Spanish Recipe Book

Two Old fools - Ole.  

The much awaited second book by acclaimed author Victoria Twead is now available. The book is all about Victoria and Joe's life and adventures living in a small village in the back of beyond in rural southern Spain and the sequel to her first book, 'Chickens Mules and Two Old fools'   Full of amazing and sometimes hardly believable incidents which can happen here daily, Victoria has written a masterpiece which will have you laughing out loud and wanting more.  Victoria has a fantastic comedy writing style which is down to earth, refreshing and makes us all want to read on and on.... As with her first book, we at Orce Serrano Hams have been honored to be asked to contribute our Spanish recipes to the  first book and the sequel which we did with pleasure.  In the picture exert you can see Victoria's acknowledgment by dedicating a whole page to us - how exciting!

What is even more exciting though is that we have been working closely with Victoria and Joe over the past three months to produce a unique, rustic and completely new book of Spanish recipes.  The book, 'Mouthwatering Spanish Recipes' which will be available to download via Amazon kindle, Sony, iPad, Kobo, Diesel and more...,  very soon, incorporates some of our best and most popular recipes featured in both of Victoria's books - Plus some brand new local Spanish recipes, never published before courtesy of our local village bars and thanks to the local chefs here in our village of Orce.  We have chosen the best from tapas dishes and salads to main meals, vegetable dishes, drinks and desserts, plus the most amazing Paella Recipe you will ever try - direct from our local village chef, this recipe will never disappoint and upon reading it, we guarantee you will want to try it!

The book  'Mouthwatering Spanish Recipes' will be available to download soon so look out for it on Amazon, WHSmith, Diesel, Sony etc - it will also be available on our own websites orce serrano hams  and Victoria Twead

Happy Cooking!

Carving Spanish Ham

Carving Spanish ham is an art form. If you are a Spanish ham enthusiast and would like to achieve the very best from your serrano or iberico ham then Pilar Esteban Ordorica's beautifully illustrated book with 363 photographs is the "ham carving bible". Pictures speak a thousand words and Pilar has this book just right, a carefull blend of stunning step by step photography accompanied by easy to understand text describing every aspect of Spanish ham carving.



This unique book is available from Orce Serrano Hams in English and Spanish. Love Spanish ham? then this book, without doubt is the essential read for ham carvers of all levels.

Available now. >>>


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Win! "Cured" by Lindy Wildsmith

"Cured" Slow Techniques for Flavouring Meat, Fish and Vegetables

Now I'm no expert on book reviews, in fact I have never done one or been asked to write one so don't regard this post as a review, in fact most of the books I read are recipe books, most of which I only use the bare basic instructions and adapt the odd ingredient or cooking time here and there.

"Cured" is different and lets be honest who cures their own meat and fish? You may well change your mind after reading this... The first thing that struck me about this book is author Lindy's honesty about how easy it to buy the products she makes from the supermarket, nothing wrong with that but supermarket bacon for example does tend to lack self satisfaction especially when you consider that its an instant purchase, devoured in a sarnie with a sauce of choice then immediatly forgotten with a sip of morning coffee.

"Cured" is beautifully presented and photographed 288 page hardback detailing all methods of curing. There are seven detailed sections to the book unraveling the ancient art of curing and showing even the most novice home cook the methods to create a gourmet dish in their own kitchen. Recipes and techniques come from all over the world - America, the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and as far afield as Japan.

In a word, for chefs, cooks of all levels and the smoking, curing enthusiast this book is an essential to have up there with what you have so far. A journey through tradition, practice, recipes and a deep infusion of flavours.

Available now.



Win a copy!- Simply leave a comment telling us what your favourite Spanish sausage is and why (selection here)




* Worldwide shipping, winner chosen using Random Dec 1st 2010 in conjunction with Orce Serrano Hams. please allow up to 28 days for delivery.


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Chicken, Mules and two old fools

You may be wondering why we are talking about a book on Top Spanish Tapas... Welcome to guest writer Victoria Twead, author of "Chickens, Mules and two old fools". This book really is a fantastic read and has already had raving reviews. Each chapter begins with a Spanish recipe (so there is the foodie bit) some of which are our very own!

We are also running a competition in our Christmas newsletter to win a signed copy of the book so get signed up and answer a simple question to enter the draw!

How ‘Chickens’ was hatched.

I’m famous for my lists and records. I can’t help myself; I think I inherited the record-keeping gene from my father. Every day I make a note of the weather, the temperature, the first snowdrop, the day the ants fly, the exchange rate of the euro, everything. I make packing lists, holiday lists, ‘To Do’ lists and ‘Joe, Will You Please’ lists. I even make lists of lists. My nickname at work was Schindler.
Also, I have terrible difficulty throwing anything away. I find my heart racing and my fingers clamp possessively on the object in question. After all, a rusty hostess trolley, or broken watch, or a 1996 calendar, or whatever, may come in useful some day… So I rarely delete old emails and have diaries dating back years.
Both these dubious character traits of mine, for a pleasant change, proved really useful and helped ‘Chickens’ to hatch.
Moving to Spain was undeniably a culture shock. Every new day produced events either hilarious or heart-warming. Food suddenly tasted better, human behaviour was more fascinating, local events more interesting. It was like seeing in colour for the first time, and the book began bubbling in my head.
Of course, Joe often lost patience with me, and rightly so. ‘Stop dreaming, and concentrate! Hold that ladder steady or I’m going to break a leg in a minute!’ But the book was relentless. As soon as I could, I unearthed all my records, notes, old emails to friends, and began to write.
It’s funny where life takes you… When I was a little girl and asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always answered, ‘A zoo-keeper.’ No, I never realised that ambition, but life in Spain has not been that far removed. Okay, I agree, chickens, mules and all the other animals (including humans) I wrote about may not be very exotic. But their behaviour was just as riveting as that of any grizzly bear or meerkat.
As I wrote, the book made me laugh and cry. When, reluctantly, I showed it to other people, I was astonished to see them react the same way. One may easily imagine my delight when ‘Chickens’ was awarded the HarperCollins Authonomy ‘Gold Star’, and is still today the only non-fiction book to claim that distinction.
I love Spain. I love the Spanish people. I love Spanish food. I hope all this shines through in my writing, even when I’m describing some of the less savoury things that happened to us.

Victoria Twead

Visit Victoria's website >>>

or... Buy the book