Who doesn’t take a picture of their first-ever squid-ink paella cooked on the grill? Your girl, that’s who. I’m going to stop apologizing for not taking photos of these beautiful dinners and just start doing it! One of these days…. Until then, you’ll just have to be content with a picture I took in the part of Spain that inspired our first menu.
ESC #43 had a Valencia/Andalucia vibe, and the big surprise—after how hard it was to source the cuttlefish ink (forget about actual cuttlefish; we used squid)—was how easily the paella came together. I had nightmares of undercooked and/or burnt rice, but no, it came out perfectly and was absolutely delicious:
- Veil of Sanlúcar cocktail. This was a nifty play on the word “manzanilla,” which means chamomile in Spanish and is also the name of a sherry made in Sanlúcar, Spain (where I’ve actually been! Manzanilla and langostinos are one of the best pairings the world has to offer). Unfortunately, I thought the mezcal overwhelmed the delicate aromas of the flowers and sherry, so if I made it again, I’d substantially back off on that component.
- Baked Brie with jezebel peaches. Overbaked this on the grill and it turned into a puddle. A delicious puddle….
- Arroz moreno. If you feel like fussing with sourcing the ingredients, this is a showstopper and really not hard to make. The recipe I have is 404’d, but here’s a very similar recipe—just add 1/4 tsp of cuttlefish ink to the broth (or 1 t squid ink).
- Tomato and Plum salad with chrysanthemum greens and Madras curry vinaigrette. You could drink the dressing on this one. Perhaps obviously for a town where you can’t find squid ink, Alissa couldn’t find the chrysanthemum greens, but arugula worked just fine.
- Grilled summer fruit skewers with vin santo glaze and ricotta. A delightfully light finish to the meal, and Ali and Jessica were actually able to source the vin santo in town!
ESC #44 was a brunch edition with a Levantine/North African theme, which came together very nicely in perfect early-fall weather:
- Badminton Cup: a punch that was basically British sangria and perfect for the menu and the weather—light and rich at the same time with the cucumber and nutmeg playing off the dry red wine.
- Barley salad with fennel and sumac: no longer on the Interwebs, but it’s just those things with some sliced white onion and olive-oil-lemon-juice dressing. Really good.
- Homemade merguez with herby yoghurt. A Smitten Kitchen joint and a delicious one!
- Chocolate Tahini Challah Buns: another Deb Perelman recipe and very good but light on the tahini in our opinion—would double it next time.
The Rookery 