Chickpea, Butternut Squash, & Sausage Saute (City Girl Stew)

So I'm sure you're thinking that a post about stew in the middle of summer seems strange. Especially when the above pictured "stew" resembles nothing of what it's namesake traditionally suggests. But you know, this is city girl food, so I can call it stew if I want to. Besides, I assure you the strangest thing about this recipe is that I willingly and purposefully cooked with and ate butternut squash. Which as a notoriously picky eater and self proclaimed hater of all things squash, is a pretty big deal.

But when I get an idea in my head and am craving something different, crazy things happen. Honestly, I've been curious about butternut squash for a while. Restaurants seem to love putting it in ravioli with yummy sounding sauces like browned butter with crispy sage leaves, and on more than one occasion I've felt like I might be missing out because of my wanton disdain for an entire vegetable family. I mean, we all know that zucchini and summer squash are utterly disgusting and not to be eaten unless absolutely necessary. But butternut is clearly different with it's firm texture and gorgeous orange hue. I figured it was time I start acting like a foodie, and at least give it a try.

Meatless Monday: Purple Cabbage & Green Onion Slaw

So Thanksgivng has come and gone, and if your holiday was anything like mine, then you're probably wishing you had packed more macaroni and cheese and ham in your "to go" Tupperware while simultaneously regretting your decision to eat half your body weight in meat, mac n cheese, stuffing and 3 types of cakes during the last 72 hours.  And you may or may not have eaten the skin off of half the turkey all by yourself. I plead the fifth!

If there's one thing I've learned in my 25ish years of Thanksgiving gluttony, it's how to pace myself so that I don't overeat to the point of hating myself and everything around me. Why it took me that long to learn that lesson is beyond me. However, it's also taken me 25 or so years to learn that when it comes to the holidays, and Thanksgiving especially, that I am inevitably and unabashedly going to eat nothing but meat, cheese, bread and sugar, for at least 3 consecutive days. It's just a fact of life.

Meatless Monday: Fire Roasted Corn Salad

S U M M E R T I M E

and the livin' is easy....

If only that were true. I love summer, but even if the livin' were easy, it would still most certainly be busy, almost to the point of absurdity, especially for a sun worshiper like me. You see, during late fall through early spring, I suffer from a mild form of Seasonal Affective Disorder, otherwise known as the I hate everyone and everything because the sun went down at 4:30pm and I have to walk home and then walk the poodle when it's 25 degrees outside not counting the windchill, it's too cold to anything fun and tomatoes are out of season, when the EFF is it going to be summer again?! blues.  Then, after I spend the better half of a year wishing for summer, it finally arrives, and before you can say sunscreen, I'm practically running around outside waving my hands over my head, shouting Ke$ha lyrics at strangers because THIS PLACE'S ABOUT TO BLOW-OH-OH-OH-OH-OH-OH-OH-OH  it's summer! During the 90 glorious days in which sunshine pours from the heavens in copious quantities, I make it my personal mission to eat, drink, laugh, splash, and frolic my way into summer bliss at any and every given opportunity. Yes, it's that serious.

So I decided that the epicurean-focused portion of my quest for summertime bliss could not and would not be complete without a fabulous picnic at the Reggae Wine Festival. That's right, reggae bands+wine+bougie picnic=Awesome. Naturally, I felt that my fabulous picnic spread would be nothing less than uncivilized without a fantastic summer salad, and thought it nothing less than divine intervention when I came across a video of Chef Marcus Samuelsson making a roasted corn salad, and then found the perfect recipe from Williams-Sonoma.

Meatless Monday: City Girl Coleslaw

¡Sin mayonesa, por favor! In addition to, "Si, soy Americana, y yo no voté por George Bush" and "¿Donde está el baño?" I am absolutely certain that these will be the most important words of my Spanish lexicon to ensure both a smooth and happy transition transition to my future life in Spain. You see, the Spanish are really into mayonnaise, and for as long as I've been alive,  I have harbored a pure and unadulterated hatred toward mayonnaise that was the cause of many b!tch fits/food tantrums in my childhood. In an outright defiance of the expectations of the maturation of the palate from infancy to adulthood, it seems that my disdain for this condiment has actually gotten worse. No longer can my taste buds ignore the presence and rancid taste of mayonnaise in classic dishes like coleslaw and potato salad. No more will I subject myself to forcibly ingesting portabello sandwiches that would otherwise be perfect had they not been smeared with "garlic aoli" because the owners of Soup's On refuse to make a yogurt based garlic spread per my telepathically demanded, though never verbally submitted requests. NO MORE! Today this city girl takes a stand! Today, I declare my war on mayonnaise! Whose with me?!

