I released the polenta squares too early! So annoyed with myself so I thought I’d follow it up with some more tapas. I wrote this post before our trip thinking that I’ll be swamped and jet-lagged when we get back, so glad I did because I so am all of the above. Work is nice and busy, I got a great little freelance job in and I’m ready for bed at 8pm most nights! I’m not complaining, just giving you the lay of the land.
I had mentioned that I love tapas dinner parties, so the Sunday before our holiday we had friends Rae and Monica over for a simplified tapas dinner party; their two youngest girls went to a concert close by and they needed to kill a few hours, so we said, come on over! We didn’t have a lot of time, so I had to abbreviate the standard 3×4 courses, so we only had 4×1 courses in total. It was plenty of food. In fact, I had to forgo one of the planned courses; fortunately tapas are make as you go so nothing went to waste, we just had it for dinner later in the week.
I’m also trying Instagram on my iPhone 4Gs, not quite as nice as the Canon, but pretty close. It really does better during the daylight as opposed to night. I never use the flash, mainly because my 3Gs never had one, so I really don’t miss it. What do you think?
Abbreviated Tapas Dinner Party
Sawsans Flat Bread with Tapenade and John’s home made Ricotta
Chilled cucumber shooters with greek yogurt. I made the soup with vegetable stock as we had a vegetarian in our midst.
Sizzling garlic Shrimp with cilantro and lemon with home made spelt fajita shells
Gluten-free Honey Ginger Cake with fresh figs, candied ginger slices and edible rose petals
Lyon and Paris also had to be broken down into two parts, too much stuff to talk about, you’ll see why. I’ll need a vacation from my vacation!
Eva, the tapas look wonderful! How do you manage to post such gorgeous photos and interesting posts so quickly! I cannot keep up with you 😉
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Hi Sissi, I have several posts ready to go most weeks, I’m usually ahead by two weeks (7 posts). Even the one’s I prepared before we left for Europe only had to be slightly modified to include something about Europe. My other secret is that I can do an entire post, including links and photos on my iPhone and I’ve written posts in the most unusual places; on the subway going to work, on the street car going to work, in bed when I cannot sleep in the middle of the night, on my deck at the cottage when I wake up too early, well you get my drift! I can honestly say that my iPhone is likely the most used electronic appliance I own.
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Wow! You are really well organised! I rarely have one post in advance… I don’t have iPhone (I have the Canadian blackberry 🙂 ) which at least the first one I bought, was much better for work than iPhone. I hope they will not go bankrupt…
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That’s such a sad story Sissi; so many people were recently let go (my brother’s SIL). I hope they don’t go down either.
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Huh, I thought I commented on this post already, but I guess not! Looks like a lovely dinner Eva – I’m digging that sizzling shrimp… all that cilantro and lemon must make for a fantastic flavour!
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Yes, that flavour combo would be right up your taste profile, Charles. You can even sprinkle some hot chili pepper flakes onto the dish for a kick!
I’ve had that happen to me before, but in my case it’s just because I get distracted and in my head I’ve commented but in reality I just forgot to press the button!
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My daughter wants to have a few kids over on her birthday and said we can just make a few snacks.. Oh, I wish you lived nearby and I could just hire you to do this for me! I can cook a dinner.. but tapas just gives me the shivers.. I have no idea where to begin! You make it look so easy! I tried my 3G and didn’t have the great results you sure did! It’s so dark out early now, I’m struggling to find time to photography before we eat, lol! Get lots of rest.. I can’t wait to hear stories from your vacation!xx
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Hi Smidge, I actually find making tapas a little easier than a sit down dinner but you really have to be ‘on’ for the meal lest you forget something (which has happened before, maybe someone had a little too much vino!). I would LOVE to help you out, and for nothing, out of ‘friendship’.
Kristy was also talking about having a tapas party, so I thought I would do a post focusing on tips to holding a tapas dinner party. I will try to do it this weekend and post early next week.
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I swear some nights I could hit the sack by 7 pm (swinger!! ;-0). I envy your dinner party talent Eva… we have not thrown a dinner party since… well, there you have it, I can’t remember ;-). Your tapas looks lovely – I want to investigate the cucumber chillers more closely… :).
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thanks Kelly, we’re at the point of being able to hold out until around 10pm these nights — they say for every hour of time difference from your destination to home takes an entire day to recover…so that schedule kinda makes sense although I’m sure they didn’t factor in age (it seems like it was easier when I was young(er). I am going to post some tips on hosting a tapas dinner party soon.
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I didn’t know you got to meet Charles in Paris! That must have been wonderful. I can’t wait until I’m able to do a bit of traveling and catch up (actually meet) some of my favourite bloggers. Your good self is right up on the top of the list, of course! I love tapas. We recently went to a tapas restaurant and had such a fun night. xx
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Meeting Charles was a wonderful way to end our vacation in Europe, he is really a lovely person. Wow, I would LOVE to meet you Charlie!! That would be so cool! I was hoping to meet another blogger in Geneva but sadly she was traveling for business the dates that we were in Geneva.
