Turkey Day

November 25th, 2008

All of a sudden it is Thanksgiving and Christmas is only a month away!  We are closed Thanksgiving Day (but Steve will be in the store with his power saw and sander doing a little carpentry – there are no days off for small businessmen) but this Friday – Saturday – Sunday, all books and CDs are 10% off!  If you are able to come in, pick up some of our imported Puebla style Red Mole and turn your left over turkey into a Mexican feast.  Left over turkey also translates into paella with a little help from some saffron and a jar of piquillo pepper strips!  Or if you are making classic turkey sandwiches (a must-have at our house), serve them with some of our Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips.
Meanwhile, there are new arrivals in our cold case:
Pate is an essential entertaining food in Barcelona and this is pate season in Seattle.
Pate de Campangne with Black Pepper:  A traditional recipe with origins in the French countryside, this country-style (campagne) pâté is a thick, coarsely-textured treasure seasoned with piquant black pepper. The uneven, super spread-able paste is created using seasonings and fats, added to bring out the flavor in meats.
Truffle Mousse Pate:  Made from pork and chicken liver and flavored with Sherry. This mousse has an unbelievable silky texture.
Winter Cheeses:
Pasamontes 4 month Raw Milk Manchego:  Pasamontes is the DO award winner of Manchego and unlike cheaper industrial cheeses it is made slowly over 4 months with unpasteurized milk. Intensely nutty with a strong bouquet and a long finish on the palate.
Afuega=l Pitu Red:  One of the oldest and most prolific Asturian cheeses, and rarely brought to the USA. This fresh cow=s milk cheese is mixed with paprika, wrapped in a cloth and aged for one month. The subtly chalky/creamy texture of this cheese melts in your mouth like cream cheese and has just the perfect amount of heat.
Bulgarian Feta: Our all time favorite sheep=s milk feta. This feta has got some hurrrummph! It has just the right amount of tang with a rustic twist.
Bulk Olives:
Thasos Olives:  We picked up these high quality olives from our local Greek importer. Thasos Olives are Greek prepared olives made from Thrubolea olives. They are made on Thasos (aka Thasou), in the northern Aegean Sea.  The olives are harvested when fully black and wrinkled. They are dry-cured, and then packed in olive oil.  They have a strong, rich flavor and are chewy and meaty.
Pitted Kalamata Olives: Also from our local Greek importer, Kalamatas that are a dark eggplant color and have a flavor that is rich and fruity. They are marinated in red wine vinegar.
Taramosalata:  Taramosalata is a Greek style caviar spread made from the delicate roe of carp. Krinos Taramosalata uses roe that is naturally cured and aged over one year. It can be served as a vegetable dip or a spread on crackers. No preservatives, no artificial ingredients.
Chistorra:  This  Basque style 6inch long sausage is great to fry up with potatoes for breakfast or with rice for dinner.
Top Wines for Thanksgiving weekend and the December holidays:
Rosado:  Dry Spanish rosé not only look festive in the glass but pair perfectly with the variety of flavors which make up Thanksgiving dinner.   From savory dressings, creamed vegetables and gravy, a high-acid rose cuts through rich foods and refreshes the palate like nothing else.
Our favorite roses:   2007 Muga Rosado Rioja ($13.99) and 2007 Cune Rosado ($11.99)
Emilio Moro, Ribera del Duero $29.99:  AThe reasonably priced 2004 Emilio Moro is a terrific Ribera del Duero.  Its dense ruby color is followed by a projected nose of blackberries, currants, cherries, smoky oak and crushed rock.  Terrific texture, purity and a long heady finish, suggest it will keep for 7-8 years.@  92 points Wine Enthusiast   
Remelluri, Rioja $34.99: We have two vintages on hand: A small amount of the suave and graceful 2001 vintage and the latest, 2003 release.  The 2001 is sophisticated and polished with earthy and ripe fruit.  The 2003 is elegant, fresh and poised with a chewy texture and a peppery kick.     Either would be stunning with Thanksgiving dinner, or buy one bottle of each and have a vertical tasting!
VIU 1, Valle de Colchagua, Chile:  You probably have never paid $65 for a bottle of Chilean wine.  This is the reason you should.  Viu 1 is only produced in outstanding years, with  premium grapes hand sorted for consistent ripeness.  A blend of 94% Malbec and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in barrel for 20 months, it is a limited release of 11,333 numbered bottles.  Hedonistic, with flavors of black cherry, leather and truffle and voluptuous tannins, it was unanimously the winner of a blind tasting we attended recently, where it stood head and shoulders above the other 13 wines tasted that night.
2003 Tahuan Syrah Mendoza $19.99: Ernesto Catena, son of respected winemaker Nicholas Catena, is producing  stellar Malbecs and Syrahs from his Tahuan winery.  The 2003 Syrah, grown at an elevation of 1700 meters contains 7% Bonarda which gives it a fresh juiciness. With spice, a hint of smoke and toast flavors, balanced acidity rounds out this plush wine.   AY with rich texture and mouth filling notes of coffee and currant comfiture, warm fig sauce and dark cocoa. Rich, fleshy finish has nice buried grip.@ 89 points Wine Spectator
2006 CARM Douro Superior ($15.99) A blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca, CARM is a superb expression of terroir.  Ripe blackberries, mulberry, and black cherry introduce this wine, followed by seductive flavors of black fig and licorice.  The finish has hints of toasted oak, warm spicy fruit and silky texture.  89 points Wine Spectator
2005 CARM Grande Reserva Douro ($39.00) Produced from the best vineyards, the Grande Reserva has intense floral aromas with ripe plum and blueberries.   With  concentrated black fruit liqueur flavors and fine tannins, the oak is well integrated.  Balanced and smooth with a full mouthfeel and persistent finish, this elegant wine will pair well with roast meats or game.  89 points Wine Spectator   
We also stock rich flavored Carm Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the same property in Portugal.
2003 Vila Santa, Alentejo ($14.99)  Joao Portugal Ramos is one of the most widely known winemakers in the south of Portugal, making wines in several regions.  His 2003 Vila Santa needs about 30 minutes of air to release its full floral aromas, but the wait will be rewarded!   Dusty boysenberry flavors with hints of cherry pit and pencil lead are supported by sweet tannins.  With medium acidity and a long toasted finish, Vila Santa is a natural match with a rich Thanksgiving dinner.
 
