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When old friends gather, sharing pasts and renewing bonds, it’s a time for good food and good wine, hopefully preceeded by a very dry martini. R ecently I visited family and friends in Chicago. One evening a cadre of faculty I taught with at Wright College, and their spouses, gathered at Bob and Harriet Rosenman’s home for our annual get-together.
Harriet asked me to share the task of making paella for the dinner. And that spawned the idea of a Spanish menu, with tapas, paella, salad, flan and wine — from Spain, of course.
Harriet prepared an onion-potato torta and brie en croute ahead of time as tapas. I brought a couple of chunks of sockeye salmon I’d smoked and shrink-wrapped at home. We minced the boney salmon, avoiding the need for a review of the Heimlich maneuver. We hug, but more gently. Harriet mixed a little Dijon mustard with yogurt, lathered it on toasted baguette slices, placed some smoked salmon atop and crowned it with a cucumber slice. Delicious.
With the tapas Harriet served glasses of Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine every bit as tasty as French champagne. Glasses clinked with each toast. Several bottles of red Rioja were on hand to serve with dinner. The Rioja region produces some of Spain’s finest wines.
Dinner began with bowls of Gazpacho sprinkled with croutons, followed by Joyce Wandel’s tossed salad with kiwi f ruit. Paella made its grand entrance next, served from the pan, buffet style. When we thought things couldn’t get any better, Sharon Subeck served us her Flan,  drizzled with browned sugar syrup, for dessert.
I arrived at the Rosenmans’ at 4:30 pm to work with Harriet, anticipating the other guests’ arrival at 7 pm. Traditionally, the Spanish will go to a tapas bar after work, and not have dinner until 10 pm or later. We started the tapas a bit late, but dinner was close to Spanish time. After dinner and more conversation, someone noticed, “Wow, it’s 12:15.” Time escaped us, and pleasantly.
I look forward to next year’s gathering. We talked of making it a semi-annual event. I’d like that. A dinner party in one’s home is so superior to dining out, more intimate, with unbridled time, and superior food.
Here are some of the recipes from the evening:
RECIPES
FLAN
Melt 1/3 cup sugar in a 9” cake pan over medium heat, until golden brown. Take off the heat and set aside. When it cools the sugar will harden. Don’t worry about it.
Whisk together 6 eggs, 6 tablespoons sugar, 2 cups whole milk and one teaspoon vanilla. Pour the mixture into the cake pan over the browned sugar. Place the pan, partially submerged in water, into a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Press with your finger to test for donness.
Serve, drizzled with the browned sugar syrup spooned from the bottom of the pan.
BRIE EN CROUTE
1/2 package Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry
1 egg yolk
1 Tbl water
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/3 cup dried cranberries or golden raisins, softened.
1/4 cup toasted slices almonds
1 Brie -- about 1 lb.
Thaw pastry. Mix egg and water, set aside
Roll out pastry on lightly floured board large enough to cut 2 circles a few inches larger than the brie.
Put one circle on a non/stick cookie sheet. Place the brie on top of it.
Spread the preserves on top of the brie, leaving about an inch around the edge so it won't drip down, then sprinkle the cranberries or light raisins on top and then the toasted almonds.
Cover with the other pastry circle by draping it over the top and around the sides of the brie. Brush the edge of the bottom pastry circle (the 2 exposed inches around the brie) with the egg wash, and make diagonal cuts in the pastry. Fold the cut sections up around the sides of the brie, covering the sides of the top pastry and overlapping these diagonal pieces so they form a "wall" around the sides of the brie. This way you seal the brie so it won't ooze out when you bake it. Press all the edges with more egg wash to seal everything up.
Use the leftover pieces of puff pastry to make a "twisted rope" to encircle the top circumference of the brie and hide the place edges where the bottom pieces read the top. Brush everything with the egg wash. Twist some pieces of leftover pastry into a decoration for the top.
Bake at 400 degrees until golden. Let stand 1 hour -- at least!! Longer is better so it won't run out when you cut it.
Note: I usually make this well in advance and freeze it unbaked. I put it in the refrigerator the night before I am going to bake it so it defrosts a little. I bake it mid-afternoon for around 20 minutes and then let it stand on the cookie sheet until it has cooled down and I can transfer it to a serving platter for serving about 4 hours later.
SPANISH ONION AND POTATO TORTA
3 Tbl olive oil
1 medium Spanish onion, about 12 ounces, sliced into 1/4-inch thick half moons
3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, about 1 pound, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
8 large eggs
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat 1 Tbl oil in a 10-inch. oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until golden, about10 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
2. Return the skillet to heat; add 1 tbsp oil. Add potatoes and saute until soft, stirring, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with onions and potatoes, and combine.
3. Whisk together eggs; add salt and pepper. Add to onion-potato mixture and combine.
4. Return the skillet to heat, and add 1 tbsp oil. Add onion-potato-egg mixture and cook until edges set and start to brown, about two minutes. Cover, and bake until set, about 20 minutes. Remove cover, and broil until top is golden.
Slide out of the pan onto a serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.
GAZPACHO
1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
1 orange bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
4 ripe medium tomatoes, peeled and seeded
1 red onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can, (46 ounces), tomato juice (Sacramento brand recommended).
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 Tbl kosher salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Fresh chopped cilantro
Coarsely chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes and red onions (approx. 1-inch cubes). If using food processor, process each vegetable separately and do not overprocess. Combine ingredients in a large bowl, mix well and chill before serving. Allow flavors to develop over time (don’t serve immediately).
Paul Thompson grew up in Longview, and later moved to Oak Park, Illinois. Now retired, he lives in Sequim, Wash., where he designs scenery for local community theatre. He is currently designing lights for “Same Time, Next Year.” He enjoys golf, sailing and cooking.
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