I bought a great little tapas cookbook (in English) in Barcelona…I am going to make another tapas dinner party in December for friends coming over. I can’t believe we are already booking dinner parties into December!
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I could have really used one of those cucumber shooters this afternoon.
Bring on France!! Give the people what they want!! 😉
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I would have gladly shared it with you! I always get a chuckle from your comments, Jed. Thanks!
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What a lovely dinner party Eva! And you even manage to find time to click such awesome pictures. That’s the best achievement of all, lol! I am sure the girls were hanging outside, waiting for your invite, hahaha! I would love to be your neighbor.
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Thanks Minnie, that is very flattering.
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I always drool at your dinner party posts. You always make the yummiest things Eva. I bet everyone drops hints about coming to your dinner parties 😉
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Thanks Lorraine that is very sweet of you to say.
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Hello Eva, I am so sorry I have not commented on you wonderful trip posts. I have a nasty flue and every timeI try to catch up with everyone’s amazing posts I am too tired to do and I don’t want to leave meaningless comments. So please do forgive me,hopefully I will catch up during the weekend
I love your party posts Eva, you are very creative and every dish you put out is so well thought
I love the idea of fteer with tapenade, it sounds like an amazing twist!
Thank you kindly for the shout out. I deeply appreciate it
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No worries Sawsan, I’ve been having a hard time catching up from our trip. I’ve stopped by your blog only to be distracted by something, and I’m still having trouble catching up on sleep. But I’m not complaining, I just wish I had more time.
I hope you feel better and I thank you for you beautiful and kind words. Your comments always make me feel good about myself.
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Hi Eva! I can completely relate to needing to be in bed early these days. I’m swamped at work and the kids aren’t slowing down any either. Fortunately we get a little enjoyment this week. I’ll be back soon and get all caught up on your trip (or pop in later if I can!). I do enjoy reading about all your adventures. This tapas menu looks fabulous too. I think I’m going to do this for our next dinner party. 🙂
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thanks Kristy, I had written some tips for hosting a tapas party but somehow they were deleted when I put a bunch of my devices with wordpress, argh! If I have some time in the future I’ll do another post on time savers and hosting tips.
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Now why was I not invited? 😉
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Door is always open, do feel free to drop in, we usually have way more food than we can eat. Cheers!
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thanks Eva 🙂
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I emailed you but just in case you don’t see it, I can no longer comment on your blog, on my iMac with Safari or even on my iPhone. On the iMac it no longer shows the captcha and on my iPhone it won’t let me input my WordPress ID at all so I cannot leave a comment.
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Boy this all looks so good, and it is truly making me want to do tapas for my next dinner party! Some great ideas here. Bravo!
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Thank you kindly Betsy, I’m quite flattered!
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You are an expert in organizing dinner parties! I never know what to cook when we have visitors….so end up eating out.
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Thanks Angie, I keep a log of the dinner parties so if I’m feeling uninspired I can just repeat a dinner I had with someone else!
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I agree with Greg. Your dinner parties are a real treat for me to read about. You’re quite the host,,,ess? (Is hostess still used or, like actress, is it a sign that I’m out of touch?) Anyway, the food you prepare is never ordinary and always so very well presented. I bet your friends’ daughters were at home all along. The couple just wanted some of your tapas. 🙂
I never felt jet lagged going East. It’s when I came home or travelled West that it really hit me. So, don’t rush to get the vacation posts out. Get the rest you need, And thank you for the shout-out. Now that mozzarella is out of the way, I need to make some ricotta.
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Thanks John, you are always so very flattering. I don’t mind being called hostess (’cause it rhymes with ‘mostest’!!). Our friends know they don’t need an excuse to invite themselves over for dinner!
The jet lag is quite funny that way, isn’t it? When I was young it always felt worse going west, now that I’m old(er) it hits me worse coming home. Maybe because going west we have adrenaline to keep us going and coming home is not as exciting.
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You might need a vacation from your vacation but I will never get enough of your holiday. Maybe you should organise itineraries. 🙂 That’s certainly some fantastic food you whipped up on short notice!
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Thanks Maureen, I love making tapas dinners, it somehow doesn’t seem as much pressure as a full blown meal, plus we get to enjoy it sitting in the lounge, which always feels like a treat.
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That is quite a spread for not much time to prepare. Know what you mean by needing a vacation from a vacation. It is taking me longer to recover from a vacation as I mature.
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Hi Norma, that’s what I love about tapas, some things you can have frozen and ready to pop into the oven and some things are fresh…it’s the mix that makes it ‘easy’. But having said that, I still need a list to keep me on track, particularly if I have a glass of vino!
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I love your dinner parties. I really have my eye on those shooters.
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I thought you might, Greg! Thank you.
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I didn’t mind seeing the squares early, all this tapas food is gorgeous 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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Thanks CCU!
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