Cinnamon Buns

Ahhhh....cinnamon buns.  It is one of those amazing things, that I truly truly miss about the U.S.A.  The wafting smells of hot cinnamon, the gooey glaze dripping down your hands and off your lips, sooo good.  I always remember being crazily drawn to the smell, as if I was in one of those cartoons where you see the aroma wafting and the character starts floating, eyes half closed towards the origin of said aroma.  But alas, like being shocked into a very bad nightmare, you bite into the cinnamon bun and it isn't what you imagined it to be.  It is surprisingly hard around the edges, having been baked hours or days before, only to be re-heated in that abomination of an invention that we refer to as a Microwave.  Oh, how deceptive it can be, how unfair life is at times. 

Soooo......I like to make them at home.  Nothing, I mean nothing smells better in your kitchen than cinnamon buns baking in your oven, giving your house that unmistakeable cinnamony smell that no candle from Bath and Body Works can replicate.  The recipe that I use, has mashed potatoes, giving it that extra oomph of fluffiness that any cinnamon bun conisseur appreciates, and my brown sugar cinnamon glaze with extra butter, yes, extra butter my friends, makes it gooey-liscious!

So, without further ado, I give you all, dear readers, my "Make-your-house-smell-divine-and-burn-the-roof-of-your-mouth-because-you-really-can't-wait-ten-minutes" recipe for cinnamon buns:

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1 package dry yeast (1/4 oz. or 7g)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed potatoes (about 3 small)
5 1/2 cups flour (approximately)
1 3/4 cups unsalted butter (440g)
2 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

Scald the milk, cool to lukewarm and pour into a large bowl.  Stir in the sugar, salt and yeast.  Let stand for 2 minutes.  Beat in the eggs, mashed potatoes and 1 1/2 cups of flour until just mixed (don't overmix) and leave it for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt 1/2 cup butter (125g) and let cool to lukewarm.
Add the melted butter to the yeast mixture.  Stir in the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and not sticky.  Tramsfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes, adding more flour if needed.  Transfer to a greased bowl, turning to coat, and cover and let rise in a warm place until tripled in volume, about 2 hours.
Melt another 1/2 cup of butter in a small saucepan.  Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a rectangle 5mm thich (1/4 inch).  Brush with the melted butter.  Combine 1/2 cup of the brown sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle over the dough.  Roll up like a jelly roll, and slice into 1 inch thick rounds, you should get about 9 per roll.  Melt the remaining 3/4 cups butter with the remaining 2 cups brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.  Pour the mix in a large baking dish, and sprinkle with your chopped nuts.  Place the rolls, flat side down on top of the nuts.  Cover with a flour rubbed dishtowel and let sit for another hour. 
Preheat your oven to 350 F (180C).  Bake the rolls until golden brown, about 25 minutes.  When done, cover with a serving platter and invert.  Carefully remove pan, so the caramel runs down over the rolls.

Voila.  Don't eat them all at once.  Save one for breakfast.

Chocolate date cake with sticky chocolate toffee and crunchy salted almonds

My boyfriend just returned from a "business" trip to Morocco.   One of the presents that he brought back was Medjool Dates.  I loooooove dates.  I think they are extremely succulent, sweet and just sultry and makes me feel like I am in a market filled with exotic spices and sounds every time I bite into one.   Since I had a enormous amount of dates to consume, I wondered, what can I make with them?  Well, I picked up an old Martha Stewart magazine out of my pile, and funny enough the "Dessert of the month" was this chocolate date cake.

I decided to give it a try, because the earthiness of the dates sounds like a great partner to one of my favorite ingredients, chocolate.  Of course, I tweaked it a little to my style, considering that my father is of Arab descent, I thought, what better way to pair dates and chocolate than with nuts?  So, in the cake batter I added some slivered almonds, instead of brandy for the date puree I used sweet Marsala wine ( a nod to my Italian heritage) instead of brandy, and in the toffee I used hazelnut liqueur instead of brandy, once again. For the topping apart from the toffee and dates, I added some crunchy toasted salted marcona almonds, (nod to Spain, my current country) cause I looove sweet and salty together! I like the taste of nuts, and the woodiness it brings forth in the dishes, but I know some of you may be allergic or even just plain not like them, so its up to you whether you would like to include them or not.  So, here I give you my tweaked recipe, and if you don't want the nuts, just omit them and use the regular brandy instead of hazelnut liqueur.

