A weekend in the kitchen

Wow, what a busy weekend I've had! I spent approximately ten hours cooking and baking in preparation for my turn of the Come Dine With Me competition me and my friends are having. I wanted my menu to be something a bit different and decided to do it tapas style. For those of you that might not know, I was born in Spain and lived there til the age of 7 and then again duting my Erasmus year at uni which means I know a thing of two about good Spanish food!

For some reason I hardly ever cook Spanish recipes, I don't know why. I have always wnated to incorporate them into my regular 'repertoire' - you know, those recipes you know off the top of your head and can throw together in a jiffy. I thought my turn of the dinner party competition was a great chance to make some of the things I know to be the tastiest food in Europe. I made everything from scratch, (with the exception of the bread and the pastry for the empanadas) which is how it took about 10 hours! It was well worth the effort though and I think I have a good chance of winning...

I thought I'd share the menu with you all in case it inspires you to try a few new dishes, or even for you to borrow next time you're hosting a dinner party! If you do use the menu I'd love to know how you get on. I haven't got any pics of the food because I was so involved in the cooking that it never entered my head to take any photos! Oops!

So here it is:

Menú del Día

Entradas

Gazpacho

Chilled tomato and vegetable soup

Ibéricos

Serrano ham and chorizo

Manchego, con higos y miel

Manchego cheese served with figs and honey

Pan de ajo

Garlic bread, Spanish style

Platos Principales

Tortilla

Traditional Spanish omelette

Chorizo con jerez

Sherry-cooked chorizo

Empanadas de atún y de pollo

Mini tuna and chicken pasties

Croquetas de jamón y queso

Ham and cheese croquettes

Patatas bravas

Potatoes with spicy tomato sauce

Albhondigas caseras

Spanish style meatballs

Postre

Tarta de limón

Lemon tart