Another Tapas Party (With People this Time)

Hello, my faithful readers! I apologize for my 5-month hiatus, but I just could not handle another grocery trip for evoo in Italy…it stressed me out too much. But now that I’m back in the greatest city in the world — the city that has every single food item known to man — I’m ready to get back to evooing every single week! To celebrate this return to New York I’m having a tapas party — with friends… don’t worry I’m not making food for 20 people and eating it all by myself this time. This comeback menu includes Meat Tapas with Garlic & Sherry, Warm Chili and Cheese Dip with Tri-Color Peppers, Tomato and Garlic Bread Rounds, and *most importantly* Sangria Slushes. Let’s get cooking!

As with every cooking adventure, this one starts out at the grocery store… not just any grocery store, though. This adventure started at the king of grocery stores; a place I missed so dearly: Trader Joe’s. I teared up when I walked through the doors of this beautiful establishment… I was just so happy to be back. Ya’ll don’t even understand how terrible Conad was — that grocery store was the source of 75% of my stress while abroad. Stepping into Trader Joe’s was like stepping into a warm embrace from an old friend I hadn’t seen in years; it made me feel whole again.

Luckily, almost all of the ingredients I needed were fresh produce, which Trader Joe’s has an abundance of at a great value (Trader Joe’s really needs to start sponsoring me). I honestly didn’t even mind that I wasn’t able to find canned jalapeños or lemon ice since I was simply overwhelmed with joy to be back in my favorite store. After a quick wait in the checkout line, I headed over to Fairway to finish my shopping.

I did not miss Fairway like I missed Trader Joe’s. Everyone at Fairway was getting on my last nerve because they all moved in slow motion. I was trying to get in and get out, but I was stuck behind some turtles for a good 20 minutes — not even while I was waiting in line! People just wouldn’t move out of my way — how rude.

Once I finished up in that fiasco of a store, I headed to my good friends, Nico & Kansas’, place.

Now, mind you, this was Sunday, aka world cup day, and by the time I arrived at 5pm everyone was hammered out of their minds. I joined in with some Sangria Slushes — simply red wine and lemon ice — but that’s about as far as our cooking skills took us that day. I was afraid someone would chop a finger off.

Those Sangria Slushes were perfect for the hot day, though. I give the 3 glasses I had ♥♥♥♥ (4) hearts because red wine on a scorching day was just a little too harsh, but when I added the lemon sorbet it turned into this refreshing summer drink.

Fast forward to Tuesday when everyone sobered up enough to finally cook together. I headed back to Nico and Kansas’ apartment around 7:15 to start cooking the feast to end all feasts. We planned on eating on their awesome roof deck, but of course, it was pouring, so we had to settle for eating and cooking inside.

Nico is a pretty good chef, but he had to follow my chefly orders this time around. I put him in charge of the meat: a combination of chicken, pork, and steak.  He chopped everything up into cubes, then skillfully sauteed them with garlic and sherry. I put Kansas in charge of cutting the bread. Unlike Nico, his chef skills are, well…let’s just say he orders seamless most nights, so I wanted to keep his task simple.

I handled the dip, which was pretty basic — all I had to do was throw the chili, cream cheese, jalapeños, and cheddar cheese into a pot and let it melt until it was smooth. That *warmed out* (get it, instead of chilled out) in the oven with the bread for a bit, then I dusted the bread with some garlic oil and rubbed tomatoes across each slice to finish it off.

Nico and I piled our plates (we were the only the only two that actually ate) and prepared ourselves for the moment of truth. 3..2..1… Ahhh the sweet taste of a well-cooked meal. The various meats were all so juicy, and there’s just something about cooking with sherry that elevates the experience and makes the meal feel fancier than it actually is. The bread, well, it was bread, you really can’t go wrong with that. The slight hint of garlic and tomato was a nice, delicate touch to an otherwise simple slice. The dip: wow, that was a joyous experience for my taste buds. I went back and had 4 servings of it. I couldn’t get enough.

Now time for the ratings, which Nico and I both agreed on. The Meat Tapas with Garlic & Sherry receive ♥♥♥ (3) hearts. Although this was delicious, we both thought it could have been better, and was rather mediocre. I have never actually cooked different types of meat together before, so that may have thrown the flavor off a little bit — something to think about in the future. The Warm Chili and Cheese Dip with Tri-Color Peppers receives ♥♥♥♥♥ (5) hearts. This dip tasted like summer happiness in my mouth. Dips are also hard to mess up, but this may take the cake as my favorite dip ever. I dare say it passes up my love for buffalo chicken dip. What was nice about this dip was the recipe said to use bell peppers instead of chips, so it made it just slightly healthy, which is always a good thing. Finally, the Tomato and Garlic Bread Rounds receive ♥♥♥♥ (4) hearts. No meal is ever really complete without some sort of bread. These were traditional, with a slight twist due to the tomato, plus they doubled as another thing to dip into the dip.

Another tapas party meant for 20 people, only to be eaten by two. Honestly, we made a pretty big dent considering the enormous quantity of food, but I’m also glad Tupperware exists for leftovers. Luckily, next week’s menu is meant to serve only 8, so maybe we’ll get lucky and 3 people will show up to eat…slowly, but surely increasing the number of hungry mouths to feed every week. I’m ready to build evoo back up!

