The Latest and Greatest

Food Genre: Spanish
Hostest with the Mostest: Amy
Month: April
Menu: Salmon Ceviche, Gazpacho, Paella, and Sangria

First I have to say that I really, really love my cooking club. It is inevitable that something will not go as planned or hoped for, but we have so much fun cooking, eating, and talking. These girls are just fabulous.

Jonah was along for the ride. 

One of the items on the menu was ceviche, which is fish or shrimp that is marinated in lime juice and seasoning. And that's pretty much all you do! I just found a recipe for Chilean ceviche, which calls for sea bass, grapefruit, and cilantro! I think you can pretty much make it your own, as long as you have a citrus to "cook" the fish.

Lovely salmon.

All cut up and ready for it's marinade.

Also on the menu, Gazpacho. A super-fresh, chilled, tomato-based soup which begins with...bread! 

Cubed bread with fresh garlic being added.

Tomato, olive oil, bell peppers, onion, avacado.

Casey taught us how to peel tomatoes easily. 1. boil for 30
seconds. 2. put in prepared cool water bath for 5 minutes.
3. peel.  4. be amazed.

Then all of this was put in the blender, and chilled until we were ready to eat. I think usually it's good to let it chill for even longer, like over night.

Straining the gazpacho before chilling it. This makes it
a little more thin, since it removes some of the bread.

My personal favorite of the meal was the Paella- a rice dish that traditionally combined leftovers, with seafood, and was cooked over an open fire. We just went ahead and used Amy's stove, you know, since we had one. Seemed like the easier option.

Eves getting the rice started.

Gorgeous, and delicious: tomato, garlic, artichokes,
bell pepper, chicken stock.

The finished product!

There are a couple things I love about cooking club (other than the fabulous company.) One is that we always try recipes that we've never done, or maybe have never even had before! It's always an adventure! As with any adventure, unexpected challenges or problems arise, but that's part of the fun too, because then we have to get inventive and think outside of the cooking "box". Like using panty hose as a strainer. Another one of the things I love is that every time we meet there's something we like, something that's just okay, and something we love. And we are usually surprised about what we end up loving! 

Cheers to another successful cooking club! 

(Our success being measured by a full stomach, a brand-new shared experience,  and a satisfied palette.)