Tapas Party For Oscar Night

If you're planning to watch the Oscars Sunday night, invite some friends over and cook up the Chef on a Shoestring's party menu.

Chef Seamus Mullen heads the kitchen at Boqueria, a hot New York City Spanish-influenced restaurant. He visited The Saturday Early Show to show how to make a tasty meal of tapas for eight on a special budget of $80. For his Oscar party, Mullen is serving a variety of hearty bite-sized snacks that people can munch on throughout the evening.

Mullen was raised on an organic farm in northeastern Vermont, and so he learned early the value of working with the land to bring a meal to the table. His grandmother taught him the basics of farming and butchering at home, and Mullen honed his skills by cooking in local restaurants during high school summer vacations.

Encouraged by a Spanish language teacher, Mullen spent a year abroad, studying in Burgos during his senior year in high school, and says he developed a life-long love affair with the country's language, culture and food. Mullen went on to study Spanish language and literature in college, and spent the last two years abroad at Universidad Autonoma de Extremadura in Caceres, Spain.

He moved to California to work with chef Mike Fennelly at Mecca in San Francisco, then back to New York City, where he worked alongside Floyd Cardoz at Tabla and then went on to open Crudo, where he conceptualized and created its Mediterranean-inspired menu.

In 2003, Mullen returned to Spain and worked for six months at Mugaritz, Andoni Luis Aduriz's restaurant in the Basque country. He then moved to Barcelona to work in two respected restaurants: Abac and Alkimia.

Before Boqueria, Mullen worked as executive sous chef at New York City's Brasserie 8 1/2, working with executive chef Julian Alonzo.

Boqueria itself is named after a large market in the heart of Barcelona that is surrounded by small bars and restaurants serving small bites. Many of the dishes below are from the restaurant's menu.

Here's the special Oscar menu:
Grilled Lamb Skewers
Spicy Shrimp Skewers
Dates Stuffed with Almonds and Blue Cheese
Tortilla Espanola
Smoked Salmon Toasts
Marinated Spanish Olives

FOOD FACTS

Marcona Almonds: The almonds Mullen calls for in his stuffed dates are smoother and flatter than traditional almonds. They are known for their sweetness and soft texture. Of course, if you can't find these, any almond is fine.

Cabrales Blue Cheese / Valdeon Blue Cheese: Although Mullen calls for these specific Spanish blue cheeses in his stuffed dates, you can substitute any type you like. Both varieties are fairly pungent.

Tortilla Espanola: In Spain, a tortilla is actually a thin omelet that is cut into wedges and typically served at room temperature.

RECIPES

PINTXOS MORUNOS
GRILLED LAMB MARINATED IN CUMIN, LEMON AND SAFFRON

Ingredients:
1 pound top round lamb meat, cut into bite-size pieces (one-inch pieces)
Moruno marinade

Moruno Marinade:
2 cups olive oil
Pinch of saffron
1 tbsp smoked Spanish paprika
1 tbsp chopped mint
1 clove of minced garlic
1 jalapeno pepper finely diced or 1 dried chili pepper (guindilla)
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp ground cumin

Method:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients well.
   
2. Marinate lamb in Moruno marinade overnight in the refrigerator; skewer cubes and sear over medium heat for one minute on each side, or until desired doneness; serve with coarse sea salt.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb fresh rock shrimp or large shrimp cut in half
2 dried guindilla peppers (or substitute 1 tsp red pepper flakes if guindillas are unavailable)
1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 tsp chopped parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Skewer shrimp on 6-inch bamboo skewers. Combine the remaining ingredients and marinate shrimp overnight in the mixture.
   
2. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and sear in a hot pan.

Ingredients:
16 Madjool dates
16 Marcona almonds, toasted
1/4 lb of Valdeon or Cabrales blue cheese
8 slices of bacon, each cut in half
4 toothpicks

Method:

1. Cut each date along one side, removing the pit and replacing it with a toasted Marcona almond.
   
2. Place a teaspoon of the cheese inside the date and close it. Wrap each date with half a slice of bacon and secure it with a toothpick.
   
3. Skewer with toothpick and bake in a 400-degree oven until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Ingredients:
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced and slowly cooked in olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced and slowly caramelized
10 free-range eggs
Salt

Method:

1. Mix the eggs and caramelized onions and blend with a hand-blender. Season with salt.
   
2. In a 10-inch non-stick pan, heat up 2 tbsp olive oil until it skates easily across the pan. Add the slowly cooked potatoes and cook again, this time until lightly golden, stirring constantly.
   
3. Add the egg mixture to cover the potatoes and reduce the heat. Using a rubber spatula, pull the edges of the egg away from the pan gently to allow the egg to cook evenly. When the egg has reached a nice golden brown color, place a plate on top of the pan and flip the Tortilla. Clean the pan with a paper towel and return to the stove.
   
4. Increase the heat to medium high and slip the tortilla back into the pan. Cook for three minutes, or until the tortilla is golden brown, then reduce the heat and cook another 5 minutes until the center is just set. Slice into wedges and serve.

Ingredients:
1/4 pound smoked salmon
1 cup crème fraiche
Honey
Sprigs of dill
1 baguette

Method:

1. Slice bread into 16 thin slices, drizzle with olive oil and toast in 400 F oven until crispy.
   
2. Spread crème onto toast points, add a small piece of smoked salmon, drizzle with honey and garnish with a sprig of dill.

Ingredients:
1 cup mixed Spanish olives (arbequina, gordal, coquillo, Obregon)
1/4 cup arbequina olive oil (this is a Spanish oil, but you can substitute any type you wish)
1/8 cup Fino sherry vinegar (or any sherry vinegar)
1/4 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp lemon zest
Chopped herbs such as thyme, rosemary and oregano
Red pepper flakes

Method:
Mix all ingredients together and serve.