Meanderings ‘à la carte’ – May 2011

May ’Meanderings’ …

Y Viva España!  Did I mention that we are going to Catalonia in North East Spain (via France) for our holiday this year?!  Not long to go now so I have been doing some research and experimenting with some of the foods we might find on menus.  Actually there I have made more recipes than I have posted this month, so there will be another flavour of Spain month some time in the future.

Recipes this month

Minted Melonade

Basic Recipe: Salted Fish   Basque Style Salt Cod (Bacalao) in Spicy Tomato Sauce 
Spanish Style Gammon Stew                                           Patatas Bravas
 
Arroz con Leche – Spanish Style Rice Pudding

All images ©’Meanderings through my Cookbook’
http://www.hopeeternalcookbook.wordpress.com/

Bookshelf Meanderings:
Spanish Bar and Restaurant Cooking: Authentic Recipes for Paella, Tapas and Sangria by María Solís Ballinger & Natalía Solís Ballinger
I treated myself to this book recently when, having borrowed it from the library to research Spanish food/tapas for our holiday, I then discovered a very cheap secondhand copy online. It is packed with good recipes: I had no idea that there were so many possible paella and sangria variations … and so much more too. In fact there were so many paella variations that sounded good I had to stop myself listing them all below as a reminder to try them out!
Already on this site: Patatas Bravas (Spanish Style Roast Potatoes – but my own recipe variation)
On my list: Piperada (Basque Style Eggs – similar to the French Piperade), Tortilla Espanola (Potato Omelette), Escalivada (Catalan Roasted Vegetable Salad), Pinchitos (Spiced Pork Kebabs), Ggazpacho Andaluz (Classic Andalusian Gazpacho), Tumbet (Aubergine Casserole), Calabacines y Romero (Paella with Chicken Courgette & Rosemary), Paella al Horno con Queso (Baked Paella with Cheese Topping), Paella de Pollo y Tomates Secos (Chicken Paella with Sun-dried Tomatoes), Naranja y Almendras (Chicken & Orange Paella with Almonds), Paella de Pollo y Gambas (Chicken & Prawn Paella), Paella de Bacon y Veneras (Paella with Bacon & Scallops), Paella Facil y Rapida de Pollo (Quick & Easy Chicken Paella), Helado de Canela (Cinnamon Ice Cream), Flan de Naranjas (Orange Flan – I have another recipe for this too elsewhere), Crema Catalana (Sweet Catalan Cream – like Creme Brulee) … plus some lovely Sangria recipes!

Entertaining Meanderings:
At the start of the month I did a special Sunday lunch for my father’s 90th birthday.  On the menu was traditional Roast Beef with Yorkshire Puddings and Roast Potatoes, plus Butternut Squash Ragout.  For dessert Lemon Meringue Pie (one of his favourite things and something I have not made in a very long time).  Also this month another large scale church lunch, which this time was Italian themed.  We served traditional Beef Lasagne, with a roasted vegetable version available for non meat eaters.  These were accompanied by mixed leaf salads and garlic bread.  I produced the desserts: two types of Tiramisu.  One was Tiramisu Trifle with alcohol, an adaptation of a Tiramisu recipe I have been making for many years, although I used sherry rather than marsala wine,.  The second was the same without alcohol, but with caramel sauce (dulce de leche) and diced pears added instead.  Finally, at the end of the month we invited three ‘old’ friends for Sunday lunch. This time I served Roast Pork with Apple Sauce and Pickled Prunes (an unopened jar from Christmas) plus Roast Potatoes and Ratatouille.  The dessert was once again Caramel Pear Tiramisu Trifle, though this time with the alcohol (sherry) which we thought was a definite improvement on the alcohol free version.

Read Meanderings ‘a la carte’ from previous months

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‘For what we are about to receive…’ June 2011

I have made promises recently to post recipes, so these will appear this month. These recipes are West African Style Chicken & Peanut Stew and Mango Curd, the latest in a series of curd experiments, variations on traditional Lemon Curd.   First though, taking advantage of the bushes currently laden with elderflowers, I am making this years Elderflower Cordial, though the pictures are of the batch I made last year.  After that I need to turn my mind towards our holiday and more mundane things, especially what we need to take – it’s a caravan so I suppose we will take ‘everything but the kitchen sink‘ (which of course comes ready supplied!)

There will be a July version of this post, but it may well appear late – once we are back from holiday.

Happy Cooking & Eating!

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