This week in food

On Monday, I got to participate in a taller de cocina — a cooking class — which was delicious, enlightening and full of adventures. In groups, we helped to prepare each course. Feeling eager to participate, I volunteered to help with the crema catalana, which despite being dessert, was the first thing we worked on. My task was to separate eight eggs. Psh, easy...

ORR not. The first one was a total failure. I had to have Paige vouch for the fact that she has seen me make egg-white omelets innumerable times. Making fun of me, Ignacio, our chef instructor, tried to teach me a weird trick that involved putting my fingers into the egg. Needless to say, when professional chefs make something look easy — it's not.

Other notable moments included a huge soup spill on the counter, and Ignacio's subsequent recovery of the soup using a giant knife.

Our finished dinner included: pan con tomate, gazpacho garnished with a homemade pesto, tortilla española, chicken paella, and the crema catalana. Right before dessert was served, I got to take a blow torch to half of the cremas in order to caramelize the sugar. I want one for my birthday.

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In other food news, today at Mar Bella I gave the Catalan children a presentation about Thanksgiving. Other than little clips from movies, none of them (5th and 6th graders) knew anything about the holiday. Explaining the Pilgrims to a group of kids who (a) know nothing about American history and (b) speak limited English is ... challenging. We trudged through and made it to the pictures of food. At the end of the presentation, one of my sixth graders came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. "I'm hungry, and it's your fault." At least food is a language we all speak...