We love this Sangria: it uses no sugar or soda. It gets its sweetness from Trader Joe's Mango Passionfruit blend. The Mango is sweet, with a nice bit of tartness from the passionfruit. No TJs? No problem! You can use mango or peach nectar, and up the lemons and limes.

This recipe is lovely when freshly made, but it really benefits from a day made in advance. Mind you, the alcohol content will rise as further fermentation occurs!

Try this same recipe with white wine in summer — it's fantastic. After muddling, add summer fruits like nectarines, strawberries, and grapes. In the winter, you can gussy up this sangria with sliced pear and apple (and how about pomegranate seeds frozen in ice cubes?)  

Makes 1 pitcher of Sangria, serves 6 people

Place the orange and lime slices into a pitcher and muddle with a long spoon. Add the wine, juice, and liqueur, and stir. Taste and adjust — that's the fun part!

Chill in the fridge, overnight. Or serve immediately if you just can't wait. Cool it down with ice.

Before serving, stir in any seasonal fruit you may wish to use. Prepare the glasses with ice, a citrus slice or two, and pour in the Sangria. It's also wonderfully festive to serve from a punch bowl.

Make-ahead tip: When hosting a Tapas party, make the Sangria one day advance and store in the fridge.

These olives always make it onto our Tapas table, and they're also great to serve with martinis. Have fun experimenting with different types of olives to find your favorites. Niçoise, Kalamata, Cerignola, Castelvetrano, Luque, Gaeta, Piccholine, Alfonso,  oil-cured (to name a few) are all delicious. Pitted or with pits? You make the call. If we're throwing a party, we usually choose pitted olives, so as not to face the "what to do with the pits" question. Either way, this recipe is a winner!

Serves 6

If your olives have been stored in brine, drain them in a colander before placing them in a mixing bowl.

Add the lemon curls, garlic, and parsley. Finish with a swirl of olive oil, the "social lubricant" that will introduce these glorious flavors to each other.

Make-ahead tip: When hosting a Tapas party, these olives benefit for some marinating time. Make a day ahead and store, covered, on the kitchen counter. For longer-term storage, refrigerate. Just remember to bring up to room temperature before serving.

This recipe is a Hipcooks favorite. (So much so, we make them in several of our classes.) Our advice: double-up on this recipe — these nuts are awesome to have on hand for snacking, sprinkling on salads, and enjoying with a cocktail. Get busy during the holiday season and make as gifts!

Serves 2

Melt the butter in a skillet over high heat, and add the nuts. Let them begin toasting: you'll see them start to brown, and they'll smell delicious!

Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the nuts. Practice your pan-flipping skills to coat the nuts with the butter and melting sugar.

When the nuts are browned and caramelized, turn off the heat and add the rosemary. Pan-flip a few more times (impressing all in the room), and transfer to a plate or tray.  (At Hipcooks, we transfer to an Exopat-lined tray, making sure the nuts are all in a single layer.)

Add the Tobasco and Maldon salt with reckless abandon (or restraint, depending on your tastes). Pop the plate or tray into the freezer for a quick chill. After about 5 minutes, the caramel surrounding the nuts will have cooled and hardened, and the nuts will be ready to consume.

Make-ahead tip: When making these nuts in advance, you should double or triple the recipe because these nuts have so many wonderful uses — just make sure you have a large enough skillet to accommodate the nuts. Once the nuts have cooled in their tray, remove and place them in a sealed container in the freezer. It's an ideal place to store them since nuts don't freeze. They can go from freezer straight into serving bowls, sprinkled onto a salad, or straight into your mouth for a snack.

We like to think that this recipe kicks store-bought hummus out of the park, and we hope you agree! Our puré de garbanzos does not use tahini (hummus does) and is clean and light. Sure, you can purchase pre-made hummus and doctor it to look lovely to serve, but making fresh puré de garbanzos is easy and delicious.

Serves 6

Pop the garbanzos and garlic into the food processor and whizz away. With the motor running, add enough olive oil so that it reaches a smooth consistency.

Add the lemon juice , salt, and pepper to taste. Adjust the seasoning until you've achieved a perfect balance of acidity, creaminess, and saltiness.

To serve, spread the puré onto a serving platter and smooth the top. Draw a little swirl, using your spoon or spatula, that you fill with extra olive oil. Sprinkle with Pimenton De La Vera and a Hipcooks-flick of parsley sprinkled on top.

Make-ahead tip: When hosting a Tapas party, make the  Puré de garbanzos in advance and store (covered) in the fridge. It benefits from making a day or two ahead (and keeps for about a week). Give a stir before transferring to the serving vessel.

 This Tapa is a hit at parties and couldn't be easier to prepare. People love the unique and flavor combination of the sharp cheese and sweet membrillo. 

Dulce de membrillo (quince paste) can be found in many Latin American markets. We also love guava or guayaba paste (which has an even sweeter, more concentrated flavor.) Dulce de zapallo (also called dulce de batata) is made with squash and oh-so-tasty.

Serves 6

Slice the cheese into triangles and top with a small square of membrillo. It's as simple as that! 

Make-ahead tip: Since this is so easy, you can prepare on the spot. But if you want to make things super-easy on yourself, pre-slice the cheese, so it's just a matter of assembly before the party. Just as with the olives and their pits, you'll need to make the call to leave the rind on, or to trim the rind off. For larger parties, we'll always pre-trim the rind, so as not to have guests unsure what to do with their rinds. Some may not know that the rind of this cheese is edible, or they may prefer not to eat it.)