Best wishes to you and your family and friends!

FEASTS

November 20th, 2008

We love the Spanish tradition of linking celebrations with special foods.  And the celebration goes full throttle in Iberia, from harvest festivals to religious holidays.  During the saffron festival in Albacete a few Octobers ago, harvest took place in the morning and by night restaurants served an astonishing array of dishes, using saffron in breads to desserts.  One spring, we stumbled upon La Calcotada just outside of Barcelona.  Thousands of whole calcots (a large green onion similar to a ramp), were being grilled over a wood fire and served with a bib and a side of romesco sauce.  During Moors and Christians week, the festival banquets begin with tapas of jamon serrano and queso manchego and follow with plate after plate of roast lamb, chicken, sausages and potatoes, all accompanied by music, singing, and a lot of wine. 
            Since we love food and wine, our favorite American holiday is Thanksgiving.  A celebration of the harvest, it’s also a day to slow down, savor the flavors of the season and give thanks for our tremendous bounty.  Remember that cut up left over turkey and some turkey broth, are a great start on a spontaneous paella.
MANTECADOS & POLVORONES:The annual arrival of Mantecados & Polvorones at The Spanish Table always conjures up visions of Christmas with a touch of Spain.  We also already have in stock of selected CDs with holiday music from Spain.
CLEMENTINE OLIVE OIL: The Casa Pons family squeezes whole Clementine oranges with their Arbequina olives to make this flavored extra virgin olive oil.  The citrus flavor is great on baby Spinach or carrot salad.  My carrot salad had the following ingredients:
CARROT SALAD:
Shredded Carrot
Clementine EVOO
Sherry Vinegar
Chopped Dates
Diced Feta Cheese
Pine Nuts
Cumin
Salt
 
