Spanish Cuisine!

Spanish cuisine is an awesome medley of different flavors, and it's a significant departure from the styles of cuisine we see in the U.S. Try one of these classic Spanish recipes/foods, and you'll see just how different and delicious Spanish cuisine is!

• Tapas- these are small dishes commonly served in special tapas bars in Spain. Tapas can range from simple olives and cheeses to paella, seafood, and tortilla espanola (I'll discuss those later). Tapas are awesome because they can be so simple. Next time you have a small party, consider putting out some salami or little squares of tortilla espanola with olives- it's a quick and easy way to infuse your party with Spanish flavor and stretch your dollar. It's also a refreshing change from the usual cheese and crackers with wine :)
• Tortilla espanola- I discussed this in my first entry. This is basically the Spanish equivalent of a French omlette or an Italian frittata. It is a simple egg dish that is packed with chopped potatoes, onions, and sometimes peppers. As I mentioned last time, it's a great way to go vegetarian for a night without sacrificing protein. Here's a basic recipe I use:
  
  6 eggs
  2 Tbs. water
  1/2 teaspoon paprika
  Salt
  Pepper
  1 small onion, sliced
  3-4 baby red potatoes, scrubbed and diced
  2 Tbs. olive oil
  
  Heat 1 Tbs. of oil over medium high heat. Saute potatoes for 3-5 minutes, then add onions and saute until onions and potatoes are soft. Whisk eggs, water, paprika, salt, and pepper together. Add 1 Tbs. of oil to pan, then the egg mixture. Cook, covered, over medium high heat 5-10 minutes or until top has set. Transfer tortilla to a cutting board or plate and use this to help flip it over into the pan. Cook this side another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to cutting board and slice into small wedges.
  
  Tortilla espanola is great by itself, but if you have leftovers, try eating it on toast for breakfast. I think it's delicious, and it's definitely one of the things I'm looking forward to eating when I travel to Spain in a few weeks!
• Paella- This is a classic Spanish dish that originated in southern Spain near Valencia. For those who don't know what it is, it is a rice-based dish that is flavored (and colored) with saffron and usually filled with seafood or chicken. Paella is a fairly complex dish to make, and there are many different types- similar to how many different types of chili or pizza you can find in the U.S. When I went to Spain in high school, my favorite paella was one I had in Valencia that had lots of chicken. I have made it before, and I can forward a recipe along, but it's too long to reprint here. The type I make has chicken, sausage, and shrimp.
  
  This dish seems very intimidating to novice cooks and saffron is ridiculously expensive, but if you want to try an easier dish with similar flavors, try combining saffron-flavored rice (you can find it with other flavored rices the grocery store) with chicken or shrimp seasoned with paprika.
• Chorizo- this is a sausage that is found in both Spanish and Mexican cuisine. It is flavored with paprika, garlic, and lots of other spices. True Spanish chorizo is not smoked; it is a little more difficult to find-try checking local markets (in Columbus, where I'm based, a vendor at North Market sells AWESOME Spanish chorizo). Spanish chorizo is a delicious addition to many Spanish dishes- try adding it to the tortilla espanola recipe above- remove the sausage from its casing, then cook it in the pan with no oil before you saute the onions and potatoes. The sausage gives off oil with tons of flavor, so use that instead of olive oil to saute the veggies.
  
  If you can't find the unsmoked Spanish chorizo, try smoked chorizo (Mexican chorizo). This sausage has similar flavors, and it's commonly found served with eggs or tortillas in Mexican restaurants. It isn't true Spanish chorizo, but it is cheaper and easier to find- you can find it at most grocery stores, either with Italian sausages at the butcher counter, or prepackaged with smoked sausages and kielbasa.
  
• Other Spanish foods- Jamon serrano and jamon Iberico are two types of Spanish ham that are often sliced thin and served as appetizers (see the wikipedia article about jamon serrano). Spain also produces many cheeses and wines- Rioja is probably the most famous Spanish wine. Seafood is also very important in Spanish cuisine- calamares (squid) is commonly found at tapas bars, shrimp and mussels are usual paella ingredients, and fish is found throughout the country's various cuisines. Gazpacho is another Spanish invention; it is a cold soup that usually has a tomato broth and lots of fresh vegetables.
  

