Barcelona Cuisine | El Poble Espanyol

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blogging to dedicate an entire week to the food consumed while on vacation in Barcelona! This first meal coincides with an afternoon spent at El Poble Espanyol, an open-air architectural museum village constructed in 1929 for the International Exhibition.

Inside the walled community lies a full scale reproduction of Spain's symbolic buildings and places, fused with artisan workshops and boutiques, as well as restaurants and tapas bars.

El Poble is definitely an attraction geared towards tourism, albeit a fantastic one! There is a a €9,50 entrance fee and audio guided tours are offered for an additional €3.

I had a feeling the restaurants "inside" would be slightly more touristy than traditional, but it was later in the afternoon and we were starving.

The spacious patio at L'Albi which offered reasonably priced Catalan fare, felt like the perfect fit. (Photo borrowed from the website, linked above.)

We started the lunch festivities with a pitcher of Sangria.No matter how much Sangria we consumed on an almost daily basis (lots!) I never seemed to tire of this luscious fruit infused red wine libation. Neither did Adam. After a basket of bread and bowl of potato chips, the starter courses were delivered. I ordered a Queso Fresco y Chorizo. What I thought would be a simple platter of ham and cheese, was actually a pottery ramekin full of melted queso, delicately torched, containing rolled slices of ham within it. While the thick melted cheese was tasty, it became overwhelming after about 5 bites. Or maybe I'm so used to tapas size portions, that switching back to a hearty dish of a different cuisine had me thrown for a loop! My entree of Tortilla de Patatas was Spanish comfort food at it's very finest. A 1/2 inch thick wedge of fluffy eggs is loaded with fried potatoes and onions, and topped with a spicy chile pepper. Alongside was a substantial salad of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and shredded carrots and a serving of white rice. The rice was a rather starchy component to pair with the tortilla, and the salad and rice both lacked dressing and seasoning, respectively. Overall, the dish still satisfied, I wasn't expecting anything gourmet to being with.
For dessert, there was no going wrong with the Crema Catalana, essentially the Spanish/Catalan version of creme brulee. The base of a rich egg yolk custard is far creamier than a typical U.S. version, with a much more substantial layer of burnt caramelized sugar on top. This was definitely my favorite course! Most of our meals in Barcelona (as you will see in the forthcoming posts) consisted of modern tapas, so this lunch of traditional Catalan cuisine was without any comparison. (Unfortunately!) It seems we barely scratched the surface of what this city has to offer in terms of amazing foods.We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon on the airy L'Albi terrace and exploring the narrow winding streets of El Poble Espnanol. Warm weather and sangria pitchers at lunch seems a distant memory; so it's nice to reminisce on those intensely hot and sunny, blue skied, carefree days in Barcelona. Stay tuned this week for more of what we ate. The food only gets better!!

P.S. Happy Halloween!

Butternut Squash Salad with Spices, Lime, and Green Chile

The week after Ireturned from London, I received a package that followed me home. My lovely UK editor had sent it, the best kind of parcel, one filled with books.

The books included amemoir by a woman who learned to live on a farm, a “how to” book on drinkingwine by Victoria Moore and a cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi.

I had heard ofOttolenghi before. He's a chef in London with four restaurants named afterhimself and another called Nopi. He writes a column in the Guardian, whichbegan about vegetarian cookery and now expands much wider. The cookbook myeditor sent me was his first cookbook, a UK-version cookbook, charming with itsBritishisms: aubergine not eggplant, grams not cups. I cooked a number ofdishes—most recently a honeyed sweet potato and chickpea stew, which remindedme that simple is great and healthy can taste far better than good. I’ve beenenamored of Ottolenghi ever since.

The other day, I wenton a cookbook-buying binge. My schedule has been so packed the last few weeksthat I haven’t had much time to cook. And since cooking is one of my favoriteways to unwind, to relax, to push the cobwebs of anxiety out of my brain, I’vebeen feeling like my insides are tied up in knots. Even if I don’t have time tocook, however, I could never give up those few minutes before bed when I read.And I’ve been reading lots of cookbooks. I love it when I can get lost in acookbook like I would in a novel. It inspires the best kind of dreams.

