Saturday, June 30, 2007

Topless, I mean Tapas Bar


Tapas Sandwiches 1, originally uploaded by mud pie gourmet.

When we lived in Mexico City people often thought we were from Spain or Argentina. That was until I opened my mouth. "Ahhh, Norteamericana!" That's right, I have a gringa accent. I can't even do a good British accent and I lived there, too. However, S. is still mistaken for being Spanish or Argentine after he speaks. He has the accent. I guess that's what comes from learning Spanish living with a native Argentine and living in Argentina for two years. One time when S. was serving a mission for our church he was walking down the street with his missionary companion when a 6 foot 4, 300 pound, drunk man grabbed him by the collar and pinned him against the wall and accused S. of being an FBI agent. The man threatened to kill him. In S.'s best Argentine accent he said (in Spanish), "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm from Buenos Aires." The guy said, "Oh, never mind." Talk about the Lord protecting you.

Here is a Spanish-inspired meal. In Charlottesville were deciding where to go for dinner one night. A friend, (Mike N.) said, "What about a topless bar?" Okay, that is what I thought he said. He really said, "What about a Tapas Bar." So, Mike, next time you guys are in town we can add these sandwiches to the Topless, I mean Tapas Bar.

A couple weeks ago S. had an urge for some good cheese. When I saw the wedge of Manchego he bought at Wegmans I was inspired to invent this new Spanish dish.


FYI: Tapas is the name for a wide variety of appetizers in Spanish cuisine.

They may be cold, such as mixed olives and cheese, or warm, such as puntillitas, Andalusian battered, fried baby squid. In Spain (mainly in the southern half of the country), tapas are usually given for free to accompany a drink before lunch or dinner. In the United States and the United Kingdom, tapas have evolved into an entire cuisine; at Spanish restaurants, patrons may order many different small tapas, and combine them for a full meal.

Tapas Sandwiches
Serves 2

Cheese marinade:
2 green onions, chopped
1 T olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup roasted red peppers, sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 lb Manchego cheese, thinly sliced

Place cheese in a 9x9 pan. Drizzle with olive oil, green onions, cumin, salt and pepper. Top with red peppers. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to overnight.

The Sandwich:

1 russett potato, washed and thinly sliced
1/3 pound Chorizo, thinly sliced
Good bread, such as a bagette, sliced into sandwich-sized pieces (4 pieces total)

In a frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high. Add sliced potatoes and cook, turning so both sides are golden brown about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place sliced Chorizo in a frying pan over medium high and saute about 7 minutes. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to broil. On a cookie sheet place sliced bread. Add sauteed potatoes, chorizo, marinated cheese with red peppers on the top of the bread. Broil for 2 minutes, watching closely.



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

this looks yummy. what a great combo of tapas. (i linked to your website from stephmodo and i am really impressed with your culinary creativity)

Anonymous said...

These were DELICIOUS! I even had one cold a few hours after dinner and it was still great. I went to a great spanish restaurant last week and Julie's tapas sandwiches were better than what I ordered there.

Carrie said...

Bad Idea to check this blog on a Fast Sunday! Hello! Those look delish! Wanna make some when I come to town? The cheese, roasted red peppers, good bread....mmmmmmm.....

The Olsons said...

Okay this is not fair I don't have access to my kitchen this summer and your making it alot more difficult...
Thanks Julie!

Honza said...

I really did mean a topless bar but nobody was up for it.

Amanda said...

Oh Mike.

Anonymous said...

So Mike went alone...

S. said...

This post might explain why Kristin and I got so many funny looks whenever we mentioned this great tapas bar we frequented when Ian was a baby...

Vanessa said...

Julie, I am so impressed with your cooking creativity! Thanks for all of the good recipes. and these sandwiches look sooo yummy, i will be trying them soon!

Kelly McCants said...

Oh oh oh! that looks so very good. My parents had a friend named Diebo when I was young. We would travel to Riverside California to visit him. While we were there he would make us his mothers tacos. The tacos had Potatoes in the spicy meat. I love to eat anything like it. This is on the menu for Friday, sandwich night!