Last night, we sampled quite a few items from our Despana basket. With some bread and olive oil, nibbling on meats and cheese is my idea of a fun evening. The Campofrio Chorizo Espanol was amazing. You could really taste and smell the smoky paprika in the perfect balance of not too salty and not too sweet. The texture was like a fabulous soft salami, chewy but easy to bite through. I ate some pieces alone and some between bread, loving both methods.
The Campofrio Lomo Espanol had the flavor of a nicely cured pork, but it was a bit hard. (It was rested room temperature before eating.)
The Don Alonso Manchego had a fairly standard flavor, but a little gritty in texture. (It was rested room temperature before eating.)
I served the Morcilla (which we’ve had before) over blanched asparagus and Lon raved about the combination. The Morcilla reminds me a little of Chinese sausages. The flavor is different but they are both a bit sweeter and have so much flavor, they can carry any dish. At your next party, forget cocktail wieners, try Morcilla!
Since Lon and I always want as much variety as possible, I did make a few other things: my Spicy Baba Ganouj, Feta Cucumber Dip (from The Ultimate Diabetes Cookbook by Carol Gelles), and some farmer’s market tomatoes with hand torn basil and aged balsamic.
Top this off with some bread and olive oil – good times!
oh the reign of Spain!
The Morcilla sounds yummy.
good times, indeed!
Looks tasty. I hope you washed it all down with a nice bottle of Rioja.
taste memory, Spain is next on my list of places I’m dying to visit.
Ellen, the morcilla is wonderful!
Rich jerk, are you Rich, the jerk or just a rich jerk?
Anonymous, Lon and I are actually not big drinkers and I had to go to a swim lesson that night….drinking and swimming are probably not good combinations.