THANKSGIVING WINES            We stocked the wine department for the holidays with extra quantities of our best selling wines on hand for those who want to take advantage of our 10% case discount.   We’ve got new rare wines for collectors, more cava, ports and Sherries, and table wines to meet any palate or budget.
2007 Terra Antiga Vinho Verde $7.99 Just arrived! Our newest vinho verde is just off the ship.   Grassy aromas compliment its delicate granny smith apple flavors and refreshing effervescence.  Lively and sassy, Terra Antiga is a perfect wine to serve with afternoon Thanksgiving appetizers. 
2006 Legado Muñoz Garnacha, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla $8.99 Driving the route of Don Quixote through arid farmlands, you’ll come across Viñedos y Bodegas Muñoz, about 50 kilometers east of Toledo.  The scorching heat of summer fully ripens the grapes of this region, but the cool nights ensure that the wine is well balanced with great acidity.  Legado Muñoz is a smooth, juicy wine with flavors of cherry skin and blueberry.  Notes of spice and mineral notes are well integrated with light tannins.  Muñoz is great with braised pork dishes.
2006 Higueruela, Almansa $9.99 This sturdy wine is made from 88% Garnacha Tintorera and 12% Syrah.  Loaded with kirsch and ripe black cherry flavors, notes of toast, licorice, black tea and chocolate, Higueruela is supported by firm tannins.   Well knit with hints of mocha on the finish, this wine is great with any savory dish or stuffing.
2006 La Posta Pizzella Malbec, Mendoza $17.99   La Posta is juicy, elegant and complex.  Grown at an elevation of 3050 feet and aged 10 months in French oak, it has cherry aromas and a hint of nutmeg.   Vibrant red and black berry flavors along with sandalwood are balanced by great acidity.  With a lingering finish of licorice, this is a fantastic Malbec for $17.99.                            
Collector’s corner
2004 Bodegas Y Vinedos Maurodos San Roman Toro $57.00 One of Wine Spectator’s Top 15 Spanish Wines of 2008   6 bottles available  “Alluring plum, blackberry, cola and spice cake flavors are rich and balanced in this expressive red.  There’s plenty of structure, but it doesn’t get in the way of the flavors, and the spicy, floral finish is long and fresh.”  94 points Wine Spectator
2005 Cyclo Christina Ribera del Duero ($55.00) 150 cases produced “Cyclo Christina is 100% Tinto Fino from a single 150-year-old vineyard.  It was barrel-fermented and aged for 21 months in new French oak.  Opaque-purple colored, it reveals a fragrant nose of toasty new oak, pencil lead, floral notes, blueberry and blackberry.  This is followed by a plush, ripe, full-flavored wine with excellent depth and breadth…”   94 points Wine Advocate
2004 Clos Mogador Priorat $88.00   “The 2004 is a tour de force.  More extracted and backward than the 2003 it demands a decade of cellaring.  Saturated… expressive perfume of mocha, coffee & violets in addition to toasty oak, earth, blue and black fruits.”   96 points Robert Parker, 94 points Stephen Tanzer
2005 Clos Mogador Priorat $92.00 “The 2005 Mogador is the first wine in Spain entitled to the new classification “Vi de Finca Qualificada.”  The garnacha vines are over 80 years old and the other varieties have been planted since the 1980s… The wine has a superb bouquet of toasty oak, pencil lead, mineral, blackberry and black cherry.  This leads to an opulent, dense, packed, structured wine with 6-8 years aging potential.  Super concentrated, sweetly fruited and complex, this tour de force wine will drink well from 2012 to 2040.”    98 points Jay Miller
2006 Numanthia-Termes Termanthia Toro ($225.00) One bottle available   530 cases produced.   The 2005 Termanthia received 97 points from The Wine Advocate and 95 points from Stephen Tanzer for its superb depth of black fruit, mineral, seductive spices and balance.  The 2006 hasn’t been rated yet but don’t wait.
 
