Evening of Wine & Chocolate

Tonight was the Chocolate Fest Evening of Wine & Chocolate in P-town so my co-worker, Dina, and I bought tickets to go together. The event started at 7:00 pm at the community park so we got there right when it opened so we could be first in line at the sample tables.

There was also a silent auction at which I bid on two baskets. One with a glass necklace and earring set and one with a bottle of port and six tasting glasses. And as luck would have it, and because I stood and hovered for the last few minutes to outbid any last minute vultures, I won both baskets! So much fun and with great company - I'll definitely be back next year!

A taste of Spain

Tuesday night Chris and I went back to Leon Bistro for another cooking class, this time on Spanish cuisine. We were joined by my co-workers Dina and Josh to make it an official group outing.

What followed was 10 courses of ahhhh-mazing food so get ready to salivate and loosen your pants!

First appetizer was an anchovy and garlic spread with soft-as-a-baby's-behind bread. I was literally licking this stuff out of my bowl.

A roasted veggie salad in a vinaigrette with a side of roasted parsnips and beets.

Roasted asparagus and green beans covered in some sort of creamy vinaigrette (we didn't get the recipe on this one) that had shallots sun dried tomatoes in it. I could have eaten this dish alllll day.

Spicy chorizo tomato soup with fried calamari and sour cream. OMG - my favorite of all of the dishes. I gave the stink face to the old ladies who thought it was 'too hot'. Bah!

Pan seared baby peaches topped with Gorgonzola cheese, pork belly, and drizzled with blood orange olive oil. Surprisingly tasty.

Breaded pan fried eggplant topped with cheese and a tomato relish in a lightly spicy sauce.

Garlic clams with chorizo over cheesy polenta. Second favorite dish of the night.

Tortilla Espanola, a layered potato quiche drizzled with a Romesco sauce. There's actually a local Spanish restaurant, Leonardo's, that makes tortilla espanolas that I get slices of from S&S and I like theirs better. So this version wasn't wowing me. 

Of course you can't eat Spanish cuisine without having Paella. This version had mussels, clams, chicken, chorizo, and prawns. But honestly, the turmeric and saffron in the rice wasn't my favorite. Meh. 

And don't forget about dessert! A lemon custard with fresh churros. Yes, please! Seriously, I could just eat this, the asparagus, and the chorizo soup and be set for life. As you can see they don't feed you very much and you leave starving. We both liked this class better than the Thai cooking class because the food just settled better with our tummies. Less raw veggies, more meat. The next morning my co-worker Dina and I both agreed that neither of us needed to eat breakfast that morning because we were still full from the night before!