Search the Community

With the program looking to be particularly outstanding, I am giving serious thought to heading to Madrid for Madrid Fusión 2008, but will need to do so on a serious budget. Food, of course is the first priority, but good inexpensive lodging will go a long way to allowing for more to spend on food. I have a few questions, answers to which may be helpful to myself as well as others attending this event or simply traveling to Madrid. 1. What are the current can't miss restaurants in Madrid? 2. Recommendations for good, inexpensive hotels with reasonable access to the conference as well as places I would want to go in Madrid. Metro is probably the desired mode of transportation. Any do's and dont's regarding the metro? Economical access options for the metro? 3. Strategy for attending the conference. Can anyone relay a good strategy for getting the most out of the conference? Is food available there? Can one actually get to everything or will difficult choices need to be made? I will be interested in people's experiences navigating past conferences. 4. Post Conference. I am thinking of extending my trip for a few days after the conference. Possibilities include San Sebastien, Sevilla, Galicia or simply staying in and around Madrid. My first choice would probably be to head up to San Sebastien to score a couple of specific meals. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to do that most economically? I will be traveling solo. Planning time is running short. Thanks for any help you can provide. You can, I think, safely assume that I will report back should I be able to put this trip together.

Happy New Year to All! I prepared cocotxas pil-pil for lunch today and they were UNBELIEVABLE!!! I would like to ask for recipes as the flavors and the flesh texture of the cheeks are extremely sensitive. In addition, what wine do you drink with the dish? Many thanks and Happy Eating!!!

Leftover turkey meat loaf, mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy: 2006 Abad dom Bueno, Bierzo Joven: This may be young vines mencia but this is good; very appealing nose of blackberry hard candy, earth and some red fruit hints; smooth and medium weight with a touch of grip, solid flavors that follow the nose, nice intensity and yet still supple; a medium length, clean finish. A new winery to me but one I‘ll keep an eye on. 13.5% alcohol, imported by Frontier Wines and about $12; I’ll buy more. Excellent with the meal. Chips, hummus and cheese: 2006 Dom. de la Fruitière, Muscadet Petit “M”: Fresh, clean, varietally correct with ripeness and cut; everything a Muscadet should be if its ready to drink young – and this is. 12% alcohol, imported by Jon-David Hedrick and about $9; a great price. Very good with the dish but even better without it. With no food: N/V Zardetto, Proseco Brut: Way to easy to drink and I have learned to buy them two at a time because everyone wants more. Not fancy but just delicious. 11% alcohol, imported by Locascio and about $12; I’ll buy more. With lobster risotto: 2006 J. Drouhin, Chablis: Fragrant with apples, lemon, seashore and flowers; fleshy but good cut with similar flavors that add licorice at the end, lovely balance, good depth, and extremely long. Unmistakably Chablis, ready to drink now and more a premier cru in quality than a simple village wine. 12.5% alcohol, imported by Dreyfus Ashby and about $20; I’ll buy more. Pasta with veggies, cheese, pine nuts and EVOO: 2005 Brunus, Montsant: 60% carignan, 35% grenache, 5% syrah; smoky, earthy, red fruit nose with spice accents, somewhat torrefied; rustic, big and somewhat alcoholic in the mouth but also ripe and deep with delicious, old-vine flavors that follow the nose, concentrated, grippy and intense; medium length. I’m not usually a fan of wines this big or from this region but this was better balanced then my description may indicate and had a visceral appeal. 14% alcohol, imported by Frontier Wines and about $20; I’d buy it again. Good with the meal. Best, Jim

I have just made some Chorizo sausage and would like to know the best way to store it. It has been hung for 21 days and lost 40% of its original weight and now has a fine white mould covering. As far as I know its now ready for the eating process, but I would like to store it for a while. My question is should I vac pack and does it need to be frozen or kept in a fridg. Does anyone know how it is kept commercialy? Thanks for any advise on this. Norm

I'm passing through Teruel in the first week of January and wondered if I would be able to get hold of some truffles. I won't be able to make it to the truffle market in Mora de Rubielos (sp.?) so wondered if there were any shops which might sell them. A long shot, I know... ps these truffles seem to be T. melanosporum - same as Perigord truffle - does anyone know if the are as good?