The finished product is so simply delicious and sexy......I suggest you eat it with some nice Moroccan mint tea, or as a ending to a hot, sultry evening!

Enjoy!!!

Chocolate date cake with sticky chocolate toffee and crunchy salted Marcona almonds
Serves 10-12

For the cake:

1 1/4 cups water
22 pitted medjool dates, plus 4 more for garnish
3 tbsp sweet Marsala wine (or brandy)
2 tbsp strong brewed coffee
4 tbsp good quality cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp. plus more for pan
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61% cacao), finely chopped
1/4 cup almonds, slivered (non salted)

For the glaze

4 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cups light brown sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup ( light or dark- I prefer dark)
1 tbsp water
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet or milk chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp hazelnut liqueur
1/4 cup toasted and salted Marcona almonds, coarsely chopped


1. For the cake: preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Butter 9x3 inch cake pan, line with parchment, and butter parchment. 
2.  Combine water, dates, Marsala, coffee and 2 tbsp of cocoa powder and bring to a boil.  Take off heat, and let cool.  Puree cooled date mixture in a food processor or with an immersion blender.  Place 3/4 cup puree in a small bowl, and press plastic wrap directly on surface; reserve.  Place remaining puree in a large bowl.
3. Whisk flour, salt, cinnamon, and remaining 2 tbsp cocoa in a bowl. 
4. Beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition (batter will look curdled).
5. Stir baking soda into date puree.  On low speed, beat flour mixture into egg mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the date mixture.  Beat in chocolate.  Mix in slivered almonds.  Transfer batter to prepared pan, smooth top.
6.  Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.  Let cool in pan on top of a wire rack for 30 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen, and invert cake onto rack.  Remove parchment, turn cake right side up, and let cool completely.  (cake can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temp for up to 2 days.)
7.  Make the glaze:  Bring butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, water and salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring occasionally.  Boil 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in cream, then hazelnut liqueur.  Add chocolate, whisk until smooth.  Let cool until thickened, about 15-20 minutes.
8. Assemble the cake:  Using a serrated knife (or my handy dandy little trick, non minted dental floss to cut the top of cake, just cut a tiny piece at one end, insert the floss tightly wound in your fingers, and drag it across the top of the cake and slice the top off!) trim the rounded top off so it is flat.  Spread remaining date puree on top, then pour the glaze over top, letting some drip off the sides.  Garnish with halved dates and salted toasted Marcona almonds.

Cranberry Almod Biscotti

I love biscotti.  I think I love them so much because it was one of the first things I learnt how to cook.  In my beginners days, I remember toiling over my mother's Time-Life recipe book collection, which has a book on each category of food, i.e, sauces, meats, cookies, etc.  So, when I figured out that I could actually make something in the kitchen that wouldn't immediately be thrown in the dog bowl, I started trying every recipe I could tackle. 
See, I remember in my high school days, when we lived in Lugano, Switzerland, we were always given a biscotti with our coffee.  The reason, if you don't know or aren't familiar with it, is that this particular cookie has to be dunked in a liquid, for you to be able to bite it without breaking a molar.  In Italy, it's name means twice cooked, and hence its crunchiness.  Also, there it is usually served with Vin Santo, a fruity Tuscan dessert wine, or some other type of liqueur.  Most countries now serve it with coffee, as in Switzerland.

My boyfriend is cuckoo for biscotti, so tonight I decided to make a home-made version.  This is from one of my mother's books, which I copied a while ago into my notebook, and I will kindly share with you because they keep a week in an airtight container, if you don't finish them that evening.*

* They are highly addictive to munch in front of the telly.

To make about 3 dozen

1 3/4 cups dried cranberries
1/2 cup frangelico, or amaretto plus more if needed
3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for your work surface
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, 3 whole and 1 egg white lightly beaten
2 tsps vanilla extract
3/4 cups whole blanched almonds (unsalted) chopped
3 tbsp sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, heat cranberries and liqueur in a small saucepan over low heat, for 8 minutes or until cranberries are softened.  Drain, reserving 2 tbsp of liquid, but if you don't have any left add more liqueur to equal 2 tbsp.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, set aside.  Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Mix in 3 whole eggs, one at a time.  Mix in the liqueur and vanilla.  Reduce speed to low, and add flour slowly.  Stir in cranberries and almonds.

