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 …
Continue reading Sant Jordi Day, and more delicious food in and out of El Quim
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 …
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 …
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 …
As the subheading of my blog reads "Food, Love, and Life (Not always in that order)", this post is mostly about love and life. At the end, I'll post a dynamite chocolate cake recipe that is terrible for the body, but excellent for the soul. It's my great grandmother Agnes Nolan's chocolate cake. She was …
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, …
Continue reading Spain: Bubo, Takashi Ochiai, and Girona (not in that order)
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
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 …
Continue reading Days 4 and 5 at Quim’s; Monday at Alimentaria; Monday night at Lolita
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 …
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 …
Salty Apron 