Now that I've amassed an army formidable enough to take on the evil mayonnaise empire, the first matter of business is this 1000% awesome, though hardly original, mayonnaise-free coleslaw, fit for city girls and mayonnaise haters alike. 

Meatless Monday: Crispy Sweet Potato Roast

So, I'm a jealous person. It's one of my many flaws. But I'm in Spain right now, so I'll deal with my flaws when I get back. But back to me being jealous. You see, I'm jealous of the creative genius that is Smitten Kitchen. She's just so darn perfect, it makes me sick. Or green with envy. And definitely, if not perpetually hungry. But her perfection also makes me strive to be better. Or so I'll tell that to myself, as I share my largely imperfect rendition of her take on Martha Stewart's Crispy Potato Roast .

In my defense, my dish would've looked closer to the original if I had a mandolin in my pantry. But as it stands, I can barely close my one utensil drawer, so where on earth I would store a mandolin is far beyond my ability to answer, and as such is yet another point of contention in my life.

Meatless Monday: City Girl Pasta Bowl

So I've decided to trademark the term "City Girl", and use it as the descriptor for my "original" recipes that I post on the blog when I can't think of anything else to call them. And by trademark, I mean, I'm going to use that term egregiously, claim it as my own, having done no prerequisite google search in order to avoid having my bubble burst upon discovering that some skank has already trademarked the term and is making a boat load of money by selling nasty food marketed to weight conscious women in our weight obsessed society. ::End mini-rant:: But actually now that I mention it, I probably should look into it, right? I mean, it's a pretty good idea--the trademarking thing--not the marketing of nasty low cal products, right? Hmm, that's something I can mull over before I pass out from a benedryl and white wine induced coma on my flight to Spain tomorrow! ¡Mañana a la feria!

Meatless Monday: Polenta with Gorgonzola

Have I ever mentioned that I love cheese? I'm sure I have, but really, who doesn't love cheese? This is America! However, I think it's safe to say that my love for cheese may run a little bit deeper than the average American's. As a rule, I keep three different types of cheese in my refrigerator at all times--typically fresh Parmigianno Reggiano, a New York or Irish cheddar and a wild card like goat or blue cheese. There was this one time at band camp that through some cruel twist of fate, my home was completely devoid of cheese and for reasons I'm not really clear on*, I had to wait several days before I could replenish my supply. Those dark days, which are forever etched into my psyche, made me realize just how important a role cheese plays in my kitchen. It also made me realize that I probably consume more cheese than is appropriate, and at some point I will have to reign in my lust for this milk based product--not just for the sake of my arteries, but also because I hope to be married one day, and cheese doesn't always love my occasionally lactose intolerant tummy--a fact I'm sure my future husband won't find too charming. TMI? Naahh...everybody farts.

But the thing about cheese is that it's awesome. And just a sentence after I said I should eat less of it, I present to you a polenta dish that chock full o' cheese. I'm not exactly crazy about polenta, which is essentially the Italian version of grits, but then again, I've never put much effort into making polenta. So last week, I decided to take a crack at it again, using a recipe from my trusty Everyday Italian cookbook.



Giada's recipe originally calls for heavy cream, but I just can't bring myself to cook with heavy cream, and I never keep it in my fridge. Half & half, however, is an excellent stand in for cream or milk, and is a staple in my refrigerator (along with cheese, bacon, and bourbon). I love simple recipes, and as you can see, this recipe calls for minimal ingredients (water not pictured). And just look at that glorious Gorgonzola!

Caramelized Onions

I find happy people to be bothersome and untrustworthy. By happy people, I'm not talking about well adjusted normal folks with pleasant dispositions and an optimistic outlook on life like you (and me??). Oh no, I'm talking about the type of  person who insists on being impossibly happy all. the. time. The type of person that obviously subscribes to an alternate reality where every one's a pony, and you can eat rainbows and poop butterflies. The type of person that just doesn't seem to know any emotion but up. I once knew a girl exactly like this who was in my college dance group. Hillary, you know who I'm talking about! She was the sweetest and happiest person I think I've ever known--and honestly, I wanted to slap her more often than not. It was just unnatural how happy and peppy she was. I'm convinced she was on uppers. True Story.

