Photo of The Week: Winter

The photo of this week was shot five years ago on Fuente Dé, an amazing place to walk around in Spanish National Park Picos da Europa.

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!

Wine of the Week: Coto de Hayas Garnacha Centenaria 2012

We found the Wine of this week, a 100% Garnacha, on an unexpected trip to the Valle de la Fuenfría, in the surroundings of Cercedilha in Sierra de Guadarrama, Madrid
Undoubtedly a great Spanish wine to try... 

Photo of the Week: Fallas, Valencia

In a week that Valencia is literally a continuous explosion of art, sound and joy, a photo of the beatiful Valencian Fallas!

Wine of The week: Petalos del Bierzo 2011

This week a wine from D.O. Bierzo, locaten in the northwest region of Spain. Petalos del Bierzo is a mono-varietal made from Mencía Grapes, a tipe I'd never tasted before. An excellent suggestion from Jorge Trifón that was a perfect match with our amazing meal on his restaurant, el Fogón de Trifón (Madrid).

Wine of the Week V3

Viñas Viejas Verdejo 2009, Terna Bodegas, Rueda - Spain

White wines potential and value is frequently underestimated, even more if we are talking about a white wine with barrel...

The wine of this week demonstrates that we shall not give too much importance to prejudices... V3, which in Spanish means old win yards and Verdejo the grapes type, is a great white to drink with more complex dishes. This was the perfect solution for our Sunday lunch starter an octopus ceviche, due to its high acidity.

Restaurant of the Week: Miyama Castellana, Madrid, Spain

If you are a Japanese food addict like me, Miyama Castellana is a mandatory stop in Madrid. Considered one of the best Japanese restaurants in Spanish capital, this is our main destination when we go out to eat some sushi... The raw material and respective preparation are top quality, reason why despite it is not the cheapest, for me, this has the best price-quality relation among the japanese restaurants of Madrid.

The service is on the same level of the food, very gentle, professional and fast!
The only but of this restaurant, is the noise when it is full... so deeple recomend you to try to get a table closest to the entrance door as possible.

Where?
Paseo de la Castellana 45
Madrid
Spain
Metro: Gregorio Marañón 7 10
www.restaurantemiyama.com/miyama_castellana.html

How Much?

Aprox 40€/pax

Wine of the Week

The wine of this week is:

Ponce Pie Franco 2011



One of the exciting things of this blog is that I get to know and discover new restaurants, new flavors and new wines!... Last week had a great surprise with this new nectar, which matched perfectly with our meal @ the restaurant Tricycle, about which I will write next Friday. I say surprised because until then, I didn’t knew anything about the wine region of Manchuela, a small young wine region between Cuenca and Albacete, Spain.

Oxtail Stew!

There is no doubt the summer is coming to its end... This week the rush and the traffic jams have returned to the city as well as the activity of Saturday mornings on the market which also means that the best raw materials are back too! This week recipe is an Oxtail Stew!

You will need:

- 1kg Tail Taurus

- 3 cloves of garlic

- 2 onions

- 3 tomatoes

- 1 red pepper

- 1 green pepper

- 3 carrots

- Salt

- a tea spoon Saffron

- a tea spoon of Sweet pepper

- 2 bay leaves

- 6 black pepper grains

- Virgin olive oil

- 1 glass of Madeira wine 

- Potatoes

Start by sautéing the garlic in hot oil, add the onions, tomatoes, peppers and carrots, all grossly chopped, as we will use it for the garnish. Let it cook a bit and when the tomatoes start to get cooked add the meat, the madeira wine, bay leafs, saffron and sweet pepper, stir and add water to almost cover the meat. Cook on low heat for 2,5 hours. Be careful and check it periodically in case you need to add water. At the end of two hours to boil the potatoes until they begin to unravel. (This is an important aspect in order to absorb the flavour of the sauce).

Remove the oxtail from heat and separate the meat from the bones. Remove the part of the vegetables and set aside, grind the rest with the stew broth and bring back to the boil to reduce the sauce slightly.

Serve it putting a layer of potatoes over sauce, cover with the meat and again a bit of sauce. Serve with stewed vegetables!

Enjoy!

Maye's Bistró, unique burgers in Madrid!

Last week I had a special request at home! We should go to a burger restaurant for dinner, so I started to look for new places to go outside "our 10 minutes public transport area" as August is perfect to use the car in Madrid. Although I thought that in August there would be no need to make reservation, we called to book a table in the terrace. What a wise decision, because when we arrived all the tables were booked, the first positive indicator of the quality of this restaurant...

