Real Madrid

Wednesday night, Oscar and I were invited to go to a soccer game to watch Real Madrid and Sporting Lisboa play for the Santiago Bernabéu Trophy. It was an exicting game with lots of goals. Real Madrid defeated Sporting Lisboa 5 - 3. We had amazing seats and enjoyed a nice summer night at the stadium. It is tradition to bring your own sandwiches and eat them at half time. Oscar and I bought a Spanish tortilla baguette from one of my favorite restaurants/bars, José Luis, that is located close by. It was delicious! We would especially like to thank Iván and Molly for giving us the tickets. We had a great time.

Arroz a banda

Arroz a banda is like a paella but better because you don´t have to peel all the shell fish. Oscar is not a big fan of shell fish (mussels, clams, etc.) so he particulary likes this dish. He was very nervious when I made it for the first time because I made my own fish stock. We went to the grocery store together and when he asked what I was going to buy he freaked out because he thought I was going to bring home a 20 lb fish and clean it myself. I am a little crazy in the kitchen but not that bad. They sell just the bones, which is what I wanted because it is what gives the stock its flavor. I have also used premade fish stock and it works just as well. So if you don´t have a good fish store close by, just buy the stock.

Arroz a banda
1 potatoe, quartered
1/2 tblsp of olive oil
1/4 tsp of paprika
2 cups of water
2 tblsp of olive oil
100 grams of shrimp, shelled
100 grams of calamari
1 tomato, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of saffron
3 cups of fish stock (see recipe below)
1 cup of short grain rice (or risotto)
4 slices of lemon
1/2 roasted red pepper (see recipe below) or you can use jarred ones

1. Heat a small pot on high heat. Add 1/2 tblsp olive oil and then the potatoe but be very careful because potatoes have a lot of water and the oil will pop. Brown on all sides and add 1/4 tsp of paprika. Coat potatoes with paprika and quickly add the 2 cups of water. Boil on high for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are al dente but don´t overcook because they will continue to cook with the rice.

2. In the mean time, warm fish stock in aonther pot and add saffron.

3. Heat a large skillet on med-high heat. Add 2 tblsp of olive oil and sautee the shrimp and calamari. Once browned, add tomatoe and garlic. Sautee for about 2 minutes and add the paprika. Quickly add the fish stock. When the fish stock starts to boil, add the rice, lemon and potatoe. Top with roasted red pepper strips and cook for about 25 minutes on low heat until all of the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Note: You can shake the pan every so often but don´t stir the rice.

Fish Stock
If you make your own fish stock, skip steps 1 and 2 above.
1 potatoe, quartered
1/2 tblsp olive oil
Bones from a white fish
1 fillet white fish (hake, cod, etc.)
Shells and heads (if available) of 100 grams of shrimp
1 tsp of paprika
Salt
4 cups of water

Heat a small pot on high heat. Add 1/2 tblsp olive oil and then the potatoe but be very careful because potatoes have a lot of water and the oil will pop. Brown on all sides and add 1/4 tsp of paprika. Coat potatoes with paprika and quickly add the 4 cups of water. Add fish botes, fillet of fish and shrimp shells. Boil on high for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are al dente but don´t overcook because they will continue to cook with the rice. Add salt to taste. Reserve the potatoes and pass the stock through a colander. Keep the stock warm on the stove.

Roasted Red Peppers
1 red pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven at 450º. Slice red pepper into 1/4 long strips. Move to a bowl and mix with olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir to coat the peppers well then transfer to a baking sheet. Pour any extra olive oil over the peppers and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the peppers brown on one side. (Toss once while cooking,) When you take the peppers out of the oven, put them in a brown paper lunch bag and close. Let them sit for at leat 15 minutes to cool. This will help make it easier to peel them. Once cooled, peel the peppers and discard the skins.

Our little mascot

The owners of the vineyard found this little guy abandonded in the animal reserve they have across from the vineyard a couple of months ago. They took him in and have been taking care of him ever since. He loved plain yogurt and quesitos and was bottle-fed. Then he wanted off the bottle and get outside to stretch his legs. He had a little playground where he spent most of the day and moved on to heartier meals like lettuce. But that didn´t last long. He was anxious to explore beyond his corral and was released back into the wild yesterday. We wish him the best of luck and will always remember his little bark.

A Cookie Miracle!

I had tried everything ... different butter, different eggs ... I had even brought Parkay from home to try to make a good cookie in Madrid, and none of them ever worked out. Finally, after reading the blog A Merrier World and learning that flour in the European Community does not go through one of the bleaching treatments as it does in the U.S., which alters its effects in baking, I asked Angela to bring me some flour when she came to visit to test it out. This way I could narrow down the variables and see if it really was the flour or if I had to keep experimenting.