On a floured surface, halve dough, and place on your baking sheet on parchment paper, or over a silpat, and flatten into two long logs.  Brush logs with beaten egg white, and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Bake for 35 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes, and lower heat to 300 F.

Cut logs on the diagonal into 16 to 18 pieces, transferring to the racks on their sides.  Set racks on the baking sheet, and bake for 8 minutes, flip, bake another 8 minutes.  Let cool until crisp, and they can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

ENJOY!!!!

Pizza Night!

Who doesn't love pizza?  In Italy, pizza night is usually Sunday night, after la "Mamma" has cooked for you all week, and Lord, does she need a break!  But, pizza is consumed world-wide, on every continent, with its toppings to match.  Case in point, a general (non-official poll done via Facebook by moi) my friends in the states, consume pepperoni or sausage and pepper pizza.  In Colombia, they seem to love pineapple and raisins.  Here in Spain, there is this abominable pizza called the bolognese, with full on spaghetti sauce on.  So, my point being, is that this amazing round of flat bread, can hold many, many toppings according to likes, cultures and tastes.

Anyhow, pizza nights come hand in hand with sports.  It is a fairly easy and crowd pleasing food when you have to have many people over, or even if it is just two or one at home.  But, Monday night Football in the USA usually has pizza (or wings), and Champions League in Europe, also has Pizza.

So, last night was the Iternazionale Milan vs. FC Barcelona Match.  Well awaited, and I also have to say, incredibly underrated.  Since FC Barcelona has been having such spectacular matches lately, thanks to our star "Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi........."  I think that most people thought it was an easy win.  Well it wasn't.  But, hey, we ate fabulous pizza at my house. 
I remember, a very long time ago, sans child, sans culinary degree, that I used to have this pizza at a local place in Miami, which served this amazing, non-Italian-topping pizza.  I fell in love with it.   Well, even though I am a stickler for the rules in what encompasses Italian cuisine, this one really,  really tickled my fancy.  So, I recreated it at home, and I will share with all of my lovely friends and family.

BBQ CHICKEN AND CARAMELIZED RED ONION WITH GOAT CHEESE, PINE  NUTS AND FRESH CORIANDER PIZZA

1 Italian pizza base
1/4 cup classic tomato sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 cup bbq chicken (recipe follows)
1/8 cup caramelized red onions (recipe follows)
1/4 cup goat cheese
1 tbsp toasted pine nuts
1 tsp fresh coriander

Roll out your pizza base, and put your oven to the directed instructions on your oven pan.  Ladle the 1/4 cup classic tomato sauce onto the pizza base, and spread it evenly in a very thin layer.  Spread half of the goat cheese onto the pizza.  Then place the bbq chicken evenly onto the base, followed by the caramelized onions, the remaining goat cheese and toasted pine nuts.  Bake in oven according to your pizza base instructions, usually 10-15 minutes.  When its done, sprinkle your fresh coriander leaves on top. Enjoy!!!

Classic tomato sauce:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Dash of red chili flakes
1/ tsp. dried oregano, or 1/4 tsp fresh
1 tsp salt
1 14 oz can of peeled crushed tomatoes

In a med frying pan over low heat, add olive oil.  When slightly hot, add the onion, and saute for 10 minutes or until translucent.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant, approx 2 mins.  Add your chili flakes, oregano, and salt.  Now add your tomato sauce, and raise the heat to medium, and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until chunky. Yields 1 - 1/2 cup tomato sauce.

BBQ chicken - sauce and chicken recipe

My homemade barbecue sauce-

1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1/4 tsp dry yellow mustard
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp white distilled vinegar, or cider vinegar

In small saucepan, heat oil over low heat, add onions, cumin, chili and mustard powder, and sweat for about 10 minutes.  Add garlic, and cook for at least 2 minutes, or until fragrant.  Add tomato sauce and remaining ingredients and stir, raise heat to medium and cook for 20-25 minutes.  Take off heat and reserve.  Yields 1-1/2 cups.

Balsamic and brown sugar caramelized onions-

2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 red onion, sliced lengthwise
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar

Place all ingredients in frying pan, cook over medium heat, covered for 10 minutes, check to see if it doesn't burn, last five minutes uncover and stir until golden brown.
Reserve.

