España

Spain, another of the beautiful, romantic countries in Europe and of course, home of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Champions!  It wasn't too difficult to find that paella is one of the most well-known traditional Spanish dishes, and I can certainly see why!  There were a myriad of recipes available on the 'net, so I chose one with some traditional ingredients such as chorizo sausage.  It was a lot of fun preparing this dish, and amazingly simple.  Most of the work was in cutting up the meats and vegetables, and it was a real pleasure to cook everything in the one dish - paella pans are amazing!  Also, because the dish itself is so complete, there was no need to make any side dishes.  I must say, I loved this dish, so many flavours melded together into one of the best dishes I have ever tasted!  To accompany the meal (well, the meal prep, to be more specific), I made some Sangria.  Okay, I admit it, I am not exactly a Sangria fan - at least not of the specific recipe that I used (not that there is a lot of variation between Sangria recipes).  For the meal itself, I chose a Rioja, which is apparently a popular wine in Spain.  This particular Rioja was a product of Marques de Cacere, and was quite enjoyable, very smooth and flavourful.

For dessert, I made Churros (unfortunately they were a bit too chubby), and some rich, tasty hot chocolate.  It was a wonderful way to end the evening!  Actually, in Spain, it would be quite common to start the day with churros con chocolate - so very civilized, don't you think?!!
                                                
                              ¡Buen provecho