My problem with these "happy" people, is that they're extremists, and I think we all know that extremism is no bueno. They refuse to publicly acknowledge that feeling sad is part of the human experience, and would rather project some absurd facade of perpetual joy, than appropriately cope with the inevitable downs of life. I'm convinced these "happy" people are delusional, chemically dependent, and are definitely crazier than a barrel of monkeys. However, I also believe that bacon literally makes the world a better place, so I advise you to take my musings on the behaviors of others with a grain of salt. Preferably on the rim of a margarita glass. Ole!

Meatless Monday: Broccoli A La Planxa



I have a confession to make. This recipe is a restaurant rip-off. While I wish I was blessed with the sort of creative genius that is the calling card of truly talented culinary artists, and the driving force behind the rapidly changing food and restaurant culture, I have come to accept the fact that I am creatively limited. But what I lack in originality and creativity, I more than make up for in culinary gumption and guile. While I have never tried to replicate a restaurant dish before, I have used other's recipes as inspiration for many of the dishes featured here on the blog--that is until now. Last weekend, I had dinner at Pazo, which is my favorite restaurant in Baltimore, and where I had my birthday dinner last year. I love this place for many reasons, the most important being the food--which is Mediterranean inspired, with heavy Spanish and Italian influence. One of my favorite items on the menus is the broccoli a la planxa, which is a simple dish of steamed broccoli with chili infused oil, a hint of garlic and lemon, and topped with pecorino cheese. You wouldn't think that such a humble dish would be something to write a blog post about, but this dish has held its own, and managed to remain on their vast and constantly changing tapas menu for several years. Yeah, it's good like that.

So last Monday, when I realized that a pound of broccoli and a few lemons had been sitting in my produce drawer for over a week, I knew I had to give this recipe a try--immediately. Miraculously, the broccoli was still in tip top shape--which is a little scary when I think about it--but I won't complain, since at least it wasn't money wasted. I didn't have chili infused oil or pecorino cheese, but I did have chili flakes, olive oil, and fresh Parmesan--which are staples I keep in my pantry at all times. I also don't have a vegetable steamer, but there's a reason for that--why steam when you can oven roast? I think you know where this is going...

Meatless Monday: The City Girl Sandwich

"I'm what you call a bona fide city girl"-Carrie Bradshaw, Sex & the City.

I love city life. I love the noise, the fast pace, the diversity, and the general sense that in the event I'm attacked on the street, even if people are too callous to help me, they they will at least be there to hear me scream. Ok, so I don't love that last part, but as far as I'm concerned, the opportunities and excitement of city living  makes dodging reckless drivers, overpaying for drinks, and looking over my shoulder on the walk home from work everyday totally worth it. With that said, however, I also appreciate country life, and have recently found myself enamored with the Pioneer Woman, her life on a dairy farm, and the culinary masterpieces she churns out of her kitchen. I couldn't help but be inspired by her Marlboro Man Sandwich, named for her cattle wrangling (though hopefully not cigarette smoking) husband. But I wrangle a poodle, not cattle, so I did what I do best, and made this sandwich my own, in a very city girl type of way.

I knew immediately I wanted to make my version of this sandwich vegetarian, largely because I can't afford grass fed beef, and don't eat much red meat in general. I used portabello mushrooms specifically because of their rich, meaty texture. I also didn't use butter, but you'll see what I did use instead later...

Oh chopped garlic, how I love thee.

The PW's recipe uses provolone, but I really wanted the sharpness of gorgonzola, because I'm a city girl and I don't have patience for mild cheeses.

So I didn't use an ounce of butter to saute the vegetables--a sharp contrast to the almost whole stick of butter used in the PW's original recipe--because I used rendered bacon fat and olive oil instead. I really wanted a deeper flavor base for this dish, that olive oil on its own just could not provide. I had pan fried some bacon with rosemary for breakfast that morning, and saved the fat in the pan specifically for making this dish (see pan in background). But I also keep a jar of bacon grease in my fridge just for cooking purposes (yes, I save all bacon grease). But because I do so love olive oil, for its flavor, and life prolonging qualities, I also used a generous amount of rosemary infused olive oil in which to saute the vegetables. No regrets.