Until next week! (Forreal, I promise)

-Mary Honkus

Tapas Party (For one)

I’ve made it to the party section of my Evoo book — take a guess what that means… it means endless amounts of recipes that are designed to feed 20 people. But, I don’t know 20 people…and it is one of those weeks where the only people I want to cook with are me, myself, and I. So, although this tapas menu is supposed to feed 20 people, it will be feeding only one: me. Tonight’s menu consists of Potato Tortilla, Herbed Chicken Tapas, Chorizo and Vegetable Confetti Tortilla, and Mushroom Caps in Garlic Sauce. Let’s get cooking!

This adventure started on Monday at Conad. It had been a frustrating day so far. My roommate Mel and I had been going back and forth with a travel agency that jipped us out of $25. It may not seem like a lot of money, but when you’re in Europe without a job for a year, it is A LOT. Once again we left the agency annoyed, and I thought it would be the perfect time to go grocery shopping. I don’t know why I thought that would be a good idea — my track record with Conad has not been a good one.

Though, this trip to Conad was the easiest, most calming grocery trip since I arrived in Italy 6 months ago. I was able to find every ingredient easily and quickly. To make things even better, All of the items came out to less than €30! I consider that a huge success since this meal is meant to feed 20 people.

I sat down at my kitchen table and said a little prayer since I was about to make a TON of food. I was scared. I didn’t know if I would be able to do it. I kept thinking “This menu will be the end of me.” So I decided to split this menu into two cooking days.

The first day I made the Potato Tortilla and the Herbed Chicken Tapas. To start, I created the marinade for the chicken which consisted of lemon juice, rosemary, thyme, evoo, and salt & pepper. The chicken swam around in that while I chopped up the potatoes and onions for the tortilla. 

I was nervous about making the tortilla. I have a Spanish friend who explained to me that they are pretty difficult to make. The instructions terrified me as well — there was a lot of flipping involved. I can’t even flip pancakes correctly, so I wondered how on earth I would be able to flip a tortilla correctly.

I sauteed the vegetables then apprehensively poured the eggs in. So far, so good. The eggs began to set and I attempted to let the top layer run to the bottom to set…that worked too. It finally came time to flip, so I grabbed a plate, but the plate was smaller than the pan. I was anticipating a disaster. I called my roommate Sara over to help, and we both handled the flip with ease. It was nearly effortless. The tortilla cooked for a few more moments, then voila! I made my first tortilla and it turned out beautiful.

I quickly cooked my chicken, then sat down for my first moment of truth.

3..2..1… Ay caramba! This was more than I could have hoped for. The tortilla was amazing!! For those of you who don’t know what a tortilla is (I didn’t know), it’s basically like a Spanish omelet. It had been ages since I had eaten a potato so the taste of that was like heaven in my mouth. Absolute perfection! The chicken was also marinated perfectly and oh, so juicy. I probably could’ve eaten all 20 servings in one sitting, but I managed to have a little bit of self-control and saved the rest so I could have leftovers this coming week.

I had a busy week at school, so I wasn’t able to make the second half of this evoo menu until Friday (Today). Luckily I had so many delicious leftovers to tie me over until I was able to cook again.

I came home from the gym ready to make more delicious tapas for myself! I was much more prepared to make a tortilla this time around. This tortilla sounded like a “fully-loaded fries” version of a tortilla because it is topped with sausage, onions, red & green peppers, and peas. While the tortilla set, I cooked the mushrooms and doused them with wine. The aromas coming from the kitchen were utterly mouthwatering.

This tortilla proved to be more of a challenge since it was double the size of the last one. But fear not — I successfully flipped the beast TWICE! I could barely contain my excitement.

My stomach was grumbling so loudly, and it thanked me when the moment of truth finally came. 3…2…1… I’m telling you, it does not get better than this. I’m going to start making tortillas regularly because damn are they delicious! The mushrooms were impeccable as well.

Now time for the ratings. the Potato Tortilla receives ♥♥♥♥♥ (5) hearts. I’m telling you, this omelet thing was out of this world! Potatoes, onions, and eggs are the best combination. No one argue with me. The onions became slightly caramelized as I was sauteeing them, so there was a hint of sweetness which made for a firework explosion of flavors in my mouth. Amazing. The Herbed Chicken Tapas receive ♥♥♥♥♥ (5) hearts. Homemade chicken dishes are often hit or miss, but this one was a home run! The marinade was one of the best I have ever used, and throughout the week the chicken stayed juicy and delicious. Usually, I get tired of rosemary after eating it two days in a row, but I just could not get enough of this chicken. The Chorizo and Vegetable Confetti Tortilla receives ♥♥♥♥♥ (5) hearts. I didn’t think I would be able to top the first tortilla, but 2nd times the charm? I loved how it was filled with numerous vegetables — it made me feel very healthy, and who doesn’t love a delectable healthy dish? I am still in awe of this tortilla. Finally, the Mushroom Caps in Garlic Sauce receives ♥♥♥♥♥ (5) hearts. Mushrooms are one of my favorite foods, and when you cover them in a savory garlic sauce…just wow. Juicy, tender, and delicious! This meal was simply incredible.

After reading “serves 20 people,” most people would cut a recipe to serve just themselves…Not me. I will never do that, and anyone who says I can’t eat 20 servings worth of food is not a friend of mine. I think I’m going to turn all of these cooking “parties” into parties of one…because I can never have enough food. Thank goodness I have a gym membership this semester…

Fino alla prossima settimana! (Until next week!)

-Mary Honkus