Spain - the land of Jamón

Thanks for all your inquiries about our trip to Spain.  It was fantastic!  I had the opportunity to visit two markets, one in Barcelona and one in Valencia.  They were both amazing.  The Barcelona La Boqueria market, right off grand "Ramblas" boulevard was filled with typical products from the region - mouth-watering cheeses, fruits and vegetables - as well as jamón and more jamón.  Jamón is the spanish version of ham and nothing like the american version. Jamón Iberico is the most famous of them all and well worth the effort to find it.  Of course, with a little chorizo (a spicy cured meat from Spain) and manchego, one of the most common (and delicious!) sheep cheeses from Spain, you're good to go.  The perfect wine for jamón?  A rioja, of course.  One of our favorites is the Bodegas Lan Rioja Crianza.

 

Now that we're back in the States I'm going to have to spend some time drying out from all the jamón.  Next post I will share with you some of the beautiful and delicious meals we had, including some very artistic plating of food!