The PW's recipe also called for sherry, but I've never even tasted sherry, let alone have it stocked in my pantry. But I did have bourbon, because I always have bourbon in my pantry. Always.

The most important part of this processes was letting the vegetables simmer to let the flavors really develop.

And the best part of the flavor developing process is the taste test. During the taste testing/flavor developing process, I realized two things: More bourbon is better and using bacon fat was the best idea ever!

I toasted my baguette in a little bit of pan jus and olive oil

And nothing says love on a sandwich like a bit of cheese and a few minutes under the broiler

 

This city girl could eat this sandwich everyday. I must say, this is one of the best things I've ever created in my kitchen. The vegetables had this complex flavor from the worcestershire and the bourbon, with a slight bacon finish that paired so well with the blue cheese. I literally patted myself on the back for this one, but the credit really goes to the Pioneer Woman. She's a freakin genius!

The City Girl Sandwich

Print this Recipe!

Olive oil

Rosemary Infused Olive Oil

Rendered Bacon Fat

Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 lb portabello mushrooms, sliced lengthwise

3 Whole Bell Peppers, red, orange, and yellow; sliced into rings

2 small onions, thickly sliced

1 tbsp chopped garlic

4 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 cup Bourbon

2 tbsp Sriracha 

1 French Baguette

Gorgonzola Cheese

Slice mushrooms lengthwise, generously season with salt and pepper and set aside. Heat on medium-high heat, melt 2 tbsp of bacon fat and 3 tbsp of rosemary infused olive in heavy skillet. Saute mushrooms in 3 batches, about 2 minutes each side. Remove from heat, and cover with foil.

Add more rosemary infused olive oil and bacon fat to pan, and add onions, peppers, and garlic to pan. Saute about 5 minutes, until tender but not flimsy. Remove from heat, cover with foil and set aside.

Add a drizzle of olive oil to pan, and return mushrooms to pan. Add bourbon, worcestershire, and sriracha. Allow to simmer for about 3 minutes, then add peppers and onions. Simmer vegetables another 2-3 minutes. Add more salt, worceshtire and/or bourbon as needed. And an extra squeeze of sriracha for good measure. Remove from from pan, cover with foil, and set aside. In the same pan, keep just a very small bit of jus and add olive oil. Toast a halved baguette in olive oil until browned and crisp. Top bread with vegetable mixture, and sliced gorgonzola. Put under the broiler for about two minutes, until cheese is melted.

Serve immediately, and enjoy.

Meatless Monday: Apple, Cheddar, and Arugula Sandwich

I know you though I forgot about Meatless Monday, but here it is, albeit after the close of business, but let's not split hairs here. I have always been intrigued by the concept of combining apples and cheese.  I was first introduced to this concept through season 5 of Top Chef, which featured my all time favorite contestant, Carla Hall. She made some kick ass apple pie and paired it with a simple wedge of cheddar. ::sidebar:: How she didn't win fan favorite that season is BEYOND me! I mean sure, Fabio was kinda cute and fresh off the boat from Italy, but take away that accent and he loses much of his charm. Carla's personality, however, just could not be beat and she's totally my friend in my head! Fabio could've been my lovah in my head, but it's obvious that he's put on some weight, so I think I'll pass:: But back to the apple and cheese. I remember thinking the combination of apple and cheddar cheese sounded strange and delicious, but soon forgot about it. Fast forward to a few weeks agao, when one of my favorite food blogs, A Cozy Kitchen featured an apple and cheddar crostini.  I was instantly reminded of my fascination with the combination, and vowed to recreate their recipe. But the beauty of my inability to follow directions is that it allows for creative freedom, which is exactly how I created this sandwich.

The foundation of any good sandwich, is the bread. I'm a huge fan of French baguettes, however, finding the perfect baguette is a labor of love that often results in me shelling out $3 for an acceptable, but not exceptional baguette from Whole Check Foods. On top of that foundation, there must be flavor and moisture agents. I ABHOR mayonnaise, but I cherish any opportunity to use dijon mustard. And what would cooking be without a wild card, like say a spreadable blue cheese? Oh yes, I went there.

