4 Course Dinner

Appetizer: Mussels

These are little mussels(look normal size because they are on a little plate) that are sauted in a garlic-wine sauce. I first added to the pan the EVOO/butter, mussels, several cloves of garlic, two chopped fresh tomatoes, salt and pepper.(maybe added a little onion, but I don't remember.) After a couple minute saute, I covered and steamed the mussels for a few minutes, then added the wine(meant to add it before steaming). Finally, I added lots of fresh basil and parsley, and reduced the sauce for a few minutes to finish it off.



For the main course, we had a salad, as usual, and white mac-n-cheese with ham. The salad dressing was a raspberry vinagiarette, which consisited of raspberry jam, balsamic vinegar, EVOO, salt, pepper, and a touch of dijon mustard. The white mac-n-cheese started with the basic cheese sauce, including a roux of butter, flour, and a few cloves of garlic, and milk. For the cheese, we used gruyere, parmesan, and emmental, which is a common french cheese. If I remember correctly, we used iberian ham and ham from parma, which formed a salty combination which added great flavor to the sauce. The pasta turned out creamy, cheesy, and delicous.

We finished out the meal with a spin of bananas foster, but we didnt have brown sugar or captain morgan. Despite the missing parts, it was still a nice finish to an enjoyable meal.

Roquefort Trip

As part of the course curriculum, we had an organized trip to the small town of Roquefort. As you may know, this town is famous for its "blue cheese". (they told us its not actually blue cheese, its "roquefort cheese") We first listened to a lecture about the cheese-making process and the trademark issues and protections associated with their cheese. The Roquefort name is protected by French law, and throughout Europe, so that no other cheese can use the name.

Following the lecture, we had a picnic in the park, then had a tour of the caves where they "ripen" the cheese. (let the mold grow) At the end of the tour, we had a tasting of the different cheeses they offered, and I surprisingly liked the strongest one the best. The cheeses were very salty and pungent, but had a pure taste to it, lacking that bite that some blue cheeses have. It's amazing how much better it is than a cheap blue cheese you can buy in the US. Needless to say, this was a much better day of "class" than actually being in class.

Restaurant Review: El Callejon

BARCELONA, SPAIN

I found some good reviews online about this restaraurant, so we decided to tak our chances. It was off the main road, nestled in a back alley.

Once we got inside, there was nobody in the restaurant. I was worried that was a bad sign, but it was only 10:00, which is early for dinner in Barcelona. It was nice that they were accomadating for such a large group, especially since the front desk made the reservation for 2 rather than 11 (not quite sure how that was misinterpreted).

The menu, although not large, had options with seafood, chicken, beef, and vegetarian. It consisted mainly of tapas and appetizers, with a few options for main courses. The prices were not high, ranging from 3-12 Euro for almost any item on the menu. My end of the table decided to order tapas to all share. Of the dishes we ordered, the best dishes were the spinach and ricotta canneloni, the goat cheese salad, and the beef filet tapa topped with chimmichurri. Pictured below is the salman tartare with avacado. The lime in the avacado mixture was much too strong, so I didn't care for the dish. The drink/wine menu was nice, with 7 Euro XL mojitos(bottom left of the picture above) and affordable bottles of Spanish wine, averaging around 15-18 Euro. I did not order a dessert, but tried the tiramasu, which was simply excellent.

Overall, the meal, drinks, and service were all well above average. In rating on a 5 star scale, I would probably give this restaurant 4 stars. This is because the food was a little inconsistent, with some dishes being excellent and some just OK, the drinks were very good, and the service was better than the typical service I have recieved overseas.

Market Pictures

I took several pictures at the market that I've been using for all my produce shopping. The fruits and vegetables are much better than what you get in American grocery stores, as you can tell just by looking.

Weekend in Barcelona!

I'm finally catching back up after a long weekend in Barcelona. We left montpellier at 7:30am, and arrived around 1:00pm. As we came out of the metro at the Plaza de Espana, one of the first things I noticed was all of the bikers and their motorcycles parked everywhere. As it turns out, the Barcelona Harley Davidson festival was going on. We walked through and I had a delicious grilled chorizo and onion sandwich, then we checked into our hotel nearby. We proceeded to go to the church in Barcelona and to Las Ramblas, which is the main street for shopping/restaurants/bars.