Anyone hungry?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...7SubG9m5XV/fomz My friend who follows tabloid news sent me this tidbit because she knows I'm a Mario fan. I highlighted the good parts. I wonder if they'll be cooking or just travelling and eating. Gwyneth Paltrow is putting Hollywood on hold to film her own TV cookery show, it was revealed. Although it's not too clear who will tune into a cookery show for Gwyneth's Paltrow's tips. But the cooking extravaganza, which is being made by American channel PBS, kicks off in October as Gwynnie and Mario take to the Spanish roads. The actress, 34, is a famously fussy eater and has been ridiculed in the past for her bizarre and strict diet regimes. They have ranged from strictly macrobiotic to Atkins to vegetarian-who-eats-fish diets. She still doesn't eat pork or beef, but is willing to sample other delicacies for the show. Gwyneth claimed: "I eat all that [spanish] stuff. The crazy fish things, the eels, I love it all." What about the Iberico ham and cold meats? The TV programme will pay homage to a country where Paltrow spent many childhood summers. It will also give her a chance to offer America a look at Spanish cooking. Channel 4 and ITV are currently in a bidding war to win the rights to show the programme over here. A source said: "This is so far removed from what Gwyneth is used to that the show is sure to be a ratings winner. It can't fail. One wonders if there's a macrobiotic recipe for disaster... "Even if it's proper car-crash TV it will be entertaining at least

Does anybody have any experience with The Spanish Pavillion in Harrison, NJ? Thanks.

I've noticed in looking through historic Iberian sources that there seems to be a number of recipes for cat. As the recipes are from general recipe collections, I assume this doesn't represent a response to famine or invading Prussians. Was this a widespread practice and how long did it continue for I wonder?

I'm creating a recipe for a contest and I need to get my hands on some Spanish specialty food items. Anybody know a great source/store in Boston or suburban West Boston???? Thanks! -Mark-

I did a search and could not find that a topic on malasada's had been started? ..of course if I am wrong please let me know and point me in the right direction. I have made them for years with good results my "recipe" (and I use that term loosely because I don't have one I just make up the dough to feel) includes AP flour, yeast, canned evap milk, sugar, salt, softented unsalted butter and a couple of eggs a very gentle kneading and a long rise then a fry in hot but not french fry hot oil about 300 degrees I am thinking until golden and they float on the top of the oil ..remove and toss in sugar (sometimes I use vanilla sugar) like I said I have made these for years with good results but they are more donutty than malasadaish (if those can be words) ...I would love them to be lighter ..fluffier and fantastic for this Sunday when I have to take them to work for my coworkers to judge (they are HARSH!!! and two of them are Portuguese!!!) the best malasada I have ever had was in Hawaii on the big Island at the Hilo farmers market a woman had made them then stuck two together with a good amt of butter spread in the middle then the whole thing was tossed in sugar ...it was melt in your mouth eggy buttery goodness ... suck your thumb twirl your hair good!!!! so please if you are good at making malasadas ..if you have a good recipe ..or if you just like talking about deep frying some soft dough to eat with sprinkled sugar all over them and you! ..(I think there was a thread about RI style doughboys at one point?) l would so appreciate it! thanks so much in advance

The following comment by vserna in another thread got me thinking: Is this also true of Barcelona? I have to say, the conversations I've had with butchers about buying aged beef have been fairly short and pointless. At markets I only ever hear people asking if the meat is "muy tierna" and buying tiny, quickly-cooked cuts. Decent buey seems to be the best bet but I am yet to find anyone who has any interest in hanging the meat let alone anyone who practises it.

I have just learned that Pti's blog is now in English and was interested that she was an expert in Creole food; so a question that has always interested me: why are the rhums from the French Departments (e.g. Guadeloupe & Martinique) aged and labelled 5, 10, etc years as is Cognac, Calvados, etc in the mother country but ron from ex-Spanish possessions (eg Cuba, Puerto Rico) has levels of quality but is not aged or labelled by years, whilst the mother country's Spanish Brandy is.

Hi all: While eating in Spain, how do you differentiate between authentic angulas and imitation ones? I have had angulas at a Spanish restaurant in the U.S., but could not say whether they were authentic or not. I will be visiting Spain in September, and would like to ensure I can try some authentic angulas. Thanks, Richard

When traveling there is almost nothing I enjoy more than visiting the local markets as they tell so much about a culture and its people. The Mercado Central of Valencia was one that I absolutely had to visit. I wasn't disappointed. The Mercado Central of Valencia has been undergoing renovations for over a year. While I had not seen it prior to the renovations, it is truly a magnificent building - the finest market architecture that I have seen. The modernist building designed by local architects, Soler March and Guardia Vich and opened in 1928 became the space for this market, one of the oldest continuing markets in Europe. My sense is that the Mercado Central is neither as large nor as varied as the Boqueria in Barcelona, its most obvious point of comparison. The day my wife and I visited was a day after it was closed for a holiday. We visited on May 2nd, which may explain a relative lack of quantity in the seafood stalls. Even so, the quantity and quality still far surpassed almost anything available in the United States. The photos will be presented as I took them, which is as we walked through the market and visited various stalls as opposed to groupings by type. I will let the photos speak for themselves. Explanations will be given where I think they are necessary. Otherwise, I will try to do my best to answer any specific questions. The nuts in the center of the photo are chufas or tiger nuts. These are used to make the Valencian specialty horchata. More to come...