My obsession with pepper knows no bounds, as I am enamored with arugula because of it's peppery bite. And the fact that's it's a green leafy vegetable packed with essential vitamins and minerals makes it the ideal alternative to water logged, and nutrient lacking lettuce.

Print this Recipe!
Ingredients
1 Granny Smith Apple, cored and thinly sliced
2 oz NY Sharp Cheddar, thinly sliced
1 oz Gorgonzola Dolce
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
Fresh Arugula
1/4 French Baguette, split down the middle

Spread each side of bread with mustard and blue cheese, add arugula leaves, and intermittently layer with apple and cheese slices. And if you're anything like me, top with a little fresh cracked black pepper, and enjoy.

Meatless Monday: Funghi a la Escargots

I used to hate mushrooms. HATE them. I used to hate mushrooms so much, that when I studied abroad in Italy, I would surreptitiously pick them out of my delicious and authentic Italian food, and put them on the side of my plate. I sometimes thought I could feel the resentment of the Italian people, and swore I saw them staring at me with jaws agape. But then again, the Europeans don't find it rude to stare at people as if they have two heads, I was the only person of color in my group, and the men there are every bit as aggressive and forward as you've heard, so I soon realized that if they were staring, it wasn't because I picked the mushrooms out of my spaghetti. Anyway, the moral of this story is that somehow or another my pure and unadulterated disdain for mushrooms slowly faded away, and now I consider myself a fan of the fungi. Which brings me to my next point, which is this amazing recipe for mushrooms in the style of escargot. You see, escargot is the French delicacy of snails. But a good travel book once told me that even if you don't like snails, you should still order the dish and sop up the butter and garlic based sauce with your bread. It's pure genius! I found this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and she found this recipe from Gourmet.com. It's the circle of liiiiiiiife (cue Disney music), and life is good and buttery and delicious!

Onion Tart+Bloggers=LEGEN..(wait for it)...DARY!

I'm sure you're wondering exactly how the combination of an onion tart and bloggers could be so legen...(wait for it)...dary!

Onions are really quite smelly, especially when you sauté three pounds of them for over an hour in your small, poorly ventilated apartment. It doesn't matter that you opened the window in the kitchen, and closed all the doors in said apartment. The smell is so pervasive, it penetrates every space inside and sticks to any soft surface, including the clothes in your closet, your kind of brand new loveseat, your bedding, your hair, and even your miniature poodle! And all you can hope for is that your awesome friends for which you cooked these onions and hand made dough for the delicious tart in preparation for your  blogger meet up spectacular in Delaware are more polite than you, and don't exclaim, "Your hair smells like onions!" when they greet you with a hug.

Well my friends, that's exactly how the combination of and onion tart an bloggers could be so damn awesome, that I stayed in in Delaware for ten hours knowing I had to go to work the next morning!

Just after Christmas, my lovely friends Maddy, Latoya, and Chavonne, met up at Keeley's house for hours of fun, food, and foolishness. Since Keeley and Maddy already blogged about the details of our get together, I'll just give you a brief outline:

• Keeley did all of the cooking (sans onion tart). The food was bombdiggity! Probably not what I needed right after the caloric shit storm that is the holiday season, but whatevs, no regrets!
• I made an onion tart. It was cumbersome. It was worth it!
• Two of Keeley's friends also came, one of whom also has a really awesome travel blog, Atlas in Her Hand, that makes me realize I need to get my travel game UP!
• There was wine, and booze, and I was the bartender. Good thing we're all 'sponsible bloggers who know when stop drinking.
• Chavonne and Maddy totally brought gifts, and I got The Bartenders Black Book! Score! Thanks ladies <3
• We played Michael Jackson: The Experience on Wii. If I didn't know myself better, I would totally get a Wii. But I know myself very well, and know that my playstation and sega genesis are collecting dust somewhere in my sister's basement. Smh...
• It was Legen.dary. No further explanation needed. I think the next trip will be to Jersey!
• I totally looked and felt like a zombie at work the next day, ouch!

So I FAILED at taking pictures. But Keeley and Maddy have better cameras anyway, so check out their blogs!

Onion Tart with Mustard and Fennel Seed

I got this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen blog. Since I didn't stray from the recipe at all (shocking I know!) you can read the recipe here.

