In Spanish, a Patron is a boss of some sort. But what is a Padron? This was the subject of at least ten minutes debate during our family dinner conversation this evening. Even our guest of honor, my cousin from Barcelona, couldn't fathom what it meant.
Padron, as it turns out is a county in Galicia (Spain), where the most awesomnest of peppers grow. The Pimentos de Padron are definitely something I look forward to every summer. I get them from work, and of course, we get them from Happy Quail Farms in East Palo Alto. (San Mateo County represent!)
These little peppers are so fun to prepare and eat. You basically sautee them in olive oil, sprinkle some course salt on them and serve. (You can also deep fry them, grill them, etc.) But I prefer the traditional method. I got about five 1/4 pound bags, so I ended up putting them all on my griddle. 
Although, I could probably eat only Padrons and be happy with just that for dinner, I had six other people over for dinner, so that wasn't going to cut it. I opted for a Catalunyan treat such as pan amb tomaquete, which is basically bread with garlic, olive oil and tomato slathered all over it. This of course goes really well with some Jamon Serrano, or ham and Spanish chorizo. (Yes, there is a difference between Spanish and Mexican chorizo.)
And of course, some Dulce de Mebrillo (quince paste) with Manchego cheese and dates.
I tend to get carried away with my tapas. So, I had to remember to let everyone save some room for the main course. I made two different paellas. The first was a chicken and chorizo with asparagus, baby corns, and sherry.
The second was of course a seafood paella with shrimp, mussels, clams, artichoke hearts and baby corns and served with some saffron alioli (aioli).
Somewhere along the way there were some roasted aspagus and a frisee salad with a lemon vinegrette and parmesan cheese. And sangria! But my absolute success of the evening was the lemon and marcona almond torte with dulce de leche served with a side of cherry compote in a port reduction and some spicy chocolate sprinkled on top. (Even grandma liked it.) Unfortunately, I didn't think to take any pics of that before it was gone.
But all in all a success, which makes me happy because it's tough cooking Spanish food for actual Spaniards. I mean, I cook it all the time, but we're all Argentine, so of course we're not really Spanish. However, now I am convinced that if necessary, I can move to Spain and work at a restaurant. I consider it good to have these skills because one never knows where life will take you.
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