Spanish Suitcase is a delicious New York City-based online retailer of unique gift baskets featuring gourmet foods from Spain. They are a husband and wife team who started out of a mutual passion for European travel adventures, foreign grocery aisles, Spanish tuna and large carafes of vino tinto! They offer tons of Spanish gourmet gift options. My Christmas pick for 2014 is The Chef Suitcase an all encompassing assortment of Spanish kitchen staples. Need a gift for the person that has EVERYTHING?! Stop right here because this is “it!” First of all, it comes packaged in a chic keepsake travel-inspired “suitcase” anyone would be delighted to unwrap this gift. Let’s talk about what it includes and the delicious creation that I was able to cook up utilizing it:
Top-quality saffron in 10 foil-sealed packets. Together with farmers in La Mancha, a Michelin-star chef developed a line of premium saffron. The foil packets are sealed to protect them from air and light. Each one holds enough saffron for a standard paella. It’s recommended to grind the saffron into a powder in a mortar, releasing the bright color and intense floral flavor.
Flor de Sal is the purest form of salt you can possibly buy, it is obtained by 100% natural methods. This Mediterranean blend includes rosemary, marjoram, thyme and oregano. All the herbs included were air and sun dried in Mallorca!
Mariajesus is an artisan tomato sauce that contains ten tomatoes that have been cleaned, skinned, and deseeded before being cookied in olive oil. It’s a well-known brand from Navarra, Spain that specializes in fine foods. It’s not any regular sauce! This flavor only exists when tomatoes have been slow cooked for hours. I used this as a base for my spicy chicken poblano chili.
This is a sweet, fruity olive oil from the Northeast part of Spain. The climate of the region helps to produce phenomenal olives. I like to drizzle this on crunchy bread (I wouldn’t use it for sauteeing because I’d like it to last for a bit!!)
La Chinata paprika is made from hot red Jaranda peppers which are ground in the D.O.P. region of Extremadura and then smoked over oak fires creating the unmistakeable spicy smoky flavour.
This seasoning is used in pretty much every Spanish dish: Paella, stews, casseroles, garnish on houmus, for seares meat, fish and even gently toasted Marcona almonds! The options are endless!!
Sherry vinegar is THE most respected vinegar in the world. I remember the first time I ever tried it was at The Capital Grille, they did an amazing cipolline onion side in sherry vinegar. This 25 Year Reserve Sherry Vinegar has a beautiful mahogany color and sharp, distinct smell of a classic sherry wine. In the same way fine wines get better with age, so does this vinegar. The round, full-flavor adds deep richness to whatever food you pair it with. Once the fermentation process begins, the vinegar undergoes the same aging process as sherry wine. In 1910, Francisco Páez Sánchez started a wine society with a few friends, and this vinegar was kept as a family heirloom. It was his son who decided to expand vinegar production because he saw the potential. This is a top-notch gift item with a lot of history behind it.
If that’s not enough, Spanish Suitcase also includes:
Santo Tomás Arroz Bomba Rice 1.1 lb.
El Cid Paella Pan 11 3/4′ (serves 4)
José Andrés Tapas Deck with 50 recipes
So what did I make with all of this?!
Easy Seafood Spanish Paella
Check out more fabulous gifts at Spanish Suitcase!
Happy Shopping xoxo
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