Turns out, it was the flour! I also think Angela was my angel of luck and contributed to the success. I told her that every time I want to make cookies, she would have to come help :) I am not going to lie, though, there were moments of doubt.

First, Angela agreed that the butter looked especially oily compared to what we are used to. Then when we added the eggs, the dough started to look more like cake batter than dough. Angela never lost hope. As we added the flour, things started to take shape (never better said!) Then we mixed in the chocolate chips by hand like mom does and started to drop them on the tray. We kept a close eye on them in the oven and when it came time to take them out, they looked great ... and tasted even better! They were delicious right out of the oven. But the next day, you could taste the butter more than the ones from home but they were still good. Unfortunately, we didn´t have tall glass of cold American milk to wash them down.

Now, I have to ration a 5 lb bag of flour until Christmas. In the mean time, I am going to experiment to try to make Kate Flour and see if I can do it. I mentioned in an earlier post that an amazing woman in the UK was determined to continue baking American desserts using the ingredients she could find locally and ended up developing Kate Flour - a flour, when heated, takes on the same characteristics of flour found in the U.S. I will let you know how it goes!

I would like to especially thank Angela for all of her help. If it wasn´t for her, I would´ve never known if the problem was the ingredients or the cook. Also, she was so kind to bring me a box, literally, full of kitchen things. Her suitcase exceeded the weight limit at the airport and she had to empty all of my kitchen things into a box and check it. She is too good to me!

Angela and I hand mixing in the imported chocolate chips.

Excited because the dough had the right texture and looks promising. Still nervous, though.

Success! They turned out just like my mom makes them.

Oscar and I having a cookie toast.

Grilled BBQ Tacos

I am all about making a great dinner out of leftovers and whatever I have in the pantry. You will also start to notice that I will take the same basic ingredients and make them into several different dishes. For example, BBQ Chicken Pizza and Grilled BBQ Tacos have a lot of the same ingredients but are two different dinners.

Oscar is a big fan of quesidillas. His favorite are ham and cheese and would eat them everyday, if he could. (I think he actually did when we lived in Texas!) Anyway, to keep dinner interesting, I turned the quesidilla into a grilled taco by using one tortilla instead of two and adding some cool veggies to it.

Rachael Ray has a section in her magazine called ¨no recipe zone¨, which are recipes that don´t have written instructions. This one would definitely qualify for one of those because you don´t really need to measure anything. And, if you don´t have all the toppings on hand, no worries - just use what you have or add something new.

You can see that I didn´t have red cabbage or tomatoes the last time I made these but they were still just as good! But I have to admit, I really like the crunch the red cabbage adds.

Grilled BBQ Tacos
Leftover chicken or pork (shredded or cubed)
BBQ sauce
Red onion (chopped)
Canned corn
Shredded colby-jack cheese
Tortillas
Cilantro
Lettuce
Red cabbage
Tomato
Hot sauce
Sour cream

Heat a skillet on high heat. Add meat and heat through until brown around the edges. Lower the heat to simmer and add BBQ sauce, corn and red onion. Set aside. Heat a clean skillet on medium-high. (You can add some butter to the pan, if you would like, but it doesn´t need it.) Place one tortilla in the pan and add BBQ meat mixture to one half of the tortilla. Top with cheese. Fold the tortilla in half to make a taco and flip so that it browns evenly on each side. Then top with lettuce, red, cabbage, tomato, hot sauce and sour cream. The cool sour cream goes great with the tangy BBQ sauce!

A Special Birthday Wish

Ya say it´s your birthday ... du na na na na nuh na .... You´re gonna have a good time .... Ya say it´s your birthday .... du na na na na nuh na ... Happy birthday to you!

Happy Birthday Chris! I love you!

Always an FHer at Heart

A close friend and colleague from Fleishman-Hillard, Alison, let me know that I made it on the FH web site. I am the face of the FH Alumni landing page :) To be honest, I am truly honored. I have never been more proud to have worked for company than I have for FH. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding positions that I have ever experienced. And, the best part of it, was the people. I met some of the most amazing people along the way that still inspire me today.

Delightfully Distracted

I apologize for not posting lately. I have been delightfully distracted. My sister, Angela, came to visit and Oscar and I were busy preparing for her arrival. It is such a blessing to have her here. Oscar organized a fabulous trip for the three of us to go to Ibiza last week and we had a blast. (I will post some photos soon.) We enjoyed a lot of great beaches and amazing food! I can´t wait to share them with you.