Madrid – we ate the whole thing
Our week in Madrid was fabulous. I loved London, Paris was perfect, but Madrid is so cool. Maybe it was the sunny days and warm temps, maybe it was the excellent afternoon siestas, or perhaps it was just a laid back holiday with a lot of really good food. Whatever…we all enjoyed it. An absolute favorite afternoon activity was sitting on the Plaza Santa Ana quaffing cerveza and eating our way through several plates. This wood fired octopus was a favorite with a slightly smoky, sweet flavor that didn’t infringe on the fresh ocean flavor of our favorite cephlapod.
We ordered a salad once because we felt the need to balance out the fish, cheese, sausages, jamon, etc. Funny how the salads come layered with all those things we’re trying to balance against. Naturally we kept ordering salads because they were so delicious.
Obviously the Manchego cheese and Iberian Serrano Jamon was superb. We sampled many fine examples of these regional specialties…it was such a hardship, but we managed.
This simple dish of boiled potatoes dressed with garlic aioli was a favorite and matched up perfect with the cold cerveza. This will definitely be on my list to make here at home.
Empanadas were always a fun thing to order because we had no idea what they would be stuffed with. This one is stuffed with salmon…very tasty.
Each morning we shuffled out to the nearby Cafeteria y Churroteria where we would down multiple cups of cafe con leche as we savored the delicious sweet intensity of Spanish morning pastries. This one is my favorite and and it’s known as the Churro Relleno Dulche de Leche. It was the most intense pastry every…a dulche de leche bomb. I’m already thinking about how I can make something like this at home…after I spend a few weeks at the gym.
Bacon Doughnuts with Maple Glaze – Vote For Hope
I cannot be clear enough about this…if you love doughnuts and if you love bacon then you must make these bacon maple doughnuts…they are infinitely superior to plain doughnuts, more addicting than crack muffins, and fraking tasty with a hot cup of coffee…really they’re enormously excellent!
These babies are super simple to make; dice up a quarter pound of the best bacon you can find and cook it until crispy, let it cool a bit then work it into the doughnut dough, roll the critters and fry them up all according to the directions for the plain doughnuts. Top them with a glaze made from powdered sugar and real maple syrup. WoooHooo…trust me on this, you do not want to miss out on this tasty, porcine treat.
Take some time to plan your day on Tuesday, November 4th. If you haven’t voted already then you may want to head to your polling place early on Tuesday, maybe bring a book, a snack, digital music, water…whatever you need to make the wait in line easier to handle. Voting is just like a bacon doughnut…it’s something you don’t want to pass up. So plan ahead people, make arrangements, and vote.
