Tapas Anyone? A La The Bitchy Gourmet
I was reading a book and began to salivate for want of tapas. I've been to Spain a few times traveling throughout most of the country. I love Spain. No. That's not right. I LOVE Spain. I love all of the variations of architecture, food, religion, and people. I love the windmills, the storks, the olives, the sun, the sky..OK, you get it. I might have written about this before so please indulge me if I have. If you go to Spain, you certainly can stay at the Ritz in Madrid or a 5 star resort on the Costa Del Sol or on Mallorca or Ibiza. But within the country itself, you must stay at The Paradores. These are historical building converted by the Spanish government into "hotels". And they are not hostels. They are former convents, monasteries, castles etc. and they are relatively inexpensive. Well, they used to be until the US dollar tanked in the Euro zone. Some are modern hotels but are still in keeping with the Spain of the past. Just Google "the paradores of Spain" and you'll get a map and description of each property. Driving in Spain is easy or there are high speed trains. Wait. Maybe in light of what just happened mentioning that might not be such a good idea. But what book were you reading that got you to salivate for tapas? It's a new book, non-fiction, that's entitled: The Telling Room, A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese by Michael Paterniti. This guy knows how to write about food. While he was in college in Ann Arbor, MI working on a master's in creative writing, he would go to Zingerman's Deli to occasionally indulge.He soon became a proof reader for the owner, Ari, who would scour the world for different delectables to offer in his deli. He would then write about his travels in a newsletter that was then proof read by Paterniti. Ari wrote about this cheese that he found in the mountains of north western Spain that was out of this world. It cost, at the time, $22 a pound, which in the early 1990's was an astounding amount. The author began to dream of this cheese. Strange. But after a while he did become a travel writer and eventually made it to Spain and did find the maker of the cheese...who no longer made the cheese because of the love, betrayal, revenge part. That's as far as I have gotten. So what the heck are you writing about then? My tapas menu I put together tonight, some homemade, others store bought. 
Tapas Menu Casa Bitchy Gourmet:
Purchased Spanish olives marinated in orange rind, bell peppers and paprika (Whole Foods)
Turkish dried figs sliced into quarters with a slice of manchego cheese and wrapped in a prosciutto slice (no jamon)
Sliced heirloom tomatoes in 12 year old balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper
Sliced button mushrooms sauteed with a little diced shallot in olive oil and butter, salt, pepper and freshly chopped rosemary
Peeled and deveined shrimp that have been marinated in garlic and olive oil,drain, reserving shrimp and garlic, then quickly heat the olive oil in a saute pan, add shrimp and cook just until pink on each side. Quickly remove with slotted spoon. Add cracked red pepper to shrimp. Then to the oil, with the heat turned off, addsteamed little neck clams, toss and add some freshly minced Italian parsley.
I served all of this with a great paesano bread from Whole Foods. Speaking of which, I left a whole bag of groceries in the bottom part of a small shopping cart. I called Whole Foods and they had put all of the items back but when I brought in my receipt, they just asked me to go through the store and bring to customer service the items I had left behind, and that was that. Senior moment!
I wanted to make this recipe but forgot to buy the chick peas. But I already had enough, don't you think?
Spicy Baked Chickpeas
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper or to taste
kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and dry by rolling them around in a kitchen towel. Combine the oil, paprika, cumin, salt, cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Add chickpeas and toss to coat evenly. Transfer the chickpeas to a parchment lined baking sheet and spread them evenly in a single layer. Bake until golden and crispy, 25-35 minutes, shaking the tray to toss after 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer chickepas to a serving bowl.
I also wanted to serve sliced cantaloupe with cracked black pepper for dessert. But that was too much....
Tapas Menu Casa Bitchy Gourmet:
Purchased Spanish olives marinated in orange rind, bell peppers and paprika (Whole Foods)
Turkish dried figs sliced into quarters with a slice of manchego cheese and wrapped in a prosciutto slice (no jamon)
Sliced heirloom tomatoes in 12 year old balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper
Sliced button mushrooms sauteed with a little diced shallot in olive oil and butter, salt, pepper and freshly chopped rosemary
Peeled and deveined shrimp that have been marinated in garlic and olive oil,drain, reserving shrimp and garlic, then quickly heat the olive oil in a saute pan, add shrimp and cook just until pink on each side. Quickly remove with slotted spoon. Add cracked red pepper to shrimp. Then to the oil, with the heat turned off, addsteamed little neck clams, toss and add some freshly minced Italian parsley.
I served all of this with a great paesano bread from Whole Foods. Speaking of which, I left a whole bag of groceries in the bottom part of a small shopping cart. I called Whole Foods and they had put all of the items back but when I brought in my receipt, they just asked me to go through the store and bring to customer service the items I had left behind, and that was that. Senior moment!
I wanted to make this recipe but forgot to buy the chick peas. But I already had enough, don't you think?
Spicy Baked Chickpeas
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper or to taste
kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and dry by rolling them around in a kitchen towel. Combine the oil, paprika, cumin, salt, cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Add chickpeas and toss to coat evenly. Transfer the chickpeas to a parchment lined baking sheet and spread them evenly in a single layer. Bake until golden and crispy, 25-35 minutes, shaking the tray to toss after 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer chickepas to a serving bowl.
I also wanted to serve sliced cantaloupe with cracked black pepper for dessert. But that was too much....
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