December 30, 2023 Lunch - La Boca. Dinner - Fabada and Meatballs with Romesco Sauce and apples sweetened with wine syrup and ice cream

December 30, 2023 Lunch - La Boca. Dinner - Fabada and Meatballs with Romesco Sauce and apples sweetened with wine syrup and ice cream

I got up at 5:30 to watch Luton lose to Chelsea and then the Wolves beat Everton.

Then we packed and ate a bowl of granola with tropical fruit salad.

We left a bit after 11:00 and drove to Santa Fe.

We first went to Trader Joe’s where Suzette bought a container of whipped cream cheese.

We then drove to Stephen’s Consignment where I again rested in the  Highlander while Suzette looked at the offerings.

We then went to Owings Gallery and inspected my Juanne Quick to See pastel in its new hand carved golden leaf frame and were amazed that the asking price was $125,000.00. I had guessed it would be offered for 1/2 of that.  I now want to sell other pieces if they are that desirable.

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After that heart stopping experience, we walked the two blocks to La Boca

For a tapa and a drink.  We ordered a crabmeat canolone to share. Suzette ordered a glass of beer and I ordered a glass of cider but we did not finish them because soon we after we began asking for Guerra vermouth, E-mail, chef owner James Campbell Caruso’s daughter, came to our table and we began in intense discussion of Spanish        vermouths and a free sample her favorite white and red on the menu of about 12 vermouths?

We then drove to Peyton Wright to say hello to John Wright. There were a few interesting pieces but mainly it was a photography show of petroglyphs, mainly located in Arizona.

We then drove to Museum Hill to see the Parka exhibition. It was fascinating with parkas made with many different materials, including light weight summer parkas made from seal gut and salmon skin.

By the time we finished it was 4:45 so we then drove to Linda and T.R.’s house on Pecos Trail, where we had accepted an invitation for dinner and an over night stay.

We really like them and we are very simpatico about just about everything.

We brought a Spanish dinner of Fabada and meatballs with Romesco sauce plus lax and bagels and cream cheese for breakfast.

We were welcomed by a table filled with Spanish tapas, including beer nuts and toasted garbanzo beans, an olive medley, cheese, cubes, little bread strips, Seasoned mini bread sticks, and fresh and sautéed slices of chorizo.

Linda had also bought three bottles of Spanish wine. She opened a bottle and poured us glasses.  Later Suzette poured glasses of Lustau red vermouth for her and Linda.

Soon T.R. came in from soaking in their hot tub.  I was recalling the Presidential election of 1912 in response to Linda’s question about the possibility of a presidential run by a third party candidate.

Soon TR reminded us that the Cowboys were playing football against the Detroit Lions, so we turned it on.

Suzette and Linda prepared dinner by heating the Fabada and meatballs with Romesco sauce and sauteeing pieces of previously baked  pork belly and slices of chorizo to add to the Fabada.

The only thing not already cooked were the roasted potatoes. I cut three russet potatoes into six full length wedges each and Linda coated them with olive oil and salt and roasted them in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes.

Then at halftime we ate dinner in the formal dining room.

First a small bowl of Fabada with the heated chunks of Pork Belly and chorizo slices were served. It was just like in Spain and TR, who is a soup person, liked it a lot.

Linda, Suzette, and I drank red wine and T.R. drank one of the Carlsberg Elephants we brought for him.  After a second Elephant TR seemed to get a little tipsy, which is natural because they contain 7.2% alcohol by volume  and double the alcohol typically found in normal beer.

The entree course of Albondigas (meatballs) with Romesco sauce and the roasted potato wedges was served next.  I gagged on the black pepper in them once or twice, but was able to eat my two if I covered  bite of meatball with Romesco sauce. I took pieces of potato wedge, dipped it in Romesco sauce, and speared a small piece of meatball to make a lovely bite of food.

After dinner we returned to the kitchen table where the TV was located and watched the last of the game, which ended in a controversial decision that caused Detroit to lose the game.  A Detroit lineman apparently did not report himself eligible to catch a pass was thrown a pass that scored a two point conversion. Instead of wining 21 to 20 Detroit was penalized 5 yards for an illegal touch and missed its second attempt to complete its 2 point conversion and the Cowboys won 20 to 19.

Suzette and Linda then served us dessert of the apple balls Suzette and I had made cooked in a red wine syrup over scoops of vanilla ice cream.

At 9:30 we all went to bed. Suzette and I slept in the guest bedroom connected to the kitchen and TR and Linda at the other end of the house in their bedroom.

We prepared a perfect dinner, because we all loved the Fabada (bean stew) made with the huge Asturian white beans and the Romesco sauce made with pimiento, crushed almonds and Spanish paprika and saffron that was served with the meatballs and roasted potato wedges.

Bon Appetit