On Sunday, 3 August 2025, we had our friends the Quinlans and the McKinnons over for a Spanish summer beach dinner. We started in the living room with the:
Aperitivo
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Licor 43, chilled, in ponies and a pitcher of Sangría
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Two chorizo: common and Iberico
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Jamon
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Three cheeses:
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Manchego, the classic sheep's milk cheese of Spain's La Mancha region
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Ptit-Basque, a sheep's milk cheese in the style of the Basque mountain cheeses of the Pyrenees
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Drunken Goat, a newer tradition, a goat's milk that is liberally bathed in wine after it is made. It is not a washed-rind cheese.
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Fig jam and Marcona almonds
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Three kinds of tinned Spanish seafood: octopus, razor clams, and scallops. These are trendy these days. They are far superior to the Brunswick sardines on toast of my youth, but they are also quite expensive!
The Main Course
Then we migrated to the dining room and opened a delicious Bianai Rioja Gran Riserva. We started with an exquisite Tomato Salad made from very fresh tomatoes. I make it a point to buy fresh tomatoes only in season and only if they smell like tomatoes. There are new varieties that look temptingly red even when they still have no flavor, but smell is a good guide.
The splendid Paella: A paella is essentially a bed of saffron rice cooked somewhat risotto style, with a simple onion-bell pepper sofrito and shellfish, chorizo or linguiça and other meats included.
For this feast, out paella included chicken quarters, linguiça, littleneck clams, mussels, plus shrimp marinated in orange juice plus the zest of the orange, and two lobsters provided by the McKinnons. I served the chicken quarters separately because I had such a bounty of the other meats. It was quite a sight; nobody went away hungry!
Along the way the Rioja ran dry so I opened a California Seghesio Old Vines Zinfandel.
Bonus Meat Course
By this time nobody was hungry, but after the Licor 43 aperitivo, the Sangria, and the two bottles of wine, it seemed like a good idea to bring out the Flaming Pig of Doom!
The Flaming Pig of Doom is my pet name for the Chouriço a Bombeiro, a traditional Portuguese way of preparing a chouriço. It's a glazed terracotta pig-shaped grill.
I had a nice chouriço from Perry's Market in the fridge, so I warmed it over steam while I fetched the FPoD. I put some cheap brandy in the belly of the pig and the warmed chouriço on the grill, and flamed the brandy. When the chouriço is getting hot, prick it with a knife in a few places to let some of the melted fat drip into the brandy. After a few turns, it's hot and crispy on the outside and ready to carve. My guests enjoyed warming their pieces over the flame as if they were toasting very savory marshmallows!
Dessert
I always forget the sweets, so, forewarned, the Quinlans provided a colorful cheesecake assortment that we enjoyed with coffee and a delectable Pedro Ximenez sherry!