Well, it’ll be hard to “tapa” that! 🙂 The NYC Cuisinistas (and Cuisinistos) had an absolute blast on Friday at our “A Taste of Barcelona” Wine Tasting and Tapas Party. The sold out fiesta, at 30 attendees, wouldn’t have been complete without the festive party décor and favors, wine tasting by sommelier Brandon, and the delicious tapas by gourmet chef Ryan.
Party Decor
As guests entered the room, they were guided to one of the five high round cocktail tables, each named a color- Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Blue- after the color of the centerpiece in each table. The centerpieces were also the favors, Barcelona Bark ( Dark and White Chocolate with Sea Salt and Almonds) wrapped in bright tissue paper pushed to the center of each table to mimic a Spanish flower. Get the recipe for Barcelona Bark here plus more Cuisinista Tapas recipes!
Colorful mints and conversation-starting napkins (“Forgive me for I have zinned”) were also scattered on tables for extra accents! We also created an easygoing but upbeat ambience by playing a mix of instrumental/pop/electronic music in the background.
Wine Tasting
Our Sommelier, Brandon conducted the wine tasting throughout the party, and gave us the key info about each of the 6 different Spanish wines, such as region, name of the producer, the style and how long its aged. He talked about two wines at a time and pointed out what flavors in each of the wines paired well with a particular tapa dish. I think my personal favorite pairing was the spiced lamb chops and the Federico Ribera Del Ruero. Perfection!
Tapas
Chef Ryan called up a volunteer (gold star for Spencer!) to prepare the Chicken Riellett. It was great to see how we could prepare this seemingly very gourmet dish very easily at home via a food processor. The 4 different tapas were brought out in phases, one/two at a time, starting with the Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates (drizzled with Olive Oil, followed by the Chicken Riellett, followed by both the Spiced Lamb Chops with Olive Tapenade and Chorizo with Beans. Each of the three tapas courses paired deliciously with the featured wines selected by Brandon.
If you’re planning on hosting your own “A Taste of Barcelona” Party soon, you’re in luck, Chef Ryan Smith was so fantastic that he shared his recipes with us. They’re now posted on our members page on cuisinistas.com, or just click here to download Ryan’s Recipes ! Also click here to check out our party pix! Salud!
Party Pix: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuisinistas/sets/72157626056973823/