EU Nights: Tapasgeddon

This was surprisingly wonderful. It sounds very simple, but hey, everyone likes a ham and cheese that thinks it better than you.

Ham and Cheese Toast

Serves 4

• 1 small French stick, sliced into 12 rounds (we used a sourdough baguette)
• 50g/2 oz/ ½ cup grated cheese, such as Manchego or Cheddar. (We used Cheddar, damn albertsons and lack of Manchego. Parmesan cheese would be grrreat here too.)
• 1 large garlic glove, peeled
• 3 slices of salt-cured ham (prosciutto), quartered
• Coarse black pepper

Toast the bread under a hot grill until both sides are golden brown. Cut the garlic glove in half and rub the cut surfaces over one side of each piece of toast. Put the ham on top of the garlic-flavoured toast. Wrinkle the ham so that it fits loosely on the toast round. Top each toast with grated cheese, then sprinkle with the pepper. Get back to the grill and cook for about 1-2 minutes until the cheese is melted.

We used a Pizza oven that Tele had laying around his living room for this, but a toaster oven would work just as well.

Serve hot.

These went over really well. They were super easy to make and are great for a party because you can make them ahead of time. Being that I don't eat chocolate, I experimented with a few of them using carob in place of the chocolate. I am used to the bittersweet taste of the carob and felt that it worked nicely, but Savory's wife didn't find them as yummy being that she is not accustomed to the flavor. However, she was all over the chocolate ones.

8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped,
3/4 cup chopped and toasted pecans
20 sheets phyllo dough (14 in by 9 in)

Melt chocolate in the microwave. Stir in pecans.

Lightly brush on sheet of phyllo with butter, place another sheet of phyllo on top and brush with butter. Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp cloth to keep it from drying out. Cut the two layered sheets into three 14 in by 3 in strips.

Place a heaping teaspoonful of chocolate mixture in the lower corner of phyllo strip. Fold dough over filling, forming a triangle. Fold the triangle up, then fold the triangle over, forming another triangle. (Note: if you used to play "football" with a little paper triangle and finger goals you will know exactly how to fold up these little triangles). Repeat with remaining strips of dough and remaining sheets of phyllo.

Place triangles on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Yield:30 servings.

This one starts off as a bit of a disaster.

I had four great tastes that I figured would taste great together- spinach, salt pork, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms. Unfortunately, my quantites were a bit off, and the cumin I added really didn't help the dish much; in addition, the artichokes were marinated in a bit saltier liquid than I'd hoped for.

Were I to do it again, my next recipe would look more like this:

• 1 lb bacon, cooked on low until all the fat is gone
• 2 cups chopped mushrooms, cooked in the bacon grease
• 1 lb sauteed spinach, seasoned with garlic and onion powder
• 1 can of artichoke hearts

After cooking all these and putting them in the food processor, I believe this simpler pate would fix the saltiness of the original recipe, where the entire dish was dominated by the 2 cans of artichoke hearts I added. I'll let you know how this revised recipe turns out.

This isn't so much of a traditional Tapas recipe, as something I want to make but haven't had the time. Stolen from here, credit goes to them.

Vinaigrette: * 1/2 cup pomegranate juice * 1 teaspoon finely minced shallot * 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar * 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice * 1/4 teaspoon sugar * 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil * 2 tablespoons walnut oil

Salad: * 4 ounces Earthbound Farm Organic Mixed Baby Greens * 1 Fuyu persimmon or ripe pear, thinly sliced * 1/4 cup toasted or candied walnuts * 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds

To make the vinaigrette, place the pomegranate juice in a small pan and reduce to 2 tablespoons over medium high heat. Combine the juice and the remaining vinaigrette ingredients in a small glass jar and shake vigorously to combine.

Place the mixed greens in a large bowl and add half of the vinaigrette, tossing to coat the leaves. Add more dressing as desired.

Divide the salad between 4 chilled plates and decoratively arrange slices of persimmons or pears atop the greens. Sprinkle each serving with walnuts and pomegranate seeds and serve immediately.

Thats the cut and paste version from the website. I'm probably going to mangle it a bit, because of time, money, and treasure hunting reasons. I'm going to omit the walnut oil, at least.

The first thing I made for Tapasgeddon, in order to get me in the mood for the rest of the cooking, was a white sangria. This one is loosely based upon this recipe, but I felt the need to make a few flavor additions:

• 3 Pears, cubed
• 2 Apples, cubed
• 2 Pinot Grigio
• 2 Ginger Beers
• 1 oz. Mint, lightly chopped and macerated
• 2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
• 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

In true slacker fashion, I basically chopped stuff up and threw it all together.

So far, it's good. I can't wait to taste it after it mellows a bit.