Spain At My Doorstep

A Spanish Care Package? For me? Someone must think I'm special.

Oh yeah, that would be me. I ordered it last week!

José Andrés, from the PBS show Made in Spain, has really got me inspired. He talks about honey from Spain, I've got to have honey from Spain. He talks about Spanish paprika, I simply must have Spanish paprika! He goes to a bakery and gets Spanish marzipan, I'm' intrigued and have to get it. It looked so different from the marzipan that I'm familiar with, I just knew it would be worth it.

I had two sources for this care package. All but one of the products came from Hot Paella. But they didn't have the marzipan, so that came from La Tienda.

The chocolate figs (stuffed with a chocolate and brandy ganache) and chocolate fig bars (figs with orange liquor dipped in dark chocolate) were my own, personal whim, with no influence from José. I had to have those stuffed figs, especially since I got a very similar product from John and Kira's. I will have to do a side by side taste test since I still have two figs left from John and Kira's. That will be a fun post.

Hot Paella was glad to have my order, so they threw in a freebie: a bar of Amatller 50% cacao! It's made in Barcelona.

I've already tasted the marzipan from La Tienda, and it is wonderful. And, I was right, it is very different from the other marzipan I've had in my life. It is a baked item, and it is soft, and light, and sweet, and it's even individually wrapped! I love that. The marzipan will stay fresh.

I have no idea of what these shapes are supposed to represent. Unfortunately, I already ate the rabbit shape - that would have made for a pretty picture. The close piece looks like a jug from this direction, but there are two hole-like impressions punched into the bottom half of it, and jugs don't have holes like that.

Next time, I'll have to order a Spanish hot chocolate bar. Spanish hot chocolate is much thicker than what we have here in the US. I've seen it on TV and it's somewhere between liquid and pudding consistency. I watched Samantha Brown lay a spoon across the top, and it didn't sink. And then, I'll have to have it with some homemade churros. Mmmmm.......