Anyway. On thiscookbook-buying binge, I purchased Ottolenghi’s newest vegetarian tome: Plenty. It’s a beautiful book with a pillow-presscover and recipes organized by vegetable. (Last night I dreamt about eggplant.)

And last weekendBecca came to visit. She’s one of my best friends but lives in San Francisco,so seeing each other in person is a rare delight. Her first night here I cookeda little vegetarian feast from Plenty.It included a salad made with roasted butternut squash, sweet spices, spicypeppers, limes, cilantro, and a yogurt-tahini sauce. It sounds like a mouthful,but it was pretty much perfect. I’ve been thinking about this salad so muchever since that I made it again Friday night for some other lovely friends, whoagreed.   

To make this salad,you take a butternut squash, peel it (or not; I kind of like the crunchyroasted skin), slice it, and roast it with a brush of oil mixed with cardamomand allspice. When you serve it at room temperature, the squash is sprinkledwith crunchy slivers of a spicy green pepper, the herby wash of cilantro, tartpieces of lime, and a nutty, smooth sauce. I don’t know what it is about thissalad, but it works.

Butternut SquashSalad with Spices, Lime, and Green Chile

Adapted from YotamOttolenghi’s Plenty

2 limes

Salt

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 big butternut squash

1 tablespoon cardamom

1 teaspoon allspice

½ cup Greek yogurt

2 ½ teaspoons tahini

1 tablespoon lime juice (ormore to taste)

1 green chile (I usedjalapeno), stripped of seeds and pith, sliced thin

2/3 cup cilantro leaves,picked off the stalk

Preheat the oven to 400degrees Fahrenheit.  

For the limes: trim off thetops and bottoms of the limes with a paring knife. Now with the limes standing stableon a cutting board, use your knife to cut down the sides, slicing off the skinand the white pith. Quarter the naked limes, and then cut into very thinslices. Place these slices in a bowl, add a 1-tablespoon drizzle of olive oiland a sprinkle of salt.

For the butternut squash:Cut the squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Now,cut the squash into slices – about ½ inch thick. Lay them out on a baking sheet(Ottolenghi suggests on a piece of parchment paper).

Mix together the cardamomand allspice in a small bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and stir. Brushthis spiced oil over the squash. Season the squash with salt. Roast for about15 minutes, or until tender, and then let cool. (Here is where you can peel offthe skin… or not. I’ve done it both ways, and love the slight crunch when it isleft on.)

For the sauce: Whisktogether the yogurt, tahini, lime juice, and two tablespoons of water. Seasonto taste with salt. (The sauce will be thick, but you want to be able todrizzle it over the squash, so add more lime juice or water to taste to thin itout if necessary.)

To serve: Arrange the squashon a serving platter. Drizzle with the yogurt-tahini sauce. Spoon the limeslices and their juice evenly over top. Scatter the chile slices. And then thecilantro. Enjoy.

Mini Chocolate-Orange Cupcakes

Halloween is easily my least favorite holiday. Sure, I liked it as a kid. I mean, it was a chance to run around the neighborhood filling pillowcase after pillowcase with candy, a chance to dress up as a princess or a ballerina or whatever struck my fancy at that time. But nowadays, if I want candy, I can just buy it, and I'm not really into figuring out what costume to wear and dressing up. So until last year, I didn't really have any reason to look forward to Halloween.

But last year, completely coincidentally, Jeff proposed to me on Halloween. (Neither of us were really aware it was Halloween, but that happened to be the day that everything fell into place.) Now I have a new reason to celebrate the holiday... and I'll always remember what day we got engaged.

So call these Halloween cupcakes or engagement anniversary cupcakes, this is my more sophisticated take on a black and orange treat. Chocolate and orange is one of my favorite combinations, so I took my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, flavored it with some orange syrup, topped it with an orange-chocolate ganache, and dressed it up with a candied orange peel.

