Food & Wine Festival 2009: Round Two

we'll call this the birthday edition. i can't really think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than with some yummies. after Round One, i've been drooling at the thought of getting back again for my second excursion of eating around the world. it did not disappoint!

Barcelona, Spain
Red Snapper Escabeche. Poema Verdejo.

i started off again with another fish. this one was about as different from the other as you could get but still very yummy. the fish was slightly spicy, just enough to warm your mouth, but what made the whole dish was the (for lack of a better word) "giant relish" in rested on. really the only thing i can compare it to is the red pepper relish my Gram used to make (more vinegar-y, not a sweet relish), just not chopped as fine. the coolness of the relish balanced out the warmth of the snapper. and the Verdejo (nope, never even heard of it before today) was a nice crisp white wine. i am most definitely a white wine girl.

Paris, France
Parmentier de Boeuf Braise au Cabernet. Merlot (Chateau Mezain, Bordeaux, 2007).

(translation: Braised Short Ribs in Cabernet with Mashed Potatoes)
i moved along to my main course in Paris. i wasn't exactly sure what i was getting when i ordered this, as far as presentation, but it was almost a derivative of a shepherd's pie. the short ribs almost melted in my mouth and the mashed potatoes made the perfect crust, with just the right amount of crispiness on the outer layer. now that we've stated my preferece toward the whites, i will say that this Merlot was good, because it worked well with the short ribs, and didn't leave my mouth quite as fuzzy as the red from Round One; i definitely liked this one better.

Barcelona, Spain
Crema Catalana

i trekked back to Barcelona for my next course. i don't exactly know how to describe this. somewhere between a custard and a creme brulee. it didn't have the crispy glaze of a creme brulee--the top was more like a custard--but the consistency of it was more like the underneath part of the creme brulee. and there were little bits of some sort of a reddish-orange-fleshed fruit in there. papaya? guava? not sure. it was good though. and i ate it under the most amazing sunset...

you can see the full set here. it was *really* hard to choose just a couple.

Rio De Janiero, Brazil
Pave de Maracuja

(translation: Passion Fruit Mousse)
and then i topped everything off with something sweet. the mousse was layered between two pieces of sponge cake (the bottom part was very thin) & the whole thing was drizzled with a passion fruit sauce. it was light & sweet. the flavor was the biggest part really, because it was so light in texture. the perfect dessert to savor at the end of my birthday.

Round Three...coming this weekend!