Thursday for lunch, Quim made us a delicious muscle and pea soup with a saffron and leek broth. The recipe is really simple: 1) Add 1 c. h2o, 1/2 c. of sweet vermouth, and 2 fresh bay leaves to a pot 3) dump in fresh muscles 4) steam muscles until all are opened (discard any …
Category: Travel
Sant Jordi Day, and more delicious food in and out of El Quim
Monday, I made Lebanese food, and my boss, Quim, came over for dinner. I made Kibbeh, Fatyre, flatbread with zatar, a tomato and onion salad with sumac, an orange and olive salad (not sure if that's Lebanese, but I thought we needed a 2nd salad), and an app plate of stuffed dates with goat cheese …
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Sunday in Barca
On Sundays, many places close down. So, it's a great time to just go walk about the city and window shop to see what new places you might like to patronize when they're open. Just stay away from La Rambla - it's usually a mad house, and today was no different (I crossed over to …
Day 2, Round 2, El Quim
Ahh, to be in a kitchen again for 10 hours. I love it! The morning started off slowly, but then the afternoon picked up. I tried to stave off eating as much as possible as I knew my stomach was going to be a grouch if Quim fed me seafood again, but then he brought …
Back in Barcelona
Ahhh, back to the hustle and bustle. Returned yesterday and got settled into my new digs. It's a gorgeous place with vaulted ceilings and Spanish tiles on the floor. And, it's loud as all get out. It's on a very busy street, Rambla Cataluyna. It's very central to all 3 of my stages and it's …
Spain: Bubo, Takashi Ochiai, and Girona (not in that order)
Yes, this cake was as amazing as it looks. It was a passion fruit-banana tart. It came from a "pastiserria" (pastry shop) called "Bubo", which is also the name of Pastry Chef Carlos Mampel's tapas door, next door. Both are near the Basilica Santa Maria del Mar, in Barcelona's El Born neighborhood. My friend Karina, …
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Days 4 and 5 at Quim’s; Monday at Alimentaria; Monday night at Lolita
And, so there is Team Quim (except we're missing Marcos; he didn't work that day). From left to right: Ricardo (in back), Christian, Yuri (Quim's son), Quim, Joan, me, Jordi (standing), and Antonio (kneeling down). This team has loads of fun. So unlike most kitchens in the U.S., this team has stayed with Quim for …
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Day 2: El Quim
Today was another fun day of staging. Quim's son, Yuri, is very gracious, and he's teaching me how to make certain dishes. He told me that whenever the asparagus with bacon, or the calamari, or the mixed seafood plates were ordered, that I'd make them. This was excellent, since they were all grilling items. I …
1st day of staging at El Quim de la Boqueria
After 3 weeks of touring and having a blast, I started staging this morning at 7:30 a.m. at a place called El Quim de la Boqueria. Quim, the owner, is awesome, and pretty famous. All the restaurateurs in Barcelona come to his place to eat, and Quim travels around the world to work with other …
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4 days in London: Gorgeous buildings, terrible Indian-ish food, and the best steak known to woman
*Warning: I am in a sassy mood, so this post will be sassy. Read at your own risk.* On Thursday, I stepped off the plane to a gorgeous day in London. I made my way from Gatwick to the hotel where I met C. We walked over to his office and I dropped him off …
Salty Apron 