Chicken-
In the same pan where you cooked the onions, place one tsp of oil, and heat over high heat.  When hot, add boneless skinless chicken fillets, and cook, turning once after 2-3 minutes, until just done.  Take off heat, and wait until completely cooled.  Shred and add 1/ cup bbq sauce.

Recommended Route: Tarragona - Aragon. Pt. 1

Hello my lovely foodies, yes, I have been away for quite a while.  February has been a crazy month, what with wild weather, good friends going away parties and just the winter blahs making my days a little wilder than usual.  But amidst all this madness, my boyfriend and I decided to venture to another region in Spain, for a gastronomic, cultural and relaxing get-away.

The trip was planned around a gift that we received for Christmas, a one night stay in a hotel in Mora de Rubielos, in the outskirts of Teruel.  Since the trip was a four hour drive from Barcelona, we divided it into two sections.  The first night we made a stop in Tortosa, which is south of here, and it has a lovely Parador (government selected national monument, which has been turned into a hotel) where we decided to spend the night.  Since we always love a good restaurant reccomendation, we chose a colleague who enjoys food as much as we do to guide us in those murky waters far from our comfort zone.  He suggested we make a 15 minute drive to a town called Xerta, where there was a restaurant which had recently (2010) been given a Michelin star. 

After we dropped our bags off at our castle turned lodging for the night, we made our way to our destination with our stomachs empty, and I mean really empty, and our expectations high.  When we finally arrived at our little town, I was somewhat amused by its, well, smallness.  I mean, even the roads were small, so small that the car wouldn't fit in the road, and we had to drive it a la Starsky and Hutch with two wheels on the sidewalk.  It's incredible that we got lost, because when I say this is a one horse town, I mean it literally.  We could not find our restaurant, Villa Retiro, and stopped some teenage girls to give us directions.  They knew of the place, but told us, "Oooh, that is really far away!"  She gave us the directions, and a minute later, after turning down a side street about 20 meters away........ Voila!  There she was.  This large outcrop of a building in the middle of nowhere with dubious architectural style.  It was reminiscent of a scene out of Lost.....all of a sudden we were surrounded by tropical foliage, banyan trees, green iridescent lighting illuminating this pseudo colonial manse, with a large garden, pool and terraces straight out of Gaudi's Park Guell....All of this in the Ebro River Delta in northern Spain?!?  I felt like I had somehow entered the Twilight Zone.  But hey, I love these types of evenings, when nothing ceases to amaze you.

The restaurant itself is quite plain, what you would imagine an outdated seafood restaurant to look like. We were escorted upstairs to this blah dining room with a large tank of live lobsters at the back.  I was suddenly feeling a bit uneasy about the whole experiment.....if the food mirrors the environment, we were surely doomed.  But, the minute the Maitre came over to the table, my fears were immidiately dispelled, and I settled down for a lovely night, with my 2nd favorite person (1st being my daughter, of course) and let the magic happen.  We perused the menu, and my first impression was.....I want everything.  That happens to me often, so often that it happend to me last night, but alas, you will have to wait for another blog to find out!

I decided to go the Full Monty.  There was one dish that caught my eye, and my boyfriend's, but I remained adamant that it was to be mine.  And it was.  But, let me go in order.  We chose not to have the tasting menu, instead opting for an appetizer, main and dessert.  We were told that we had to order the dessert in advance, since the kitchen made them to order.  This is great for the restaurant, because they have a guarantee that you will have dessert, even if you are full.  But as I said, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs ( I really wish I could beleive that but for posterity's sake I will add this) and we would order anything.

So, on to the food.  We were first offered two mini bites:

One was a chicken and foi gras canneloni, with bechamel and black truffles.  This was spectacular, vey light, despite the richness of the ingredients.  It definately left me wanting more.

I really can't say the same about the second taste item.  It was goat cheese and apricot covered with sesame seeds, with an edible almond flower and placed over balsamic vinegar glaze.  When she explained this to us, I thought....there are too many ingredients to this whole dish.  But, unfortunately that wasn't the only thing wrong with it.  The sesame seed completely cancelled out any other taste that the dish had.   And I have to say that it would have probably been the same without them, because instead the balsamic glaze would have cancelled anything out. 