Although there have been several times when we seriously doubted that we would make it, after a year of comings and goings we can finally write: we’ve got a stall at La Boquería market in Barcelona!! Let me write it again: we’ve got a stall at La Boqueria!! ‘We’ consists of 4 partners, including Silly Disciple, Oriol –blogger from buenoparacomer—and Juan, an experienced cook. A year ago, an opportunity presented itself to get ahold of a stall selling fruits and vegetables and break into the quite closed circle of Boquería owners. Our project, transforming it to a fresh, seasonal, artisanal made pasta. Looking at it with some perspective, it’s probably safe to say that installing a nuclear power plant in the Sagrada Familia it’s easier than changing what you can sell in a stall in the market, but with some luck and some help, we made it. We’ve worked during these months to develop some recipes and fillings and we’re eager to see how people react. We plan to document our progress in this thread, so more on fillings, ingredientes, sauces and pasta later. In the meanwhile, here are some photos: The Boquería Market The stall before chaos in form of construction began Chaos and destruction We'll keep this thread updated. Questions, ideas, suggestions are welcome.

How this place completely escaped my notice, even though I've been in its extended neighborhood for 16 years (since 1991), and even though it has been in business for 35 years (since 1972), I do not know. I actually had a close friend living on that block for many years, and I must have walked by the restaurant 300 times and never noticed it. I was invited to celebrate a friend's birthday there and, when I got the invitation, I was like "What the heck is this place?" Upon arrival, the first person I saw (totally unrelated to the party) was a friend from law school who lives in the East 60s. He was there with his wife and two-year-old girl. "Oh, we come hear like twice a week." Then we saw another couple we know, and they were like, "We used to come here all the time when we lived in the neighborhood; now we drive in from Westchester whenever we can." Now, don't get your hopes up. Malaga is not El Bulli. I'm sure nothing about the restaurant or the menu has changed much since 1972. The food is not fabulous. But it is quite satisfying. Wonderful homemade potato chips, addictive chorizo, shrimp covered in copious amounts of garlic sauce, mariscado (mixed seafood) with a green sauce (parsley, onions, Sherry and garlic) I wanted to put on everything else. The only really weak dish I tried was the paella, which was just not worthy (bland rice, no integration of flavors) -- though it perked up a bit with the addition of some green sauce from the mariscado. Portions are pretty big, and I would recommend treating it a bit like Chinese food and coordinating a whole-table order so you can mix and match from a few different dishes. We had to leave before dessert, but the desserts we saw looked mediocre. Malaga Restaurant 406 East 73rd Street (just East of First Avenue) New York, NY 10021 212.737.7659 http://www.malaganyc.com

For mid-May in all categories.

As it happens, rose' has been on my mind a lot this week. Summer is coming . . . Last summer, Dan (my SO) was visiting Stefan Asseo at L'Aventure Winery here in Paso Robles, and he came home with 6 delicious bottles of Stefan's rose' as a gift for me. I blew through those bottles; the wine was incredibly good and went with all our light summer fare--antipasto plates, shrimp, pasta salads, etc. When I hoped to get more, I discovered that Stefan was sold out. Lesson learned: I am starting my rose' shopping in April! And in keeping with that theme, Gabriella Opaz at Catavino has declared April to be "Spanish Rose'" month. But the catch is, you have to taste and compare a Spanish or Portuguese rose' to any rose' of your choice from elsewhere. Sounds like fun, huh? Catavino also has their own forum, (I love the "virtual tasting" graphic). Does anyone else have rose' on their wine shopping radar?

The neighborhood seafood market is stocked with beautiful Spanish mackerel right now. I enjoyed Pacific mackerel pan-fried years ago, and believe I've had the Spanish mackerel in sushi. Does anyone have any recipes or methods to cook it? They're only $2 a pound, so I want to pounce while they're available.

Does any one know of a bottle shop or licensed grocer that has a Spanish or Portuguese focus, in Melbourne?

We have a lovely Spanish gourmet store down the block, and ever since Docsconz's write ups, I've been wandering over there to experiment with different ingredients. Yesterday I came across "El Lobo", a soft almond paste, flavored with honey and pressed into a bar. They had crumbles of it to taste, and it was delicious. My question is: what it traditionally done with this almond bar? Just eat it? Use it as a pastry ingredient? I made it into a sort of gelato, finished with some saba syrup and candied/spiced orange peel. I was pleased with it, but kept wondering..."what are you 'supposed' to do with it?" Thanks!

Time and time again I come across recipes which suggest pimientos choriceros especially from The Basque country and Cantabria. Can anyone tell me what is its likely name in English and where I can find them preferably an image, thanks

So, as near as I can tell, chorizo is sometimes a salami-like sausage from Europe with a lot of paprika and a bit of a zing to it that happens to go really well with dried apples, and other times an incredibly spicy Mexican sausage, also with paprika that needs to be cooked but makes a mean taco. I have also been led to believe liguica (or linguica -- it seems to go both ways) is a milder version of chorico, but I'm hazy on what relationship, if any, chorico has with either chorizo. Is it more or less the same thing as the Mexican one?

Are there any Spanish/Small Plate type restaurants in Denver/Boulder?