Tapas Tourism

If you´re going to be in Madrid, Barcelona or San Sebastian any time soon I recommend that you
a. call me so I can meet up with you
and
b. check out this article from the WSJ on the best tapas restaurants AND tapas tour guides in those cities. Ms. Alonso, for example, is a 44yr old Spaniard who has abandoned engineering in favor of tapas tourism- for just €95 she will take you on a private tour of tapas bars in Spain.

I will be going to Barcelona with my mom in just two weeks and can´t wait to check out Tapas, 24 and try one of their famous mini sandwiches (por ejemplo: jamon iberico, mozzarella, and grated black truffles.)

¡Que aproveche!

Jamón

The first time I was walking around Madrid I saw a store called "Museo del Jamón" and my friend who I was walking with asked me what it was and without hesitation I said, "Oh it's a museum of ham." Ha. Yeah right. If you have never been to Spain you probably do not know about the obsession/fascination that the Spanish have for jamón. Jamón is ham and is served everywhere with everything. A popular example is, "jamón con queso." "Jamón" also hangs from restaurant ceilings like in this picture:

Tapas On the Mind

Now I can't stop thinking about tapas!! Here is the recipe for a classic "Tortilla de patatas" (Potato omelette). My señora in Madrid served this with almost every meal we ate. I found this particular recipe in a tapas book I bought for my mom when I was in Madrid. You can make the tortilla plain or add meat, fish or vegetables. I also have the recipe in Spanish, but thought this would be more reader friendly.

Ingredients

1 kg potatoes

200 g onion, chopped

8 eggs, 50 g each

1 dl olive oil, maximum acidity .4degrees

salt

Directions

• Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices.
• Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan (25cm in diameter) and add the potatoes.
• Cook for 5 minutes then add the onion and salt. Maintain over a high heat and occasionally stir the potatoes with a spatula to make sure they don't stick, moving them from the fynig pan surface up to the top. When they are soft, strain them in a colander.
• Mix the potatoes with the beaten eggs, stirring once and adding salt to taste.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of the remaining oil in the frying pan and when it begins to smoke pour in the mixture.
• Shake the frying pan gently so that the omelette does not stick and shape the edges using a skimmero. Lower the heat and leave the omelette to set slowly.
• When soft and juicy inside, flip on a plate and slide back into the frying pan to brown the other side for a few seconds.

Presentation

When cool, cut into portions

One Week Left

With one week left before I leave for Spain I have been trying to distract myself from thinking about the drastic change in lifestyle I am about to have/my hiatus from home by embracing what everyone loves about New York: Broadway, fashion and restaurants. I recently took my mother to see the musical Rock Of Ages. It was so much fun. Not only is there a cocktail waitress that races up and down the aisle taking drink orders DURING the show, but there is also amazing rock music that reminded me of belting out 80's music at frats with my friends not so long ago. Although I think my mother was a bit outside of her comfort zone with the crude language and strip club scenes, it made for an entertaining and fun night out. So if you often find yourself saying, "I wanna rock" go see this!

I also treated myself and my boyfriend to Jersey Boys. I have always heard so many great things about this show and was even fortunate enough to watch the main character, who plays Frankie Valli, perform at a friend’s birthday party. The music was so fabulous I came home and went straight to my i-tunes to download “Beggin” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”

This past weekend I went to a friend’s fashion show. His name is Alexander Berardi and I have known him since high school. It was my first fashion show and hopefully not the last. Alex is so ambitious and I am so proud of everything he has accomplished. I loved so many of the outfits, particulary this floral print sway dress. Check out his line here. I wish him the best of luck in the future!

I also went to a delicious tapas restaurant with my girlfriends. It's called Pipa. I didn't know this but apparently "Pipa" is Spanish slang for "having a good time." A pitcher of sangria, a few tapas and some live music later and I was definitely having a good time. The restaurant is adorable and has dozens of beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. We sat outside and enjoyed some of the last summer weather. It was a perfect warm up for my trip to Spain and made me long for tortilla de patatas, croquetas, dátiles con bacon, canurillos de jamón y queso, y champiñones al ajillo.

The rest of the week will be devoted to revamping my euro wardrobe (scarfs, boots, leather, layers) and brushing up on my español. I have also started to look at apartments online. ah!!