Hedonia

Where to buy Spanish stuff: The Spanish Table

A major part of planning is shopping, and a major part of shopping is knowing where to shop.

While the grocery list for our Iberian dinner contained plenty of items that were easily gathered in one morning's visit to the Ferry Building -- produce at the farmer's market, pork from Golden Gate Meats, clams from San Francisco Fish Company -- there were some particular items special to Spain that we needed to source separately. I could probably have found it all by scouring the city and buying a little here, a little there, but I saw no reason to when we have a place like The Spanish Table just across the bridge in Berkeley.

The Spanish Table is an astonishingly comprehensive emporium of all things Iberian: Manchego, cabrales, jamon serrano, lomo, marcona almonds (blanched or roasted and salted), angulas, bacalao, piquillos, padrones, and of course sardines are just a few of the items at your fingertips. The array of olive oils, sherry vinegars and of course wines, sherries, madeiras and ports is dizzying. Luckily, the friendly and courteous staff is eager to help you navigate those waters.

We stocked up on meats and cheeses, bought almonds and sherry vinegar for the gazpacho, and picked a couple sherries to pair with various courses. Our mighty haul wasn't exactly cheap, but still less expensive than airfare to Madrid, so all good.

Not in the Bay Area? Why, check out their flagship location in Seattle or satellite store in Santa Fe. Or, just shop online.

The Spanish Table
1814 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA

Eat me: Starr Ridge hors d'oeuvre crackers

Whilst extolling the joys of McQuade's Celtic Chutneys, I referred to enjoying them with crackers and an unremarkable cheddar. Ah, but I was playing a card close to the vest. You see, the crackers were not so pedestrian.

I've been a big fan of Starr Ridge hors d'oeuvre crackers for several years ago, since they began carrying them at Bi-Rite Market when I lived around the corner. They have a wonderful, substantial heftiness, and a rustic wheaty flavor that remains neutral enough not to interfere with whatever you're serving them with. They come in a variety of flavors, mostly herbal, some more successful than others. Personally, I think the Rosemary Parmesan and Olive Oil are no-fail complements to all manner of cheeses, charcuterie, pickles, fresh fruit and, well, chutneys. Keeping a smattering of these things on hand makes for easy, instant entertaining when friends drop by ... and once in a while subs in for a full meal after a long day.

Which came first ...

The chicken or the egg?

Scientifically, it's a silly question. Reptiles were laying eggs well before they evolved into birds, much less chickens, and of course the concept of the egg is as anatomically ancient as the animal kingdom itself.

Culinarily, it's less cut and dried, though the egg still tends to have the upper hand. One eats eggs for breakfast, chicken rarely before brunch. And when it comes to Southern food, the egg definitely comes first.

In this case, we're talking deviled eggs (or, more dialectically accurate, "aiggs"), the ultimate appetizer to a Southern meal.

Deviled eggs are not at all difficult, as long as you do two things. First, you must boil your eggs to perfection. Not done enough, and you have gummy, or worse runny, yolks. Done too much and your yolks are chalky and sulfurous, with an unappetizing green halo that dulls the color of your filling. Second, you must turn your perfectly-boiled yolks into a creamy, unctuous filling by passing it through a sieve to break down the cell structure. From there, it's just mix, scoop and serve.

Cocktail party appies

It started out as a dinner party. Our friends Steve and Domonick (and their adorable schnoodle, Sophie) have relocated to the Bay Area from New York City, and we wanted to show them off. But why have a dinner party when you can have a lovely cocktail party with heavy hors d'oeuvres? Vodka is a vegetable, sweetie. It's made from potatoes.

We love to entertain, and have thrown events ranging from groups as small as four people to as large as 75 or so. We've even taken groups on the road, once renting an entire hotel in Palm Springs for a big Mardi Gras fête.

The cocktail party is its own beast with its own rules. Ten to 12 people is usually best. We like to make one house cocktail by the pitcher for easy service; we then offer standard boozes and mixers -- for our crowd, vodka and gin for liquor and tonic and cran for mixers -- as well as wine and beer for those who prefer an alternative. For this event, I decided to make a hurricane, in part due to its seasonal relevance and in part because we have too damn much rum in the house. My derivative version, dubbed the Florence, follows after the jump.

Timing is everything for a cocktail party. Passed hors d'oeuvres make for a convivial atmosphere, so you have to plan ahead to keep the stream of food steady yet diverse. Some of the highlight appies, with pics (courtesy of my husband) and recipes, also after the jump.

Everything went smoothly ... except one thing. Inspired by Sam's Bakewell tarts from the Food Bloggers' Picnic, I thought they'd make a lovely little sweet treat, ideally bite-sized for party fare. I'm not much of a baker, so this was kind of going out on a limb. Sadly, the results were unservable. My short crust didn't set right, and the resulting tarts were gummy and sticky on the bottom, and the tartlets exploded as I tried to extract them from the pan. Ah well, that'll teach me to experiment on the day of an event. I roped in our friends Nick & Russ to make an emergency pastry run for me, so everyone was treated to a lovely CItizen Cake confection. No one complained.