An Evening of Tapas

I am taking a chance to share some of our summer activities.  Hopefully there will be more posts to come.

Our dinner group got together at our place for July.  We purchased a new camera for our upcoming vacation and decided to give it a try.  I definitely need practice shooting food shots, but I think I will enjoy the practice

If you really want to make A Friend, go to someones house and EAT with THEM.  The people that give you THEIR FOOD, give you their heart. 

We created a night of Spanish Tapas.


This is the place setting.  I found these place mats and napkins at the Square Nest, which happens to be one of my favorite stores to browse around and find a new decor item for the home or a new snap for my Ginger Snap addiction.  




Here is the layout of all the food we served.  We can't wait to dive in!!

As you can see there is a bowl of steamed clams, shrimp, and squid.  I did not get a pic of that dish.






In keeping with the Spanish theme...these are mushrooms filled with a chorizo stuffing










This is a traditional Spanish potato tortilla.  I love the simpleness of this dish.  We served it with a romesco sauce which is made from roasted red peppers and lots of garlic.

This is crostini served with a creamed cheese mixture, beef and a fig jelly.







We made a salad of cucumbers, honeydew and cantaloupe melon with a sweet poppy seed dressing.








We prepared a cheese plate which included Spanish cured meats, cheeses and a mix of olives.

Of course we had to make our traditional tomato gazpacho.  This is one of my favorite summer soups.   Cold, refreshing and good for you.

These are empanadas.  I love me a good meat pie.










For dessert we served a lemon mascarpone filled tart and topped with fresh berries.  Since I forgot to take a picture, I have thieved the picture from the site I used the recipe from.  I added blueberries to the fruit mix.



Recipes and instructions are offered at requests.  We have such a good time taking these chances to create food items we don't eat on a regular basis.


We already have our menu planned for the next time we host.  Ralph and I love to cook, eat, and a chance to share one of the things we love!


 Ta Ta for now