We are open regular hours (10 AM – 6 PM) on Monday, January 15, Martin Luther King Day. Enjoy the weekend and stop in to see us!
If you love books as much as we do, load up some bargains while you’re here. Our book selection is now 45% off except for the cookbook “Paella” by Lorraine Turner ($4.99). Here’s your chance to pick up a book or two that you’ve been hungering for, and stock up on ingredients, too, while you’re here at the shop.
Our cured meat, rice, and other essentials have been restocked. Toulouse sausage, an essential ingredient for cassoulet, is back in stock. A pallet of Spanish products delivered today, including Chistorra and Cantimpalito embutidos (sausages), garbanzo beans, Cabrales blue cheese, boquerones and much more.
Prepare for Valentine’s Day Special: Buy a sparkling wine from France or Spain and add a gorgeous green glass ice bucket for $1.99. While supplies last.
Queso Gallego is back in stock. It’s always cause for celebration when this popular cheese is back in our refrigerator case. A cow’s milk cheese from Galicia, it has a firmer texture than Tetilla, and more intense flavor. Uber-creamy, it makes a terrific melted cheese sandwich. Its also excellent with spicy greens or kale salads.
Cold weather red wines: At a recent holiday party, we tasted a number of wines and discovered three stellar choices. Warm and bright, these wines will cheerfully get one through the dark days of January. Extremely versatile, hearty, quaffable and all under $20.00:
Dominio de Valdelacasa Tempranillo 2009, Toro ($14.99) 100% Tempranillo, aged 8 months in French oak and a further eight years in bottle. This structured red from a great vintage is drinking beautifully now and also has the stuffing to age another 3-5 years. Concentrated red fruit notes have focus and lift. Hints of dried tobacco, vanilla and spice add nuances to this medium to full-bodied red. Elegant and balanced.
Brunely Vacqueryas 2015 ($16.99) Rarely does one find a delicious Vacqueryas for under $20.00. Velvety and smooth, Brunely Vacqueryas offers up a depth of red fruit. A GSM blend (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre) it is meaty, spicy and fresh on the palate. Fantastic with cassoulet.
Chateau Valentin Haut-Medoc 2012 ($19.99) Chateau Valentin over-delivers for the price, which is why our distributor is usually out of it! Fortunately, the 2012 vintage just arrived so it will be around long enough for you to stock up. Château Valentin’s vineyards are marked by ancient glacial soils deposited from the Pyrenees and the Massif Central, and these gravelly soils are Cabernet friendly. Valentin is handpicked Cabernet Sauvignon from 57-year-old vines, balanced by 10% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot. Fermented in cement vats and finished in neutral barrels, it is bottled unfiltered. Blackberry and plum preserved with a soft leathery texture and a pool of melted cigar tannins. Shows noticeable structure and earthy hints. This is an everyday Bordeaux, food-friendly and classically styled. Steak Frites, anyone?
Sharon Baden, owner of Paris-Madrid Grocery, was on King 5 TV “New Day” show last week, cooking up a Spanish Garbanzo stew. Here’s a link to the broadcast and the cooking show, in case you missed it. This tasty recipe is easy to prepare (or make in advance), and a hearty meal after a chilly day outdoors. Here’s the recipe:
SPANISH GARBANZO & CHORIZO STEW
Garbanzos are an Old World bean and have been grown in the Mediterranean forever. What makes this a Spanish recipe is the mix of sausages: chorizo (a paprika and garlic pork sausage) and Butifarra, a white sausage from Catalonia. This is a hearty dish and quick to prepare if cooked garbanzo beans are on hand.
Serves 4.
¼ cup olive oil
1 Large yellow onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, diced
¼ pound Butifarra sausage, sliced*
¼ pound Spanish-style Bilbao chorizo sausage, sliced*
1 cup Tomate Frito (Spanish fried tomato sauce)*
¼ cup Pimenta Moida (Portuguese fermented pepper sauce)*
½ cup Piquillo peppers, chopped*
1 Bay leaf*
¼ teaspoon Black pepper
4 cups Cooked garbanzo beans*
1 tablespoon Minced parsley
In a large clay cazuela, heat oil, then sauté onion, garlic and sausage slices until the onion is soft.
Add tomate frito, pimento moida, piquillo peppers, bay leaf and pepper. Cook slowly (covered) about 15 minutes.
Add drained garbanzos, cover and cook 20 minutes. Add water if necessary, to maintain a simmer. Sprinkle with minced parsley and serve.
*These products are available at Paris-Madrid Grocery in Seattle.