Tomato, Cucumber and Goat Cheese Salad

Combine salad ingredients in a large salad bowl. Mix dressing ingredients together and toss with salad. Serves 4-6. Serve with a white Bordeaux or California Sauvignon Blanc.

Red Lentil Salad with Feta and Beets

Wrap beets in foil. Roast 45 minutes in 350Ð oven. Cool, peel, and cut into wedges. In a medium skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add shallots and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add cumin and fennel, and cook just until fragrant. Remove from heat and whisk in the vinegar, lemon juice, and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk until emulsified.

Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lentils and cook until just tender, about 5 min. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Toss with half the vinaigrette. Let cool and stir in parsley. Toss the arugula and beets with remaining vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. Mound the salad on dinner plates and spoon the lentils on top. Garnish with feta. Serves 4. Serve with a bright, fresh white such as a Viognier, a GOOD Pinot Grigio, or a bright Sauvignon Blanc such as one from New Zealand.

Argentine Marinade (Chimichuri)

Powder threads and steep in lemon juice for 20 minutes. Combine all ingredients with a whisk and store in a covered jar. Marinate poultry or shellfish in half of it. After grilling, serve the poultry or shellfish with the remainder. Or brush it on top of garlic bread before toasting. Serve with a hearty red such as a Malbec.

Spanish Potato Omelette (Tortilla Espanola)

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and onions. Sauté in a 10” non-stick skillet with 3 Tbl of olive oil over medium heat. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking. Cook for about 20 minutes, remove from the heat, and allow to cool. Mix with eggs and season with cayenne, salt, and pepper. Clean sauté pan and return to medium heat with 2 Tbl olive oil. Add egg and potato mixture. Smooth the potatoes out and cook until bottom is set and lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Turn omelette onto a plate and slide back into the pan on the other side. Cook for another five minutes until bottom is set. Remove to a plate, cut into small squares and serve at room temperature with toothpicks. Serves 8 as a side dish or 2-3 as a main course. An infinite number of variations on this theme are possible. Experiment with mushrooms, peppers, other vegetables you may have handy, or additional herbs and spices that seem interesting. Serve with a good Sauvignon Blanc.

Pork Loin with Cherry-Cranberry Stuffing

Trim all fat from the pork roast. In a small pan, mix cherries, cranberries, juice, lemon zest, and nuts. Heat through and set aside for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350Ð F. Drain fruit through colander, reserving the marinade in a medium pan. Stuff mixture into center of the roast and tie with string every 2 inches. Place in a roasting pan and bake 30 minutes in the center of the oven. Meanwhile, add the wine, peppercorns, and cinnamon to marinade and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Remove roast from the oven and pour marinade mixture over it. Cover the roast and return to oven. Baste every 15 minutes for 2 hours. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes to brown, basting every 10 minutes. Cool roast covered with foil for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with sauce on the side. Great with sweet potatoes or carrot-garlic mashed potatoes. Serve with a medium to full-flavored red such a Fitou, other Languedoc, a good Cotes du Rhone, or a California Syrah. Serves 6

Pork Skewered with Figs and Prunes
(With a dish of rice, this substantial tapa could easily be a main course.)

Put all ingredients (except the skewers) in a non-reactive bowl and mix well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator 3-4 hours or overnight. Remove the pork and fruit, reserving the marinade. Fill each skewer as follows: a piece of pork, a prune, another piece of pork, and fig half.

  Boil the marinade in a non-reactive skillet large enough to hold all of the skewers. Add the skewers, cover, reduce heat, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the cover, and continue to cook, turning the skewers from time to time until the sauce is a sticky syrup. Serve immediately. Serves 4-5. This is great with a Rioja or other medium-flavored Spanish red wine.

Ham with Olives and Oranges (a tapa)

Remove zest from a quarter of 1 orange. Cut zest into very thin strips and set aside. Cut away peel and pith of oranges and separate segments, removing white membranes. Cut segments into 1/2-inch pieces, and place in a small bowl. Coarsely chop olives and add to oranges. Add shallot, olive oil, orange juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine.  

Cut bread into four wedges. Split one wedge crosswise (freeze the remaining bread for another use), separating the top and bottom crusts. Tear each half into four chunks, and arrange on a serving plate. Place a slice of ham, folding or rolling it if necessary, on each piece of bread, and spoon about 1 Tbl. of the orange mixture on top. Sprinkle with zest and serve. Serves 4 as an appetizer. Serve with a Spanish white wine such as an Albariño or a Rueda wine such as Cuevas de Castilla. 

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