Roast chicken with chickpeas, leeks and lemon, Mama ía blog

May 15, 2018

Roast Chicken with Chickpeas, Leeks and Lemon, Easy and a Crowd Pleaser

Natacha Sanz Caballero Meat and Poultry chicken, easy dinner, entrée, Ethan's prom, NJHS, one pot dinner, plato único, pollo asado

Are you looking for a weeknight dinner recipe that pleases everybody, and it’s complete and nutritious? Or are you looking for a party recipe that everyone will talk about, and will look beautiful on presentation? Then look no further, roast chicken with chickpeas, leeks and lemon is that dish.

The trick for a super tasty and moist chicken is the spice rub, letting the chicken absorb all the spice flavors for a few hours before placing it in the oven. Then, while roasting, (more…)

Blood orange puff pastry tart, Mama ía blog

April 25, 2018

Blood Orange Puff Pastry Tart, like it was

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets blood oranges, breakfast, El Taroncheral, hojaldre, naranja sanguina, oranges, tarta, teatime

I’m finding it very hard these days not to long for what was. And this blood orange puff pastry tart was. It was (more…)

Blueberry and Meyer Lemon Cake, Mama ía blog

April 6, 2018

Blueberry and Meyer Lemon Cake —the 100th post!

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets 100th post, arándanos, cake, celebration, Meyer lemon, milestone

And with this one, I reached 100 posts. 100 recipes! I find it hard to believe, it has been such a joy to write all these posts and recipes, cooking and baking and enjoying every dish. A cake was in order for such milestone, and I chose this Blueberry and Meyer Lemon Cake.

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March 25, 2018

Stuffed Calamari, Another Meatless Option for Lent

Natacha Sanz Caballero Fish, Tapas calamares, calamares rellenos, Cuaresma, Lent, meatless, seafood, squid

When I asked my husband if I should translate this recipe, calamares rellenos, as stuffed squid or stuffed calamari, he immediately responded stuffed calamari, “Americans are grossed out by the thought of eating squid”. I had to laugh, but I think he’s probably right, since his American/Canadian perspective is always more accurate than mine. So here it goes, stuffed calamari.

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March 14, 2018

Classic Madeleines, and a Day for Women (videorecipe)

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets equal rights, equality, french country table, madalenas, magdalenas, videoreceta, videorecipe, women, women's rights

Madalenas caseras, classic madeleines, are very popular in Spain, and even though they might look like muffins, they have one major difference, they use olive oil instead of butter. And here I am, watching the news while sipping an espresso and having a madalena, a madeleine, savoring the sweet and lemony treat, and thinking about what to write about for this week’s post, when it suddenly hits me. Sometimes I have a preconceived subject I want to write about, but for the most part, my post is usually about “that thing that won’t leave my mind”. And today, that thing is women.

It wasn’t until March 9, 2018 that I came to realize what March 8 represented. For years I felt International Women’s Day was a celebration (more…)

February 27, 2018

Brascada, back at University

Natacha Sanz Caballero Breads, Meat and Poultry, Tapas beef sandwich, bocadillo, jamón serrano, Spanish cuisine, tapas, university, University of Miami, University of Notre Dame, Valencia

This recipe, for a bocadillo called brascada in Valencia, where I grew up and went to university, brings back memories. Bocadillo is what we call in Spain any sandwich made with baguette style bread. Baguette style bread, by the way, is the most common type of bread in Spain, and we call it simply pan, bread. Bocadillos are a common fare at all tapas bars and cafés in Spain, and they’re a popular midmorning snack for many. For us, students, bocadillos were an easy and nutritious lunch, or dinner. One of my favorites, brascada, was a typical and frequent meal in the evening (a few times a week) when I studied at the library of the Old University, a majestic building that, in the XVI century, housed Valencia’s University. After a few hours of studying, my friend and I would take a break at a tapas bar on the adjacent square, Plaza del Patriarca, that made the best brascadas in the city. I now make them at home, and my family loves them.

Library at the Old University, Valencia

Old University, XVI century, Valencia

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February 8, 2018

Banana Nut Bundt, and a Christmas Family Reunion

Natacha Sanz Caballero Breads, Desserts and Sweets banana, bizcocho de plátano, Christmas, family reunion, merienda, plátano, Spanish Christmas, tea time

I know what my children will say when they see this post: banana nut bread (in any of its forms, like the banana nut bundt recipe I’m sharing today) is not Spanish. I’ll have to remind them then that this blog includes the recipes that I make at home, most of which are Spanish, but some of which are not. If I make it often enough and is part of my repertoire, chances are, it’ll make it to Mama Ía blog. I’ve been living in North America for over two decades, after all!

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Lentil butternut squash soup, Mama ía blog

January 22, 2018

Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup, ‘Tis the Season

Natacha Sanz Caballero Soups and Stews calabaza, chorizo, comfort food, plato de cuchara, pumpkin, snowy winter, soup, squash, stew, winter soup

Do you have the feeling that the Christmas and winter holiday season was ages ago? I certainly do, not so much because a long time has passed, but because so many events and activities have happened since. And I’m not talking about out of the ordinary or amazing events. In fact, January is probably one of those months (September would be another one) when everything goes back to normal —the restart of old routines, the beginning of new projects; but more than anything, a month of inwardness, of restarts, of cleaning and organizing, in literal and figurative terms. In one word, January is a month of resetting. This lentil and butternut squash soup, that I make often during winter, seemed appropriate for this time of year (a particularly cold January).

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December 20, 2017

Tiramisu, an Italian Dessert for a very Spanish American Christmas

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets Christmas, Christmas treats, Italian dessert, Spanish Christmas

It is true that this blog is dedicated to Spanish cuisine in America; it is also true that some dishes have been made on both sides of the Atlantic, and beyond, for many years. Just like sangría is now made in many countries, with different variations on the original Spanish recipe (which you can find here, on this blog), I would think another of those dishes is tiramisu, an Italian dessert that has become, like many others, almost international. I make it often at home, so it has become part of my repertoire of recipes. As Christmas, and the festive days ahead, approach, with many of us hosting family and friends, this is one dessert that will not disappoint, and that can be made in large sheets and refrigerated, ready to feed a crowd. With coffee and some liquor in it, it is a crowd pleaser (and I don’t let the coffee and liquor part stop me from sharing it with my children, ha!)

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Meatballs in wine sauce, albóndigas en salsa, Mama Ía blog

December 4, 2017

Meatballs in Wine Sauce, Albóndigas en Salsa, a Classic

Natacha Sanz Caballero Meat and Poultry albóndigas, beef, braises, comfort food, German thyme, historia de las albóndigas, history of Spanish meatballs, pebrella, Spanish meatballs

Meatballs in wine sauce, albóndigas en salsa, are a classic Spanish dish. Growing up, they were a favorite, and I think it’s safe to say children and adults alike love them. At home, and at most homes in Spain, they are accompanied by potatoes, that marry so well with the sauce they’re cooked in. My mom made them with cubed (more…)