La Cocina Española

This is our kitchen:

 

A microwave and two burners...and, well, that’s about it.  There is no oven.  There isn’t even a cutting board, let alone a chef’s knife.

For most of you that know me well, you know that I love to cook.  And I love to cook elaborate meals.  Standard dinner fare in Santa Clara was Prosciutto and Sage Wrapped Chicken Saltimbocca with Creamy Polenta and Asparagus—which required several nice knives, a cast iron skillet, three burners, a sheet pan and an oven.  So what’s a girl to make on a reduced budget in a reduced kitchen, with a tiny fraction of the fancy utensils she used to have?

On the first attempt, Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Pesto Cheese Ravioli:

The ravioli and pesto were pre-packaged.  Not that I would ever make ravioli from scratch.  Having attempted that once, and spending eight hours at it, I decided no such food was worth that much work…unless it makes you sing with joy while eating it (my ravioli failed at this).

This first meal made in Spain was, let’s face it, a lazy attempt.  But, you have to start somewhere.  And, I figured better to work with my new kitchen rather than rail against it and curse it for its shortcomings.  So I picked something easy, and familiar.

My next attempt was a little bolder and a lot more Spanish (despite its name):  Arroz ala Cubana.

We first had this dish as part of the menu del dia* at Cafeteria Cristina, a bar/restaurant on the corner of our block.  I remember thinking at the time, I could make this.  So tonight, after a long day of school, with homework still left to do, I pulled the ingredients out…jarred tomato sauce (which I doctored), eggs, microwavable rice, and bread.  I threw in some white asparagus (also from a jar)—a delicacy back home, it’s served in abundance in Spain, the way Californian restaurants serve broccoli.  The results were uber-delicious, perhaps even more so than what we ate at Cristina’s.  I don’t know if there is something different about Spanish eggs, or if it was the induction cooktop, but I have never had a fried egg turn out so perfectly before.

What have I learned?  I have underestimated my kitchen, and myself.  I just need to learn to cook Spanish food (and be ok with a few pre-packaged ingredients).

Here’s to more homemade dishes!

*A menu del dia is basically a bar or restaurant’s daily lunch special.  You get your choice of a first and second course (both equally large and filling), and a basket of bread.  For your drink, you have a choice of a beer, a soft drink, or as much tinto de verano as you can handle—if you choose tinto, they basically bring you a glass, a bottle of red wine and a bottle of Lemon Fanta and let you mix your own version of Sangria.  All of this comes at an average price of 9€ (or $12).

The New Digs

On Tuesday we signed our lease and moved into our new apartment.  It is so incredible to have someplace to settle into, unpack our suitcases, and feel at home.  We have a Pharmacy and Fruit Store around each corner and more than 10 bars/restaurants within a block’s walk.  We love our new neighborhood!

We began the day by opening a bank account.  I’m not sure what else could make me feel more European than having a Spanish address and international bank account number!

And while we spent the first night out of the area celebrating my birthday with dinner at El Club Allard, on Wednesday we headed around the corner to the bar our apartment hunter, Michael, told us about.  We ordered a round of drinks and received our first free tapa since arriving in Madrid!  We had heard these free tapas existed, but had yet to enjoy the benefits!

As the tapas we actually ordered came to the table, the locals started filling up the bar to watch the Barcelona/Valencia fútbol game on TV.  We struck up a conversation with the older gentlemen sitting next to us.  When they learned we were from California, they began speaking in English…until I leaned over and said, “En Espanol, por favor, queria practicar mi Espanol,” (“In Spanish, please, I would like to practice my Spanish”).  They were happy to oblige, and answered plenty of “Como se dice…?” (“How do you say…?”) questions for me.  If we return to this bar next week, it’s very likely the same people will be there again.  It’s like Cheers!

After the match was over, and our tapas were finished, we walked home in the rain.

