16 Saturday Jan 2021
Posted in food & drink, sevilla, tapas
It’s International Croquette Day! These are just a few of the delicious croquetas I’ve enjoyed over the past year. And yes, there were a few duds too (not pictured). For me croquetas are a litmus test for the quality of a tapas bar. Which reminds me that I haven’t made any for quite some time. That ought to keep me busy for a couple of afternoons. What’s your favourite filling?
31 Thursday Dec 2020
Posted in azahars kitchen, casa azahar, food & drink, home, homecooking
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New Year’s Eve dinner was AMAZING. Inspired by the wonderful presa al palo cortado that I’d had at Bodeguita Romero earlier in the week. It was the first time I’d slow-cooked a whole piece of presa Ibérico de Bellota (pork shoulder) and so I got some cooking tips from my friends, the family at @bodeguitaromero and chef @jose_pizarro. It wasn’t that much different than making my (now famous!) carrillada al oloroso but this sauce was made with palo cortado sherry, LOTS of sweet onion, portobellos, garlic and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. I think I maybe overcooked it a bit as the sauce ended up VERY reduced and had a fair bit of meat in it, that had fallen off the shoulder. So I added more broth and sherry to it and wow, so tasty. Side dishes: roasted potatoes, courgette and spring onion, and Yorkshire puddings. What did you have?
24 Thursday Dec 2020
Posted in christmas, food & drink, friends
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This Christmas Eve was mostly about food. Because hey, what else was there to do? My Instagram “memories” have been trolling me this past week or so, showing me photos of happier Christmas times with friends, both here and in Málaga. But of course none of that was possible this year. So I decided to just enjoy making some great food and, since I am still not having people over to my house, share it with my friend Peter, who was happy to come over and pick up a take-away of everything, including some panattone, beer and palo cortado sherry (in the green salad dressing bottle). The menu was slow braised Ibérico pork cheeks in oloroso with sides of roasted potatoes, roasted veg (carrots, sweet onion, purple onion, whole garlic heads, endive) and my now EXPERT Yorkshire puddings. Simple and delicious. How was your Christmas Eve?
03 Thursday Dec 2020
Posted in food & drink, friends, sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas bars, wine
So ever since Reyes Morales joined me at Casa Román to help me celebrate my 27th Sevilla Anniversary I’ve been promising to bring her a bottle of a nice mencía rosado to try. We both have a preference for crisp white wines and rosés over reds and I discovered this rosado while looking for more economical ways to still enjoy wine while being completely broke. Anyhow, yesterday was finally the day! I showed up at Casa Morales with my chilled bottle of wine and we sat at the table Reyes had reserved for us, in front of an open window (so lots of ventilation) and she proceeded to order food for us. Well, between the two of us and Reyes’ husband Juan Carlos (who stopped by for a quick glass) the bottle didn’t last that long, so then we were on to the sherries.
I’ve known Reyes for a long time, but it’s only been in the past year or so that we’ve started connecting on a more personal level. She is truly a warm and wonderful person and we always have a great time when we get together. Well this time rosé led to sherry, which led to more sherry and eventually a penúltima down the street at Bodeguita Romero. I’m telling you, that chica is a bad influence. 😉
06 Friday Nov 2020
Posted in azahars kitchen, casa azahar, food & drink, homecooking
Well why not? I have an oven, my friend Peter doesn’t, and so this happened. An agreement whereby every couple of weeks or so during the winter months Peter will purchase a nice free-range chicken at the market and then I will prepare it in different ways using my oven and then we’ll split the bird. Did the first one today and, well, as you can see that IT WAS AMAZING.
It’s a good idea on many levels. We both get to enjoy a well-cooked bird, which of course I could do on my own (since I have an oven) but I mean, how much chicken can one girl eat in a week? This way is win-win. I also give Peter the carcass to make a soup or stew, so that’s a bonus for him, and because he buys the bird that goes towards what I spend on electricity. Looking forward to trying all kinds of new roasted chicken recipes too – I think spatchcocking is coming up next.