Mini Chocolate-Orange Cupcakes
Makes about 30 mini cupcakes
Printable version

Ingredients

Candied Orange Peels (adapted from Closet Cooking)

3 oranges

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

Chocolate Cupcakes (adapted from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe)

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Reserved orange syrup from candied orange peels

Chocolate-Orange Ganache

450 grams bittersweet chocolate chips (or about 16 ounces)

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Preparation

Candied Orange Peels

Note: The peels need to dry for 24 to 48 hours, so plan ahead.

Trim the tops and bottoms from each orange. Then cut the peel of each orange into 4 vertical pieces. Carefully remove each piece. If the white pith is very thick, trim some of it off.

Cut the peel pieces into thin strips.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and add the peels. Cook the peels in the boiling water for 15 minutes, and then drain them.

Bring the water and 1 cup sugar to a boil over medium heat in a medium pot.

Add the peels, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the peels are tender, about 45 minutes.

Set a strainer over a medium bowl, and drain the peels, reserving the syrup (for the cupcakes below). (You can keep the syrup in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.)

Pour the remaining cup of sugar into a large bowl, and toss the drained peels in the sugar.

Spread the peels out on sheet pans to dry. This could take 24 to 48 hours. Once dry, store peels in airtight container.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Note: The batter needs to sit for at least an hour before baking, so plan ahead.

Combine the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a small heatproof bowl.

In a small saucepan, heat the granulated sugar, butter, and water over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally for 3 to 4 minutes, or until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.

Pour the hot butter-sugar mixture over the cocoa-chocolate mixture, and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

In a small measuring cup, combine the milk, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Whisk this mixture into the chocolate mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Dump the dry ingredients on top of the chocolate mixture, and whisk them into the chocolate mixture until the batter is completely smooth.

Leave the batter out at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini-muffin pan with paper liners.

Using a small (2-teaspoon-capacity) scoop, fill each cup with 1 scoop of batter. (You may have extra batter, so just repeat with any remaining batter.)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating halfway through, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Once cupcakes are cool enough to handle (but still warm), remove them from the pan, and place them on a rack.

Lightly brush each cupcake with some of the reserved orange syrup, and let cool completely.

Chocolate-Orange Ganache

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the ganache (You can also make it ahead of time, store it in the fridge, and gently microwave it to soften it to a pipable consistency before using, or for a richer ganache that sets up faster, use less cream.)

Place the chocolate in a medium heatsafe bowl.

Bring 1 cup heavy cream to a boil over medium heat in a small saucepan.

Pour the heavy cream over the chips, let sit for 1 minute, and then whisk until smooth.

Whisk in the remaining 1 cup heavy cream.

Then whisk in the Grand Marnier.

Set ganache aside until it sets up to a pipable consistency. (You can speed this along by putting the ganache in the fridge, but check and re-whisk it often, so it doesn't get too firm.)

Pipe ganache on each cupcake. (If you don't want to pipe the ganache on the cupcakes, you can just dip the tops of the cupcakes in it while it's still fluid or frost them with soft ganache.)

Top each cupcake with a candied orange peel.

You will have leftover orange peels and extra ganache, so feel free to half those recipes (I always like having more than I need), or you can use the extras to make chocolate-orange truffles.

The cupcakes are rich and chocolaty with a hint of orange, and the candied orange peels pack a punch of orange flavor and give the cupcakes a little sparkle.

Halloween -- love it or hate it?

Yappy Hour - Halloween Style

This summer, Nick and I took Holly to Yappy Hour at The Liberty Hotel and had a fantastic time.  Basically, the Liberty Hotel sets up a bar tables, chairs and plastic couches out in the Yard, behind Scampo, and allows pets and their owners go crazy.  Most of the dogs are running around off-leash, just having a ton of fun while the owners are hanging out with the dogs enjoying a few drinks.  For me, it is really nice to be able to head out with Holly after being away from her all day.  Yappy Hour is done every Wednesday through the summer, up until (as it turns out) Halloween.

