Fifth Thrifty Week of 2015 #1 ~ Cooking of Provence and Spain

A Taste of Provence, published in 2001. I bought this book mainly for the beautiful illustrations and it was on sale for just a dollar! The dishes are classics from the south of France and all the recipe names are in French with an English translation. There is a brief introduction to the region and the chapters are divided by the cities/towns in Provence. All food groups are covered from appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, beverages, bread and desserts.

There is a lot of information on landmarks in each town, plus suggestions for sightseeing including a few names of the author's favorite food and pastry shops, plus a few open markets. The last chapters covers Christmas in the region and in addition to the recipes, seasonal traditions and food are discussed.

Cooking in Spain, published in 1991. This copy is the 6th edition with the original publication date occurring in 1987. The author moved to Spain and spent many years collecting recipes from neighbors, other local area people and even a few chefs. The book opens with a cook's tour of Spain - information on the different regions of the country emphasizing local food, produce, dairy and meat found in each area. I lived in the Andalusian region and according to the book the focus is on seafood (many towns are located on the coast), olives (saw MANY an olive orchard near my home as well as oranges), sherry (Jerez a town a few miles from Puerto de Santa Maria where my parents lived is pretty much the epicenter of sherry in Spain) and of course the Moroccan influence on cuisine derived from centuries of being conquered and ruled by the Moors.

At the Market revels both Spanish and English names for fruit, vegetables, legumes. seafood, poultry & game birds, meats, spices & herbs and many assorted cooking essentials (including wine!!). The In the Kitchen section offers suggested menus for a tapas only party, dinner parties for all four seasons, brunch, holidays and a barbeque. There are charts for ingredient conversions as all the recipes are in metric measurements before the recipes begin.

We start the recipes off with appetizers, tapas and salads ~   fritters and empanadas with various fillings and an octopus salad, then move on to soups, gazpacho and one pot meals - many made with seafood and or garlic, then we explore tortillas and egg dishes. In Spain a tortilla or Tortilla Espanola is NOT the flour shell used to make a burrito, but rather a very YUMMY omelet like dish filled with potatoes. It still remains one of my favorite meals I ate while living in Spain - very simple in style, but amazing in taste.

After the tortilla chapters "regular" egg dishes (both fried and baked) are discussed, followed by vegetables, rice, pasta & breads ~ of course paella is featured along with more empanadas- this time with savory choices, then we move onto fish and seafood with many recipes incorporating sardines, anchovies, hake, cod and squid.

Poultry and game crops up with chicken, turkey, partridge,quail (including a Drunken quail dish made with brandy), lots of rabbit options, plus dove and boar. In the meat section, there are dishes made with the usual beef options as well as veal, pork, lamb and offal (tripe, tongue, liver and brains). The last remaining sections are sauces & salads, beverages (of course there a a few recipes for Sangria) and desserts (flan, churros, ice creams and sweet breads).

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