Cooking in Spain...but not for my family!

This past week, we were given an assignment to cook for our Señora and host family. It could be anything we wanted...a Spanish dish, like Tortilla, an American dish, or anything else we could think of! Unfortunetly, during the thinking and planning stage of my project I ran into a small problem (and by small, I mean HUGE!)

Image usually coming home to a table set for 4 people and then one day, coming home to a rearranged house with a table set for 15 people! My señora was in the kitchen mixing up a storm so I asked my hallmate what was going on. She told me señora had quickly told her (between setting the table and cooking up a storm in the kitchen) that her family was coming for 2 weeks from the Canary Islands! And sure enough, a few minutes later, the family started to come. And they kept coming. And coming. And coming. I thought that I was in a cartoon for a while with everyone coming in with their suitcases. I'm still not sure how everyone was able to fit into my tiny home! There ended up between 20 and 25 people, so we had to eat in two shifts!

After that experience, I told my señora that, for a project, I had to cook for her. The answer? Definitely not. I don't think she was comfortable with me cooking for her entire family plus I'm pretty sure she had already planned all the menus for two weeks and was going to cook cheaper food that was easy to prepare.

Then, the question changed from "What do I cook for my family?" to "What I am going to go about my project?" The answer: taking a cooking class through the Universidad de Salamanca! I had already signed up for the class and was excited about learning how to cook some traditional Spanish dishes, so I just planned to do my presentation on that!

And what did I cook during the class? We cooked 8 dishes, 2 a day. And here they are!

Pisto Manchego:

Think Ratatouille, but the Spanish version. It was a delicious mix of fried vegetables, including zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, and onions, with hard boiled eggs. ¡Muy rico!

Gazpacho:

A very traditional Spanish dish that's basically a salad, but blended up! It's made with tomatos, garlic, peppers, onion, and olive oil.

Patatas de Herradero:

Potato soap! It's made with potatos, onions, tomatos, garlic, and pepper and topped with freshly cooked bacon: also very good!

Torrijas de Santa Eulalia:

What to consume enough deep fried calories to last a week? Then Torrijas are for you! Bread soaked in a mix of milk, suger, lemon, orange, and cinnamon which is then deep fried and coated in sugar: at least your taste buds will thank you!

Tortilla Española:

Potatoes, onions and egg: a very simple yet amazing dish! The only hard part: flipping the tortilla without it falling to the ground!

Zorongollo:

Fried sweet peppers and tomatoes: a plesent surprise!

Sangría:

A very Spanish drink (that's also easy to make). Just mix some red wine, lemonade, Orange pop, some orange and lemon slices, and a TON of sugar and, presto!, Sandría.

Paella:

Finally, the dish almost everyone associates with Spain. A delicious mix of fried vegetables, seafood, meat, rice, and a few spices. The best part? Just cook it with whatever meats and seafood you like: it doesn't matter what you put in it!

Overall, I was sad I didn't get to cook for my family here in Spain but I am glad that I got to learn how to cook some amazing dishes (that I will hopefully be able to cook again in the States for my family!)