Enjoying a drink with Holly!

The Liberty Hotel's cap to the Yappy Hour season was the Halloween Party!  I had seen an ad through Four Preppy Paws' twitter account and thought it would a fun way to spend the evening.  Even better, we got to torture Holly by dressing her up in a costume.  We were a bit late to the shopping, but were able to find a great bee costume at Fish and Bone on Newbury Street.  The costume was a little snug, so we said she was the bumble bee girl on the cover of the Blind Melon album, but doggy glasses are a little hard to come by ;).

Heading to Yappy Hour

On our way down the street, Nick asked if I was sure it was truly the costume night because he did not want Holly to be the only pup dressed up.  He knew how uncomfortable he would have been to be the ONLY one dressed up.  Even though all the dogs were dressed up, at the entrance we saw a french bulldog dressed in the exact same costume!  Oh the horror!  Turns out bumble bees were big this year.

Look of panic

The first time we were at Yappy Hour, Holly was definitely the shy girl, and this night was no different.  We found ourselves a nice little couch area, and Holly made herself right at home looking down at the other dogs - from all angles.

Asking "what is going on?!"

There was a doggy costume contest going on throughout the night, so while there were repeats, there were some real original ones as well.

Great Dane as a horse - owner was a jockey

Hooters Girl

There was also a dog dressed Hugh Hefner, complete with a captain's hat, and the owner had a bunny costume on.  Meanwhile, Holly still was hanging out on the couch with the humans.

Eventually, she decided to seek refuge on Nick's lap.

A close up on her sitting position was needed because she was literally sitting like a person would on a bench.  But she was a happy camper.

The winner of the evening!  & Holly's twin...

 

Blackhawk - the lit couch was killing my photo!

Finally, when we were ready to leave and I got up to pay the tab, Holly jumped down from her perch and and ran around a bit.  While it was only to see other people - not dogs - I was proud nonetheless.  Next year maybe she will branch out more.

Yappy Hour is such a fun time and a great way to have some apres-work cocktails.  If you have a dog or just like dogs, I highly recommend heading over to the Yard on Wednesday evenings next summer.

Fall Flavors at Turner Fisheries

I've had the pleasure of dining at Turner Fisheries several times over the past few years.  I've sipped on their creative Bloody Mary cocktails during the summer and I've warmed up with their seafood risotto during the winter.  Thus, it is no surprise that I happily accepted an invitation to try out new fall menu this past week for a special blogger dinner.

I had a lovely evening with Rachel, Meghan and Monika, the Director of Food and Beverages.  We chatted together for several hours while we dined our way through several courses.  I have to say that I am always consistently impressed with the dishes and service at Turner Fisheries.  I have found that this kind of consistency isn't all that common, which is why it makes such a lasting impression on me.

Some of the standouts from the evening included the following:

Dirty Martini With Blue Cheese-Stuffed Olives

These grilled Island Creek oysters with maitaki mushrooms
and reisling cream was the best thing I've eaten in months!

Crispy Calamari with Pappadew Peppers, Capers and Roasted Garlic Aioli

I loved the delicate flavors of this Golden Beet Salad with
the creamiest goat cheese and basil oil.

Thank you Monika for ordering this Jonah Crab Cake
with Apple Slaw and Tamarind Reduction!

The Grilled Salmon was perfectly grilled and buttery in my mouth.

I loved this version of Bok Choy Kimchi!

We were too stuffed to really indulge in the dessert sampler,
but I loved, loved, loved the butternut squash ice cream!

It was wonderful to dine at Turner Fisheries and enjoy their seasonal fall dishes.  I'm definitely looking forward to returning there soon for some more of those delightful grilled oysters!

Full disclosure: The dinner was complimentary, but as always, my opinion is honest and completely my own.


Turner Fisheries is located in the Westin Copley Place at 10 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA.