Made in Spain Dinner, May 16, 2009

I cannot get over how talented this group of cooks is! We all thought that Jose´ Andrés cookbooks make a lot of assumptions about how much a person knows already about cooking. The instructions are very general, often inaccurate (for example his cooking times) and vary from his TV cooking show. We actually thought that some promoter came up to him with a way to make even more money…a cookbook! Because it is an attractive book with a lot of photos and goes through Spain region by region, it was appealing to us.

Several people in the group think that some of his ingredients, are too hard to find unless someone goes online and orders the ingredient from some exotic importer (and pay a fortune in shipping). I tried the Sweet Fried Dough, otherwise known as “Churros” to those of us who live in California and he wants it fried in EVO from Spain…and, after I roll the Churros in sugar, who can taste what it was fried in? I reduced almost a whole bottle of Tempranillo wine into a syrupy sauce for his strawberry dish. But because the recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of sugar to be added, as well as zests of an orange and lemon (and a bay leaf), I not sure the subtlety of the type of wine makes that much of a difference.

I did try his Baby Squid with Caramelized Onions (p. 163) and thought it was very good and worth the effort. His Cabrales Blue Cheese with Apples and Olive Oil (p. 105) is also a very good side dish for a pork dinner. I didn’t find any Cabrales cheese but used a good substitute from Oregon.

ANYway…on with the dinner results. We had 11 people and therefore 11 courses for our Made in Spain dinner. Everyone brought small portions so we could make it through the dinner. Bill selected Spanish wines that scored above 90 from the Wine Spectator magazine so we could explore wines throughout the evening as well. Jeffrey brought a bottle of his Mt. Eden 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon to share with his dish that everyone swooned over.
Our first tapa was Cherries as Olives (p. 72) prepared by Sandi W. She also brought a variation of the dish and stuffed them with anchovies or Pimentos. I personally really liked the anchovy stuffed cherries. It was a salty, sweet, tart, savory taste all at once. She also made the La Serena Toast with Lemon Marmalade (p. 106). She had to send for the cheese from Spain, via Virginia,so this cheese deserves it's own photo! It was a wonderful flavor combination of brioche bread, salty cheese and sweet/tart marmalade. Sandi said that it was her first attempt at a marmalade and it was pretty easy to do. Bill found an Aria Sparkling Wine Pinot Noir Brut, NV, from Segura Viudas Spain that everyone really enjoyed and thought was the perfect pairing to stand up to the intense flavors of the cherries as well as the lemon marmalade.

Next, Sandy P. served the Cold Almond & Garlic Soup with Figs & Marcona Almonds (p. 46). She initially thought it was going to be a very simple, quick recipe but he doesn’t mention that she was going to have to run the soup through cheesecloth several times and even after that, pass it through a fine sieve to get the silky texture that truly made the soup memorable! Also, since figs aren’t in season, we had to forgo that burst of sweetness. It was a wonderful dish that several people thought was one of the best dishes of the evening and would try it themselves. George made the Omelet with White Beans & Green Onions (p. 110) We each got a small pie shaped slice. It is a very savory dish that would be a wonderful light supper dish on a weeknight. A quick preparation that rewards with a delicious result. For these two dishes, Bill selected a very dry Roussanne wine from J. Scott Cellars 2007, Columbia Valley, Oregon. Although not sure how it would pair with the soup and omelet, it turned out to be perfect. It made a nice contrast, while enhancing the delicate flavors in these two dishes.

We enjoyed a second soup, this time a warm one, Basque Potato Leek Soup (p. 50) that Mary prepared. The recipe called for a cod but it is a very difficult fish to find so she substituted halibut that is more readily available in California. She tried the dish at home with halibut and found it to be a great compliment to the potato leek so it was what we had on Saturday as well. We then had another one of my favorite dishes of the evening, Mussels, Steamed with Bay Leaf, Pimentón & Potato (p. 160). A new member of our club, Marianne, prepared it and served it at room temperature. It could be that I happen to really love mussels but it had very subtle flavors that were enhanced by the simple potato bed upon which they were served. It’s a dish that I intend to try, now that I’ve tasted hers! Bill found another Spanish wine for us to try with these two dishes, Huguet de Can Feixes 2007 Blanc Seleccio Penedes Spain. This dry, white wine paired well with the simple flavors of the soup and mussels.

