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I found a great wine shop in Spain. In San Sebastian, about an hour (or two, depending on your route) East along the coast from Bilbao. It's Vinos Ezeiza, on Prim 16 (+34 943 46 68 14). (Finding it was not accidental. I asked the sommelier at Akelare to recommend a wine store in San Sebastian.) It's a dusty old shop, filled with interesting wines. Mostly Spanish, mostly Riojas, but lots of other stuff as well. (He had a bunch of Vega Sicilia wines that were outside my price range.) And older stuff: wines from the 50s, 60s, and 80s. Some French, even. The old guy who runs it speaks no English, but he's great. He definitely knows his stock. This is what I left with. (I flew to Spain with an empty 12-bottle wine shipper.) 1 x 1964 Vina Albina Rioja 2 x 1982 Montecillo Gran Reserva Rioja 3 x 1991 Vina Real Gran Reserva Rioja 2 x 1994 Vina Real Gran Reserva Rioja 1 x 1995 Vina Real Gran Reserva Rioja 2 x 1994 R. Lopez de Herdia Rioja 1 x 1995 R. Lopez de Herdia Rioja And he gave me a bottle of local Basque white as a gift. I'm going to buy some cod to have it with. Most of the bottles were 20 or 25 euros, with the older three being as much as 50 euros. (My total bill for the 12 wines was 330 euros.) I have no idea how often anyone gets to this part of the world, but if you do happen to get there this shop is worth a trip. He said that he's open from 8:00 to 8:00, without a siesta.

Anyone here willing to share recipes for frango no churrasco? I've heard that in Algarve they do make tasty chickens that way thanks

Wonder what type of toppings and how porras are served? Is there any savoury porras or just sweet tooth things? thanks

Adria is now hawking Lay's potato chips (I am not making this up). Now, don't get me wrong--the potato chips were delicious, and I would never turn down an opportunity to dine at El Bulli, but does anyone else think that Adria's pushing the envelope of overexposure? He has truly become the "Wolfgang Puck" of Spain: [edited for typo] Note from the host: This topic has been split from elBulli 2006 reservations

Can someone tell me the best place to buy Moroccan "supplies" (ie. olives, spices etc.) in Madrid? Believe it or not, I will be carrying them back to Mexico (along with everything else).

I know in Sicily couscous is still prepared and there is even an International festival. I'm invovled in a discussion about Brazilian cuzcuz elsewhere with a Brazilian woman who tells me that cuzcuz in Brazil is mainly consumed during the Junine Feast. She tells me that there are Portuguese, African and Italian recipes.

I had the menu planned, than realized that one of the guests was allergic to seafood so I've re-hashed the whole thing at one in the morning to a Spanish tapa's menu (as we have Spain on the brain) sort of. Still one seafood tapa on the menu, but he can avoid that one. All the white wine drinkers in the group prefer "oaky chardonnays". Any rec's (and no razzing about the oaky chardonnay drinkers ) for Spanish whites around the $15.00-20.00 dollar range? I've never really drank that many Spanish whites (not my cup of tea), so I have no clue. I'd appreciate any input on this. Here's the menu, such as it is. Best I can do late night for a party tomorrow, starting at 4 or so. -Roasted Tomatoes with Thyme & Goat's Cheese on Puff Pastry -Lemon/rosemary/roasted garlic with sun-dried olive marinated BBQ'd chicken skewers (marinated, BBQ'd, cooled and then marinated in fresh marinade till serving time, to be flashed before serving, or maybe I will serve them cold depending on the weather and the time line) -Prawn Skewers done in the same way as above with a different marinade...any Spanish type ideas are welcome. -Roasted Asparagus wrapped with Serrano Ham -Portobello and Crimini Mushroom Pizza with Porcini Powder and some sort of cheese that I can't remember, before I froze it two weeks ago....maybe pecorino? Blueberry Limoncello Tiramisu made of course with home-made, egullet approved, Limoncello For the red I'm going to go with Las Rocas, Garnacha, 2003 (good cheap plonk and if it's good enough for Parker, it's good enough for the family)! My family wouldn't know the difference however, except if no oak was involved in their whites. cm