Thinking about a Spanish influenced side dish for Thanksgiving?   Here’s a link to The New York Times’ Spanish Potato, Ham and Piquillo Pepper Croquetas recipe as well as one to this weeks Seattle Times recipe for chicken in Spanish Almond sauce:
 
.  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/dining/192arex.html?scp=1&sq=piquillo&st=cse
 
 
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2008407593_recipe19chicken.html

Sherry Season

November 14th, 2008

SHERRY AND PORT SEASON   A touch of sherry or port on a chilly night can restore the body, if not the soul. Whether sipping a dry amontillado as an aperitif, enjoying a rich Oloroso with cheese, or tipping back a glass of port with a good Valor chocolate, these wines bring a warm and cozy feel to dark nights.  They are also excellent for cooking, adding an exceptional accent to mushroom or pork recipes.  Here are my top choices this season:
Valdespino Inocente Fino $19.99 (375 ml) Aged for 7 years under flor, bone dry Inocente has delicate floral aromas and clean, nutty flavors.   Wonderful with steamed clams!
Alvear Carlos VII Amontillado $19.99 (500 ml) A dry amontillado from Montilla, made from 100% Pedro Ximenez.  Dried fig and hazelnut flavors with a silky finish.  Fantastic in seafood bisque.
Lustau Los Arcos Dry Amontillado $8.99 (375 ml) $15.99 (750 ml) One of my favorite value amontillados.  Butterscotch aromas with flavors of toffee, spice and walnuts, this is super in mushroom recipes and also delicious just for sipping.
Hidalgo Faraon Oloroso $18.99 (500 ml) A rich, dry Oloroso.  “Aromatic with aromas of hazelnuts, walnuts and raisins and a broad, dry flavor profile.”  91 points Jay Miller
Lustau East India Solera $12.99 (375 ml) $25.99 (750 ml) An elegant blend of dry Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez.  Weighty and sweet with flavors of vanilla, raisins, walnuts, coffee, and chocolate.    Excellent with cheese or pecan pie.   94 points Robert Parker
Quinta do Infantado Ruby Port $10.99 (375 ml) $15.99 (750 ml) Roasted redcurrant, mocha and a hint of raisin on the mellow nose.   Sweet and silky.   A great introduction to ruby port!
2003 Delaforce Vintage Port $26.99 (375 ml) $43.00 (750 ml) Special price!  Affordable enough to drink one now and put another in the cellar.   “A fabulous nose of cassis and berries with hints of licorice.  Full-bodied and lightly sweet, with super sexy tannins and a long, long, finish.   Very classy.”   95 points Wine Spectator
Graham’s 10 year Tawny $32.00 “Complex orange peel, cedar and plum aromas and flavors are the hallmarks of this tawny.  It has medium body and sweetness with a crisp, clean finish.  Absolutely delicious to drink.   Pure honey.”   91 points Wine Spectator
Porto Rocha Glorious 50th Tawny Port $104.00 (375 ml) $181.00 (750 ml) A rare blend of 1937, 1957 colheitas with 10 and 30 year old tawnies.  Orange zest and walnuts, burnt sugar, mocha, caramel and honey with a hazelnut and marmalade finish.  Savor it after dinner.      
NEW FOODS
Veigadarte goat cheese: Think Humboldt Fog on steroids!   This gooey, tangy, soft-ripened goat cheese is produced in a small village in the province of Leon. Made from a blend of three different goat milks, it’s covered with oak ash and a thick bloomy white rind.  With a lively zestiness and citrus twang, it will impress your friends at parties.
Green Cerignola Olives They’re big, bold, beautiful, and green. Cerignola are the largest olives in the world. These fleshy green wonders have a fruity, mild, clean taste, but their most impressive feature is their size and resulting meatiness.  Biting into a Cerignola is almost like biting into a savory plum. Deep jade green in color, plop one in your martini!
BACK IN STOCK: Mustapha’s Moroccan Harissa after a summer-long absence
 
Thinking about what to serve on Thanksgiving?   Here’s our sherry basted turkey recipe which is what we have cooked for the last several years: 
 