It was perfect that there was about 10-15 minutes in between courses that allowed for chatting, digestion and for Willie to get his photos taken of each course. His photos speak volumes in terms of the dish that he prepared. Seared Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Roncal Cheese (p. 58). This dish is visually a beautiful presentation, a reason by itself, to serve this tapa. He was able to find the Roncal cheese but it’s a pricey cheese so he also served a version of this dish with Machengo cheese. The Roncal is a harder cheese (like parmesan) but when it was heated, it had a very nice soft chewy texture. The Machengo is a much softer cheese with a milder flavor. It was a nice cheese to try with the peppers as well.

Jeffrey prepared a very time consuming dish that had disappointing results. He made the Chicken Wings Confit with Green Olive Puree (p. 194). The part of the wing that is used is the section with 2 bones and the recipe calls for deboning that wing once it’s been poached in the oil. Jeffrey used goose fat that he renders and saves from his roast geese dinners but the recipe called for olive oil. Deboning the wings into ONE piece is very frustrating and rarely turned into one piece. And, while it was an interesting experience, he would not make this dish again. However, the Green Olive Puree was absolutely delicious and everyone thought this puree could be used with other dishes very successfully. Jeffrey brought and decanted his own Mt. Eden 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon to go with his chicken wings. It had luscious California style fruit, very smooth after 19 years in the bottle…thank you Jeffrey for sharing! Bill also selected a Spanish wine, in keeping with the dinner theme, that was not as fruity as Jeffrey’s cab. Torremoron 2006 Tempranillo Ribera del Duero Spain. Tempranillo is a drier and lighter wine and for the lighter flavors of the Chicken wings, was a good pairing.

After all this food, you’d think we would be done but there were 5 more courses to partake! The main course, prepared by Annie, was the Pork Loin Baked in Sea Salt with Sliced Spanish Cured Ham (p. 184) . The preparation was beautiful. Annie even thought to put 2 little sticks inserted on the top of the loin and salt crust so she could insert a meat thermometer. Now there’s a cook who thinks ahead! When she cracked the salt crust, the loin had herbs across the top, creating a beautiful pattern. She thought the loin dish was rather “common” and not as extraordinary as she was expecting. The salt crust does create a moist roast but Mary thought it could be created without the hassle of a salt crust. The star of the evening was the Canary Island Style Wrinkled Potatoes (p. 90) with Mojo Rojo (p. 244). The potatoes were good but the Mojo Rojo was fabulous! We all thought it could be used as an accompaniment to other dishes and used often! Yummmm, I can still taste the garlic and pimentón! Janis, newly returned from her annual sojourn to Australia, brought Green Beans with Tomatoes & Pearl Onions (p.110) from another one of Jose Andres’ cookbooks: Tapas, A Taste of Spain in America. They were delicious and were the perfect side dish to the pork loin and potatoes. Bill paired the main courses with another Spanish wine, Raimat 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Bottled Coniusa. This cabernet was very different from Jeffrey’s but then it’s a 2001 vs his 1990 and it’s grown in Spain, not California! It went well with the pork loin and even stood up to the mojo rojo!

At last, finally, we came to last course of the evening. I decided to fry the dough at the last minute so we could have hot Sweet Fried Dough, “Churros” (p. 219). And because Annie was curious about the Strawberries with Madrid Wine, Herbs & Orange Zest (p. 208), I decided to make it to go with the fried dough. I doubled the recipe in order to have enough sauce for 11 people that took a bottle plus 1 cup of Tempranillo wine. I think the sauce can be made with any wine however since I added the zest of 2 oranges and lemons, 2 bay leaves and 8 tablespoons of sugar.
The recipe recommends that the fried dough be served with hot chocolate but since it was 90+º outside, I opted for Dr. Bob’s chocolate ice cream instead. Dr. Bob uses Scharffenberger chocolate and is a pretty dense chocolate ice cream. Bill’s general complaint is that ice creams are not chocolaty enough. I tried the Hagen Daaz Amazon Valley Chocolate ice cream and although it tastes creamier, it was not as chocolaty as Dr. Bob’s (which can be purchased at Andronico’s Markets). I have been on the eternal search for a wine that goes with chocolate…some people like Cabernet Sauvignon or port with chocolate but I personally don’t think they stand up to gourmet chocolate. I’ve tried FroZin by Meeker Vineyards, a wine made to go with chocolate but for this dinner I found a wine by Koda that actually has chocolate overtones, Koda Dessert Wine NV, Olde Shandon Port Works, Shandon, California
By winemaker standards, it is not a well-made wine because the chocolate is far too pronounced, however, it does go with chocolate desserts and even complements the flavors. It’s currently available at Trader Joes and very reasonably priced.

Other cooks tried other recipes in the cookbook and I hope they will add their comments to this blog. (hint! hint!)