I will be in Barcelona and elBulli in the end of this month. Of course I would like to bring a few food items back with me. What should I bring back? Cheeses, chocolates, wine,...? What shops are a must-visit? Thanks Elie

In Cucina Paradiso the heavenly food of Sicily by Clifford Wright he discusses cucina arabo-sicula. Is there a similar sort of folklore about Arabic or Moorish influences in Spanish or Portuguese cooking? Are there any books on the subject? Tommaso d'Alba, a Sicilian writer wrote La Cucina Siciliana di Derivazione Araba. Are there any books or articles about the Moorish influences in Spain or Portugal? I consider Oran, Algeria to be very Spanish influenced. The Spaniards came in in various stages of history and of course many Moors and Moriscos settled there. We have Spanish loan words in our derja (dialect). Sometimes it gets a bit confusing because an Arab loan word into Spanish came back to Algeria in it's Spanish form and became part of the local derja rather than the original Arabic word. Oranian Rai music has Andalusian influences.

I will be in Madrid and Barcelona for vacation in a few weeks, and I'm looking for recommendations on bookstores, which have a large selection of cookbooks or are exclusively cookbook stores. Does anyone have any recommendations? And, do the stores have selections/translations in English?

HI! I've thought about a fun idea those from us who live in Barcelona could undertake... How about taking 30 € to La Boqueria market each and seeing what do we cook out of it? I don't know, I think this might stretch out culinary muscle. Then we can write the menu each one of us cooked so that everyone else at the forum can have a look. Would anyone be interested in this? How do we go about it --- are everyday, back of the pantry groceries like flour and oil included? What do you reckon? Just think aloud. Mar

I just bought some queso valdeon cheese from the supermarket (although it was labelled queso valdon) . the cheese counter guy there couldn't tell me much about it. our exchange was as follows: me: wow, what kind of cheese it that? clerk: it's blue cheese. me: I can see that. what can you tell me about it? clerk: nothing. it's from spain, and it's wrapped in grape leaves *awkward silence* Anyways, I bought 100 grams and tried it as soon as I got home. I love it! It's very strong and complex, but not overpowering. Can anyone tell me anything about it (typical age, what sort of milk etc..)? Any other Spanish cheeses I'm missing (I'm sure there are lots)?

Anybody know of a place in Barcelona to buy tomatillos? I've searched the markets and latino food shops to no avail.

We've just come from 4 days in Madrid and an evening in Toledo. In Madrid we ate at Casa Salvador where my wife's oxtails were superb but I can only rate the flavor of my tripe as good, though it was cooked perfectly. I thought Barbara was going to swoon over the roasted marrow bone and beef at Sacha. She started with a fresh tomato salad in a very light balsamic vinaigrette that was perfection. I had the fried artichokes - paper thin slices of baby artichokes fried in olive oil that had the texture of potato chips but were pure artichoke flavor. I followed that with brains that were superb - lightly battered and fried, slightly crunchy on the outside, milky soft inside. Barbara had a chocolate thing for desert and she flipped. I had something akin to creme caramel, but I have no idea what it was, other than outrageously good. I think it had cielo in the name, but since I asked the maitre d' to just pick out deserts for us I'm not sure what we had. Then on Tuesday we went to David Muñoz's Diverxo. Extraordinary. And that's saying something because we got off to a really bad start. Twenty minutes to get a glass of wine ordered from the time we were seated. Then, when asked if I'd like chopsticks to which I replied in the affirmative, none ever arrived, but the food transcended all. An amuse bouche of edamame seasoned, perhaps with sumac and something else with a buttermilk-like garlic dipping sauce. Then we both had the seven course tasting menu (the other choice being the thirteen course menu). The seven courses were actually around eleven since a course would often be divided into two halves served sequentially, like the poached prawn (it was called something else) that arrived followed by the grilled, seasoned, head and body with the juices from the body drizzled over the poached tail. Somewhere in the middle were white asparagus wrapped in the skin of red mullet - actually the meal involved parts of red mullet in several of the dishes, such as a pate of red mullet liver on a thin crisp. The courses that I sort of remember include the soup served in a young coconut shell where eating the coconut meat was a desired part of the experience, a steamed roll with a quail's egg yolk barely poached on top, an extraordinary piece of tuna cheek that tasted like a sous-vide cooked short rib, and a piece of ox cheek that had been slow roasted for 112 hours, a small piece of hake served sauced accompanied by a horseradish cream and spherified lime, and a desert which I no longer remember. Very, very highly recommended. Yesterday, we made our way to Toledo, where completely by chance we went for lunch to Adolfo. It turns out that the chef, Adolfo Muñoz, is David Muñoz's uncle. And he cooks like it. Not modernist, but brilliantly. Barbara had a simple "small" salad ordered off the menu which was beautiful and then a scallops and artichokes starter with fresh baby artichokes and incredibly dense scallops barely accented with maldon salt flakes that were perfect. I had a risotto of black rice cooked with squid ink and baby calamari and manchego cheese that was off the charts followed by red partridge that was excellent, but paled in comparison to the risotto. Excellent. Now we're off to Lisbon.

