A Must Stop in Madrid

I have officially arrived in Madrid for my annual summer visit home.  I love this country and it's food.  On this day, I went to Ribiera Do Miño.  Even before, I arrive in Madrid, I am planning when exactly I can go and eat here.  I have been visiting this establishment for over a decade and it never disappoints. The focus of this restaurant is typical Galician dishes.  Galicia is the northwest region of Spain that is known for seafood and for the last stop on The Camino.

Upon entering Ribiera Do Miño you are struck by two things...1.) This place is an old school, no frills kind of place and  2.) This is a hidden local gem free from tourists. The waiters are all men and are wearing their black and whites.  They are fun and helpful but warning their english is NO BUENO, however you forgive them because of their hard working mentality.  Luckily, I don't need a translator. ;)

Promptly upon sitting, we ordered our drink of choice which is Ribeiro Wine.  Their Ribeiro is homemade, cold, sweet and refreshing.  However, don't be fooled it packs a big punch and with signage warning "NO SINGING ALLOWED" on the walls, we had to limit ourselves to two bottles...you'll understand why later!

The Starters...Cockles, Padron Peppers, & Pulpo

We started our feast with some appetizers of their most famous starters.  1st was Cockles in a Saffron Wine Sauce.  These cockles were tender and flavorful but then again who doesn't like saffron.  Saffron makes everything better. The highlight of this dish was the sauce that we all fought to soak up with our pieces of bread. 2nd was the Pimientos de Pardon.  These little fried green devils are tricky.  Some are sweet and some are spicy, we always play a little game of choosing peppers for each other and of course we always want the other to get a spicy one.  Funny, Michael never thinks any of them are spicy.  He thinks we Spaniards are weaklings in the spicy food department.  3rd and most famous was the Pulpo a la Gallega (Octopus Galician Style).  This is a very simple dish to prepare.  You boil the octupus, then season it with smoked sweet paprika, olive oil and salt.  However, the way that they do it here and the quality of the ingredents that they use takes it to a whole other level...or even another universe! 

THE MAIN EVENT - Warm Seafood Platter

The main reason why we are here is THE WARM SEAFOOD PLATTER!  This platter consists of gambas (regular shrimp), langostinos (prawns) and cigalas (langoustines or scampi).  The 1st time, I brought Michael to this place he couldn't wrap his brain around how simply this platter is cooked.  He thought there was some special sauce that they were cooked in or maybe some secret preparation but all that happens is that they are grilled with salt and olive oil.  The reason for their delcious flavor is because of the sea region that they are brought from. Their flavor is incomparable, no other crustaceans come even close. I will let you in on a tiny secret, Michael and I always fight over the cigalas...but don't tell him, I always let him win. 

Michael working his magic on the Caimada

After eating our fill of shrimp and taking a little break, Michael ordered his favorite drink, a Caimada.  A Caimada is a traditional punch that was created to ward off witches and bad spirits.  It is made of Galician augardente, coffee, lemon peel, and sugar.  It is brought to a boil and then lit on fire.  As you can see from the photo it has a magical looking blue flame.  Once it is brought to the table, you have to stir and ladle it while reciting the incantation against the evil beings.  Just like the wine this "punch" will put hair on your chest. It is fun to drink and you have to hold yourself together or you will soon break the rule of NO SINGING.

Dessert Time

My mother is not a fan of the Caimada however she does like to have her alcohol in her dessert. Filloas are crepes filled with pastry cream and then bathed in the augardente and then flambéed.  The rest of us had a simple but oh so creamy flan. 

Happiness

As our evening was coming to an end, a few of us (especially Papa Carmena) were buzzing and on the verge of being drunk.  Who could blame him with wine, punch, and the traditional end of the meal shot of orujo with herbs.  This shot is for as they said "for digestive purposes."  Yeah, right?!  We all got home happy and content.  Mission accomplished!  

Bongiorno Italia!!

After an 8 hour flight, a 45 minute train, and a 10 minute trolley ride, we arrived in Milan, Italy.  We were so lucky to have Italian friends waiting for us in Italy.  We quickly discovered that having Italian friends is a real blessing in this country.  Our first order of business was getting them to make us a reservation at Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia.  This restaurant is normally booked up for months but our friend was a friend of a friend of the sommelier.  And what do you know?  We were fortunate enough to get a spot on our 2nd night in Milan. Years ago, I studied at the French Culinary Institute.  One of my teachers there was the chef instructor of the School of Italian Studies. So who better to get recommendation from?  She told me that this place was the BEST meal she had ever had in Italy.  Well, she was right! Aimo e Nadia lived up to the hype.

I thought it was peculiar that my teacher emphasized that the restaurant was decorated in 80's style.  The warning didn't prepare me for the reality.  It was REALLY 80's!  The decor, the only 8 table, the glaring lights, the lack of music, and being that Michael and I were the only customers in the restaurant in the middle of nowhere Milan I was scared and skeptical.   Since this was our first time in Italy together, we moved forward with courage and order the full tasting menu.

We learned that the focus of the tasting menu was around this special salt from a lagoon in Sicily.  This salt played with the food.  It changed taste with each dish. We had a full education from Stefania (Aimo and Nadia's Daughter).  She entertained us with facts and stories of the food, where it came from and how it was grown.  She won our heart when Michael asked if the food was organic and with a smile she responded , "This is more than organic."

First Four Courses

The menu started lightly with bits of sweet fish, purees of chickpeas, and perfect vegetables.  After the 1st 4 courses...yes, 1st 4...then came the star of the evening, Etrurian Soup.  Stefania explained to us that this is a speciality here at Aimo.  Each element of the soup is cooked separately at low temperatures for hours in clay pots that are make specifically for them. This care and attention was not wasted, this soup was like eating love in a plate.  I never wanted it to end.

Etrurian Soup

After the warm and hearty soup, our only pasta dish arrived.  It was two raviolis stuff with ossobuco in a saffron sauce.  This was a great way to represent a country so famous for it's pasta.  It was a perfect balance. We continued on and 4 more delicious courses arrived...if you are counting that is 10 so far. They included veal from Piedmont, a selection of artisan cheeses, delicate citrus sorbets, and a play on tiramisu called "tirami-Sud." Then when we thought our dining experience was over the server placed a darling tray of petit fours for us.  These "cookies" were a surprise most especially the tiny madeleine with pineapple confit.  HEAVEN!

A Finish to a Wonderful Meal

A few evenings later we dined at a local spot called Barabba.  Our pal Giovanni, a native from Milano, brought us here.  As it was just a local hangout, we didn't have any expectations just something simple and casual.  We were surprised!  We were greeted by a charming woman that turned out to be the host and server.  She quickly suggested things to us and at her command out came a creamy burrata cheese, prosciutto di Parma, and this weird veg called puntarelle.  We fell in love with this puntarelle.  It is a form of chicory that is shaved and dressed in a anchovy, garlic and olive oil dressing. Our lovely, host/server/teacher of puntarelle told us that they were done making pasta for the evening when we arrived.  Sensing our disappointment she gave us a nod and a wink she made the kitchen re-open and out came plates of fresh spaghetti alla matriciana.  Then After our fresh pasta of pomodoro and pancetta out came Michael's favorite dessert of the trip.  It was called Fruttini di Amalfi.  They are fruits and nuts that have been scooped out and then re-stuffed with gelato of their corresponding flavor.  So the fig was stuffed with fig gelato and so on.  Michael was obsessed!

Barabba

Allora...una pausa!  

Stay tuned for our time in Rome and Florence.... Ciao, Ciao!

Aimo, Me, Stefania & Michael