Dinner Date

Last night we went to one of our favorite tapas restaurants in the city. The weather was perfect; low 70's, slightly breezy, the sort of clean, fresh air I longed for throughout the humid summer. Our first order of business: a pitcher of the best Red Sangria we've found. We "shopped" from the specials menu, which was fun. Not to mention delicious.

Our picks:

* Almond-crusted manchego, fried till "melty"

* Buttery breaded shrimp with a spicy chili sauce and lemon

* Flaky dorado, served almost plain, with it's own juice and a little citrus accenting the super-moist consistency

* Salt cod fritters served with creamy lemon sauce

* Potato and cheese croquettes drizzled with black truffle oil and bits

* Super-thin chicken on crostini with parmesan and mozzarella broiled on top

But my favorite? A hot apple tart, made with locally-grown fruit, topped with a crunchy cinnamon-sugar mixture and, oh yeah, vanilla ice cream.

First Post

So, last night I took digitals of our dinner so I could create my first post today. The meal, while basic, was quite good. I discovered, however, that our camera really sucks (as you will see in the following photographs). Wes has been hinting about a new camera, and last night I said "you're totally right......get one". In the meantime, here goes:

I used two Red Snapper fillets and pan-fried them in a sauce of olive oil, honey, lemon, vinegar, garlic, ginger, green onions and a little splash of white wine.

Paired with roasted garlicky asparagus and toasted almond rice (from a box!), this made for a super-fast, tasty meal.

We added glasses of White Rioja (the red version is a favorite, and the white is almost as good).