We returned from Porto on Sunday, November 19. On Monday we sent Al, Maren, Busaba and Cathy off on a tour with Diogo (friend and partner in the tour business to Gui who Alexis used when she was in Portugal - thanks Alexis!). They set off out for Sintra and saw 3 palaces in one …
Category: Uncategorized
Douro Day 2
With so much expertly prepared and exquisite tasting food, did we need to eat the next day? Absolutely not. But, the real reason we went to the Douro was to return to one of our all-time favorite restaurants - Casa do Arco. Before lunch, though, we needed to walk! C found a hike that looked …
So incredibly fortunate we are
My dad and his wife arrived today with a suitcase full of goodies for us, some of which we requested (like Halloween candy and spices we cannot find), and a surprise box from our good friend Sugi! Thank you thank you, Sugi, for the super thoughtful gifts that remind us how incredibly lucky we are …
More Delicious Local Food
I'm starting this post in the a.m. and I will finish when we return from our friends' house tonight. So, it may be a bit disjointed. But, I'm starting with one thing I love and I typically do not eat much of in the states: bread. Daniel introduced us to what we think is the …
3 days left and counting
Here's me looking happy in my pastry kitchen. I have the immersion circulator and the cryovac machine (not really a cryovac, but I like to call it that) over my right shoulder, and I'm making "chupitos" and macerated strawberries for stuffing the mochi. Here's the mochi before I pull it (it's not actually green; I …
A funny, insightful book: “Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
I'm only about 1/4 of the way through the book because I can manage to read only a few pages each night before I fall asleep. It's not the contents of the book or the writing that's causing me to fall asleep, to be sure. I love the book. It's raw, it's unbelievable in its …
Day 2: Dos Palillos
This is going to be another short post with no pictures, as it's actually Day 3, my time, and I have to run out the door to work in a few minutes - just a short 7 hours after I got home from Day 2. More things I like: 1) I made mochi from scratch. …
Day 6 El Quim: Busy-ness, as usual, and no business tomorrow
So, I shucked 10 Kilos of fava beans today for a very traditional dish that incorporates a special blood sausage, the elbow of a pig, and fresh mint. I forgot the name of it, but will post it when I remember. One of my highlights of today was seeing new friends again that Carnet and I met …
Continue reading Day 6 El Quim: Busy-ness, as usual, and no business tomorrow
Day 3: El Quim
Now that I have several hundred artichokes under my belt, I fully plan to put the fried artichokes on my menu of the restaurant I'll one day open. Think chips, except artichoke slices AND WAY BETTER. I now feel part of the team. The jokes are flying and although my attempt at humor in Spanish is …
Montserrat… one drink at that altitude and you are done.
Today through my expert navigating skills, Rachel and I went to Montserrat, a mountain with a monastery about an hour by train out of Barcelona. We really had no idea what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. We had to take a cable car up, which was made by the krauts in the 1930's …
Continue reading Montserrat… one drink at that altitude and you are done.
Salty Apron 