Tag tapas

Holiday Appetizers Galore!

Sweet Potato Galettes With Sage Creme FraicheA festive holiday appetizer & cocktail party can be a fabulous, inexpensive alternative to hosting a dinner party or going out to a restaurant.

At our Holiday Appetizer Cooking Class this Thursday (12/4) in downtown San Francisco, we’ll show you how to whip up impressive party bites like these Sweet Potato and Bacon Galettes with Sage Creme Fraiche.

Plus, enjoy free champagne while you cook!

~ Holiday Appetizer Cooking Class ~
Thursday, December 4, 2008 6 – 8:30 pm
Sur La Table Union Square
77 Maiden Lane, San Francisco CA 94108
$85 per person | BUY TICKETS

On the menu for the evening are six of our favorite holiday appetizers:

Sweet Potato Galettes With Sage Creme Fraiche
Polpettini: Little Meatballs With Melted Fontina Centers
Ahi Tuna Tartare In Sesame Won Ton Cups
Coconut-Crusted Shrimp With Tamarind-Ginger Sauce
Wild Mushroom Crostini with Stilton and Thyme
Mini Meyer Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

In addition to learning to cook these recipes hands-on, you’ll enjoy a sit-down meal and take home the recipes! Pair this spread with a signature cocktail and a couple beer/wine options, and you have the recipe for a fantastic cocktail appetizer party for 20-30 guests!

Looking for more entertaining tips that will save you some dough this season? Check out our blog entry: Tips for the Savvy Party Hostess.

To buy tickets for this Thursday’s Holiday Appetizer Cooking Class in San Francisco visit:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/49875

You Had Me At Jamón: La Boqueria Market & Towering Tapas

La Boqueria produceBronzed and sublimely relaxed from a few days in Ibiza, we made our way to frenetic Barcelona and beelined for our target: La Boqueria Market, the city’s oldest public market and world-reknowned culinary mecca.

The vast indoor and outdoor bazaar is a sensory overload of majestic Spanish fruits, dangling legs of cured meat, glistening Mediterranean fish and a rainbow of candy confectionery.

La Boqueria is the daily place of business for hundreds of local vendors. The market dates back to the 11th century, when the king granted a butcher ownership of “a table on which to chop meat,” which translated literally is la boqueria. We marveled to be in the house of centuries’ worth of commerce, whose soul purpose is to preserve local food tradition. It puts our beloved Ferry Building Market to shame!

Post siesta, it was back to eating – in the company of our friend and Catalonian local, Luis. A stop at his favorite tapas bar was in order. We piled our plates high with wedges of tortilla de patatas, bocadillos filled with jamón and cheese, croquetas and spicy pimientos de padrón (delicious fried peppers). Paired with a glass of Rioja, we could think of no better way to toast to a fantastic trip inEspaa.

Dying for a taste? Try our Parties That Cook version of Spain’s beloved tortilla de patatas: Chorizo and Potato Tortilla Bites, miniature in size but big in taste! You’ll also find this heavenly egg omelette on the Summer International Small Plates Event menu.

Enjoy a vicarious bite of Barcelona and Ibiza with our drool-worthy photo gallery below…

…and with that, we will say hasta luego to the glorious Mediterranean sand between our toes!