3 pounds=9 onions!
It took almost 2 weeks for the smell to clear entirely from my apartment

that's 12:07am, I'm such a night owl

*high five to those who know where the legendary reference is from
*I've noticed I've got some new readers, Welcome!!

La Comida: Jamón, Jamón con Patatas, Jamón con Huevos, y Màs Jamón

How many different ways can you eat jamon? Just ask the Spanish, the possibilities, apparently, are endless! I've never eaten so much pork in my life, let alone in a two week span of time! Obviously, the Spaniards are into ham. and sausage. and eggs. and cheese. and potatoes. and bread. and more jamòn. and NOT vegetables. How they don't drop dead at age 50 is beyond me, but I'm going to chuck it up to all the olive oil, red wine, walking, and LIVING life rather than working it. Quite frankly, jamòn was a recurring theme on most restaurant menus, became a the running joke of our entire trip, and will now forever hold a special place in my heart. Thank You, Spain!

In general, the food was good. Not great, not life changing, [for life changing food, go to Italy, as I plan to to do again in the next three years!] but good. The food lacked variety, for obvious reasons, and they Spanish just didn't seem as passionate about fresh, quality ingredients as some of their other European neighbors. With that said, I'll share some of my favorite dishes with you.

Paella de Arroz Negro

I didn't eat as much seafood as I thought I would, especially in Barcelona, mostly because the Spanish are really into octopus, and I'm really NOT. But the this paella was amazing. Shrimp with the heads still on and mussels really freak me out. But this dish was so good, I just detached the heads and got over my fear of mussels and kept it moving. I even ate around the octopus pieces. It was THAT good.

Chorizo

I can't put my finger on what makes it so great. Maybe it's the light saltiness, or the smokiness, or the fact that it oozes bright orange oil. I dunno, but this chorizo and tomato bocadillo with olive oil from a small bar in Madrid was the tastiest sandwich I had in all of Spain. It was so simple, yet really really good. I even bought some chorizo here and recreated this sandwich, which I of course followed with some vegetables. It wasn't as good as the original, but darn close.

Patatas Bravas

This was the house specialty at the Argumosa restaurant in Madrid. They don't look like much, but that sauce was effin delicious. And, when the potatoes where all gone, we sopped up the rest of the sauce with bread. Yeah, son. It's like that.

¡Sobrasada!

hands down, my favorite dish in Spain.

Served on bread with melted manchego at some restaurant in El Puerto de Santa Maria.  It was LIFE. CHANGING. It was SLAP YO' MAMA GOOD! I almost creamed my pants eating this dish. Seriously. I wanted to live in this sauce!  I tried to buy some to bring home, but sadly, what they had at the market required refrigeration.  But I think I may have  found it on a website in a jar. But if that doesn't work out, I'm sure I can work my Spain connections if I get desperate. Right primo?

Ribs

I think this pictures pretty much says it all. Dinner at Parrilla in El Puerto de Santa Maria. It took me three days to finish them. 3 glorious days! And if you didn't know already, hear me know, the Spanish [and all other Spanish speaking people] KNOW how to work a pig. Keep that in mind when eating Latin food.

Vegetables!
The Moroccans understood the importance of vegetables, God bless them for it! I was so hard up for some plant based food, I ate vegetables that I typically hate, like beets and pumpkin, and loved them!

The pumpkin and beets were sweet, and chilled, and scrumptious. why can't they taste like that here?!

Lamb Tangine

Where do I start on this one. First, there were more vegetables, generously seasoned and deliciously cooked. And the lamb, it was so tender, I could cut it with my fork. This was an expensive dinner for our first night in Marrakech, but totally worth it.

Honey Pastries

These sweet treats were delicious! I don't know what they are called, the green one was filled with pistachio, the other was some sort of deep fried dough and tasted of and cinnamon and with a hint of cloves, both were drenched in honey! There were so many different types pastries in the market, I wish I had tried more!  And I must mention the Moroccan honey. It had a distinct flowery flavor, it was a dark amber color, and tasted far better than any honey I've ever had here. I really wish I had made more of an effort to buy some, but that's what my next trip to Marrakech is for.

All in all, I enjoyed the food enough. And guess what, I've been craving jamòn for days, lol! I now present to you a slide show of the collective eatings of España and Morocco.

::side bar:: I'm well aware that salsa music is a Cuban original, not a Spanish one. But I love this song :)