Wine of The week: Audrey Et Christian Binner Riesling 2011 Vignoble de Katzenthal

This wine was a very interesting introduction to the Vins D'Alsace. An Excellent surprise on our visit to Lakasa de Cesar Martin in Madrid.

Photo of the Week: City of Arts and Science, Valencia

The photo of this week comes from Valencia, Spain.

Recipe of the week: Gooseneck Barnacle 100% sea flavour!

Specially in Madrid, autumn decided to arrive earlier this year and forced us to anticipate the end of the beach season... To compensate this trauma, this week I decided to share a recipe that allows you to feel the sea during the whole year, Gooseneck Barnacles are 100% pure sea flavour and aroma and one of the best ways to feel the summer during the rest of the year...

You will just need:

- Gooseneck barnacles

- sea water or water and salt 

This may be the easiest and the quickest recipe I've ever shared on this blog. If you cannot use sea water add 70 gr of salt per liter of water and heat till it starts boiling. At the same time, wash very well the Gooseneck Barnacles, taking out the rocks, algae and sand. Put the seafood in the boiling water and let it cook till it starts to boil again. you may serve it immediately or serve it cold, depending on your personal taste.

Wine of The week, Cepa 21 2009

If you asked me to define the wine of this week in one word I would imediately say Elegance. This is a very well balanced wine or, instead I should say harmony, between the fruit the barrel and the alcohol. This is undoubtedly a must taste in the Ribera del Duero Region (more info at http://www.cepa21.com/en/wine/cepa-21-2009).

Thanks Miguel!

Photo of the week: Carrapateira

As the summer is almost reaching its end, this week another photo from this year's holidays in Portuguese Southern Coast, Carrapateira Beach.

If you are a Surf lover this is a beach to take into account...

Recipe of the week: Fried noodles with chicken

A good way to remember those unforgettable holidays in Bali, the paradise and relaxing Indonesian island,  is the recipe of this week... 

The biggest tip about this recipe is not be keen on follow it strictly as this may vary significantly according to the vegetables you have in the fridge. So, the main rule to follow is using equal parts of vegetables and chicken breast  

You will need: 

1 chicken breast 

red/ green sweet pepper 

8 spring onions

two garlic cloves 

1 carrot 

Salt and pepper 

soy sauce 

rice vinegar 

ginger 

Hot Sauce 

2 eggs 

As the cooking times are not so long it is easier if you start by chopping/prepare all ingredients: Start by cutting the carrot into small strips, sweet peppers into small cubes, chop the spring onions and slice the garlic cloves. Also cut the chicken breast into small strips and set aside. 

Then in a wok or a deep frying pan and with a drizzle of olive oil start by putting the garlic, then the carrots and a bit later the rest of the vegetables. let it cook for about 5 minutes and add the chicken. At the same time, in a pan with boiling water and let the noodles boil according to the instructions (in my case for 3 minutes). Add soy sauce and the like in my case I normally add rice vinegar (both 25ml), a bit of grated ginger (about the size of a thumb). If you are comfortable with hot sauce add it to the mixture, and you will see that your noodles will raise to another level... 

In a hot frying pan with a little olive oil, add the two scrambled eggs, stir and add the noodles, mix it well and add to the vegetables. 

Mix well and enjoy ... 

Tip: as mentioned above taste it and adjust the intensity to your personal taste playing with ginger, soy sauce and rice vinegar like, I started to use this for sushi and now I use it frequently for lots of other dishes...

Restaurant of the Week Pont' a Pé, Aljezur, Portugal

After spending a whole day looking for accommodation for our second week of vacations in the Southern coast of Portugal, we finally discovered an apartment in Aljezur and after several hours inside the car we only wanted to go to the beach as soon as possible and then have dinner in one of the village's restaurants.

We normally don't go to restaurants that don't make reservation, but we decided to wait, to be honest less than 10 minutes ...

Despite it had nothing to do with it, it might seem a revenge for each one of the minutes that we waited for a table, as a sudden uncertainty absorbed us and after asking Marta to bring a couple of fishes we decided to change completely our order...

We started with a dish of freshly cooked barnacles, a wonderful shooter of sea flavours and aromas, then some of the best razor clams I've ever tasted, really amazing and then we shared some little squids at Algarvian style. This fabulous meal was perfectly paired with the wine of this week here on the blog: Barranco Longo Grande Escolha 2013 one of the magnificent suggestions of Marta. I say one of, because the last one was a spectacular dish of typical deserts of the region, made of sweet potatoes. 

Summing it up, a simple, typical and informal Algarve restaurant, with premium quality raw materials and an even better service from the Marta... what more can you ask for on holidays? 

How much? 
approx. € 25 / pax. 

Where? 
Restaurante Pont' a Pé
Largo da Liberdade 12 
8670-066 Aljezur, Portugal 
GPS coordinates W08 ° 48'.12 "- N37 ° 19'.01" 
Tel: +351282998104 
E-mail: contact@pontape.pt

Wine of the Week: Barranco Longo White Grande Escolha 2013

O vinho desta semana foi a minha estreia nos vinhos do Algarve e deixou-me uma curiosidade tremenda de conhecer os nectares desta região. Equilibrado, persistente e com aromas a frutas tropicais.

Uma Grande sugestão da Marta, que nos serviu no restaurante Pont' a Pé, sobre o qual vos contaremos a nossa experiência no proximo post.

The wine of this week was my first time in tasting Algarve wines, and it was a really good starting poing for future discoveries. With 6 months on french oak this wine has tropical aromas and is well-balanced and persistent in the mouth.

An excellent suggestion of Marta on our visit to restaurant Pont' a Pé in Aljezur...

Photo of the week: Arrifana beach

The photo of this week is one of the images of some amazing Portuguese beaches that I cannot erase from my last holidays memories... 
This one shot in Arrifana beach, just a few minutes away from Aljezur, is one the favourites of my friend Ana, so today this post is specially dedicated to you...

Recipe of the week: Smoked salmon wrap

This week a very quick, easy and fresh recipe for you to enjoy each of the remaining minutes of this summer...

You will need:
Tortitas
Smoked salmon
Avocado
Cream cheese (philadelphia light)
Lettuce
lemon 
freshly ground pepper

Spread the cream cheese over all the area of the tortita, put the smoked salmon, then the avocado and season with some drops of lemon juice and freshly ground pepper, add the lettuce, roll it and in the middle of the tortita apply a diagonally cut...

This is such an easy and quick recipe that you may take more time to read this recipe than preparing this marvellous wrap...

Photo of the Week: Carrapateira

It seems that the summer in the Iberian Peninsula is starting in September... So, after a summer pause the photo of this week comes from Carrapateira beach in the southwestern coast of Portugal...