Spanish style party

[Punkatheart]

Firstly hello - I haven't been here before.

On Saturday for World Book Day I am having a party. I want it Spanish themed so I am trying to plan a buffet style evening.

Any suggestions from you wonderful people?

Lots of little dishes like tapas. I really like tortilla - potatoes gently cooked in oil, with onion and garlic if you like, then season well, stir in beaten egg to bind together, return to the clean and oiled frying pan and gently set. Can be eaten hot, cold or (best) tepid, cut into slices.

..yum!

There is another buffet thread on here where I've gone through a tortilla recipe. Prawns and chorizo, can do it in the oven with a splash of dry sherry. Have a lovely recipe for Spanish meatballs - let me know if you want it. If you can get them (I know Waitrose sometimes have them) pimentos de padron are lovely - little peppers you fry in olvie oil and then salt. If you have time empaniadas (sp?) little filled pastries. You could do a spanish twist on italian risotto balls using paella. Some lovely jamon de serano and some manchego chesse with membrillo (quince jelly). Good spanish olives. Calamari - easy to make yourself if you can get hold of fresh squid from your fishmonger. Ensalada Russe (russian salad) is often on spanish menus sometimes with tuna in it.

Oh, that sounds wonderful.

I love this book for great ideas and easy tapas dishes.

Tapas would fit well, but it would be quite a lot of work, as there are often lots of dishes.

Have you considered a very big paella?

I did think of paella but I want to cater for the non meat eaters too. So I have spanish sausage, prawns (to cook in sherry and garlic), feta and olives for a simple salad, baguettes and tomatoes for a sort of bruschetta.

I have sherry and lemonade (not together) - now that's an odd combination! Still - I intend to put the lemonade in jugs and cut up lemons.

I am looking forward to it now!

Thanks for all your suggestions!

Actually, sherry and lemonade together would be quite Spanish, as long as it is the lemonade like fizzy sugar water, with no taste of lemons at all. They drink sherry-type wines diluted with lemonade and ice in the South in the summer. It is called bargas (or vargas - I never saw the word written down).

..interesting...