Yet Another Post About Food

Today I had a midterm, which sucked, but afterwards we went to a free, CASB-organized cooking class.  It was about fifteen of us and Juanjo, so of course it was a hilarious time.  Tereza, our instructor, has this large kitchen in an apartment with a kickass view of La Rambla.  We hung around, examined the recipes, and then split off into smaller groups to handle each course separately.

First came a tomato gazpacho, garnished with shredded goat cheese and a dab of pesto (we ground it ourselves).  Then came the tortilla, which I helped with.  My first task was to chop some potatoes, but of course as soon as I got started, Tereza said "NO!" and quickly corrected the way I held the knife.  Handling the onions was easier, though they caused me to shed some serious tears.  Then my arm muscles cramped up as I tried to "whisk" the egg whites.  Cooking is so physically taxing!  I have definitely gained a newfound sympathy for those Top Chef competitors, who, while trying to construct the perfect dish in just one hour, can't really help it if a bead of sweat drips off their nose and lands in their duck confit.

The tortilla came out all right, thank God, but it was the paella that stole the show.  The pan was of epic proportions, and after some sizzling and prodding, we had this perfect mixture of cuttlefish, clams, prawns, chicken, tomato, rice, a little bit of lemon.  Don't worry, guys, I picked out my clams and gave them to Dan.  (See: Excuse Me, Where's the Vomitorium?)

We rounded out dinner with Crema Catalana, a dish which contains lots of eggs and much more sugar than I'd like to remember.  Then, once the creme itself is done, you sprinkle even MORE sugar on top and treat it with this badass blowtorch, which causes the surface to harden (similar to creme brulee, but you don't put it in the oven).  

All of this was consumed along with an excellent white wine and pan con tomate (a staple in Catalan cuisine).  We talked in castellano for most of the time, which was cool.  The whole thing lasted for over three hours.  Afterwards, I was sad to take off my apron because I know I'm not gonna go home and replicate the entire production - there's simply no way to acquire all the tools, pans and ingredients.  Or the patience.