Spanish Cooking 101

A few weeks ago I joined a friend of mine for a base-sponsored trip to a local Spanish restaurant for a cooking demonstration. I had no idea what to expect, but I thought it would be fun and perhaps I would learn to prepare an authentic Spanish dish or two so I could impress family and friends when they come to visit. What's the point in learning something if you can't impress people with your knowledge and skills, right?

This is the restaurant we visited.


Here's a little closer view, so you can read the name of the restaurant.


This man was our translator.


The restaurant owners/operators had prepped some of the foods to be cooked that day.


The restaurant is a family-owned business. This is the father and he was absolutely a riot! He and his son run the restaurant, and although I couldn't understand a word they were saying, they seemed to have quite the father/son banter going on. They were very entertaining.


This is the son, and he did most of the cooking and dialoguing with our translator.


Things are getting started with the meal.


The folks at the restaurant were so incredibly accommodating and friendly! They allowed us to participate in the kitchen, take photos and videotape, as you see this gentleman doing in this photo.


Seemingly the Spanish don't have a meal where some type of sangria isn't offered, and this day was no exception. The stuff is sweet, delicious and goes down like Kool-Aid. Scary!


Several of the folks in our group took the opportunity to jump in and help with the preparations. I preferred to stand back and take photos rather than run the risk of looking like Elly May Clampett in the kitchen. Besides, there was sangria to drink and I can't hold my glass, take pictures and cook at the same time. I'm not superwoman, you know!


In Spain, it's all about the olive oil!


Of course a little garlic is always a nice addition to any meal.


Okay, looks like we're gonna need another round. Lunch isn't even ready yet! By the way, who's driving back to the base?


Ah... now we're cooking! Okay, "we're" not cooking, "he's" cooking. Technicalities!


Here's the dining room in the restaurant, where we would eventually be served lunch.


Let's see... a man who will make lunch while I sip a glass (Okay, two glasses!) of sangria and then serve me my food? Twist my arm!


Mmmm... let's dig in, shall we?


Here's the main entree. It was a beef dish with potatoes, carrots, etc. It was delicious!


Dessert consisted of fruit kabobs with baked sweet potato on the side. Although this photo doesn't show it, the kabobs were drizzled with chocolate sauce before serving.

We were told the restaurant would forward the recipes used to the base personnel sponsoring the trip, however, they have yet to contact participants to pass along the recipes. Hopefully I'll soon be able to whip up at least a couple of these delicious dishes. Perhaps I'll eventually shed my Elly May persona after all!