I'm spending a couple of days in Madrid next month, and would like to find out if there are any things - ingredients, cooking utensils, paraphernalia - that I should buy while I am there, and where these can be purchased. I known of jamon, olive oils. Thanks.

I just visited BCN and went to La Boqueria and Santa Caterina. I was most impressed with Boqueria but some people have told me others are better, cheaper, more respected by locals, etc. So what's the answer? What's the best, and how do we define best?

A friend from out of town is planning on opening a Spanish restaurant (not in NYC) He is visiting NYC next week to get a sampling of the restaurants for inspiration. I need to narrow down the options to 3 or 4 places. From random internet reading, i have the following list: Alta Casa Mono Socarrat and Nacional Boqueria Txikito Euzkadi Can anyone suggest some other places that are not to be missed? Also, please comment on these.

Hi, I have one extra ticket for 41degrees in Barcelona for 14 December at 8:30pm. The restaurant, Albert Adria's place, only seats 16 people per night and the experience is supposed to be incredible. I'd love to have someone join me. http://www.41grados.es/index.php#/faq Thanks!

I thought my first post should be a recipe to share with you all. It is one of the most popular dishes on my website. Shopping list pinch of saffron (azafrán)1 tsp oregano or thyme (orégano o tomillo)4 cups fish or vegetable stock (caldo de pescado o verduras)2 tsp sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce ahumado)1 bay leaf (hoja de laurel)olive oil (aciete de oliva)1 onion (cebolla)1 red pepper (pimiento rojo)3 garlic clove (dientes de ajo)2 cups of paella rice such as 'bahía-senia' or 'bomba' (arroz bomba o bahía-senia)1 large tomato (tomate)1 large fillet of white fish such as haddock or cod (filete de pescado blanco)handful of mussels (puñado de mejillones)handful of clams (puñado de almejas)4-6 large prawns (langostinos)parsley (perejil)chives (cebollinos)freshly ground black pepper (pimienta recién molida negro)Method for Seafood Paella recipe Warm the saffron in a medium saucepan for about 30 seconds and then add 4 cups of stock, the paprika and a bay leaf. Simmer very gently. If using whole prawns, break off the heads, remove the shells and de-vein. Then add the heads to the stock (if using vegetable stock) and put the prawn bodies to one side. Tip: to prepare whole prawns, just break off the heads by twisting with your hands and then carefully pull the shells away from the belly. Once removed you will notice a thin black line along the prawn, this often contains grit and sand. Run a knife along this line and then remove the vein with the tip of the knife. Warm two tablespoons of olive oil in a paella pan and then add the very finely chopped onion, pepper, oregano and garlic. Soften for about 7-8 minutes. Tip: leave some longer strips of pepper for garnishing. Add the rice and stir well. Then grate the tomato into the rice so the flesh passes through the grater but the skin does not. Continue stirring until the rice starts to dry out. Drain the stock, add half to the rice and simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, wash your clams and mussels, removing any grit and cutting off the beards. Then, add the clams, mussels and prawns to the pan, pushing down into the rice and then add half of the remaining stock and simmer for about 7 minutes. Cut the haddock fillet into small portions and fry in a splash of olive oil in a separate hot pan, skin-side down for about 4 minutes until the skin is browned and crisp. Remove and place to one side. Tip: when crisping the skin of fish, try not to move it while it is cooking as you will damage the skin. After about four minutes on a high heat you should be able to ease a palette knife under the skin and lift. Add the rest of the stock to the pan and simmer for 5 more minutes and then add the fish pieces, flesh-side down and continue to simmer for a couple more minutes until the liquid is all gone. At this point you should taste the rice and it should just be cooked. Season with pepper and then remove from the heat, cover with foil and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Finally garnish with parsley and chives and serve with bread and lemon wedges. This seafood paella recipe is perfect for sharing with friends and family and always raises a smile. Enjoy!

