Churros

Growing up in Spain, churros are a food that takes me back to my childhood. My sister was visiting me last week and brought a block of 'chocolate de la taza' with her.  We decided making churros was in order.  I'm glad we did.  They were delicious !

125ml water
125ml whole milk
110g butter
pinch salt
2 pinches sugar
150g bread flour
3 eggs
canola oil, for frying

Bring water, milk, butter, sugar and salt to the boil in a medium saucepan. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a smooth ball.

Mix this ball in an electric mixer and mix on meduim low speed. When most of the steam has evaporated, add the eggs one at a time. Mix until it comes together. It should be thick and smooth.

Transfer, in batches, to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.

In a wide pan that has tall sides, fill with canola oil about 3 inches deep. Heat it til a wooden spoon stuck spoon side up in the oil has bubbles around it. Pipe the batter into the oil and cut with scissors. Fry them until golden brown. Remove the churros from the oil and sprinkle with sugar. Serve immediately with spanish hot chocolate.

my birthday dinner ....

it was my birthday a couple of days ago.

my husband planned the most amazing surprise !

you can read about the whole day over on my simple beauty blog but

i'm just going to cut and paste and share the food bits of the story for you here ...

let's start with ... my neighbors coming over with birthday cocktails

i love having neighbors who are such a bit part of our lives !



when rory gets home, he says

'would you be totally disappointed if i told you i've made a reservation for us at a restaurant ?'

ummmm ... let me think about this for a minute ?!

i still don't have to cook ?

i get to go out ?

yeah ... i'm good !

rory got a phone call just as we were ready to leave, from our friend craig

he said 'we've got a present for bonnie,

would you guys swing by and pick it up on your way to dinner ?'

up until that phone call, i had NO IDEA anything suspicious might be happening

after that ... i wondered if all wasn't as it appeared !

but ... i had NO IDEA of the amazing surprise that lay in wait for me

weeks of planning, international conversations, importing of food

so ... we get to C & J's place to 'pick up the present'

and the house is all decorated

and something smells incredible ... (and very familiar)

and then there were shouts of surprise and the faces of other friends i love

rory hands me an envelope and says

'this is my present to you'

inside the envelope is this menu .........



the foods of my childhood !

and VONGOLE !

(my requested birthday dinner every year since we had lived in Italy !)

now ... this is no easy feat ... because in my little girls mind, the vongole (clams)

HAVE TO BE IN THEIR SHELL

well ... you can't get that here ...

in fact, you can't get clams here at all, unless they are in a can

so Rory IMPORTED them from New Zealand

can you believe that ?!



the food was amazing.

APPARENTLY, they had been cooking all afternoon ... I thought Rory was 'working late' !

Here's the Patatas Alioli and the Champinones Al Ajillo con pan (with bread), of course.



And then came the never ending supply of Gambas Al Ajillo ... OH YUM !!



Master Chefs in action ...



Amazing team work ...



And here's the Traditional Vongole ... with homemade fettucine ...

I'll have to find out what recipe he used for this ... he said it was a Jamie Oliver one.



And the Vongole like my Mom used to make, only with a spicy Casa de Ross twist.

And this recipe too, I'll have to write it down and share it with you ... it's a spicy tomato sauce ...

mmmmmmm !!!



Do you know one thing I loved about this night ?

There were so many things I loved ... but here's just one.

I loved that I was the only known clam lover of the bunch but they still cooked this for me !

And (almost) everyone tried the clams ! Some even liked them !

All of these dishes were new to everyone besides me and Rory, and everyone tried them !

And again ... liked (and even loved) them !

I love the adventurous nature of this group of friends !

And I love that they love to celebrate life.

**

Mom ... Rory insisted that I take this photo for you ....

**

Empty shells !!



Cheesecake.

When we were little, it was tradition in our house that all birthday cakes had to be chocolate.

So ... we have gazillions of birthday pictures of us COVERED IN CHOCOLATE !

