Spice Up Your Day With A Tapas Cooking Party

TOMS RIVER, NJ -- Paint parties have become the latest trend, where adults get together, drink wine and paint landscapes on canvas.

Patricia Caneda, owner of Caneda’s an empanada experience, is giving that trend a twist by offering cooking parties at her Fischer Boulevard restaurant.

Caneda’s ”Tapas Cooking Parties” give people a chance to cook up some traditional fare while spending a relaxing time with family or friends, she said.

Tapas means ”small bites, as in in small dishes to share with family and friends,” Caneda said. “It is a Spanish tradition,” which honors her father’s Spanish heritage.

Guests are encouraged to bring their favorite wine, she said, and when they arrive there are appetizers and the table is set with linens, candles and white flowers.

“After thy are warmed up, everyone gets an apron and hand towel and is invited to the kitchen where we will prepare three different tapas after a brief history on the origin of tapas,” she said. A sample menu includes chorizo and garbanzo beans in garlic wine sauce; oven-roasted shrimp, and grilled apple crostini with manchengo cheese.

“The guests will drink and cook with me then head back to the dining room, where I will come out with their dishes as well as an additional side of rice and black beans,” she said. ”We end the night with chocolate cake and espresso or cappuccino.”

Classes are for friends and family and are offered Saturday, Sunday evenings 7-9 or anytime on Monday, with a minimum of eight people and cost $45 per person, with a $100 nonrefundable deposit for food purchase, she said. The restaurant is located at 793 Fischer Blvd., Toms River, and can be reached at 732-929-2822.

The restaurant will begin offering breakfast in February with an artisan menu that includes gourmet grilled cheese creations, avocado smash with chili sauce over toast, charred tomatoes on garlic toast with fried egg, and breakfast empanadas like pork roll egg n cheese, Caneda said. She also plans to add a smoothie bar and hopes to host open mic nights in the coming summer.

(Photos provided by Patty Caneda show guests at a recent Tapas Cooking Party.)