SimplySpanish Dinner party

Last week, my parents came to visit. :-) In the picture on left, Dad is on far right, and Mom is on far left. They only had a few days here, so I wanted them to get some great Spanish culinary experiences. But I also wanted to be able to enjoy my time with them and not spend a whole day shopping for ingredients and cooking, with children underfoot.
So I was excited to come across an ad in our Coastline newspaper for SimplySpanish Food, a new company located in Rota that offers cooking classes and catering services. They will offer classes at their site, or come to you. I contacted them about the possibility of hosting a dinner party at my house, and they worked with me to develop a 3-course menu. There was a discount for inviting more people, so we invited some friends who also had parents in town, and enjoyed an evening of wonderful food, plenty of wine, and great company!

SimplySpanish Food is run by two lovely Spanish women-- Fiona and Marijol. Their English is excellent, and they clearly love Spanish food and teaching others to prepare it. We met them at the Rota gate and had to escort them onto base. (You should always contact Security ahead of time when doing this). When they arrived at my house, they immediately began to set the table, and organize the food and tools they brought with them. They did all the grocery shopping for the meal, and the groceries were included in the overall cost per person. They also brought 2 bottles of sherry and 2 bottles of wine. So as they set up, I was free to put my kids to bed, greet my guests, and enjoy some wine. Dinner is not usually a relaxing time for me, so it was very refreshing to have someone else taking care of all the preparations! (Note that on base we use 110 appliances, and their company uses 220, so it is good to discuss ahead of time which electronics they need, and what you own. They asked in advance to use my mixer, which was easier for everyone.)

It was difficult to choose a menu from their list of delicious-sounding options, but we settled on Garlic Prawns as the appetizer, Fid'eu Seafood Pasta as the entree, and Chocolate Mousse for dessert. The first step was to peel the prawns, and save their shells to boil into fish stock. The men jumped right in and helped with the peeling. Then the women took turns popping in and out of the kitchen to observe, ask questions, and enjoy the delicious aromas. SimplySpanish provided a list of recipes for each participant, so we could ask questions about ingredients, and any of the cooking steps. I learned a lot of interesting things:

- To make fish stock, you can use any seafood shell, bring it to a boil, let it rest, and then strain out the shells from the stock
- Spanish garlic is much stronger than garlic from other countries, so they adjusted the recipes for us to use "American garlic". 
- Peeling fresh tomatoes before cooking in a paella or pasta dish gives the dish a smoother texture. They sell special tomato peelers for this purpose. Or you can use a sharp knife. But you don't want to boil the tomato first (as I usually do) because this will ruin the flavor.
- Pimenton is a Spanish spice which is often translated as Paprika. But we learned that Pimenton dulche is actually the same as McCormick Smoked Paprika, and Pimenton picante is like chili powder.
- Chocolate mousse is best prepared with dark chocolate, but not EXTRA dark. It has to be slowly melted, then folded into whipped egg whites.
- In this region, Fid'eu is made with noodles that look just like macaroni, except they are a little thicker. In Valencia and other Eastern areas, Fid'eu is prepared with straight broken spaghetti noodles.
- You can use any kind of seafood in Fid'eu, which is like a noodle paella. Ours had squid and monkfish, which gave it a very rich, creamy flavor. You can also use clams, mussels, shrimp, etc.

All the food was so delicious! The garlic prawns were delightful in a garlic butter sauce; the Fid'eu was rich and flavorful, and the chocolate mousse was so thick and rich that the spoon literally stood up in the bowl! SimplySpanish brought many of the serving dishes, and served us each dish once it was prepared. They even did the dishes while we ate, then caught a cab back to the gate after dessert was prepared, so that we could relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. It was so wonderful to relax with my family, not have to worry about cooking and cleaning like I do every other day, and to learn how to prepare some authentic Spanish dishes on my own! We all enjoyed a night of adult conversation and fancy food, without having to worry about designated drivers or babysitters. The price per person for our menu started at 45 Euros per person, but with the 'Large Group' discount, it became 40 Euro per person. We all thought this was a good deal for the quality that SimplySpanish offered. I would highly recommend them to anyone, and am already thinking of a next event: Girls Night In? Group Cooking class when my in-laws visit? Date Night with my husband? The possibilities are endless! :-)

I am not paid to advertise for SimplySpanish. But they are an excellent company and did high quality professional work, so I don't mind putting in a good word for them. To contact Fiona and Marijol, email simplyspanishfood@hotmail.com, or call them at 653 834 065 or 650 053 621. Enjoy!