BUT, once we were old enough to request our own birthday cake preference ... mine was

ALWAYS cheesecake (with cherries on top) !

My sweet friend Donna recently learned this about me and though she had never made one

before, she baked me the most wonderful birthday cheesecake ! with berries ! oh my !



and Jodie made cupcakes

that I have yet to try

but some came home with us and I will be having one for breakfast !



I was crowned 'birthday queen' and actually wore my 'crown' for a good hour.

Not the mask though ... it was way too hot for that !



Spoiled ? Yeah ... I can't disagree.



I have an amazing, thoughtful, selfless husband,

kind, encouraging and giving children,

enthusiastic, creative and (SNEAKY!!) friends,

an extended family like none other,

friends all over the world (thanks to the Navy and now facebook !) that i love

AND

to top it all off ....



my very own website !!



I cannot wait for you all to see it !

Well ... you can sort of see it here but I've crossed off it's name (which you are going to LOVE)

because I don't want you to go there just yet.

I'll let you know when you can !

Craig and I are going to play with it a bit more first ...

by the way, Craig ... who is a music lover, not a web guru, designed this !

Look out world !

**

All in all ... this has been my best, most favorite birthday ever.

Thanks to everyone who was a part of it !

~ bon ~

Chunky Spanish Garlic Bread

I thought I had posted this previously but when I went to find the link for a friend I discovered that I had, in fact, NOT posted this here at all. It's a crime, really. The world needs to know about this bread. I learned how to make it from my Mom ... I think there is a story about how she learned to make it but I can't remember it right now.

Mom ... is there a story ?

All you need for this is ... some yummy bread.
I usually use a french stick but that
wasn't available this time so I
used a loaf and man
was it good !
We will
use
it
from
now on ! As
well, you will need
heaps and heaps of garlic.
Seriously ... heaps and heaps and heaps.
Also ... olive oil, and butter. I used both but you
could use one or the other ... it's totally up to you and your
taste buds. So ... chop up your garlic. Then heat your butter/oil in
a small fry pan. Cook up the garlic til it's a soft brown. Don't burn it.
Pour the butter/oil and the garlic onto the bread that you have
chopped into big fat chunks and placed on a baking tray.
Put the tray into a pre-heated oven. I think I had it
on about 180 since I'd just pulled the lasagnas
out. You don't need to leave it in too
long. Just long enough to make
the bread go a bit crunchy
on the outside and
warm on the
inside !!

mmm, mmm, goood !

you can see we
don't put as much
garlic on the kids as we
do on ours. they pick it off
and we figure ... no use wasting
good garlic when we could be eating
it ourselves !! when you are ready
to eat the bread, get your fork
and push the garlic and
yummy butter bits
down into the
bread !!

Patatas Alioli

Garlic Potatoes

2 pounds potatoes
salt
4 to 6 garlic cloves (I used 6)
1/2 cup mayo
fresh flat leaf parsley, 12 sprigs

Chop potatoes into big chunks like you'd do for potato salad.
Boil 'em to desired tenderness.

While that's happening, mix the garlic (that you've done in your garlic press), and the parsley (that you've chopped), with the mayo.

When potatoes are done, drain, and let cool. (I put mine in the fridge for 10/15 minutes.)
Then mix potatoes with mayo.

Done.

Enjoy.

Yes, you will have garlic breath.

Yes, it is worth it !!

I served this tonight with Pollo en Salsa de Ajo.

Pollo en Salsa de Ajo

I got this recipe out of The Food Of Spain - A Journey For Food Lovers, a great cookbook that some friends gave me a while back.

Chicken in Garlic Sauce

(my modified version)

1 kg chicken. They called for thighs. I used breast.
olive oil
paprika
salt
pepper
8 - 10 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/4 cup fino sherry
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 bay leaf
flat leaf parsley

Cut the chicken into thirds. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a fry pan over high heat. Cook the garlic (in it's skin) 'til brown. Doesn't take long. Remove. Cook the chicken in batches, til browl all over. Return all the chicken to the pan. Add the sherry. Boil for 30 seconds. Add stock and bay leaf. Sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, on low heat for 10 minutes.