Now, please excuse the quality of the photo, but this is my starter.  The name is ESMORZAR DE RIC- which translates to Rich man's lunch.  Yes, they meant it literally.  Wait for it.....Creamed potatoes, with caramelized artichoke, sauteed foie gras, a fried duck egg, all topped with freshly shaved black truffles.  This is just, too good for words.  The only way to eat this is to cut it all up and mix it together.  The egg yolk, mixed with the foie and the truffles......oh, it is orgasmic.  My boyfriend's starter was delicious as well, although it had a softer, smoother quality to it.  If mine was the rich man's lunch, his was the noblity's lunch.  Kind of like new money vs. old money.

This is his starter, a gorgeous brothy rice with fresh lobster (maine lobster, but obviously not from maine.)  It was perfectly cooked, the rice and the lobster, in this divine broth made from crustaceans.  I think that this is a dish that its subtleties made it more enjoyable with every bite.

On to our mains.  By this time, to tell you the truth, I am quite full.  Nothing like a plate of cholesterol to take your hunger away.  But, we ordered fish as our mains, so it wasn't that bad.  I do have to say that I wasn't very impressed with my fish though.......... it was a bit of the same thing with the initial cheese tasting plate.  I think there were too many components.  It was a poached sole, stuffed with mint butter, with a caper cream sauce and fresh peas and bacon, topped with roast red pepper.  Honestly, it was cooked to perfection, but it was too much.  The mint butter was so cold it really made a noticeable contrast with the rest of the dish, and it wasn't harmonious.  I think that it would have been just perfect with just the caper cream sauce and the fresh peas.  I found the mint butter, bacon and peppers to be extraneous.  

Now this is my dessert.  It was called DELICIAS DE PLATANO, or, banana delicacies.  It was fantastic!!  It was a surprise in every bite.  The layers were, brandy flambeed banana, topped with nougat ice cream, with brownie chunks, whipped cream, chocolate pop rocks, and fried sweetened plaintains on top.  Look at this!  It was soooo much fun to eat, and delicious too!  The only thing I can complain about is, that outside of the U.S., they don't know how to make brownies.  They are always dry.  But everything else was a success!

I think that this little restaurant is a gem.  If you are anywhere near Tortosa, or fancy making a day trip or a night out of it, stop here.  You won't be disappointed.  My next blog will be about our dinner in Mora de Rubielos.  A 100% Black Truffle Tasting Menu.  YUM.MY.

http://www.hotelvillaretiro.com/

Carrer del Molins, 2

43592 Xerta (Tarragona)

977 473 810

Barcelona's best: Can Pineda

I've been to Can Pineda twice.  Even so, I still can't tell you how to get there.  It is tucked away in one of Barcelona's least popular "barrios" (areas), and even the directions given to taxi drivers illicit blank stares.  When you arrive there, you question yourself again.....uh oh, did I make a mistake coming here?  The decoration is, how should I put it? Kitschy, to be nice.  The wooden tables and chairs look like the ones your italian friends' grandmother had in her kitchen, and the walls are fully tiled in, oooh, let's see......a yellowish brown hue that can best be described as what you find in your baby's diaper.  Then all the plates and old pictures also remind you of "Luigi's" grandmothers house again.  Anyhow, you sit down, read the menu, and everything starts to feel alright......because in this little non descript place, magic happens.

Last night, we made the pilgrimage to Can Pineda.  Two of us having been there, and two virgins.....Emmanuel whom has been to several restaurants with me and always expects the best, and my other friend, Fernando, who is also one of the worlds biggest food lovers and critics.  It took us a good 10 minutes to decide what we wanted to eat, not because we were unsure of what was on the menu, it was because suddenly we all became 5 year olds at a candy shop.  Hardly containing our excitement, we wanted to order everything.  Emmanuel, knowing not a stitch of spanish, let the recently converted children choose the menu....and he was very, very happy indeed. 

Of course, we ordered a bottle of Enate Sotomontano Merlot, from Fernando's beloved region of Aragon.  Then out comes the plate of pan con tomate, tomato bread, which was eaten almost in its entirety by Emmanuel.  Then another plate of bread with Iberian Ham.  I usually don't gush about ham in my blogs because it is kind of a staple here, but this one deserves a mention.  The hue of the ham was darker than I am used to, with large edges of fat.  I was dubious of its quality at first, but as I sampled the first bite, those doubts all fled immidiately from my mind.  Umami.  That is the only way I can describe the sensory sensation that can best describe this ham.  It just dissolves in your mouth, coating your tongue in this inexplicable feeling of pure joy.  Before we could finish the ham, our second plate was brought out.
Pulpo con papada, Octopus and pork cheeks.  We chose this dish for the unusual combination, and also because it reminded Fernando of his childhood when they celebrated the day of St. Martin, which is when they massacre the pigs here in Spain.  He said that after the massacre, they would extract the pork cheeks, which is the best part, and make sandwhiches.

