This quarter I tried something new for an extra graded assignment. I gave students the opportunity to make one authentic food from Spain or Latin America. Each student presents the food at the beginning of class. I was a little worried, but so far the recipes have been impressive. The only requirements for the assignment are that they must talk about how they made the food and the country from where the food originates. The food should also be homemade, and they have to clear the food with me first. It only takes about 5 minutes at the beginning of class, and I think the students enjoy something different for fourth quarter. I also think it gives students an opportunity to try foods that they normally wouldn't touch in a real-life setting.
Here are some of the recipes students have prepared:
Magdalenas from Spain
Rice pudding from Spain and Latin America
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Spanish Wedding Cookies
Patatas Bravas
Nutilla
Empanadas
Home-made chips and salsa (which I would normally not allow but it was a family recipe)
In the future, I would require that students not repeat a recipe and that they write a short report about the food.
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Friday, April 22, 2011
La comida española
What can I say? I love food. The only thing that I love more than food is food that I experience when traveling. Notice I did not say "eat." It's an experience. Here is a list of a few more foods that I tried while traveling in Spain.
Las migas- This is dish that is from Aragon, and it is basically fried day-old bread crumbs with some sort of meat and grapes. It does not sound like much, but it was delicious.
La ensalada aragonesa- This is a simple green salad with hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, white onions with an oil and vinegar dressing.
Las costillas- Ribs that are different from American barbecued ribs.
Café cortado-I do not drink coffee, so I did not try this. From what I understand, a cortado is an espresso that is "cut in half" with milk.
Anchoas- Anchovies. Not a popular food in the Midwest, but these came up in salads and in many dishes.
Torrezno- Fried pork that are similar to pork rinds.
Las migas- This is dish that is from Aragon, and it is basically fried day-old bread crumbs with some sort of meat and grapes. It does not sound like much, but it was delicious.
La ensalada aragonesa- This is a simple green salad with hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, white onions with an oil and vinegar dressing.
Las costillas- Ribs that are different from American barbecued ribs.
Café cortado-I do not drink coffee, so I did not try this. From what I understand, a cortado is an espresso that is "cut in half" with milk.
Anchoas- Anchovies. Not a popular food in the Midwest, but these came up in salads and in many dishes.
Torrezno- Fried pork that are similar to pork rinds.
¿Qué os apetece?
In January, I visited Spain for the first time (and Europe for the first time, too!). I accompanied a group of students who were participating in a five-week exchange program that our school set up with a colegio in Zaragoza, Spain. After the students' host families picked them up, my job was to visit, eat, visit and eat some more. We spent about 4 days in Zaragoza and 3 days in Madrid.
We visited many beautiful places, but the first topic I want to write about is FOOD! Perhaps the most famous food concept to come out of Spains is tapas. Tapas really refer to portion sizes--they are small plates of finger food typically served with some alcoholic beverage, usually wine or beer. The first night we were in Zaragoza, our hosts took us on what is called el tapeo, which is basically a tapas crawl. We went to one tapas bar and ate one tapa, and then we moved on to another bar and so on.
The first bar we went to only served tapas with mushrooms. The tapa in this bar was simple: a stack of sauteed mushrooms served on top of a slice of french bread. Also we all had a small glass (much smaller than what you would get in an American restaurant) of vino tinto, or red wine. Here is a picture of all the mushrooms being cooked. This is what heaven looks like!
After the mushroom bar, we went to a bar called La cueva en Aragón. There we had a tapa that four of us shared that seemed more like breakfast to this American. It was fried sliced potatoes with ham and onions on top. There may have been other toppings, but I did not take a picture, so I cannot remember.
The next bar we sampled a few tapas that were slices of french bread with various toppings. My favorite was Queso de cabra con confituras (Goat cheese with jam). Delicious!
For a final hurrah on our tapeo was a very interesting tapa that had I not been traveling I may not have had the guts to try it. It is called La Guardia Civil (which refers to the Spanish police). It is called this because whenever you seen anyone with La Guardia Civil, you see them in twos. With this tapa, most people order two. It was like a mini-sub sandwich, and the fillings were sardines, tomato, red pepper and a pickle. I have never tried a sardine before and never had wanted to try one. But I went for it. It was very salty, but not as bad as I thought it would be. 
We visited many beautiful places, but the first topic I want to write about is FOOD! Perhaps the most famous food concept to come out of Spains is tapas. Tapas really refer to portion sizes--they are small plates of finger food typically served with some alcoholic beverage, usually wine or beer. The first night we were in Zaragoza, our hosts took us on what is called el tapeo, which is basically a tapas crawl. We went to one tapas bar and ate one tapa, and then we moved on to another bar and so on.
The first bar we went to only served tapas with mushrooms. The tapa in this bar was simple: a stack of sauteed mushrooms served on top of a slice of french bread. Also we all had a small glass (much smaller than what you would get in an American restaurant) of vino tinto, or red wine. Here is a picture of all the mushrooms being cooked. This is what heaven looks like!
After the mushroom bar, we went to a bar called La cueva en Aragón. There we had a tapa that four of us shared that seemed more like breakfast to this American. It was fried sliced potatoes with ham and onions on top. There may have been other toppings, but I did not take a picture, so I cannot remember.The next bar we sampled a few tapas that were slices of french bread with various toppings. My favorite was Queso de cabra con confituras (Goat cheese with jam). Delicious!
For a final hurrah on our tapeo was a very interesting tapa that had I not been traveling I may not have had the guts to try it. It is called La Guardia Civil (which refers to the Spanish police). It is called this because whenever you seen anyone with La Guardia Civil, you see them in twos. With this tapa, most people order two. It was like a mini-sub sandwich, and the fillings were sardines, tomato, red pepper and a pickle. I have never tried a sardine before and never had wanted to try one. But I went for it. It was very salty, but not as bad as I thought it would be. 
Other tapas enjoyed that we did not sample on our tapeo were:
Croquetas de jamón (Ham croquettes--on the left). These were my favorite. I first had them for breakfast but later we had them as a tapa in Madrid. It is pureed potatoes with onion, ham and cheese. Jamón serrano (the famous ham from Spain that is specially cured--similar to prosciutto) served with french bread and manchego cheese. In many bars, you will see pig legs
Croquetas de jamón (Ham croquettes--on the left). These were my favorite. I first had them for breakfast but later we had them as a tapa in Madrid. It is pureed potatoes with onion, ham and cheese. Jamón serrano (the famous ham from Spain that is specially cured--similar to prosciutto) served with french bread and manchego cheese. In many bars, you will see pig legs
hanging from the ceiling or rafters. This is where the jamón serrano comes from. (Photo from www.wikipedia.com). La ensaladilla rusa is a salad that could be compared to American tuna salad or potato salad. The ingredients are potatoes, tuna, pickles and mayonnaise. 
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