Overall, Spanish food and cooking is delicious. It's definitely worth a try because it's so different than other styles of cuisine commonly found in the U.S. (like Mexican, Italian, or classic American). Spanish cuisine is really en vogue in the culinary world right now, too, with some chefs and critics believing that it may eventually join French cuisine at the top of the culinary pyramid. Even though some Spanish dishes are complex and use expensive, difficult to find ingredients, you shouldn't be afraid to try Spanish cooking. Start off simple with a tortilla espanola or a tapas night with your friends, and you can work your way up to make paella and gazpacho!

Don't be afraid- try a Spanish dish tonight!

My First Post/Why I think lentils are great

Hey everyone-

I decided to start a new blog...I've had several before talking about random stuff going on in my life. This time, I want to focus on something much more interesting- my kitchen. In the last couple years, I've discovered a passion for cooking, and I want to share some of my stories- my kitchen disasters and successes, my difficulties in tracking down some elusive type of meat, and some of my recipes. My experiences are especially interesting because I am a 21 year old college student- so I am always trying to make my money stretch as far as it can!

Alright, so, my introduction's done...now on to the kitchen stuff. Here's what's been cooking in my kitchen lately.

Lentils-
My boyfriend bought a bag of dried lentils a couple months ago, and he's been bugging me to make something with them for awhile now. This weekend, I finally got around to it- I made a simple lentil soup, with chicken broth and garam masala (an Indian spice mixture). It turned out great...except for the fact that after 4 hours on high in a crockpot, my lentils were still gritty and crunchy. I did all the soaking and boiling that the bag suggested- has anyone else had a problem like this with dried lentils (or beans or split peas)?

This was the first time I actually made lentils, and the first time in a couple years I ate them. I have to say, they are awesome! You'll learn as you read more of my posts that I like meat- I love having meat in pretty much anything. But, the lentils were excellent without any meat at all. Another huge plus- the price of dried lentils. I used half the bag to make about 5-6 servings of soup...and one bag costs about a dollar. Much like black beans, I felt like I was getting a lot of protein and taste for a very small amount of money. Word to the wise- you pay for the cheap price- as I said, my lentils cooked for 4 hours in a crockpot, plus the 30 minutes of boiling the bag suggested before actually cooking with them.

The garam masala was a great addition- I think it gave the lentils a lot of Indian flavor, but not a ton of heat. If you don't know what garam masala is, stick around- I plan on doing a post in the next week or so about spice mixes I use- and what I use them in. All in all, lentils = one of my new favorite items for....

Meatless Mondays-
This is something surprising for me. I've been doing a lot of reading about how bad meat (in particular beef) is for the environment. At the same time, I heard about the campaign that's starting up calling for Americans to start eating less meat and going without meat on Mondays. It seemed like a good idea, so I started doing it. Man, it has been interesting. I have really branched out and experimented with new options besides the usual chicken or beef. A few weeks ago, I had tilapia for the first time- it is so delicious! I really like that. My lentil soup recipe was inspired by Meatless Mondays, and that was good too. But I think my favorite thing thus far was a tortilla espanola I made with lightly fried potatoes and onions. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's basically a large omlette, usually filled with potatoes and onions, that is cut into wedges and served as a tapa (an appetizer with drinks) or main course in Spain. It was excellent, minus the fact that the Food Network's website has no clue how to cook eggs. The recipe I tried suggested cooking the eggs over medium heat until the top set...but after 15 minutes, I gave up and cooked them over high heat. So far, I'm just doing this thing once a week, but maybe eventually, I'll do it more often. It seems like such a good idea from both an environmental and health standpoint.


Alright, everyone, thanks for reading my first entry...hopefully, there will be many many more to come! Keep checking back to see what's cooking in my kitchen, and leave me comments to let me know what's going on in yours!