Hello Spanish Table wine friends! All right, two holiday weekends back to back! Last weekend we ordered up tacos, quesadillas, burritos & tostadas from El Potrillo (our favorite taco truck) for Cinco de Mayo & then we had a paella & tapas extravaganza on Sunday with friends who cracked open a magnificent magnum of Numanthia '04. Word to the wise--that is a gargantuan wine! Decanted early in the morning, the wine still needed lots of time to open up by the time we arrived for dinner. Count yourself lucky if you scored some of it for your cellar... But this weekend we pay un tributo to our mothers (Mother's Day is this Sunday, May 13th!) & it sort of makes sense that this holiday often revolves around food, since our mama's are often the ones who teach us to cook from the heart. I really have to thank my mother-in-law for her love of paella because that's how I met my husband--shopping for paella pans at Spanish Table! Unfortunately not all of us live close to our mom's & so we have to think a little harder about how to thank them for all they've done... So I've included some ideas for Mother's Day presents that you can bring to mom or have us ship right to her door. Hope I don't give any surprises away! Salud! Catherine TOP FIVE PICKS FOR MOTHER'S DAY GIFTS Chocolove Chilies & Cherries Dark Chocolate $3.99 Ever since I was a little kid, I bought chocolate covered cherries for my mother (a favorite of hers), but this sounds even better! 55% Cocoa content, so it's dark, but not too intense for the other flavors to come through... Ancho & chipotle chiles provide a surprise kick to the dried cherry bits for a wonderful sweet & savory combo. Plus there's a love poem inside for mom! In My Mother's Kitchen: Writers on Love, Cooking, & Family $5.99 "The smell of sauce in a pan, the warm flavor of freshly baked cookies, even the rituals of cleaning up after a meal are all woven into the bonds we experience from one generation to the next..." Such is the poignant theme of this diverse collection of stories, poems & recipes from famous foodies including pieces by Nigel Slater, M.F.K. Fisher & one that made me chuckle- -"The Queen of Mold" --by Ruth Reichl. A fun & entertaining read for lover's of food writing... Can Solivera 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil Soap $9.99 So much better than a bottle of perfume! This soap is lovingly produced in Catalunya by Hans & Daida de Roos who found this medieval recipe behind the glass in an olive oil museum... Everything made at their Masia reflects a passion for the earth, starting with their special cold pressed arbequina olive oil & the addition of sea salt, lemons, and essential oils from rosemary leaves, lavendar petals & pine needles that replicate the aromas of their olive groves. Exceptional quality & exquisitely perfumed, this "slow foods" soap ranks high on my pick list! Rodrigo y Gabriela CD $17.99 This is for the hip mom who loves new music & craves the energy of a live show that she can dance to in her living room... Rodrigo y Gabriela are a duo from Mexico City that started off in a metal band & ended up busking their way to fame in Dublin, Ireland of all places. Impossible to categorize these two rising stars strut their stuff in between flamenco, folk, classical--and yes heavy metal--but all on dueling acoustic guitars. I saw them at Jazz Alley a year ago & fell instantly for their sound. Good luck seeing them anyplace that small again... "One of the best guitar albums in ages; one of the best discs this year" --Billboard Flamenco Aprons $28.99 Does your mom have a paella pan or loves Spain? Then I can't think of anything more fun than making her feel like a real flamenca... Initially these were all made by Alicia, a bubbly Spanish dancer, who used the scraps from her custom-made dresses to create these colorful aprons. Inspired by Alicia's idea, a group of dancers in Santa Fe formed Dulce Flamenco Internacional which uses proceeds from their aprons to bring artists here from Spain to educate & promote flamenco amongst youth. These aprons are as vibrant as a gypsy's paint palette with lots of polka dots that will get any cook dancing up a storm in the kitchen! BIZCOCHO DE NARANJA DE MARI CARMEN MARTIN (MARI CARMEN’S ORANGE CAKE) from La Cocina de Mama by Penelope Casas $29.95 This golden moist cake sounded like the perfect thing to bake for a Mother's Day brunch or for breakfast in