cliveb

Tapas are little snacks served with wine (or Jeréz) in Spanish bars. They're not supposed to "complement" another dish - they're simply there for enjoying with a few glasses of fine wine. Camarones al Ajillo ( Shrimp with garlic and butter) Lengua en Salsa (Beef tongue cooked in aromatic broth, with herbs and olive oil, slice thin and served with bread) Champiñones al Ajillo (same as above - with mushrooms) Cordero Horneado con Romero (thin slices of roasted Lamb with olive oil and rosemary) Bolitas de Queso (little balls of deep-fried cheese - usually Manchego) Dátiles Rellenos (Fresh dates stuffed with blue cheese, wrapped in a slice of bacon and cooked in the oven till ready (10 minutes) Fiambres con Banderillas (assorted cured meat - jamón Serrano, salami de Jabugo,Lomo embutido, etc. plus a a small plate of pickled caper berries, veg, olives, etc. )

Of course! It was Prince Rainier of Monaco, after his honeymoon

Oh, and btw CraigCamp - I'd be interested to know what you disagree with.

Hear, Hear, Ctzen Kane. A well-thought response. There's nothing wrong in liking Kraft Parmesan. Or CheezWhiz Or Koolaid Or a Big Mac. DAMN! We used to eat fried bread smothered with ketchup for breakfast!!!

In my opinion the way to ruin garlic toast is by applying the garlic butter before toasting. You end up with soggy bread and burnt garlic. I toast my french bread or baguette and immediately spread the pre softened garlic butter. Makes a big difference. Try it. ← My garlic bread is: 450 gms unsalted butter 1 head of garlic, minced 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped fine 1 -2 tsps sea salt Warm the butter till soft and then beat together with the other ingredients. Roll up in greaseproof paper, like a sausage, and refrigerate. Put your oven on broil. Leave it for at least 10 minutes. Cut a baguette or a "canilla" in half, then cut each half lengthwise. Slather with garlic butter, place in the oven for about 3 minutes. Ready.

An hour for a pizza. Why didn't you just jump into your car and go to the place and buy it?

My nuts never get a chance to go off - they're eaten within hours!

I feel that the whole point is lost if we get into semantics. Call it Parmesan , Parmigiano, Parmigiano Reggiano, Kraft Green Box Stuff - it is irrelevant. Surely what IS relevant is the flavour. I've just read annecros posts, where she notes that Parmesan does not have a second taste, where she thinks the second taste is like water. Far be it from me to disagree with Anne's tastebuds! However, the original parmesans I've tasted ( and I stuffed myself with it at a wedding just last week) have multiple layers of flavour. Not one, or two, but many. There is no way on earth I would even dream of "comparing" it to a grated, boxed variety produced in another country, since there is no comparison. They are simply different; not better, not worse, but different. Each of us is entitled to our opinion. I regularly grate piles of Uruguayan Parmesan, or Venezuelan Parmesan on top of my pasta, and complain not a whit! However, when the real thing comes around, I notice the difference. If you'd like a good USA comparison, try Coca-Cola in : England Venezuela China Australia India.

Rocoto peppers are common over here in Venezuela; you can find red, green or yellow varieties. They vary widely in heat. I've had some which have blown my head off, others which barely made me jump. They are also known as "Manzano or, over here " Mongo" peppers. Thick meaty flesh and BLACK seeds. I've made them stuffed with meat sauce.

I love fennel salads with oranges and red onions, marinated in citrus juice for a while. thinly slice fennel also goes well with a Mesclun salad, orange segments, feta cheese, Kalamata olives and a little cucumber, with a honey-citrus dressing.

I buy Chinese peanut oil, which has a pronounced nutty flavour.I often use it with Canola oil ( which has no flavour at all) to stir fry Chinese food or to make Indian Pickles ( Mustard oil would be the natural choice, but it is completely unavailable here).

Santa Teresa is a Rum company from Venezuela. Venezuelan rum is very special because it has to be aged for a minimum of two years before it can be called " rum". The Bodega Especial is a selected rum, formerly set aside for special occasions, and now commercialized. Excellent stuff - I tried some at a wedding a few years ago.

This thread has really got me thinking about why I really like Kraft parmesan... Real Parmigiano Reggiano has to be aged for at least a year.It is made in Parma, and prepared in the winter months. That probably affects the fat content of the milk - although I'm not an expert on that. I'd be surprised if Kraft parmesan is aged for a whole year. Maybe, maybe not, but I'd have thought it would become commercially unviable to keep cheese in a Warehouse for a year. As for grating it - once cheese is grated, it begins to dry out. As it dries out, it loses flavour. There are chemical "flavour enhancers" available to maintain the "!100% Full Flavor!" but there's nothing like the real thing. Salt, MSG are two good examples. That doesn't mean you cannot like Kraft parm because it's not original. You can like what ever you want! Until I was 15, and was served fresh pasta on a camping holiday, I thought spaghetti came out of a tin and was served on toast!

I don't use the "green can" stuff because 1) it's not fresh 2) it has no flavour 3) it is exceedingly expensive 4) its texture is all wrong We have a huge Italian immigrant population in Venezuela. There are several cheesemakers here who produce acceptable Parmesan cheese. No, it's not the "real" thing, but at least you can buy it fresh, and grate it fresh on to your pasta. If you prefer the boxed stuff, fine - I'd venture to say you're missing out on flavour. Same goes for the pre-grated stuff. It's a question of choice. You don't like cheese on your pasta? That's ok, too. For the two minutes it takes to remove a small piece of cheese from the fridge and grate it on to your pasta, I think the taste is eminently better.

There are thousands, possibly millions of Spanish immigrants here in Venezuela. A "Tasca" is the common local bar, so when you go into one and sit down, you get tapas. They can come in all shapes and forms. Maybe a little "Pulpo al Gallego" - marinated octopus; maybe some " Pimientos de Padrón" - tiny, jalapeño sized peppers cooked gently in olive oil with salt added - and 1 out of 20 is "picante" - spicy! Maybe "Camarones al ajillo", maybe "Champiñones al ajillo", maybe a little cup of spicy broth made with stewed tripe ( called " Mondongo" here); maybe some thinly sliced Beef Tongue in escabeche. Even the simplest ideas are wonderful. Tonight some friends appeared unexpectedly and I made "Banderillas" - a square of fried bread, a slice of Chorizo Vela, a sundried tomato, a pitted green olive with a caperberry inside, all served on a cocktail stick. Never underestimate the simplicity of Tapas.