TURKEY WITH CATALAN STUFFING (from The Spanish Table Cookbook)
 
Basting mixture:                                                      
2 Tablespoons            Course sea salt                     
½ Teaspoon                Saffron threads                      
8 cloves                       Garlic, minced            
½ cup                          Olive oil                                              
1                                  Large orange, quartered        
1                                  Lemon, quartered
½ cup                          Amontillado sherry
 
Stuffing:
2 cups                         Chopped onions
1 cup                           Spanish pine nuts
1 cup                           Raisins, re-hydrated
1 bunch                       Spinach, chopped
4 cups                         Stale bread, cubed                 
 
Pre heat the oven to 450 degrees.
 
Put the salt and saffron in a mortar and use pestle to grind them together.   Add garlic, mash to a paste and slowly add olive oil.    Using a pasty brush, paint the turkey with this mixture.  Quarter the orange and lemon and slip them into the bird’s cavity.   Put the turkey in a very large cazuela and pour the sherry over it.    Roast in a hot oven (450 degrees), basting every twenty to thirty minutes with the juices which collect in the bottom of the cazuela.
 
When done, remove the turkey from the pan and set it aside to rest.   While the turkey is resting, pour off the drippings and separate the fat from the juices.   Reserve some fat if you intend to make gravy.   De-glaze the pan with ½ cup water, and then add it to the de-fatted juices.
 
Stuffing:  
Put the raisins in a bowl and cover with some of the turkey juice to re-hydrate them.  Cook the onions in olive oil until translucent, and then toss with the other stuffing ingredients in a large mixing bowl.   Add enough of the juices from the roasting pan to dampen the stuffing.  Any extra juice can be used if you make gravy.   Put the stuffing in a cazuela and bake at 450 degrees, until heated through and surface is crisp, about 25 minutes.    After the turkey has rested, carve and serve with stuffing.

