Cooking in Denia

 

Oh boy…my alarm went off way to freaking early after another late night of fireworks L I had planned on walking all the way to the bus station but 615am was not looking like my friend.  So, I opted to sleep in and use the tram and walk halfway with the rest of the crew going to the cooking class today. 

We took the tram line to Luceros a couple stops down and walked down the Rambla to the bus station.  We purchased tickets at 20 euros each and then waited for our bus to arrive.  At 9am, we got on the bus in which we all had assigned seats but people were sitting wherever so I got lucky enough to have my own seat the entire drive up.  We had 1 hour before dropping people off in Benidorm and then another hour ride to Denia.  The ride was pretty miserable the second half because we were winding back and forth through mountains and the stopping and starting motion sent my stomach into panic L, but the views were pretty and I had some fun with my camara while everyone was sleeping J

Once we got off the bus in Denia, we met Lorenzo and Hugo, the father and son helping with the cooking class.  Lorenzo spoke no Enlgish and Hugo spoke a little bit that he had been learning in England.  We split up and took two cars that they drove over to the park area by their home so that we could get our cooking skill ready.  We met Rosario, the mother and cooking teacher, and began immediately.  They already had a display of food being prepared and getting cut up.  The first dish was a beef meatball.  She had made the meatballs prior to coming out because of the heat (beef with dried bread soaked in milk).  She cut up onions, almonds, garlic, and parsley adding them to the skillet.  After some time sizzling she added a white wine and let the juices begin to really cook.  After some cooking time, she added the meatballs and cook them along in the sauce.  Then, she served us the first course which was big enough to be a meal in itself.  They were yummy, but a little salty.  However, I used the bread to soak up the sauce because it was to die for. 

Next, she was preparing sardines (fish).  I was in mid picture when Rosario picked one up bent the head back and degutted it with her fingers.  I think I am forever tramatized.  She said they were fresh and now I really believe her.  She added them to an oil/win sauce with whole garlics.  I didn’t pay much attention to this one after the degutting.  She brought them over, again enough to make a meal, and we tried them.  I tried one because the faces were staring at me and yelling “Please don’t eat me. Save me!”  They were good but you had to eat them right off the bones which meant holding the head with the eyes and all.  Kat, Anne’s daughter, popped an eyeball while trying to grab one, so picture that!

The next course was a cod and potato course.  She had prepared most of it while we were stuffing our faces, so I missed some of it.  I do know that it looked like a potato pancake before you fry it, but had a thicker consistency and had been cooked.  It was probably the best dish I had had thus far.  Again there was more than enough, so we made the family sit down and eat some with us.  They were a great bunch; they were very engaging and they made us laugh.  The parents were so cute and you could see the love they had shining through.  They had met when they were young at a discotech J 

Once we were done with those courses, they started with the main dish the paella.  They added vegetable oil to the pan and the cut veggies (red pepper, snap peas, and eggplant—all of this had been grown on like steroids because they were enormous).  After letting the veggies cook a little so they had dark marks, she took them out and added the meat, rabbit and chicken (bones and all).  Again, she let them simmer and cook before adding the veggies back in.  She said one key was switching every 5ish minutes from hot to medium heat to keep the flavors.  The next step was adding the rice (1 laddle of rice for every 2 laddles of water).  She added the rice and let it fry and cook a little before adding the water 5 minutes later.  She said this was the key for having the rice hard and not mushy.  After some time cooking, she was ready to serve.  It had been interesting to see the difference in before and after the paella was cooking to see how it had transformed.  She filled our plates to the brim and we were all sweating before we knew it from being full, heat of outside, and heat of the dish.  It was delicious though and I will be making it at home.  The eggplant was to die for and I had a bit of rabbit in mine.  The rice was perfect and I have to say it was the best paella I’ve had in my life.  During this entire time, we had drinks as well.  We had a white wine, sangria, water, beer, coke, and all you could think of.  The beer cracked me up even though I didn’t try it because it had a sign on it that said if you are pregnant that you shouldn’t be drinking it….AHAHAHHA!!  The sangria tasted like fruit juice and not a bit like alcohol as other places might have which meant it could be very dangerous.  The father had made it with sugar, bananas, mango, apples, lines, and lemons that he let soak in rum, gin, and vodka.  After soaking, he added the red wine and let it sit a little more so that the flavors all combined.  Ergo, DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! J

 

Once we were stuffed to the brim, we added dessert which was a pear that had been soaked and slowly cooked with red wine, cinnamon, and lemon and lime skins.  It was delicious even though I’m not a fan of pears.  Once completely stuffed, we decided to hit the road and catch the 430pm bus because if not we would have to wait another hour and half and the trip would be longer for the bus.  We said our goodbyes and got on the bus.  As soon as the bus took off, we were all asleep within minutes.  We woke up at each station but we were pretty silent.  We walked back to the tram station at Luceros and took the tram back home.  Once home, I packed my bags L and took a shower.  Stuffed I opted out on dinner and just headed to bed.  At midnight, I was awaken by the sound of fireworks and headed outside the balcony to see them.  They were mediocre since the other ones had been so amazing.  I guess I am becoming a firework snob J  Once the fireworks were over I went back to bed and put the fan right on my face because it was a hot day and hot night.  I would sleep like a baby until the morning sun woke me up.

 

The breeze was full of delicious aromas today.  The cooking class has to be ranked in top five adventures I have had in Spain.  If you come to Spain, I would highly suggest reaching out to that family.  For 67 Euros, we got more than our fair share of food and fun.  They were never pushy and the food was to die for.  I loved today and with no drama and lots of laughs I can say that it was a good day and a great ending to my adventures.  Only one day left and it feels like I haven’t been here long enough…now to close my eyes and enjoy all that tomorrow has to offer.


I've had the time of my life....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bTdLi0YUVM