store….

Anyhoo, this is serving as my inspiration for our menu.

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Here is the menu….  I’m already hungry just thinking about it!

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Here is the shopping list.

I’m thinking there will be a lot of blue at this party.

Tapas are basically appetizers.  I have not had the privilege of visiting Spain yet.  Oh, that trip is planned!!!  I have eaten at a couple of Tapas Bars here in Germany.  I cannot imagine what the real thing will be like.

I have put Hubby in charge of wine and music. He gave me a sneak concert last night!  Beautiful.

In a few days, I will post all the details!

Tapas!  Friends!  Grande!