Posted in appetizer, bacon, brains, bread, breadcrumbs, Castilla-La Mancha, Castillano, castille, cheap meal, Chorizo, cumin, easy, Garlic, hearty, manchego, offal, peppers, pigs, racione, Restaurant Review, Spain, Spanish, tourism, tradition, travel, trotter, unhealthy on Feb 16th, 2016
“The pen is the tongue of the mind.” – Don Quixote de La Mancha I have been told that the Inuit have more than 30 words for snow and a similar number of descriptors for the myriad tones of white, blue and grey that color their environment. If desert-dwelling Arabs had a similarly nuanced vocabulary […]
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Posted in Castilla y Léon, Castillano, castille, Chorizo, Fall, Madrid, Meat, morcilla, octopus, offal, pigs, pork, pulpo, racione, Restaurant Review, Segovia, Spain, Spanish, suckling pig, tourism, tradition, travel on Jan 4th, 2016
Five years in the making, and after at least six months’ meticulous planning, this was not an auspicious start. Within twenty minutes of claiming our luggage off the futuristically-plastic baggage carousel at Madrid-Barajas, and after spending the few coins we brought with us on a pair of sorely-needed cortados, we stood, incredulous and cash-less, in […]
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Posted in appetizer, Barcelona, blood, boudin, chick peas, Chorizo, hearty, Meat, morcilla, pork, Portuguese, racione, restaurant, sausage, Spain, tapas, tourism, travel, watercress on Apr 15th, 2014
Barcelona’s La Boqueria is perhaps the most famous food market in the world, and the most famous of its bar/restaurants is undoubtedly Pinotxo (pee-not-cho), run by the equally famous Juanito Bayen. His immaculate sense of dress and reputation for treating his guests like family have made him and his 14-stool establishment legendary. Indeed, such is […]
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Posted in boiled, culture, Galician, Gallego, healthy, Jose Andres, Madrid, octopus, Olive Oil, paprika, pimenton, pulpo, racione, Recipe, seafood, soccer, Spain, tapas, tourism, travel on Oct 23rd, 2008
The first time I ate pulpo a la gallega was at a very disreputable-looking food stand not far from the Estadio Balaídos in Vigo, Spain, before watching a soccer match between Celta de Vigo and Racing Santander (it finished 2-2). It was served on a slightly wilted plastic plate with a toothpick that looked suspiciously […]
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Posted in acorns, anchovies, appetizer, bread, culture, delicacy, easy, Europe, Garlic, grilled, grilling, ham, holiday, iberico, jamon, Madrid, pigs, pinchos, piquillo peppers, racione, Recipe, Recipes, Spain, tapas, tomato, tourism, tradition, travel on Jul 18th, 2008
Not long ago our good friend Nuria at Recipes Pic by Pic offered to do a food exchange with us, knowing both how obsessed we are with Spanish food and their comparative scarcity over here in the States. In return she asked that we send her some typical American products of our choice as well […]
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Posted in British, calamari, chile, chipotle, easy, fish, Garlic, grilled, grilling, Jamie Oliver, lemon, Meat, Mexican, morcilla, Olive Oil, onions, parsley, racione, Recipe, Recipes, sauce, sausage, savory, seafood, Spain, spicy, Squid, tapas, tomato on Jun 4th, 2008
A lot of people love Jamie Oliver for his informal, cheekie-chappie attitude and antics, which they welcome as a nice break from the seemingly unapproachable TV chefs of the past. Personally, I find his mockney styles and instant familiarity grating, and have let this issue influence my opinion of his cooking. However, I’m big enough […]
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Posted in acorns, Castillano, castille, delicacy, ham, healthy, history, holiday, iberico, important details, jamon, language, Madrid, pigs, pork, racione, serrano, Spain, tapas, tourism, tradition, travel on Feb 5th, 2008
Penelope Cruz’s “break-out” film was a lusty, comedic tale called Jamon, Jamon in which one of her suitors tells her that her breasts taste like serrano ham. Throughout the film (in which Cruz frequently appears partially clothed) there are many shots of legs of jamon serrano and iberico hanging in store windows, and the film […]
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