Spanish Hooky- a not so still life

Whew. So many things to tell you as I slip under the spell of summer here at Camont with a glass of cold and bone dry rose' wine.

Ok, that's just the usual teaser used by people who live in France. We are snotty and protective about our perceived lifestyle and I, for one, try not to disallusion you, dear reader, too much. Actually, I am fighting the underdeadline-procrastination-book writing blues as my Spanish Hooky excuse of a book deadline looms overhead. The photographs are in the bag, the notes are being transcribed and 500 captions are not being written as we speak. But before I travel on to other parts of the world this summer spreading the Camp Cassoulet gosple as I go...(Old France to New Zealand anyone?) I want to leave you with these images of Espana... and a promise of more to come.

Spanish Hooky Bar

Summer Shoes

Catalan Table

Montserrat Morning

Spanish Hooky*- the making of...Caviar de La Rioja

Peeking.

Seems like everyone is doing it... Even my friend David Lebovitz is writing eloquently about luxury in this time of... fiscal hijinks. So when I found myself in the arms of Frank O. Gehry's smiling Hotel Marques de Riscal in La Rioja Alavese, I succumbed to the temptation.

Caviar.

Perfect, dark bubbles of burst-in-your-mouth flavor. Don't worry sturgeon lovers. This caviar is perfectly sustainable and might even be called... vegetarian if it wasn't sitting on a cloud of foie gras mousse. This is the restaurant Gastronomico's Caviar de Vin. A creation of Chef Francis Paniego and his smiling crew headed by executive chef Jose Ramon Piniero.

Caviar pearls floating on a cloud of foie gras curd with red pepper.

Maria explaining the syringe technique to make the wine gelatin caviar pearls.

Spinning constellations of caviar in cold sunflower oil.

Wine Caviar drained and ready to serve.

Shooting the F.O.Gehry egg.

Francis Paniego explaining his 5 generation-long traditions.

Chefs
Francis Paniego & Jose Ramon Pineiro

Happy Tim Clinch eating the fruits of their labors.

The room with a view?
From the City of Wine- the Hotel Marques de Riscal in Elciego in La Rioja Alavese
in the Pais Vasco.

Muchas Gracias .

*Spanish Hooky- what I call working on a new book of Spanish design.

Spanish Hooky- room with a view...

Winter sky
Vino tinto
f.o.g.
pink, gold, inox ribbon
P.V.

Where am I?

Spanish Hooky- a coffee in the port

Its in my nature.
Part gypsy, part hobo, part 19th-c traveler.
I live on a boat.
I travel for a living.
I dream in technicolor and surround-a-sound.
I have one foot planted on water, the other in the garden.
Sometimes I channel Mark Twain, wearing an apron.
I am at ease in this world.

Ok, so enough with the lifestyle haiku. This is my way of introducing a new feature here at French Kitchen Adventures. I call it Spanish Hooky.

The best part living in Europe is that in the time it takes to drive from Seattle to Portland, I drive from France to Spain. That means Goodbye baquettes et cafe au lait, Hola cerveza y pintxos! Today I drive off to Northern Spain- west coast-- the Pais Vasco (Basque Countries to you!) and la Rioja for a week of exploring the insides of some of the most interesting and beautiful houses, hotels and... restaurants in all of Spain. Like this- the new City of Wine building by Frank O Gehry for La Marques de Riscal in La Rioja.

photo credit

So when you see Spanish Hooky think: calamar, bacalao, jamon, antxoa, aceites... I'll meet you in the bar on the sea for a cortado...

a great way to start the day.