Sweet Genius

On Tuesday night, Eddie took me to dinner to celebrate my 34^th birthday.  I don’t feel nearly as old as that number makes me feel.  But, it’s just a number anyway, right?  In any case, for our meal I chose El Club Allard, a two Michelin star restaurant near Madrid’s Plaza de Espana.  This marks the third country in which Eddie and I have enjoyed a Michelin-starred meal.  Two years ago, we celebrated my birthday at Jules Verne, halfway up the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  Last year, we marked the occasion at COI in San Francisco.

On this particular evening, our taxi dropped us in front of a 19^th century building with no markings whatsoever.  It looked like the picture on the website, so we went inside.  To our right, a small door—with no signage—marked the restaurant’s entrance.  We were seated in a small, quiet room with a few other diners.  One woman was already taking pictures.  This bodes well, no?

On the table, before each of us was a small card that read “Bienvenidos a la Revolución Silenciosa…” (“Welcome to the silent revolution”).  A waiter came to take our drink order, and placed a small dish of “salsa” in front of us.

He explained that we were to take the small cards and use them like a chip, to eat the dip with.  Yes, the card was edible—think Chinese rice candy wrapping, but hard—and the salsa was a foam consisting of chile and cilantro.  Delicioso and so unique!

To begin our meal, Diego Guerrero, the chef, came out to take our order.  He spoke to us in Spanish and Eddie wanted to practice, so he played along.  Then Diego got to a question Eddie didn’t understand.  “I think he wants to know if we have any allergies,” I said—not that I understood, mind you, I just guessed based on context.

We ordered the Classico menu and here’s how it went…

Game truffeé with Foie and mushrooms
Superb!  An earthy creaminess balanced with an ever-so-slightly sweet crunchiness…

Mini Babybelle of Camembert truffeé
A tart and odiferous cheese, made palatable by its salty cracker counterpoint.

 Sukiyaky
Umami at the height of its inexplicableness!

 Scallop’s small pasty with black garlic
The garlic hammered my tastebuds at first, but mellowed with each subsequent bite;
however, it gave way to a slightly overpowering fishiness.
Not a winner in my book (nor Eddie’s).

 Raviolis de Alubias de Tolosa en infusion de berza
The larger ravioli came across as a dignified version of refried beans, but it was really
the smaller pockets of chorizo oil, which popped in my mouth like caviar,
that made this dish sing.

 Eggs with bread and panceta served over a light potato cream sauce
When cracked down the middle, the bread “bled” its yolk.  Imagine sunny-side-up eggs, with bacon and toast, all in one bite.

 Black Halibut with black garlic “ajoblanco,”
a broth of their own spines and cinnamon, lemon Pu-ehr
Divine—from the crispy skin, to the flavorful sauce,
to the crunchy seaweed topping it all off!

 Taco “hare”
Perhaps if I weren’t from the land where they sell these on the street, this may have been more impressive.  But, as it was, the mole rabbit was like that I would get at Casa Lupe (hey, Monica!)…tasty, but nothing too fancy.

 Sacher pot with ginger
A foamy cream, topped with soft, crumbled ginger.
Eddie was wanting for more texture, but I think the topping wasn’t crunchy so that we could enjoy the lushness of the foam underneath.

 The fishbowl
SWEET GENIUS!  How do you even explain this one?  A white chocolate mousse/foam, topped with two, salty gastronomic versions of coral, garnished with a milk chocolate mussel shell and Blue Curacao foam.  First sweet, then salty, all fading into the melt-in-your-mouth heavenliness of a perfect dessert!

 “Poché egg”
A chocolate eggshell, enveloping a panne cotta filled with mango puree, atop shredded, toasted mango and coconut.  Again, unimaginable creativity!

 Chocolate…“croqueta”
Served in a mini deep-fryer sieve, these soft chocolates went down so easy
because of their creamy sweetness.

It is hard not to compare this meal to those at the other highly rated restaurants we’ve been to.  In fact, COI stands as the pinnacle of our dining adventures—each serving was spot-on in terms of flavor.  But this was not the case at El Club Allard. Not every course was a hit in terms of taste.  However, this meal surpassed any I have ever had in terms of unique creativeness.  If this were “Chopped” or "Sweet Genius," Diego would win for his sheer ability to transform the ingredients into something new each and every time.