Day of the Dead in Oaxaca

October 23rd, 2008

Next Tuesday night, we are flying off to Oaxaca for a week of tasting moles and steeping ourselves in the atmosphere of Los Dias de Muertos.   Rooted in pre-Columbian rituals, the annual, decorative ceremony pays respect to the departed.  The markets and park stalls will be filled with sugar skulls, paper-mache skeletons and marigolds. While we are gone, Isaac Rivera from our Santa Fe store will be helping out here in Seattle again.  If you met him when he was here last May, drop in and say hello.
Some new stuff now in the store:
COPPER CATAPLANAS: These Portuguese clam cookers are back in time for Christmas but at much higher prices ($80.00 to $160 each).  4 sizes, 23cm, 26cm, 29cm & 33cm.  New flat bottoms and shrink wrapped without being lacquered making them easier to use (Available Friday, October 24th).
BLACK GLAZED CAZUELAS: What we expect to be a one-time import, we have brought in some open cazuelas and some bean pots with lids glazed in black.  Our supplier gave us a price break on these so if we do import them again, it will be at a higher price.
EUROPEAN STYLE MUSTARDS Since 1996, our supplier Kitty Keller has wanted to import coarse mustard made with Banyuls vinegar, but couldn’t do it because U.S. Customs collects a 100% duty on all European mustards as a retaliatory tariff.  Eventually, she found a U.S. firm she liked and trusted to do her private recipes.  Here is her line‑up:
BANYULS MUSTARD:This is coarse mustard with French-Catalan Vinegar of Banyuls, a touch of water, mustard seeds, Spanish sea salt containing no anti‑caking or flowing agents and a dash of turmeric to keep the color.
DIJON MUSTARD: This is what Dijon style mustard should be: mustard seed, water, vinegar, sea salt.
DIJON TRUFFLE MUSTARD: The addition of a substantial ration of truffle bits and truffle essence to this silky mustard will take your jamon y queso on baguette up more than a notch.  What you will have is a heavenly bocadillo.
RUSSIAN MUSTARD: Not from Kitty Keller – a Gorbachev Babushka doll adorns the label of this post-cold war, imported hot mustard.
QUESOS
MONTCABRER:  Spanish Table Exclusive!  This beautiful charcoal and grey rind wheel of cheese is made by the famous cheese maker, Josep of Nevat. A Catalonian original, this semi-firm goat cheese is bathed in vegetable oil and charcoal and aged for 90 days. The texture is creamy and slightly chalky. The flavors are sweetly herbaceous with mushroom overtones, and a subdued tangy finish.
DOM VILLAS QUEIJO DE VACA CURADO:  Dom Villas is a cow’s milk curado aged 6 months.  This Farmstead cheese is made on a small cooperative of four people near the costal area north of Porto Friesia, Portugal. The texture is creamy and springy. Dom Villas is washed in brine to enhance its herbaceous mildly piquant buttery flavors.
KITTY KELLER’S SALTS
BLACK TRUFFLE SALT: Kitty also combines black winter truffle powder and truffle essence for flavor and truffle scent.  Election night, what could be better than a bottle of chilled Cava and popcorn dusted with Black Truffle Salt?
SAFFRON SALT: Simply stellar Spanish sea salt with bits of saffron threads and a tasty custom ground saffron powder.  This is terrific dusted over shrimp to be grilled or rubbed on chicken which turns a beautiful color when roasted and has great flavor!
PIQUILLO BLOW-OUT: This week, Napoleon Piquillo Peppers from Peru are a beat-the-Euro, low, low price of just $2.99 a jar. Stock up while our floor-stack lasts!
POEMA BRUT CAVA $8.99: Crisp night air and cool coastal waters translate into bright and juicy tasting citrus and sea shell which compliment this sparkler with its aromas of pears, toast and orange zest.  Price just reduced from $10.99!
NV ALANDRA RED ALENTEJO $6.99:  We mentioned this Portuguese wine in our email last week.  Saturday night, we took it to a wine tasting where it showed itself off in a blind tasting of 14 wines scoring in the top tier.  Bursting with flavor, it is the best value in the store right now.  Look for it on top of the wine barrel marked “Great Value.”
TERRAI BLANCO MACABEO CARIÑENA, $6.99: Floral, fruity, tropical flavors with a bit of a tart citrus finish makes this white wine perfect for sipping while you catch the latest election shenanigans.  Or turn off the TV and pair it with cheese and one of our fig jams.
NUNTIUS CARIÑENA ‘07, $12.99: After tasting 25 variations, Bellingham importer Basilio Grueso of Casa Ventura Imports came up with this power packed wine blended from garnacha, syrah and tempranillo.  Earthy and smokey with hints of rose petal, you won’t find a better bottle of wine under $15.00.  Look for the red label with a branch and a bird.
As we mentioned last week, Basilio and Andaluca Restaurant are putting on a Spanish Wine Dinner, this Friday October 24th.   A six course meal pairs a different wine with each plate that’s guaranteed to knock your socks off!  The cost is $99 per person.   For details or reservations, contact Andaluca Restaurant 206-382-6999 or email kkhoshdel@andaluca.com
PLAVAC CROATIAN RED DRY WINE: This Dalmatian red from the Dingnac winery is reminiscent of the village wines made in Spain 20 years ago and sold to people who brought their own 5 liter jug to the winery along with a handful of pesetas.  The donkey loaded with wicker saddle bags filled with grapes telegraphs its pre-Parkerian character, unspoiled by flattery or adulation.  At $15.99, it is neither a value nor a discovery but it is a trip down memory lane.  Drink it with eggplant baked in Ajvar.
BOOK:  SPAIN A Culinary Road Trip, Mario Batali with Gwyneth Paltrow: Companion to the PBS television series, this book is filed with fun photos of both food and celebrities; travel tips and great recipes.  Now in stock!
By the way, if you want to participate in Day of the Dead, here at The Spanish Table we have folding paper altars, greeting cards, books, papel picado banners, paper mache skulls and plastic molds for making sugar skulls so that you can have your own Day of the Dead celebration. We also have a range of Moles so you can prepare your own Day of the Dead feast.

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