I have to apologize for the quality of the picture, because in our excitement, we dived straight into this marvel of a dish.  The delicate sweetness of the octupus, balanced out the saltiness of the pork cheek, topped with crunchy thin slices of yuca and drizzled with a balsamic reduction.  The octupus was fork tender, and the pork cheeks just melted in our mouths.  All the flavors balanced each other, it just combined perfectly, no one flavor outdoing the other.




After this came the dish that we ALL agreed we would have, Huevo poche con foie, butiffarra y trufa negra,  Poached egg with foie gras, blood sausage and black truffles.

Do you see the mountain of truffles?  This was, as Emmanuel put it, orgasmic.  The waitress explained that we should cut it all up and mix it together, and she was right.  Every single bite cause us to moan with pleasure.  It was a sensory overload.   Every single plate was left clean, and our intrepid diner, Emmanuel, promptly ordered a second dish.  He stated that basically, he would come back here just for this dish, and we said, well, the place might be booked.  Emmanuel quickly answered, " I don't care, I'll eat this on the sidewalk outside, in the rain, under an umbrella" as he quickly devoured the second one in two seconds.

On to our mains.  We chose three different things.  Paolo chose Entrecote de vaca vieja, Entrecote of old cow,  Fernando and I chose the Oxtail with truffled mashed potatoes, and Emmanuel the Gambas de Palamos, Prawns from Palamos (a city in the Costa Brava).

This is Paolo's Entrecote.  Perfectly cooked, on a sizzling plate of oil and it's juices.  Juicy, tender, moist.  It was perfectly seasoned, and accompanied by roasted red Piquillo peppers.  This plate of aged beef was one of the best that I have tasted in Barcelona.  After Paolo was done, everyone was sopping up the pan juices with bread, and as Emmanuel rightly stated, it should be served with a side of Lipitor.

This was what Fernando and I ordered.  The taste was incredible, but we both agreed that the oxtail was a bit dry.  It was disappointing, because done properly, this had the workings of being something superb.  We also found that they had skimped a bit on the truffles, which I personally think that they had given them all to Emmanuel, who had ordered a side dish of just the potatoes and truffles.  His came with the equivalent of Mt. Everest of truffles on top......oh well, perfect it isn't. 

And here are Emmanuel's prawns.  How can I describe these?  Better than lobster is what comes to mind.  Succulent and sweet, and tasting freshly caught from the sea.  Perfectly grilled and topped with just a smidgen of fleur de sel, you are hard pressed to find prawns like this anywhere else in the world.  Gambas de Palamos are reknowed to be the best,  mainly because every two to three years, they disappear.  This is a natural phenomenon that happens when there are extremely cold winters in Cap de Creus (northern Spain) that provoke underwater "waterfalls" that push the prawns to unfishable depths.  These currents also carry a variety of nutrients that feed the prawns, where they proliferate untouched by fishermen.  Then they slowly make their way back up to the coastal areas, in abundance and we have our Gambas again for a short time.  It is said that in 2011 the prawns will "disappear" again, so I am extremely happy that we were able to eat this bounty from the sea.

Now, on to dessert.  I wish I could say we were too full to order dessert, but you know me better than that.  Also, because at Can Pineda there is a gorgeous dessert called Bombetes.  This translates to little bombs.  It's basically filo pastry filled with cream or chocolate, then deep fried.  The result is an explosion of flavor in your mouth, as the cold liquid tempers the hot pastry in your mouth.  You have to eat them in one bite to get the full effect!

So, today, I don't think I will be able to eat anything until dinner time.  But it was well worth it.  I can't wait to make our "pilgrimage" to Can Pineda again some time, because I am sure that it will only surprise me once again.

If you want a break from your Barcelona nightmare of tourist restaurants, and would like to try excellent traditional Spanish cuisine, come to Can Pineda.  You won't regret it.