While that's cooking, squeeze the garlic from it's skin. Add a good handful of parsley and pound to a paste using a mortar and pestle. Stir into the chicken, then cover and cook for 10 more minutes.

Serve hot.

Gambas Al Ajillo aka "Garlic Shrimp"

Gambas Al Ajillo

1/2 to 3/4 pound shrimp, shelled
Coarse salt
8 Tablespoons olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and very coarsely chopped ~ we use much more than this !!
1 dried red chili pepper, stem and seeds removed, in two pieces
1/2 teaspoon paprika, preferably Spanish style
1 Tablespoon minced parsley

Dry the shrimp well and sprinkle salt on both sides. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Heat the oil in four ramekins or one shallow 8-inch casserole, preferably earthenware, by placing in oven. Add the garlic and chili pepper, and when the garlic starts to turn golden (be careful not to overcook) add the shrimp. Cook until shrimp are just done. Sprinkle in the paprika, parsley, and salt. Serve immediately, right in the cooking dish if possible.

Provide lots of good bread for dunking !!

Champinones Al Ajillo aka "Garlic Mushrooms"

I am posting this recipe since I took the photos and wanted to post the recipes, but my cousin Pam did all the leg work, typing and emailing them to me since I forgot to copy them while we were there !

Champinones Al Ajillo

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound mushrooms, stems trimmed, brushed clean, whole if very small, or cut in 1/4-inch thick slices
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced ~ We definitely do more !!
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons dry (fino) Spanish sherry
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon paprika, preferably Spanish style
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 Tablespoon minced parsley

Heat the oil in a skillet until very hot and stir fry the mushrooms and garlic over high heat for about 2 minutes (I've found that the mushrooms soak up the oil very quickly, so I usually add a bit more). Lower the heat and stir in the lemon juice, sherry, broth, paprika, red pepper, salt, and pepper. Simmer a minute or two (may be prepared ahead and reheated right before eating), sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Pimientos de Padron - aka "Dancing Peppers"

Ok ... here we go.

Recipe number one for Spain ... a month late but too bad ... I should get through all of them before the end of Feb. Don't worry, I'll be doing Indian as well ... I'm cooking the first one on Sunday !

So ... here's what you need for this simple and delectable dish.

Olive oil
Little Peppers (see photo !)
Coarse salt - I used Himalayan Rock Salt

1. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat until very hot.
2. Add whole peppers (I chopped the stems off) and fry until browned on all sides.
3. Remove from skillet; drain on paper towels.
4. Sprinkle with salt.
5. Serve.
6. Try not to eat the whole plate without sharing ! I dare you !!

Have you got a great Spanish recipe you'd like to share ??
Post it to your blog and then come back and leave us a comment - we'll stop by and check it out !

Or if you'd prefer to share Indian ... we've got a Mr. Linky up for the month of Feb !!

Back on Track ... Tapas to Follow

Remember my "Foods of the World" idea ? We had some great posts but then I went on vacation ! For six weeks ! and didn't post a darn thing between the 22nd of November and the 16th of January !! But now, I'm back and I'm excited to finish up January posting Spanish recipes !

While I was home, we had a tapas night that was to die for ! Seriously ! I'm going to tantalize you with some photos of the recipes that are to come ... You're going to love it !!

Foods of The World - November 2008

Let's go to Spain ! Oh how I wish I really could ... but for now, I'll have to make do with just going there in my kitchen !! And on the beans blog ... in your kitchens !!

To get you started, I'm going to give you the link for a wonderful website that has amazing recipes. The people who run this site are friends of our family from way back !!

If you live in the States or Canada you can even order food from them ... but I'm really just directing you to the recipe section ! There's some yummy stuff in there !!

So ... get your research hats on. Find your recipe. Get cooking and photographing and posting ... I can't wait to see what you all do !!

(click on the La Tienda "photo" to go to the website ...)