As we went on a normal weekday dinner we only asked for two burgers: Mark Twain and Orson Wells, both with delicious home-made French fries...

The delicious food, excellent service in a terrace in a wonderfull summer night...could we ask for anything else?

An excellent surprise that entered directly for our top burger restaurants in Madrid...

Where?

Paseo Tierra Melide 13 Madrid, España 

Tube: Las Tablas 10

Tel: +34912 87 62 72

www.mayesbistro.es

Gazpacho!

It may seem incredible but it took me five years living in Spain to prepare my first Gazpacho... Perhaps because it is almost 11 o'clock in the evening and there are still 30 degrees outside...

You will need (for 4 people):

6 ripe tomatoes

40 g of peeled cucumber

50 g red pepper clean

1/2 slice of bread

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

70 ml of olive oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/2 peeled onion

2 cloves of garlic

Crouton

salt and pepper to taste

100 ml water

Peel the garlic, removing the germ (inner part) and clarify three times starting always with cold water. Mince the onion, cucumber, red pepper, tomatoes, bread, garlic and water. Add olive oil, vinegar and mayonnaise. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix well and store in refrigerator.

Serve as a cold soup with croutons, or as starter in a shot glass...

Moratín, an hymn to Gastronomy!

Last week, I watched a video of a Chef Andoni Aduriz lesson where he spoke about cooking with love ... "What is it to cook with love? I

n practice, attention, care, to put all our effort in what we are preparing." We could use these words to describe and say that in this restaurant everything but everything is made with love ... We also felt this love in on how the eyes of the chef were shining and in the passion of his words when he was describing his recommendations from the menu.

Last friday, I was looking for a place I could make a last minute reservation for dinner, when without any recommendation, I found this restaurant and I was lucky to get the last available table in this intimate atmosphere illuminated by candlelight restaurant...

The two main reasons of our visit were to discover new wines, and to taste its Steak tartar, (if you read the previous posts will understand why ...). So in the rest we've just followed the recommendations: we started with started by a confit leeks with romesco sauce, after a marinated salmon in the house with vinaigrette and finally a delicious steak tartar. Regarding the wine, please visit wine of this week post where I talk about it.

One of the highlights of the meal was the explanation of the difference between the effect of tabasco and red pepper ... The red pepper has a retro effect which prevents the loss of sensitivity and  flavour, so you can enjoy all the condiments of your meal with a hot touch, without loosing anything!. Finally we had a half plank of cheeses to finish this wonderful gastronomic experience.

I think the best way to describe our experience was when we left saying goodbye to a friend that you don't see frequently: We have to see us more often

How Much?
Aprox. 20-30€

Where?
Calle Moratín 36 Madrid,
Spain 

Metro: Antón Martín 1

Wine of The week

Les Sorts Vinyes Velles 2007 

One of the concepts that we find here in Spain was what Spanish call Enoteca,  a kind of temple to the discovery of new nectars ... basically these are places where wine is the star or shares the protagonist with the gastronomy. This was clearly the case of Vinoteca Moratín , where we've been the last Friday and about which I'll write in tomorrow's post...

It was curious that the first wine we were recommended, from a short but interesting wine list, was a Portuguese wine, Seis Quintas... Due to our origins, and to allow us to discover new wines, the restaurant manager immediately suggested us a very interesting wine from Monsant Region - Les Sorts Vinyes Velles 2007 a ​​great discovery!...

Beacoup! A bit of France in Madrid...

About two weeks ago I was looking for a restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, and honestly, the recommendation of my friend Patri could not be better!

When we entered the first impression was that we could be entering a typical Portuguese or Spanish tavern, as space is composed of a long L-shaped bar along the whole left side and the back of the restaurant and the tables are placed in front of it. And when we opened the menu we found a whole world of fantastic dishes to try...

we only had clear that we would start with a couple of oysters and a flute of Champagne to celebrate, and at some point the meal would have to taste the steak tartar, a dish that simply love... So the rest of the meal we've just followed the recommendations: grilled octopus and, in a French restaurant it would be a sin to have a non French wine so we had Fleur la Chapelle.

I confess that after eating at the beach in Brazil those wonderful Oysters, it is difficult to reach the same level, but the oysters were a good start.

Then we had the desired steak tartar with an excellent meat extremely well chopped with knife, (which gives you a totally different texture when serving this dish with minced meat) and very well seasoned. Clearly one of the best I ever eaten. Finally a magnificent grilled octopus.

To finish the wine we ordered an excellent cheese table , which meant we finished already thinking about the return ...