Hi everyone, I just had to re-sign up since it's been awhile I wanted to let you all know the awesome news that I will be releasing a book at the end of the year about my time learning the charcuterie and butchery of Spain. It's called Charcutería: The Soul of Spain, and will have a foreword by James Beard award-winning chef José Andrés. The book is going to have a bunch of traditional techniques and recipes for Spanish charcuterie and pork butchery, as well as recipes and other little tricks I picked up working with the folks in the Extremaduran countryside. My photog and I just got back from visiting Spain for the photoshoot and the guys up in Asturias did a little video about it. Here's the link to the video: http://www.whereisasturias.com/?p=6602 And a link to our FB page (Lots more photos... please like!): https://www.facebook.com/charcuteriaspain?ref=ts&fref=ts Please feel free to write me if you have any requests or questions for the book--really trying to make something that my fellow meatheads and sausage nerds can get into. Ciao, jeff PS: As a little offering to my hopefully-new eGullet pals here's a sexy photo from the Jamón slicing shoot. Tatoos and meat...

I will be in Barcelona and San Sebastian for about 10 days in late September and early October. I am a serious home cook and am interested in high end cooking classes specializing in either contemporary cooking techniques or regional specialties. Any recommendations are greatly welcomed.

My boyfriend is heading off to Barcelona, and asked the inevitable question: 'Anything I should bring back?' My reply of 'Anything that looks delicious or interesting' didn't help much. I've never been to Spain, and have no idea of what sorts of edible/drinkable things are worth finding and bringing back. Various sites promoting Spain/Barcelona aren't that helpful, since they push what they want to sell/figure will appeal to tourists, and those aren't likely to be the most interesting or noteworthy things. We're interested in everything from low-end, mass-market items, to high-end specialties, as long as they can survive and are permitted on short-haul, EU flights (some of the more durable seasonal produce, perhaps?). Also, since my boyfriend will be spending the majority of his time at a conference, he's unlikely to have a chance to do any really intensive or out of the way hunting, unfortunately. Anyway, if you have have suggestions (things you ate there/brought back/wished you'd brought back/were given by someone who'd been there), I'd love to hear about them!

Our staff is planning an after-exams dinner / staff meeting. One of the restaurants we looked into offered sopa de pederas as a soup choice. I gathered that "stone soup" is Portugese and is made with anything that's on hand with appropriate seasonings, seafood of some sort? I need more information so we'll have some idea of what to expect. Thanks!

I have a recipe for making romesco sauce and roasted chicken breasts. In the directions, it says the sauce can be made ahead and chilled for up to two days before serving. However, the directions don't specifically state the sauce should be reheated before serving with the roasted chicken. Soooo, is this type of sauce traditionally served cold, hot, room temperature or it just doesn't matter?

Just to let you know, I was passing by Gold Gourmet on Ortega y Gasset the other day, and noticed that they now have a fishmongers about 4 doors down from the fruit etc. shop. I didn't have the time to go in, but I got the impression that it was quite new. They looked like they had a good selection, and if the other shops are anything to go by, it should be good quality (if not a little pricey!). Has anybody tried it?