Manchego Crackers with Marcona Almonds- Tapas Night Part 1 of 3

Lately I have been craving all sorts of Spanish food, and to satiate these desires, I decided to have a Tapas Date Night for Mikey and myself!
This is just the first recipe of the three in total I will be posting in the coming days, but it just might be the best! I originally saw the recipe here, but it had no recipe attached so I had to search a bit.
These little crackers turned out awesome- super crunchy, tons of vibrant flavor, and a perfect vessel for dulce de membrillo, also known as quince paste! 

Membrillo is commonly served with Manchego cheese in Spain, and thus I knew it would be a match made in heaven! Each of the components (Manchego cheese, Marcona almonds, and quince) all fit flawlessly together is this super easy appetizer. The bite of the Manchego paired with the sweetness of the quince, and then the crunch of the Marcona almonds is a true delight for the taste buds! I also served a Spanish olive medley, extra Marcona almonds, and a Goat Patacabra (cheese) on the side.
I think these crunchy, little crackers would also be wonderful topped with some very lightly dressed arugula or something. The great thing about the recipe is that it's really versatile- it's a base that you can add any number of flavorings to, maybe a bit of honey or a tiny pinch of saffron- the possibilities are endless.

Spanish Olive Medley:

The gloriousness that is Marcona almonds:

Manchego Crackers with Marcona Almonds

recipe very slightly adapted from The New Spanish Table, but it can also be found online here

makes 30-40 crackers

ingredients:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup (about 1/4 lb) grated Manchego cheese (I used one that was aged for 12 months)
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more for the egg wash
• 2-5 tbsp water, as needed
• 1 large egg
• about 40 Marcona almonds

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and cheese until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add in the flour and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. If the dough isn't coming together, drizzle in the water until it's workable.
2. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, knead a few time to bring it together,  and form it into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (you can make them round or square- it's your call). Wrap the log in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 4 days.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
4. Slice the dough into 1/4 inch rounds and place them on the prepared baking sheets 1 inch apart.
5. Mix the egg and a pinch of salt together and then brush the egg wash onto the tops of the crackers. Press an almond onto the top of each.
6. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire baking rack to cool.

And I'll leave you with a little preview of the next recipe to be posted- those crazy looking things on the left side:

Peppery Green Salad with Manchego Cheese and Sauteed Pears

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas! Mine has been wonderful so far and I received far too many gifts :).

For Christmas Eve dinner, I was asked to make a simple green salad that would pair nicely with Stone Crab claws. I looked through a few recipes and there was one that stuck out at me. 
This salad uses spicy salad greens along side crunchy pepitas and sweet pears. It was perfect with the crab claws and I think everyone really enjoyed it. I also really enjoyed the nice bite of the Manchego cheese. As for the vinaigrette, I will be making it again and again. It was outstanding!

Once again, I very much apologize for the terrible quality of the photos. They were rushed while I was serving the salad.

Peppery Green Salad with Manchego Cheese and Sauteed Pears

recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• 4 cups packed arugula
• 4 cups packed frisée (curly endive)
• 1/3 cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
• 5 large pears (any type will taste great), cored and cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1/2 lb piece of Manchego cheese, rind removed and grated or cut into tiny pieces
• 1/3 cup + 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp Sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp grainy dijon mustard
• salt and pepper

1. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add in the pepitas and cook until puffed and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to cool. Pour the leftover oil from the pan into a small bowl and reserve for later.
2. Heat 2 more tbsp of the oil in the same saute pan and add in the pear chunks. Saute for aroubd five minutes and remove from pan and set aside.
3. Toss together the arugula, frisée, cheese, and pepitas in a large salad bowl.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and honey. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil (including the reserved oil from the pepitas), whisking until emulsified.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Pour the dressing on the salad and add the pears; toss to combine. If you are making this ahead of time, I like to whisk the dressing up in the bottom of the salad bowl and pour the arugula, frisée, pepitas, and Manchego over it. I put the sauteed pears in a tupperware, and then when ready to serve you just throw in the pears and toss to coat!

serves at least 10 small starter salads

Pumpkin and Black Bean Quesadillas

It was a super late dinner tonight! We had to go buy me a camera this evening since I've been making Mikey take all my pictures with his big, nice camera that I have zero idea of how to use. I got the Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS in the cool blue steel color. I really like it! After we got the camera we stopped by his parents' house to pick up some goodies and munch on some apples, grapes, and delicious parmesan cheese. His mom gave us two little pumpkins to decorate with but of course the first thing I thought of was cutting them up and roasting them. I had been meaning to get a few pumpkins for a ton of recipes I've been wanting to try this fall. I immediately knew what was on the menu for dinner...

Pumpkin and Black Bean Quesadillas

recipe adapted from: Closet Cooking

ingredients:

• 1 cup of pumpkin cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1/4 cup black beans
• 1 chopped jalapeno
• small handful of Manchego cheese
• pinch of ground cinnamon
• 2 tortillas ( I used La Tortilla Factory's whole wheat green onion tortillas)
• heaping 1/3 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream for dipping (I used 0% Fage)

1. In a bowl, toss the pumpkin in the vegetable oil and chipotle peppers and roast in a 400 degree oven on a baking sheet for 30 minutes (toss after 15 minutes to ensure even cooking) until soft and caramelized.
2. Mix the roasted pumpkin, black beans, jalapeno, and ground cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Melt a small amount of butter in a pan and place a tortilla in and top it with the pumpkin mixture, then the cheese, and finally the other tortilla.
4. Fry until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is nice and gooey.
5. Serve with Greek yogurt or sour cream (I sprinkled some more cinnamon on top of the Greek yogurt, yum!).

Oh my... these were unbelievable! The bite of the Manchego cheese paired so nicely with the sweetness of the pumpkin. Check out how gooey the inside got:

I ate each and every last morsel. I will for sure make this again!

While I was roasting the marinated pumpkin chunks for the quesadillas, I roasted up a whole little pumpkin and turned it into pumpkin puree for recipes later in the week. After the success of this one, I can't wait to try the others!