I couldn't finishing this review without mentioning the service. In two words: Just Perfect!!! careful, relaxed, informal, they made us feel like we were at home with long-time friends ...

Definitely, a place to return ...

How much?

Average price: 30-35 €

Menu, wine list and its price: http://www.beaucoup.es/

Where?

Calle Doctor Fleming 54

Madrid, Spain

Tel: +34 913 59 19 28

Metro: Cuzco Line 10

Much more than wineries...

Normally when we go on vacations or for a long weekend, we tend to organize everything till the minimal detail (I say "we" referring to the usual practice, because normally I'm a complete exception to this rule), which may turn your holidays even more stressful than the normal week routine...

As I said before, I will be the exception to this rule, usually quickly look at some guides or blogs to see what to do, where to eat and visit, but usually we just follow our intuition when we are already there.





 

In last weekend's trip the surprise factor was completly enhanced. Apart from visiting the wineries Portia, a birthday gift from my friend Ana, we hadn't anything planned... which in this case was clearly a good choice ... In terms of tourism, the weather forecast could not be worse: cold and rain. For this reason, as I wrote on yesterday's post, we decided to choose a comfortable hotel to stay - Hotel Boutique & Spa Capítulo Trece, and the plan was no more than rest and rest...





 

We left Madrid by mid-morning, and after 150 kms between rain and some snow we arrived Maderuelo. After the check in in the hotel we asked for some advice about where we could have lunch and then come back to the hotel for the planed target: a nap!

 

Following the recommendation we went to lunch at Ayllón, a medieval village where after the great lunch at La Tenada del chispano we went for a little walk and, as it didn't stop raining we returned to the hotel to rest ...

On Sunday, after the wonderful breakfast at the hotel, we visited the winery of Portia, that you'll be able to read about it tomorrow here on the blog. We had lunch in Aranda de Duero, and as it stopped raining, we went through the Parque Natural del Río Hoces Riaza where for the first time in my life I saw vultures, Gyps fulvus, which made me recall the afternoons spent with the Owl Group observe birds in the nature reserve of the Tagus estuary in Portugal ... 

A pity not to have a little more zoom for pictures and take a closer look ...

Finally, taking into account the weather conditions it was really a great surprise this two-day trip on the region of Castilla y León, Spain.



Travel roadmap:

Lengh: 2 days

Region: Castilla y León, Spain





Where to sleep: Maderuelo - 150 kms north of Madrid

What to see:





Ayllón

Maderuelo

Parque Natural del Río Hoces Riaza (home to the park is in Montejo de la Vega de la Serrezuela)

Wineries in the region of Ribera del Duero

Where to Eat:

La Tenada del Chispano (Ayllón)

El Lagar de Isilla (Aranda de Duero)

Casa Pablito (Corral de Ayllon)

A new chapter in Maderuelo

Javi and Isabel are writing a new chapter in the history of the medieval village of Maderuelo...

Due to the bad weather forecast for the weekend we looked for  a comfortable and charming hotel where we could relax and "switch off" from the stress of the previous week... Today I still think that if I put the keywords: rural housing, rest, zen, kindness in a search engine the result would certainly be: Hotel Boutique & Spa Capítulo Trece...

Every detail has been carefully thought and installed. From the exterior of the building that cannot be differentiated from the surroundings to the excellent quality of materials that, despite the bad weather conditions, allowed us to relax in total comfort.

With only 5 rooms we stayed at the "hide of the wind", ( a bedroom with a large bathroom, wireless as in all the hotel and plenty of light. And if you are concerned about cold?! The excellent quality of materials and radiant floor took care of it ...

Downstairs, there are the other special areas. Apart from the breakfast/dinning room and the living room, there is a small Spa composed by a sauna and a jacuzzi where we enjoyed alone an hour of relaxation with a perfect ending, a natural fruit juice prepared at the moment!

As I started this post, this space would not be the same without the enormous value added by all the details that its owners daily take care of ... The delicious breakfast that both carefully prepare, the permanent concern to help us on where to visit, where to eat, what wines to buy, if we'd rested well, or if something was missing but, at the same time with the right distance for to let us an atmosphere as relaxed and romantic as possible.

 

As an improvement opportunity, to serve dinner or a snack on Sunday, so after relaxing in the spa you do not have to go out from hotel to have dinner ...

I end as I started this post, wishing Isabel and Javi many years to writing the "thirteen chapter" of the history of Maderuelo ...

Where?

