Me @ El Museo Del Jamon (Ham Museum) - Plaza del Sol, Madrid. Most bocadillos & cañita (beer) for ONE EURO. Naturally, the best Spanish place EVER.

My favorite Spanish snacks (from left): A half-destroyed tumaca, piece of bread with garlic, olive oil tomato sauce & topped with Serrano ham * Chorizo tapas, sweet and salty varieties * Crossán Mixto, elongated croissant topped with Serrano ham, your choice of Spanish cheese & olive oil. Lastly, cañitas (beers) to wash it all down. Can I go back NOW, please?

As you can see, I have a slight obsession with Jamón Serrano *grins* umm, yeah. It is basically one of the most amazing pieces of meat your mouth will ever touch. Savour. Enjoy. I chew each bite ever so slowly. It is one of those heavenly things that you just can’t explain, but rather have someone eat in order to understand

Where the magic happens (Museo Del Jamón display)

Glorious, glorious ham (Photo: Hector Garcia, Wiki Commons)

Another important ingredient in most of my favorite bocadillos and Spanish tapas in general are cheeses: Such a delightful variety! Combine them with amazing Jamón Serrano or Ibérico and…

...transport your palate to the 8th Heaven (Photo: Juan Fernández, Wiki Commons)

Spanish ham and cheese - ate them all!

Me (far right, red top) at a wine & cheese (and Serrano ham) party in Madrid, Spain

Other typical ingredients of tapas are olives/olive oil, garlic, onions, chorizo (hot, mild or sweet), almonds, chillies, parsley, basil, orégano, paprika, peppers and tomatoes.

Patatas (potato) tapas - by Tamorlan, Wiki Commons

Tapas: Not just appetizers

In Spain, tapas are not simply appetizers, though. In fact, it is quite common to group several tapas and make up a whole meal. Furthermore, the same items may be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or a midnight dinner! There’s a very blurred line of things to eat in the morning or at 10 PM, which is another thing I loved about Spain since I’m the gal that typically has pizza for breakfast because she is too hungry for anything less 😉

Tapa de albóndigas (meatballs), typical on a cool autumn night or winter day (Photo: Tamorlan, Wiki Commons)

Deep-fried eggplant with salmorejo dip sauce (tomatoes, bread, oil, garlic, vinegar). Photo: Tamorlan, Wiki Commons

Another quintessential Spanish food is paella. This dish, a hearty rice concoction, is nothing short of amazing as well. There are many different types, so I recommend a culinary tour around Spain to sample them all!

Valencian paella (Photo: Wiki Commons)

Paella negra - black rice paella (Photo: Ralf Roletschek Marcela, Wiki Commons)

Shellfish paella (Photo: Manuel M. Vicente, Flikr)

Now that I have given you a broad overview of Spanish food, I will share my favorite dishes of Ceviche, a chain of Spanish restaurants in the state of Florida. Surprisingly, very very good chain! I have visited both the Tampa & orlando locations and my favorite tapas tasted exactly the same. I go there often and absolutely love their sangría, too!

Piquillos rellenos: Roasted red peppers stuffed with ground veal and mild chorizo sausage, served with a Spanish sherry sauce. Photo not from Ceviche, but dish looks very similar (Photo: chefclaudianotebook.blogspot.com

Champiñones de Sevilla: Four types of mushrooms sautéed with sherry over goat cheese and toasted bread, which is not pictured (Photo: tiffanycsteinke, Flikr)

That shall be it for part four of the mini series, Traveling through food! Hope I piqued your interest (and appetite) for Spanish food further and you venture out to try something new.

have a Spanish sangría - SALUD! (Photo: Frank K., Flikr)

Have you ever had Spanish food? What’s your favorite dish?