Spain - Day Four - October 27th - "You Can Take Them Out of New Orleans, but You Can't Take New Orleans Out of Them"

---

On our third full day in Spain, we decided to chill and hang out at my cousin's house. We wanted to show our host how much we appreciated his generousity in allowing us to stay with him, and the best way to do that was to cook a good ole fashioned, down home, traditional New Orleans dinner. The menu consisted of my husband's Shrimp Creole and my Chicken & Sausage Gumbo and Pralines. The challenge was cooking these meals with Spanish ingredients.

Our trip to the grocery store the previous day yielded everything we needed including fresh shrimp. The great thing about Rota is that fishing is one of its main industries, so we were guaranteed to get fresh seafood. These shrimp did not disappoint. While they did not have the unique flavor of the Gulf of Mexico, they had their own special flavor. Chicken is chicken no matter where you are, though it is always best to use organic. The sausage, on the other hand, wasn't quite the same Normally, I would use andouille or smoke sausage in my gumbo, but I had to settle for what was available - chorizo. Technically, pralines can be made with just about any type of nut, I'm used to pecans. There were none to be found in the store, so I settled for walnuts.

Our day began with prepping all of the ingredients - peeling shrimp, cutting and seasoning the chicken so that it could marinade, chopping vegetables/seasonings, etc. After we finished, it was chill time. My cousin's friend and I went for a drive around Rota and then settled down for some coffee and pastry at a local cafe. During that time, I kept thinking, wow, I'm sitting at an outdoor cafe drinking coffee in Spain! I know it sounds rather trite, but I like to revel in the small things, the ones that most people take for granted.

During that time, we engaged in girl talk and discovered that despite our differences, mainly our nationalities (and race), we're essentially the same. We talked about cultures, love, fashion, books, particularly 50 Shades of Grey. Yes, that badly written series is a big hit there as well. We finished our coffees and headed back to the house, so that I could start cooking.

Making the roux for the gumbo was another challenge, I handled it the best that I could. While my husband's Shrimp Creole turned out excellent, I was a little less than pleased with my Gumbo. However, you wouldn't know that from the way everyone ate. My cousin invited all of his friends in Rota to join us so we had a pretty nice turnout. This is how we do it in New Orleans - invite everyone over, cook, eat and drink (A LOT!).

---

Photos

Chefs du Cuisine
Don and I handling up in the kitchen.

Cousins
Jarett trying to sneak a taste.

Chicken and Chorizo Gumbo
The roux turned out little lighter than I had hoped, but the flavor was definitely there.

Walnut Pralines
I added some rum, well actually, A LOT of rum to the pot.

Bottoms Up
Tasha enjoying her gumbo.

TheVeterans
Representing the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force

Comments

[Sheryse Noelle DuBose]

New Orleans with a Little Spanish Twist
The gumbo looks delicious. Y'all throwing down like that, we are gonna have to drop in for dinner.

[Angela]

Shrimp Creole
Don why have I never had this treat?