C / San Miguel # 18 40554

Maderuelo Segovia, Spain

TEL: 921 556 395

FAX: 921 125 696

EMAIL reservas@capitulotrece.com

WEB www.capitulotrece.com

Walking around:

- Natural Park del Hoces Riaza

- Aranda de Duero

- Ayllón

- Wine Region "Ribera del Duero"

Alcaravea Lounge Bar

Opened in 2011, the restaurant Alcaravea Gaztambide was the last to open of three restaurants with the same name. With a modern but at the same casual environment this restaurant was thought to earn its space and become one of today's gastronomic references Madrid.

Personally I define Alcaravea as a space designed to share ... Following the precious advices of the staff we decided to share several dishes, which proved to be a very wise decision as it were very well served

The other keyword that would utilize diversity of flavours and dishes, the extensive list in and out of the menu... We started with a symphony of mushrooms and a variety of croquettes and as "second", as they say here in Spain fresh squid grilled and duck magret with onion confit and cranberry sauce.

Don't leave without trying the grilled octopus, I tried it last weekend and it is just fabulous...

As the starter of mushrooms, this experience ran as if it was a perfect symphony ... good food, good atmosphere and good service, the three essential elements of a meal!

Have you tried? Give us your opinion ...

Where?

C/ Gaztambide 56

Madrid, Spain

+34 91 283 80 05

How much?

Aprox. 30€/pax.

A calendar to remember...

One of the main dilemmas and perhaps the biggest disadvantage of digital photography is that most of the photos that we shoot, often end up "forgotten" in memory of a hard disk or any CD or DVD ...

The more we advance in the digital era, the greater is the trend to replace the photo albums for digital photo frames, (which we frequently forget to watch)  or simply by folders often lost and disorganized in our computer.

A picture is worth a thousand words, the magic of photography allows us to travel back in time, remembering experiences, emotions, friends ... And let us imagine, flying, dreaming of places we've never been or may never be ...

Today I share with you an idea that started 8 years ago and just as Steve Jobs would say it's about "connecting the dots". The idea began with a calendar with family photos. Then, connecting the dots picture, past and experiences the question arose Why not to remember my previous trips and share it? And by this way was born the calendar that I invite you to visit, done with photos I shot in my trips...

Do you enjoy Sunset?

Jimbaran - Bali, Indonesia

Sunset is definitely one of the special moments of de day, that's why in lots of guides there are tips about the best places to watch it. 

If you think about it can be a perfect scenario for completely opposite situations like being alone meditating or for a sunset party in the beach...

It can be a very romantic ocasion to be with that special person, or just grab your camera spend this moment with her shooting thousands of photos. Like most of the best things of life, just let your instinct guide you and enjoy it...

I must confess I love sunsets, if possible with a good cocktail, but always with my camera! 

These are some of my photos, and I would challenge you to share yours on our facebook page: www.facebook.com/FoodDrinkTheGoodLife

Jimbaran - bali, Indonesia



If you go to Bali, you must try fresh fish barbecues at Jimbaran's beachfront seafood warung, so my advice is that you go a bit earlier and enjoy this amazing sunset...


Cavallería Beach, Menorca, Spain

On my previous post about Menorca beaches', I've shared other photo of Cavallería Beach. Below you can find other precious sunset in Menorca. Just 5 minutes away from ciutadella, on Maxi's bar you can eat&drink some appetisers while enjoy the sunset... (just the appetisers, as this place is one of those that you shall never see a local eating and it's not because it's expensive...)

Maxi's Bar, Cala en Blanes - Ciutadella, Menorca, Spain

Despite the sunset is behind the mountain, in Troia you can enjoy a very special and also unique sunset... with a 180º view you can get different effects with the sea and Arrabida Mountain outlines...



Troia, Portugal

Accept the challenge and share your photos on our facebook page! www.facebook.com/FoodDrinkTheGoodLife

Restaurant C'an Olga, Es Mercadal - Menorca

If you are fed up of the touristic restaurants along the coast, C'an Olga is a really interesting option. I must confess I have a special atraction for gastronomy in the interior, I think it's common sense: if you don't go for the views you will only return by the greatness of its gastronomy...

The truth is that our dinner at C'an Olga was the easiest thing in our vacations... Gabriel, who recommended us to go there, suggested also two starters, so we only had to choose the main dish, grilled John-dory with garlic Sauce.

Despite the main dish was very good, for me the stars of this restaurant are the starters! We tasted an excellent onion stuffed with meat and one kind of Spanish sausage called Sobrasada and a marvellous aubergine millefeuille!

Where? 

Pont Na Macarrana, Mercadal, 

Menorca, Spain

971 37 54 59

How much?

Average price 40 €