barcelonabites

I just started going to the Hofmann culinary school in Barcelona and last week we did eggs. One of the ways we prepared the eggs was to basically poach them in hot oil, in other words, we deep-fried them. The chef instructor said that this was the way that grandmothers do it but I don't remember my grandmother (or anyone else for that matter) frying an egg like that! Everyone else in the class seemed to think it was a fairly normal thing to do. I'm American though so maybe this is something unique to Spain? Has anyone ever seen this done in the US? I'm not talking about just frying the egg in a lot of oil- I'm talking about literally dropping the egg into a saucepan FILLED with super hot oil. It tasted great in the end by the way!

That's actually a really great idea. I could call it "The Language of Food" or something like that. I also love words and their histories so it would be fun. Thanks!

Hi Everyone, I have a newspaper interested in ideas for a food column and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions? What aspect of food culture would you love to read about (on a monthly basis!)? The audience would be quite international so it shouldn't be anything too region-specific. I would LOVE to hear your ideas!!

Wow, I always thought I was the only person over 15 years old who liked canned green beans more than fresh. Nice to know I´m not alone out there!

I've been thinking about this question lately and I just read something about it on the Word of Mouth blog. I'm sort of undecided. As a new food blogger, I feel like I should take pictures of the food I want to write about when I go out to a restaurant but I'm really not comfortable doing it. At the same time, I don't mind when other diners do it...

I too am a user of canned broth I don't like oysters I lived in Japan for three years but don't really like raw fish (unless it is hidden in a maki roll) I like milk chocolate better than dark I like KFC mashed potatoes I only recently started to enjoy asparagus I live in Spain but am pretty indifferent to ham My five-year old son is more adventuresomethan I am when it comes to offal One of my all-time favorite meals has Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup as a primary ingredient

I grew up in Salt Lake City and my favorite place to eat scones was at Johanna's Kitchen in Sandy. It's been a while since I've lived there so I don't know if it's anywhere near I70 but even if not, it's worth it- they are homemade and delicious! Until reading this, I never realized that Utah has their own kind of scone but now this explains why I was so confused when I moved to ny to go to college and everyone else had a completely different conception of what a scone was than I did...

I'm taking a Catalan cooking class and this week we made pig's feet I really really wanted to like them but I didn't... Does anyone make these at home and if so, how do you prepare them? Also, is it easy to find them in the US?

Can any of you give me some good tips on how to clean my cast-iron grill. I am finding it to be a complete nightmare. I grilled some chicken with bbq sauce the other day and the sauce got caked into the ridges and IT WILL NOT COME OFF.

I have heard excellent things about Carme Ruscalleda's Sant Pau in San Pol de Mar. I just moved to Barcelona a few months ago and haven't been there yet but am planning to go for my birthday next month! Have fun! J

Simone and Ines Ortega (the ones who did 1080 Recipes (sort of like Spain's Joy of Cooking) just put out a new book called The Book of Tapas. I haven't seen it yet but at least in 1080 Recipes, the recipes are usually simple and easy to follow. http://www.amazon.com/Book-Tapas-Simone-Ortega/dp/0714856134

Hello! I live in Barcelona and have a friend who attended the Espai Sucre pastry school. She knows EVERYTHING about sweet stuff in Barcelona so I asked her to compile a list of the best places for chocolate in Barcelona. I have pasted what she said below. Also, I just started a web site (www.barcelonabites.com) dedicated to Spanish cuisine and I have listed some resources there as well (related to culinary classes and seminars in Barcelona). I don't know if you speak Spanish but if so, it might be fun to take a short one or two day pastry course?! Anyway, if you need any help or have more questions, feel free to send me an email. I might not be able to help but I'll try! Johanna PS. Another great culinary resource for Barcelona is the Know Food gastronomy bookstore in Gracia (www.knowfood.es). Sergi the owner speaks perfect English and is always giving me recommendations on where to go and eat yummy things! Barcelona Chocolate Taster’s Guide Top Choices: Bombones Blasi, C/Alfonso II (Sant Gervasi) Dark chocolate and milk chocolate cat’s rongues never leave a bitter aftertaste, have a velevety texture, perfectly balanced some of their bombones are exquisite Canal (Sant Gervasi) The pasteleria and café: c/Muntaner, 566 (it’s way up near c/Bonanova) Everything is excellent, their Horchata is excellent too Pasteleria only: c/Cavet, 15 (near Plaza Francesc Maciá) Bubó (Chef Carles Mampel) c/Caputxes, 10 (Borne) design of his pastries is exquisite: http://www.thequenelle.com/2009/12/i-apologize-for-delay-in-posting-it.html http://www.bubo.ws/ café: c/Bruc, 150 (Eixample) Enric Rovira (Corts) Avenida Josep taradellas, 113 http://www.enricrovira.com/ his packaged chocolates are available in most gourmet shops Oriol Balaguer Plaza Sant Gregori Traumaturg, 2 (Sant Gervasi) http://www.oriolbalaguer.com/ his packaged bombones can be found at Casa Gispert Cacao Sampaka (Eixample) Café and shop c/ Concell de Cent, 292 created in part by Albert Adriá Their Aztec blend of hot chocolate is a must for the die hard chocolate lover even in the summer. Have it with melindros (lady fingers) There’s enough in one serving to share Baixas c/Muntaner, 331 (Sant Gervasi) Rambla de prat, 27 (Gracia) http://www.baixas.es/ Foix Mayor de Sarria, 57 (Sarriá) http://www.foixdesarria.com/ This place isn’t top choice for me for chocolate but their pastries and bread are excellent They have an interesting and delicious nutmeg laced custard filled pastry called a Llobet, which I’ve never encountered in any other pastry shop At xmas time they make an exceptional filled marzapan loaf called Pan de Cadiz and crema quemada which has it’s own reputation Casa Gispert (Borne) c/Sombrerers, 23 http://www.casagispert.com/ This isn’t specifically a chocolate shop but a dealer in dried fruits, spices, grains. They are master nut toasters and have the oldest nut toasting oven in the city. They’re known for high quality and they supply many of the best restaurants in BCN. They make some of their own bombones, one is a chocolate covered fig, and the catanies which are chocolate covered almonds or hazelnuts, and choclate covered candied oranges. They carry a selection of Enric Rovira and Oriol Balaguer chocolates. Second Choices: Escribá La Rambla, 83 http://www.escriba.es/ very good chocolate croissants and pastries This is one of the oldest bombonerias with a tradition of good quality Xocoa This became a franchise about 6 years ago. The original shop was on c/Peritxol, 11. The quality went down significantly. They have shops all over the city. The chocolate is exposed to air and loses it’s quality. They must manufacture massive amounts to stock all their shops. Once you get used to eating great chocolate in Barcelona, you notice the difference. I think they’re intended market is tourists.