Can Pineda

St. Joan de Malta, 55

+ 34 933 083 081

Restaurant "Sense Pressa".....No hurries indeed!

Anniversaries, birthdays, after holiday reunion dinners.....yes, that is what has kept me from blogging.  Oh yeah, and a little something called exercise....yuck.  But don't worry, I have managed to go eat at a wonderful restaurant that I would like to share with all my foodie friends.  This is one of those places that when you discover it, you are happy to be amongst those "in the know".  This tiny little place, is called "Sense Pressa", which literally translates to "No Hurries".  Isn't that how all food should be enjoyed?   I mean, it is an obvious concept, but I think that more and more each day, we take our food for granted.  I know, I know, I am one of the lucky ones who doesn't have to be in a car, or office and wolf down food as if tomorrow will never be, never knowing what or how much you are putting in your mouth.  An act to just fuel your body instead of your soul. 
Anyhow, if you are in my part of the world, secure your reservations here well in advance, they are ALWAYS fully booked.  And for good reasons too:  10 tables, amazing, delectable food.

For my boyfriends birthday, we were lucky enough to get a table (actually, he had booked it waaaay in advance without my knowledge) and we promptly arrived at 9pm anxious to sit down all night and sample their delights.

Their menu is quite extensive, but as all my favorite places here, it has a daily off the menu selection.  Which is what we ordered from.

Of course, the meal started off with a bottle of wine.  We tend to stick to whites, only because I have adverse reactions to very strong reds (and most spanish wines are strong and full of tannins, which cause me to have an itchy rash.)  The sommelier recommended a full bodied white to go with our meal.  He explained that it was almost like having a red, that it could accompany meats such as lamb or pork......so much so that it had to be decanted.....VALLEGARCIA   VIOGNIER 2007.  Lovely, subtle, yet with a woody finish.

As our appetizer we ordered a plate of Cecina de Leon, which is  cured beef leg, almost like a spanish ham but with a smokier, meatier taste.  It is usually served with some ground black pepper and a dash of extra virgin olive oil.  Of course, accompanied by Pa amb tomaquet, toasted bread with tomatoes.  This is not a recent discovery, but somehow, if there is a good spanish ham on the menu, the Cecina is usually overlooked.  I think this is a mistake, since good Cecina can be just as good or even better than the ham, especially since most places won't spend the money to get a good quality ham because it can cost over 130 euros per kilo.  ( I am sure this place isn't one that will skimp on good ham, but I have that almost every day.  Yes, I am spoiled.)

The razor thin slices were complex and delicate all at the same time, and with a crusty slice of bread, it is a pairing made in heaven.

Then we moved on to our next appetizer, Foie gras carpaccio with black truffles vinagrette.  I have two complaints.  1. Too much foie.........crazy huh?  2. There was too much vinegar in the vinaigrette, so after a few bites, it started to cancel the sublime taste of the foie.  Oh well, perfection is hard, but I expected more from a place like this. 

We decided to have fish as our main, since it was fresh off the boat, and the fact that it was Turbot.  Turbot is one of my favorite fish, its delicate and meaty texture is highly prized in these areas.  I love it "a la donostiarra" which is basically pan fried with just a smidgen of oil, garlic, chili pepper and a drop of vinegar.  This is typical of "Donosti" or San Sebastian (Donosti is how you say it in Basque).  I was so delighted when my plate came out, not only was the turbot incredible, it was accompanied by what at first inspection looked like a vegetable tart:

After a closer look and my first bite, the crust was actually razor thin potato slices cooked to perfection.  It was spectacular.  The bottom slices were perfectly crusty, like having a potato chips crust, and the second layer of potatoes were so tender and juicy, all topped with onions and peppers, and carrots.  The two paired perfectly, the slight acidity of the vinegar in the sauce complemented the sweetness of the onions and peppers from the tart.  I have to say.....I cleand my plate. ( But really, when don't I clean my plate?)

After this, I think we had dessert, but honestly, I don't remember.....I think I was so pleased with this meal that the dessert was definately not center stage!

So, once again, I reccomend this restaurant to all my friends.

Sense Pressa

Enric Granados, 96

Barcelona

+34 93 218 15 44

Tomorrow.....Emmanuel is back! Sooooo.....that means I HAVE to eat out again.  Awwww.