Calmer Moments

Sometimes the going can get tough in the kitchen, normally due to lack of Sherry, but we have the most comfortable reclining chairs for you in which to sit back and relax....................

PX Monday

An amazing Oasis Tart was made in class today. First we made the pastry shell and then after baking it blind, we filled it with a divine concoction of dried figs, moscatel raisins & dates, all soaked in PX Sherry, mixed with a creme friache & flaked almond custard. Served warm with even more creme fraiche, a sprinkling of cinnamon and several glasses of chilled PX. Sooooooooooooo incredibly yummy.

Annie B's Spanish Weddings!

My rooftop azotea has been the setting for many fun and crazy things over the years so when Ken and Jackie asked if they could use it as the setting to recommit to each other in front of their teenage children, to celebrate their 23rd wedding anniversary, I answered with a very definite YES.

Having found the services of Ale to guide them through the event and Marco to speedily make commitment rings, the bride and groom arrived with 3 bewildered children - wondering what was happening. They thought their parents were dragging them off to a Flamenco class!

Both Ken and Jackie had prepared little vows for each other. And with a splash of Cava and Sherry, it was one of the most romantic moments ever!

And the next one please!!

Chocolate & Almond Cake with PX Sherry

For years, possibly decades, many articles have been written about matching chocolate with wine. It's now really exciting to read articles about matching chocolate with Sherry. Not just any Sherry but Pedro Ximenez Sherry. Chocolate and PX is indeed a marriage made in heaven.

PX (Pedro Ximenez) is the sweetest of the Sherries and produces the most fabulous, sweetly intense and divinely delicious glistening dark nectar imaginable. It´s amazing to think that PX is actually a white grape.

In class last week, we made a delicious Chocolate & Almond Cake. It´s a one bowl wonder! Prepared using only the Magimix - but don´t let the simplicity of the preparation effort fool you. This cake is truly a gift of the Gods. The Sherry Gods.

We consumed it with gusto, garnished with PX soaked seedless Moscatel raisins (I´ve yet to find PX raisins). With a fork in one hand and a glass of perfectly chilled PX in the other we extolled this perfect food and wine match.

In the Master fridge of Annie B´s Spanish Kitchen you´ll always find a huge kilner jar of glistening raisins bathed in this epic wine of Jerez . It´s a necessity for an instant pudding. Pop a couple of scoops of preferably chocolate, even vanilla or nut ice cream, into a pretty glass and spoon these little dark devils on top. Anything chocolatey made here needs no excuse....... Deeply yumlicious.

Legend has it that the Pedro Ximenez grape was introduced to Spain from Germany in the 15th century by a fellow by the name of Peter Siemens.

Gracias Pedro.

Squid in the Sunshine

There are many things about living in Spain that I still get seriously excited about - strangely, the things that excite me most, begin with the letter 'S'. Sherry, Sunshine, Sand, Sea and Squid. The winter here has been awful - more rainfall in Andalucia than previously recorded. So when the sunshine appeared around 2pm today, the calling to get to the beach for lunch was loud and clear. Alongside the thundering yet beautiful Atlantic Ocean this divine plate of Calamar a la plancha con patatas pobres hearlded the start of Spring. Every sweet mouthful was totally divine. Cooked to perfection with crispy caramelised tentacles. Patatas Pobres were from local El Palmar tatties. All washed down with Barbadillo 2008. Yum yum.

Sherry - Manzanilla

If I could think of something like the Heineken advert from years ago, with JR Ewing preaching that Heineken could reach parts that other beers couldn't, I would do the same for a glass of chilled Manzanilla sherry.

Manzanilla is the most powerful one sip wonder that I have ever come across! The first sip goes from your ears, to the back of your throat, then down your throat, exploring avenues that you won't know are even there until you try it for yourself. The second sip is a repeat perfomance.I normally start talking again after the 3rd..............

Manzanilla is a Fino sherry, like Tio Pepe, but the difference is Tio Pepe is made in Jerez whilst Manzanilla is made in the coastal town of Sanlucar.It's all within the Sherry tri-angle. In Sanlucar, the barrels are left on the quayside, rather like whisky in Islay, soaking up the salty sea air through the wood of the casks. That's why it becomes the ideal partner for anything salty - olives, almonds, prawns dipped in salt and anchovies.

Manzanilla, like Fino, is best drunk quite soon after opening because neither are exposed to oxygen until you pop that cork and then degenerate as soon as you do. Most supermarkets in UK carry a couple of Manzanillas, some even carry half bottles which is an excellent idea. Must be served chilled - it would be like drinking warm lager otherwise.

A glistening copa of Manzanilla before lunch is compulsary at Annie B's Spanish Kitchen.

Try it - the pleasure is just sooooooooooooooooo there!

Boquerones en Vinagre

There are some things in life that I just can't resist. One of these is Boquerones en Vinagre. Those glistening silvery jewels draped over a plate, drizzled with peppery olive oil and sprinkled with finely chopped fresh garlic letting the vinegar marinade come through........heaven. Pre lunch is when I crave them,accompanied by a chilly glass of Manzanilla. I like them wrapped around picos - tiny breadsticks but my Spanish friends say they should be on eaten on top of the bread served alongside the picos.

One day last week, whilst in one of my favourite Pescaderias in town, pondering my purchase of the day, Oliva, directing me away from my favoured pescados, enthused that the boquerones were 'Muy Bueno'.They did look fab. All plump and healthy - albeit dead. I shrugged my shoulders,asking what I would do with them. She suggested a la plancha or frito.

Boquerones fritos are a legend in their own right and one of the few things we don't do at Annie B's Spanish Kitchen is deepfry fish. I hate the smell for one thing and you can eat pescado frito in town way ahead of anything I'd produce for sure. A la plancha - for me,some fish yes but oily fish no - particularly not small oily fish.

Then she suggested en vinagre - woo hoo!! How? Simple replied Oliva demonstrating on her selected victim. Rip the head off, run your finger along the backbone seperating flesh from bone, snap that off at the tail, open it out, wash and lay flat in a dish with rim. After you've treated all your anchovies like this, sprinkle with sea salt and cover completely with white vinegar. You then leave this in the fridge for 4 hours or more but the flesh must have turned white before the next stage. Remove the fillets, rinse and pat dry. Now cover lightly with Olive Oil and chopped garlic. This has to be the freshest garlic you can lay your hands on. A grind of black pepper. And that's it.

Assuming that you start this process the morning of anchovy purchase,they will be ready for consumption the following day, just intime for that Manzanilla. Trust me - there are few things better than this.

Enjoy!
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