Asparagus with blue cheese bacon ribbons

Tonight for dinner, among other things, we had this delicious tapa I made which I discovered in one of our last trips to my hometown, Seville. My great friend Enrique invited us for dinner at his house and his wife Adela, who is an excellent cook, made it for us. I didn't remember exactly how it was, but I tried my best.
I roasted 4 green asparagus in the toaster oven (covered in tin foil with a little bit of olive oil and sea salt) for about 45 minutes and fried at low heat 3 pieces of bacon (Tyson brand) in a skillet. I drained the oil of the bacon setting it on a kitchen paper covered plate. On a plate I set the four asparagus and tied them in two pairs with the bacon. Then I sprinkled the knots with Bleu D'Aubergne Cheese (since I can't find Cabrales here). I put the plate in the microwave for about 24 seconds so the cheese would start to melt. And finally I served them and took this picture:

The simple combination of the three ingredients really makes a difference in your palate with nice crunchy and smooth textures to the bite. Thank you  Adela and Enrique (an extraordinarily talented poet too, read his blog: decimasysubsuelos.blogspot.com) for showing me this tapa in the hospitality of your home with your kids and jolly conviviality: sharing yumminess in friendship is what eating tapas is all about.

Chocolate mousse

A simple and delicious desert which I cooked from the recipe of the great Andalusian chef Manolo Rincón:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7141551/Con-Sabor-Andaluz-Octubre1

I heated a bar of dark chocolate (Valor, Lindt or whatever but no more than 70% pure) in a double boiler with a little bit of milk. I separated the yolks and whites of two eggs. I beat in a bowl very well the yolks with two spoons of white sugar. In a separate bowl I whisked the egg whites until stiff. I poured the yolks in the chocolate, mixed, then the whites and mixed it all very well, pouring the mixture in two white ceramic pots which i finally set in the refrigerator for two hours. When we ate them with little silver spoons the texture was velvety and creamy, such a delicious bittersweet combination:

Gazpacho

Perhaps the best cold soup in the world: the Andalusian gazpacho. This tomato soup is perfect for the summer, when you have been swimming all morning at the sea or the swimming-pool and you come home tired, hot and ready for a new refreshing lunch before your siesta.

Here in the USA I couldn’t find the right tomatoes for this recipe of my mother's, so I just used canned tomatoes instead.

10 ingredients. I cook it very slowly while listening to flamenco music, for inspiration, ha, ha. I put in the blender one chopped clove of garlic (which gives the zest and panache), a pinch of salt, a little bit of mint (yerbabuena in Spain, my father's addition), one chopped green pepper, half a peeled and chopped cucumber, a piece of bread (previously soaked in water), about 100 ml of cider vinegar, about 250 ml of olive oil, a can of Dei Fratelli crushed tomatoes and water. I press blend and all the different buttons like crush, etc. for about 5 or 10 minutes and then I pour it all in a large bowl which I set inside the refrigerator for about 4 or 5 hours. Ready to serve.

It really is my favorite dish and the most famous Andalusian dish all over the world. Yum! And after the delightful taste I start feeling drowsy and I’m ready for a nap. What a life!

Apple blue cheese salad

This weekend I've been watching some episodes of Spanish great chef José Andrés' fun series on Spanish food, so I decided to make one of the easiest recipes (from Asturias) he explains: his Cabrales and Apple salad:
http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/tv/Made-in-Spain/103906/1678305439/Made-In-Spain---Food-for-the-Family/videos
I peeled a green apple, took out the seeds, sliced it and sprinkled it with an olive oil (3/4), cider vinegar (1/4), salt and pepper dressing. Then I sprinkled a little bit of blue cheese on it (I could not find the delicious Cabrales, so I used a Bleu D'Aubergne and Irish). To top it all I grated Marcona almonds which balanced the savoury result:

Here you go: a taste of Northern Celtic Spanish caves and woods melts in your mouth as you close your eyes, a green and natural savoury experience.

Anise muffins (Magdalenas anisadas)

One of the most popular and tastiest pastries: the muffins. I remember in my early childhood I loved the magdalenas de La Bella Easo, so spongy and delicious. I used this recipe from Sergio Fernández's TV show:
http://blogs.rtve.es/sabercocinar/2010/2/11/las-famosas-magdalenas--2
In a big bowl I put 180 grams of Icelandic butter and 180 grams of white sugar (about 0.8 cups), mixing all very well with a fork, then I added 3 eggs and 10 grams of yeast (eventually I used just 8 grams), kept mixing and finally I added 180 grams of all purpose flour (1.44 cups) and some anise seeds. I left it rest a little bit and filled the paper molds. In the end I set them in a tray which I put inside the oven preheated at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes and then at 350 until they turned a little golden and toasted. They were so yummy I kept eating the magdalenas like that funny character in The Importance of Being Earnest. Good balanced result for being the first time I bake muffins: not too sweet but flavourful, perhaps next time I'll use a little more yeast since I'd love them puffy just like the Easo ones of my childhood...

Tuna filled peppers

Tonight for dinner I baked and broiled two orange peppers (normally I use red) with sea salt and olive oil in the toaster oven till done. I cut them in half and filled them with this mixture of tuna in olive oil, mayonnaise, chopped white onion and nutmeg:

They were delicious served in lightly toasted flour tortilla rolls rolls: yum!

Country potatoes sautéed with egg

Last night for dinner I cooked this easy Andalusian recipe from Córdoba that I took from this Spanish cooking website:

www.canalcocina.es/video-receta/revuelto-cortijero

I sliced the potatoes (premium from Idaho seem best), lightly fried them in a pan with Spanish olive oil, then cut a white onion and a green pepper into julienne strips and added to the frying, and finally added 15 pieces of spicy chorizo to the pan. I drained some of the now red oil with a big spoon. Right after I added salt and pepper, four beaten eggs to the mix and scrambled the whole thing until it curdles. The final master touch was adding the flavour of the country: the thyme.

 Ready to serve and enjoy the glory of beautiful Southern Spain fields ; )