Tag Archives: food

Summer is breezing by. Before we know it the leaves will start to change and we will all be sipping hot cider and eating apple crisp. But for now, we are in the thick of it – the hot, humid, thankless summer. Even though the hot days never seem like they will end, they will. So while the weather is hot let’s make the best of it. How do we do it? Tapas.

The idea behind this dinner started with one dish in particular – seared padron peppers. The last time I tasted these deliciously sweet and sometimes spicy spanish peppers was several years ago in a restaurant in Santa Fe. It was during my friend and co-chef’s bachelorette party or, as it was appropriately coined, “spicy ladies night”.  At one point this summer I started thinking about them again and, as it generally goes, I couldn’t get them out of my mind. After much research I found one purveyor of these fine peppers – La Tienda.  My friend and I each ordered a pound and started to plan a tapas dinner menu.

In the end, there was too much sangria (a very simple and delicious sangria might I add) and as a result I did not adequately photograph everything we made. We prepared 7 courses – sadly, not every one was documented. That was the only dinner party foul – not bad I suppose.

Course 1 – Cheese/Bread and fried chick peas

Course 2 – Pimento olives wrapped in boquerones (white anchovy)

Course 3 – Mushroom croquettes with parsley puree (delicious although not pictured, I found the recipe here)

Course 4 – Grilled eggplant with saffron honey and manchego cheese

Course 5 - The peppers

Course 6 – Grilled octopus

Course 7  - Grilled peaches with homemade creme fraiche and balsamic glaze