I have only heard the term "mollete," which is Spanish for "muffin", used to refer to a type of bread or a sort of sandwich (often featuring cheese and beans) made with that bread. Apparently, it is also a type of cookie that is rolled in pinenuts. This batch of Kissed Molletes was baked by Joe, at Culinary in the Desert Country. He substituted pecans for the pinenuts and the cookies use both whole wheat flour and whole grain yellow cornmeal, so they are quite hearty, but the crunchy exterior gives way to a moist, tender interior once you bit into it. The cookies are topped with the seasonal candy cane kisses from Hershey's, which gives them a very festive look and makes them a perfect addition to a Christmas cookie plate. If you want to try the recipe for yourself, you can either pick up a copy of the cookbook that it was derived from or simply try making Joe's recipe.

If you know Spanish food, or know your way around a plate of charcuterie, then you probably know about jamon serrano, the dry cured ham from Spain, similar to Italian prosciutto. Jamon serrano also has a couple of sisters, jamon jabugo, and the one that has gotten a lit bit of press lately, jamon iberico.

Jamon Iberico is made from black Iberian pigs, which are allowed to range freely in Spain's dehesa, a woodland of evergreens, and other trees and plants. The pigs graze on chestnuts and acorns. Until recently, jamon iberico has not been allowed into the US because slaughterhouses in Spain did not pass USDA sanctions. However, Fermin, a small family owned operation in Spain received approval by the USDA about two years ago. The jamones that they started curing back then are now becoming available and are scheduled to arrive in the US by early summer.

I have taken a peek at tienda.com, an online resource for Spanish foods and food products, but any orders placed for Iberian ham are set to be shipped in Winter 2007 at the earliest. And that's if you have $668 to spare!

Sangria is a Spanish drink, not a Mexican one, yet it is still one of the most popular beverages served during Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the US. Instead, suggests Julieta Ballesteros, owner of the new Crema Ristorante in New York's Union square, opt for the Mexican alternative: agua loca. The name means "crazy water" and makes the Spanish punch look tame by comparison because it doesn't water down its fruit and alcohol base with any filler, unlike many sangrias, which may use soda water for a light carbonation. As Ballesteros explained to the New York Times, "You're always told, when you start drinking, that mixing different kinds of alcohol will make you crazy."

And the strong drink is not called "crazy water" for nothing.

The recipe below is an adaptation of the one served at Crema. It makes nearly 3 gallons of the drink, so it might be best to scale it back a bit for home use. If you're already having a Cinco de Mayo party, though, it could be just the thing to spice up the night.

I don't know why we do this to ourselves - let ourselves surf the web and read about places we can't yet go, things we can't yet do, foods we can't yet try.

The New York Times' Travel section has a short piece on a small grocery store in Huesca, Spain called Ultramarinos La Confianza. Certainly an article about a grocery store, unless it's Trader Joe's opening in NYC, isn't all that exciting, but the story here is that Ultramarinos La Confianza is possibly Spain's oldest grocery store, built in 1868. It draws customers not only from around Spain, but all of Europe.

It is called a food lover's delight, and rightly so. I'd love to stand in front of its shelves and fill my basket with candied chestnuts, artisanal chocolate, and cheeses made in the local mountains. Could you imagine?!?! I imagine I'd certainly have no problem finding bacalao here to make croquetas.

However, it seems that the small store has been in business for long not for the things it carries, but the people behind the counters running the place for almost five generations - the Sanvicente family.

One of the best ways I know how to learn about a culture is to cook the food. I learned a little more about Spain ths past weekend by slow cooking estofado catalan, as well as a whole table full of tapas-like dishes to go with sangria. One of the things I made was patatas bravas, or potatoes served with a tomato sauce. It's kind of like French fries and ketchup, but a million times better.