Talentos Design by the Talented Designer

Another great reason to go to one of my favorite Madrid museums, the Museo del Traje (costume museum) is to stop by the Talentos Design exhibit that opened last night. Sponsored by the Fundación Banco Santander, the exposition displays work submitted to this sustainable design competition by aspiring young designers from Iberoamerica in the categories of Spaces and Interior Design, Industrial or Products, Fashion and Textiles, and Graphics. In addition to the work itself, the most exciting aspect of this expo (in my completely unbiased opinion) was that it was designed by architect Enrique Bordes. Made using sustainable and recyclable materials, it is apparent that the geometric forms and shapes that make up the backdrop for this expo were individually tailored to each of the submitted pieces. All in all, it makes for a truly unique and breathtakingly fresh approach and a striking exposition. Whoever this guy is, he ought to give me a commission! No ham this time, rather chocolate and cava.

The Measure of Time

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the inauguration of an exhibition entitled The Measure of Time - The Kings' Clocks in the 18th Century Spanish Court (La Medida del Tiempo - Relojes de Reyes en la Corte española del siglo 18), which is being held in Madrid's Royal Palace until January 15th. In addition to the added delight of going to see something in such a majestic setting, the contents of the exhibition are breathtakingly lovely. This collection of eighteenth century clocks, which is managed by the Spanish National Heritage organization (Patrimonio Nacional), is one of the most significant and complete of its kind in Europe. Each piece in the collection, which was begun by the first of the Spanish Bourbon kings, Felipe V, and continued by Fernando VI and Carlos III, is a unique and fascinating timepiece adorned with intricate gold, lacquered wood, enamel, marble, glass or bronze. Additionally, the exposition, which was designed by my favorite architect and museographer, Enrique Bordes, is beautifully arrayed on a innovative structure that not only displays the clocks to the best possible advantage, but that also evokes the shadows cast by a sundial, marking the passage of time.

On a side note, I would highly recommend going on the hour, to hear the wonderful chimes. Oh, and as this is a food blog, I'll say, that we ate some delicious ham!

Sweet Sliders

I spotted these tasty looking sliders at the recent Millesime Madrid gastronomic event and just had to try them. Much to my surprise, what I expected to find - a meaty and juicy little burger topped with delicious cheddar cheese - was in fact a sweet brioche with a chocolate 'patty' and an Andalusian orange square that melted tangily on the tongue. Read more in Sweet Sweet Burgers on the Trans-Iberian blog from El País.

Las Recetas de El Comidista

Last night I had the great pleasure of attending the release of the new cookbook by Mikel López Iturriaga, better known as El Comidista for his fantastic culinary blog published in El País. To be perfectly honest, I crashed the book presentation, thanks to an invitation from a mutual friend, but I could not have enjoyed it more. Not only is the book appealing, organized into sections such as Exploiting your family´s recipes, Humiliate your colleagues with your Tupperware, Post-alcoholic meals and For you, because you're poor; the presentation itself was a delightful, even sidesplitting event that reached its highest points of hilarity during the author's gleeful reading of some of the comments made by his most fervent critics (trolls). The recipes are straightforward, easy (classified as being accessible to varying levels of morons), interesting and accompanied by musical suggestions - what else. Compralo! Read more in Las Recetas de el Comidista at Foods From Spain.

Jamón Ibérico Fair in the Plaza Mayor

The latest gastronomic fair in a welcome, but nonetheless never ending stream of them, is the recently announced Jamón Ibérico de Bellota Fair that is scheduled to take place in Madrid's Plaza Mayor in late October. Read more in The Seven Flavors of Ham. yum.