5 Fabulous Bloggers: Foodalogue

“A 5-Tapas Cocktail Party for 5-Years of Blogging”

No, it’s not me. I’m only approaching 4 years. But my friend, Lori Lynn of Taste With The Eyes, is celebrating her fifth anniversary by inviting 5 bloggers to guest post on her blog. If you know LL’s work, you know this is an honor with a capital-and-bolded H.

Lori Lynn is a goddess of good taste, a high priestess of entertaining, a hostess with the mostest. I’ve been following her blog since 2008; I guess shortly before we met at the first FoodBuzz Festival in San Francisco. To visit Taste With the Eyes is to have an open door to Lori’s warm and inviting home and gardens, and to meet her family and friends. I feel like I’ve celebrated holiday dinners with the family … attended a seasonal Sunken City Supper Club event … sat at the table and enjoyed creative and exquisitely presented recipes (some of which use ingredients I haven’t heard of) … and vicariously dined at the top notch restaurants she takes us to … and, to all of those I’ve often said, “I wish I was your neighbor!” (Of course, taking the big leap that if I were her neighbor, I’d be invited.)

•••

I was eating my way through a trip to Barcelona when I received Lori’s email inviting me to participate in her anniversary celebration. Inspired by my surroundings, I decided when I came home to create a virtual cocktail party with 5 tapas, one for each year.

Tapas and food blogging are best when shared and you get to taste each other’s food.
(A New Age proverb I just made up.)

Anyone who knows Lori Lynn, knows she loves flowers and outdoor entertaining so I tried (as best I could from a second floor flowerless apartment) to incorporate a little of both elements in this post.

When it comes to tapas, I prefer to accompany them with a glass of a delicious Albariño from the North of Spain or a Cava (sparkling wine), but a luscious Rioja works well too. So, please, take your choice and let’s raise our glasses and toast Lori Lynn…

Here’s to 5 years and many more!

•••

As they say on all the cooking show challenges, “today I prepared for you…”

Tortilla de Patatas (Potato Omelet)

Thinly sliced potato and minced onion cooked in olive oil with s+p till tender, then folded into beaten egg and returned to pan and cooked on medium-low heat. Cook till one side is done, invert on plate and slide back into the pan to finish.

Potaje de Garbanzos y Chorizo (Stewed Chickpeas and Spanish Sausage)

Dried garbanzo beans, diced chorizo, minced tomato, garlic, minced onion, bay leaf, S+P, oregano. Boil beans in water for 2 minutes with bay leaf, set aside for 1 hour. Drain most of water. Add generous amount of olive oil, chicken broth, chorizo, tomato, garlic, onion and oregano. Stew on medium-low till tender.

Shrimps a la Plancha with Piquillo Sauce

Season shrimp with salt, pepper and smoked paprika and grill or cook on high heat stove top. Sauce is made by blending piquillo peppers with olive oil, almonds, and a splash of sherry vinegar (no cooking).

Mushrooms al Ajillo

Saute mushrooms with minced garlic in olive oil, add wine and reduce. I also added some fresh dandelion.

Egg + Anchovy Tapas

Slice of heirloom tomato with drizzle of olive oil, topped with slice of hard-boiled egg, smoked paprika and anchovy, stacked on an artisanal toast round.

•••

Lori, I hope you ‘tasted with your eyes’ as you scrolled down the page and are now ready for the plate I prepared especially for you.

Happy Anniversary, Buen Provecho —
and thanks for your friendship and inspiration!
Joan @ FOODalogue

☆ FOODalogue ☆

I am so very flattered Joan. I got tears in my eyes reading your post. First of all, it is gorgeous. The photos are breathtaking, the tapas menu is fabulous, and the concept of 5 tapas for 5 years is brilliant. Your kind words really made my day, gosh, I’m thinking, friends made through blogging are real, not just virtual. I wish you were my neighbor too, we would cook up a storm in our neighborhood.

You are a gem. And ever since 2008 I continue to be inspired by your bright flavor combinations and fearless cooking style. And I have to admit that your travel posts make me a bit envious – travels to exotic locations with the over-the-top menus and local esoteric ingredients. I especially look forward to those travel posts, with your exceptional photos when you return home and write about the trip on Foodalogue!

I’m so excited to share this post from you, my world-traveling-extraordinary-cook-and-dear-friend from Florida! How I wish I could be there sipping a glass of cool Albariño on the terrace with you and enjoying these mouth-watering tapas… Muchas Gracias Mi Amiga!

Toujours Bon Appétit,
Lori Lynn

☆ Taste With The Eyes is 5 Years Old ☆

I’m just thrilled to have 5 extraordinary blogger friends help me celebrate this milestone anniversary with Guest Posts on Taste With The Eyes. Please welcome them in the coming weeks as they share their own unique and magical art of cuisine, photography, and watercolor painting.

5 Fabulous Blogger Friends in Honor of 5 Years of Blogging

Just One Cookbook – Nami, San Francisco
“Quick and Easy Japanese Home Cooking”

Foodalogue – Joan, Palm Beach County, Florida
“Meandering Meals, Musings + Travel”

Merisi’s Vienna for Beginners – Merisi, Vienna
“A Daily Melange of Virtual Postcards from Vienna”

Proud Italian Cook – Marie, Chicago
“Home Cooking, Italian American Style”

Paris Breakfast – Carol, Paris/New York
“I Paint Paris Dreams…”