A Spanish Feast

Spanish was the theme for this year's wine dinner.  We love to eat tapas and have developed a love for Spanish food.  So, this year we decided to tackle this cuisine.  I think we succeeded.

As always we start our guests off with bubbles.  We went with a Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava. Light and  dry, it was a perfect start to our evening.

Cold Tapas

• Tuna belly on toast with capers and preserved lemon
• Anchovy and piquillo pepper suffed green olives
• Iberico jamon (ham)

Wine pairings: 2010 Fillaboa Albarino, 2010 Dusted Valley Ramblin Rose.

Both wines paired exceptionally well with the course.  The Albarino complemented the lemon in the tuna as well as the salty anchovies and olives.

Vegetable Course

• Spaghetti squash, black lentil, chanterelle and golden raisin gratin with a pine nut sauce
• Peas with mint and romesco sauce

Wine pairings: 2006 Cougar Crest Estate Golden Legacy Syrah, 2007 Flying Trout Old Vines Malbec.

The malbec was the winner here.  You may not think malbec for a vegetable course, but the gratin stood up to it with the earthy lentils and mushrooms.

Hot Tapas

Goat cheese croquettes

• Herbed goat cheese croquettes
• Piquillo peppers stuffed with farmers cheese topped with balsamic and toasted pine nuts
• Empanadas x 2 - Ground lamb and pear, blue cheese & walnut
• Potato Bravas with garlic aioli

Wine pairings: 2007 Tero Estates Windrow Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 Wineglass Cellars Les Vignes De Marcoux Cabernet Sauvignon.

Both of these wines sang with this course.  The strong flavors from the goat cheese and the lamb went great with the bold earthy flavors of the Tero Cab.  The smooth silkiness of the Wineglass Cab complemented the piquillo peppers well.

Meat Course

• Baked chorizo and egg with garbanzo beans
• Roast Iberico pork loin with marinated vegetables. Smoked date and fig purees.

Wine pairings: 2008 Walla Walla Vintners Cuvee, 2007 JM Cellars Longevity

Seafood Paella

We got to play with our new paella pan on a large scale.  We prepared this traditional Spanish dish consisting of mussels, prawns, clams, chorizo and vegetables stewed together in saffron rice. It turned out perfectly.

Wine pairings: 2006 LAN Rioja Crianza, 2008 Castillo De Feliciana Rosebud Tempranillo, 2008 Gramercy Cellars Inigo Montoya Tempranillo.

The Gramercy Temp really stole the show for this round.  It was so smooth and well balanced, especially for such a young wine.

We ended the night with fig, chocolate & marsala dessert empanadas and homemade sea salt caramels.

We are so pleased how our wine dinner turned out this year.  It was our best year yet.  Now, they question is how to top it next year?

I have to give a huge shoutout to The Spanish Table in downtown Seattle.  They have an amazing selection of Spanish products and they were very helpful in helping us pick out the Spanish wine we were looking for. Also Ocho in Ballard, where many inspirational meals were had to help us develop our menu this year.