A Merrry Night at Squisito

There were 26 people who attended the Saturday night dinner. It was a great cooking experience for me and worked very well with my other partners in crime.
Ines was simply a sensation and we teamed very well.
Guillermo, as usual, a very good paella chef and one that is making a name for himself.
Dino worked very well in setting up everything and ensured everyone always had a drink. Glasses were never half empty.

The menu:
- Pimientos rojos horneados (roasted peppers)
- Albondigas (meatballs)
- Chorizos (spicy Spanish sausage)
- Gambas al ajillo (garlic prawns)
- Champinones al ajillo (garlic mushrooms)
- Paella
- Cream caramel
- Coached pears

The wines
- Vallformosa - extra seco (sparkling)
- Telmo Rodriguez Basa Verdejo 2005
- Telmo Rodriguez Dehesa Gago Tempranillo 2005.
I chose these wines because we had a Spanish theme. I choose the Vallformosa sparking because it felt good, right for the occassion and had some good balance. The Basa was selected because - unlike many Spanish whites - did not feel too dry. In fact when I first tasted I was very impressed with it. Balanced flavour - it did not linger for ever. As for the red, I just loved it when i first tried a few days earlier - this is a good wine and one that people simply say delicious. The red wine impressed all diners.
I originally had in mind that we will be drinking Rioja wines until I sampled the above wines at a function attended by the importers of these wines.

The hosts:
Ines and Dino, from Squisito Bar, QV, Melbourne.
Excellent hosts and awesome company. Great people to work with.

It was a very positive event for the 26 people who attended. Upon arrival, diners had a choice of sangria or Spanish sparkling wine.

We started the food extravaganza with albondigas (which was a combination of three types of meat: veal, pork and beef); these were simply sensational. Cooked very well and had lots of good flavour. The sauce was very tasty and went well with bread. Then we followed it with the chorizo, which we served in two different ways: some cooked plain and some cooked with garlic, capsicum and onion. The latter richer in flavour.

We paused for a few minutes to allow the flavours to settle and enjoy some wine. Then we had the 'gambas al ajillo' which tasted very nice and they had good flavour. Unfortunately the garlic mushrooms did not work as well as the prawns - they were somewhat dry - not enough olive oil and probably the wine needed to cook a bit longer.

The roasted capsicums were absolutely sensational. All credit due to Ines.

After these courses we paused and we allowed people to check on the progress of the paella. It was cooking on a huge paella dish which was the main attraction of the evening.
The paella contained chicken, pork and seafood. Plenty of capsicum and spices. All meats were carefully selected and cut. We cooked a paella that typically will serve 40 people but it went so well amongst 26 diners.
We finished the evening with a choice of cream caramel (flan) or poached pears. The pears were cooked on white wine, saffron, sugar, cinnamon and cardamon pods. Could have been richer (and as one diner told me needed cloves!!)

Now... I shall continue on the quest to cook for 40 people and for my first ever marathon.

That's all folks!