bed... The recipe gives a couple of additional serving options: one is to simmer 2 tablespoons apricot jam & 2 tablespoons of orange liqueur for two minutes & then brush over the cake. The second alternative is to serve it with a scoop of ice cream & strawberries--now doesn't that sound delicious? Too bad you live so far away, mom! Makes an 8-inch Bundt cake 3 large eggs 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest ½ cup mild olive oil 2 cups unbleached flour 1 tablespoon baking powder Confectioners’ sugar for dusting Grease and flour an 8-inch fluted Bundt pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until thickened and light colored. Gradually beat in the granulated sugar, then--in order--the orange juice, orange zest, and oil. Beat in the flour, and finally the baking powder. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean and the cake springs back to the touch. Cool slightly, then turn out onto a serving dish. Dust with confectioner's sugar, or finish in any of the ways described in the headnote. STAFF PICKS FOR MOTHER'S DAY! Morgan's Pick Melipal Malbec Rose 2006, Mendoza $11.99 "Good for mother-daughter girl talk on a sunny afternoon!" --Morgan Darker hued & totally unique, this wine has the body of a red wine with the refreshing quality of a rosado. The pomegranate, watermelon & dry Rainier cherry flavors just beg to be served with grilled salmon. Very nicely balanced vintage with a lasting finish of pleasant fruit. Always one of my favorite rose's! Marilyn's Pick Vina Esmeralda 2005, Catalunya $11.99 "I bought this wine for my dad's birthday last year & my mom loved it just as much." --Marilyn This is a summer bouquet in a bottle! Pop the cork & there's a vase filled with roses, lilies & jasmine on your table. A tropical whirlwind made with 85% Moscatel & 15% Gewurztraminer (yes Spanish Gewürztraminer!) that's as totally refreshing as it sounds. So perfect with Avocado Boats Nestled with Bay Shrimp or Jamon Ribbons with Honeydew. Yummy mango & peach-skin aromatics with a mouthful of orange creamsicle that sings "Picnic in the park!" Catherine's Pick Gramona Gessami 2005, Penedes $14.99 "Every once in a while my mom will have a "tidge" of white wine... This is what I would bring back to N.Y.to go with her spectacular apricot & walnut stuffed French toast!" This spectacularly elegant white is one of my favorite recent discoveries. Unlike a splashy citrus- wrapped Rueda, or the big-boned Albarino's from the coast that I usually gravitate towards, Gessami (made from Sauvignon Blanc/Muscat d'Alexandria/Muscat de Fontignac) is a delicate departure with poetic notions. Bergamot, rose & cherry blossom underpinnings delight the senses along with tropical starfruit, tangerine peel, but quartz minerals leave you with a lively mouthfeel that is crisp as fresh linens. "Gessami" originates from the Hebrew word for jasmine--a wine as exotic as the flower itself. You'll be sad when your glass is empty, or at least I was! Steve's Pick Parxet Cuveé Dessert Pinot Noir Cava, $17.99 "This wine is sweet (but not too sweet!) just like my mother." --Steve Nearly all Pinot Noir with a bit of Chardonnay thrown in, this unique sparkling pink is a favorite of both myself & Carolin Jimenez de Jiminez at the Harvest Vine. Don't let the "dessert" part scare you off, this is a refreshingly unique mid-sweet wine... Very pale Pinot color with pollen-like floral aromas & a rich texture that has caramel leisurely sliding into homeplate. The finish reminded me of glazed strawberries & malted milk balls interestingly enough. Jose's Pick Mauro 2003, Castilla y Leon, $41.00 "Mother's Day is about love, & a mother deserves the best... I love this wine, and I love my mother!" --Jose Bodegas Mauro is the equivalent of a Super-Tuscan in that it falls just outside of Ribera del Duero & they grow a little Grenache & Syrah that puts them in the maverick category. Made by Vega Sicilia's winemaker, Mariano Garcia, Mauro is a wine that's easy to love & easier on the wallet than Unico for sure. The 2003 vintage had Jose & I nodding in agreement as it stood out as one of the best vintages of Mauro we've tasted... Beautiful nose of blueberry that "funks up" when you swirl (something I love in Ribera del Duero's), gorgeous creaminess on the palate, a royal purple hue, fine spices & dusty texture. This has room to age, so decant or enjoy it's evolution in later years..