As everyone else took an afternoon nap, I diligently searched for a good restaurant to go to(since the front desk was not helpful at all). I found a place called El Callejon, which was great. We then made our way to Espit Chupitos, which is a shot bar that has a huge menu of several hundred shots(at only 2 euro each). It was extremely crowded, so after we tried a couple of shots, we decided to leave to go to the club. We arrived to Razzmatazz around 2am, which is when everyone is still arriving to the club. The place was huge, with several different rooms, each with a different style music. The picture below is the big dance room.

After a few hours we retired back to the hotel, finally going to sleep at 5:30am. On Saturday, we got up and going after noon, and made our way to the beach. Aside from vendors walking up every minute to sell beers, tattoos, souvenirs, etc., the beach was fun. It was packed, but we managed to find a large spot for our group. I also very much enjoyed lunch(with sangria) at a restaurant on the beach.

At 11:00, we arrived to a tapas bar for dinner. As a whole it was good, but there were some dishes that stood out more than others. After a walk that turned out to be longer than expected, we went to a club that was more local. It played house music, meaning it was basically a continuous stream of upbeat songs, all of which had no words and were electronic. Needless to say, the music got a little old, so we called it an early night at 3:30.


Sunday we browsed around this cool mall before we had to leave, but unfortunately nothing was open.

Here was a good view from the train ride back.

Cooking from the market

We're going to barcelona this weekend! Last night we decided to take it easy, considering the train is leaving at 7:30 in the morning. So, for a down night, I made dinner(3rd time this week) and sangria. For dinner, we had pork tenderloin with tomato-balsamic pan sauce, served with sautéed finger potatoes and green beans. The approximate recipe was:

2 pork tenderloins, seasoned with salt and pepper

Vegetables:
2 lb finger potatoes
1 lb fresh green beans
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley
S/P
EVOO

Pan Sauce:
2 cups little cherry/grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced and chopped
1/4 cup fennel, thinly sliced and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar(really not sure here, could be up to a cup)
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh basil
1 tsp fennel tops, chopped(also known as dill)
S/P (be generous, potatoes usually need it)
EVOO

First, I boiled some water and blanched the green beans for about 2 minutes. Don't forget to salt the water, and when you take the beans out you want to put them in cold water to stop them from cooking(and stay green). Then, I filled the pot with new water and the potatoes, and brought them to a boil for around 10 minutes. You don't want to cook the potatoes all the way through, as they will finish cooking later. After pouring out the potatoes in a colander, return the empty pot to the stove over medium-high heat.

In addition, heat up a large metal pan on medium-high. Cover the bottom of the pan with EVOO. Cook the pork tenderloins(one at a time if the pan is too small) until browned on all side. Its important, when using metal, to not move the meat too much at first. After about 5-6 minutes, the meat will be nicely seared and pull off the pan. If you move it in the first couple minutes, it will usually stick to the pan.

Normally I would finish these in the oven, but couldn't since we don't have one in the hotel. So, they did end up taking about 20-25 minutes to cook in the pan.

Meanwhile, put about a quarter cup of EVOO in the other pot and add the potatoes. Add salt and pepper. After they start to brown, add the beans. About 4-5 minutes add the garlic and parsley. A couple minutes later they will be ready to serve.

Back to the pan used to cook the pork. After removing the pork from the pan, pour at the oil, but make sure to keep all the brown bits stuck to the pan. Add a couple tbsp of EVOO and put in the onion and fennel. Sauté for about 5 minutes, scraping up the pieces stuck to the pan. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minted, the add the tomatoes, a few minutes later, add the balsamic, herbs, and salt/pepper. Any bits stuck to the pan should easily come off with this balsamic. If you have any juices from the dish that the meat is sitting in, add that too. Allow the sauce to slightly reduce, about 5 minutes. Serve over the pork alongside the mixed vegetables.

On a side note, the sangria was great because of all the fresh fruit in the market across the street.

Shots!

We went out to a cool pirate themed bar. To get in you walk down a staircase, and you enter through the doors into a long bar. It's so cool because the whole bar is decorated like a ship, and has huge barrels for furniture. Anyways, here's a picture of the flaming shots we did!