Who doesn't love tapas?

We were very happy to be invited to a dinner party by Spanish friends X & A. I can't remember whether I told my husband how much I liked tortillas de patats when studied in Spain but when he tasted that first bite, he understood my reason. :)

The pimientos del piquillo rellenos is very unique tapas and they told me it's from Navarra. Hahaha I am not sure if I tried it before but I do remember there are a lot of peppers in that province. Thanks for recalling my terrible memories which are fading so fast now and then. :P

And patatas bravas has very humorous name because I am not sure if those potatoes are braves or not. Suppose they are because they need to be deep fried and then be poured the red paprika on it (is that metaphor of blood? I don't know. :P)

The authentic paella valenciana is the 2nd time I saw Spanish friends cooking in front of me. We were really impressed by the way of making it, definitely not the same as what we see from internet recipes. :D Husband loved how the rice being so well cooked and he said he needs to make improvement on that. Well, the secret might also be the pan that does a lot of works on heating the ingredients more evenly. Not sure if we should invest on that? I finally know how to cut off an artichoke. X said it's good for liver so I think I should cook it in the future for our liver's sake. :P

And the feta cheese salad is so fresh and delicious that from now on I will know how to prepare it thanks to A's recipe sharing with me. :)

Wonderful food and wonderful wine and friends. We spent a terrific night together and it's also Chinese New Year. What a coincidence. I hope they will stay in USA as long as possible. :P

Oh I forgot to mention their naughty sons. A & P are adorable and we loved watching them being aggressive attacking the food though that made their parents a bit preoccupied. :)

I think everyone loves tapas, but tapas are especially delicious when have them with great Spanish friends. :D

After the blizzard of 2010

This is what I got from a friend's forward and I felt so amused by it.

Since D.C. has the record-breaking blizzard this winter & many side walks are buried in snow so high that sometimes hide the car inside. It might be pretty dangerous when plow truck comes in to clean up. So this resident drew the shape of a car on the snow for alert. Haha I love the sense of humor. :D

Washington, DC Snow Storm from Es Video! on Vimeo.

This is another share by my friend Vivian and it's the most beautiful video of 2010 blizzard in D.C. that I've ever seen. :)

Avocado Soup

Finally I saw a recipe which not only uses avocado but also leek that I had no idea how to cook with it. After I tried a few times, the result is quite good. If you desire a lot of veggies, try this. :)

Ingredients

1 large leek

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 medium celery stalks, roughly chopped

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 bay leaves

1 quart chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 large ripe Hass avocado, pitted, peeled, and mashed

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small bunch of scallions, finely chopped

1 small bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

Cooking Directions

Trim the root end of the leek, cut off the tough green leaves, cut the leek in half lengthwise, and rinse well to remove any grit. Roughly chop the leek.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the leek, celery, and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables soften.

Add the bay leaves, stock, coriander, cumin, avocado, and lime juice and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with the chopped scallions and cilantro to taste.

Yield: 8 servings

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=9536043

Our first homemade chocolate cake

I've been to the USA for 2 years and 3 months and today finally husband and I make our first chocolate cake.

The ingredients are:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk

1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease bottoms of squre cake pan. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper. Grease and lightly flour bottoms and sides of pans. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined (3 to 4 minutes). Scrape sides of bowl; continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total). Beat in vanilla.

3. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just combined. Beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.

4. Bake in a 350º oven for 35 to 40 minutes for 8 inch pans and 13x9x2 inch pan, 30 to 35 minutes for 9 inch pans or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Peel off waxed paper. Cool thoroughly on racks. Frost with desired frosting.

My favorite Christmas song for 2009

Alvin and the chipmunks have been my favorite Christmas song singers since my 20. This year I'm so glad that I can get them back to my life.

Enjoy this song "Christmas Don't Be Late". :D

Broiled Lamb Chop

This Sat. finally my husband prepared Broiled Lamb Chop for friends in potluck lunch. We actually wanted to make braised lamb shank, but unfortunately we cannot find lamb shank in Whole Foods one day before, so we changed it to lamb chop.

We soaked the lamb with red wine for about 10 to 15 minutes to remove the strong smell and then rubbed some lemon juice onto the lamb, light coat it with olive oil. Then we rubbed the spice mix (mostly salt, black pepper and rosemary, and also a bit of curry, garlic and thyme) over lamb evenly and marinated it over night in refrigerator.

The rest went easy, just put it into the oven and broiled it for about 16 minutes (8 minutes each side). That's it. I am very glad that my husband succeeded in making this dish so that we all enjoyed it. :D

This is me and ZoZo....

Make your Stick Figure Family at FreeFlashToys.com

Hahahaha.... This is the first time I show myself with dear husband ZoZo here in my blog. Though it is not 100% accurate (ZoZo is not so slim and I don't wear skirt that much), but that is the closest image I see ourselves.