The traditional Spanish Tortilla Española has been "Hipcooks-ified" in this recipe. For starters, we don't cook peeled potatoes in olive oil to make the tortilla.  Instead, we parboil skin-on potatoes for a healthier (and we think prettier version). We also don't fry our tortilla in oil, rather we bake in the oven. The result is lighter, while still very tasty.

We hope that you find many opportunities to make this delicious dish. It's wonderful for brunch or lunch, cut into wedges with a salad (like we did in class.) Think of it as an easy quiche. For a Tapas party, do as in Spain: when cool, cut into small squares and serve on a platter.

Variations on the Tortilla Española are endless. In Spain, you'll find a traditional Tortilla de bacalao, or salt cod, that incorporated pieces of this fabulous dried fish into the tortilla. We love to root through the fridge for remnants that make wonderful additions, like leftover bell peppers, tomatoes, scallions, maybe some sliced chicken or pork. Have fun experimenting!

Serves 6

Leave the skins on the potatoes and thinly slice — we use a mandoline or food processor, but a kitchen knife also works as long as your slices are even. Add cold water and salt to a pot, add the potatoes, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Cook the potatoes for 2 or 3 minutes until al dente:  they should be just soft enough to eat while still a bit rigid in structure. Drain and run cold water over the potatoes to halt the cooking. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet ( a 10-inch skillet is perfect) and add the garlic and onions. Cook until they turn soft and translucent. Add the potatoes and mix — here's where the pan flip you learned in class comes in so handily. Turn off the heat, and add the saffron. You'll see (and smell) the saffron "bloom" in the pan, as the potatoes grab that gorgeous deep-yellow color.

In a large bowl, crack and mix the eggs with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice and parsley. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onion-potato mixture from the skillet and add to the eggs. You should have some olive oil left on the skillet bottom. If not, add a swirl more. Give the eggs and potatoes a little mix around, re-heat the skillet and pour everything back in. Set the heat to medium, and cook as you decorate the top of the tortilla with the piquillo peppers. After about a minute of cooking, transfer the skillet to the oven (use some foil to wrap the handle if necessary) and cook until the tortilla is set and the top is beginning to brown, about 20 minutes.

Let the tortilla cool for at least 15 minutes before you turn it out of the pan. To do this, set a plate on top of your skillet, With one hand on top of the plate, and the other on the skillet handle, take a deep breath and flip! It should turn out nicely. Re-flip onto a pretty serving plate or platter, allow to cool for another 15 minutes, and cut as you wish. 

Make-ahead tip: Tortillas taste beautiful after a day or two! Feel free to make your party tortilla in advance. Store covered in the fridge. Remember to give it 15 or 20 minutes to come to room temperature before serving — it's just not one of those dishes that should be eaten cold, it kills the flavor.

What makes these gambas (shrimp) "brave?" Why the absurd amount of delicious garlic in the recipe! These gamabas valientes would scare off any vampire.

We choose tail-on shrimp for this recipe so the shrimp are easily "pick-up-able." (Remember to provide a little bowl for the tails). The juices underneath make for a finger-licking experience — we like to sop this up with bread, or use as a salad dressing. It's too good to waste.

serves 6

De-vein the shrimp, rinse and drain in a colander over the sink. To cook properly, they should be free of excess liquid.

Heat the butter in a large skillet and add the garlic. When it begins to sizzle, toss in the shrimp. Give it a stir, add the saffron threads and continue cooking until the shrimp are finished — they'll turn pink and opaque. 

Finish the dish with a loving squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of Maldon salt, and a Hipcooks hand-flick of chopped parsley.

Make-ahead tip: Nope! Here's the one (and only!) dish you should make on the spot, served right out of the skillet if you like! Sure, clean and drain your shrimp in advance, but cook these cuties in the moment.

These meat-filled pastries will be a hit at your Tapas party, and they're a cinch to make. In fact, make extra (store them in the freezer) so that you can make a quick empanada lunch, or have a nibble with a cocktail, or delight the family with an impromptu snack.

Purchasing empanada wrappers (store them in the freezer) makes life super-easy, and who doesn't love that? Our hands-down favorite brand is Argentinian La Salteña. Since our empanadas are baked (not fried), look for hojaldradas or para horno (oven.) You can buy the regular sized empanada wrappers (and just cut in half to make minis, or purchase the smaller empanadas para copetín.  And not to worry, if your neighborhood Latin American or world grocer doesn't carry them (they'll be in the frozen section), good ol' Amazon will come through for you.

Makes 24 empanadillas

Heat the butter in a skillet, and gently sauté the garlic, onion, and pepper. When beginning to turn fragrant, add the ground beef, tomatoes, and cinnamon. Stir and cook for a quick minute, then add the cumin, raisins, and olives. Add salt and pepper, turn off the heat and stir, breaking up any clumps. The meat should be quite rare — it will finish cooking in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Allow the filling to cool before assembling the empanadas — pop it in the fridge or freezer if you need to. Fill the wrappers the perfect amount of filling (as you learned in class): too little and your empanada won't be plump, and too much and your empanada won't seal. Pinch the empanada closed, and then "fold, pinch, fold pinch" to create a beautifully finished edge. 

Arrange these cuties on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each with a fork two or three times. Into the oven they go! (Alternatively, into the freezer they go! See make-ahead tips below). Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until they are beautifully golden. Cool and serve. They're everyone's favorite!

Make-ahead tip: Follow the cues of the recipe above: after you've assembled loads of these delicious empanadas, don't bake them — freeze them! Freeze right on the baking tray, and once frozen, peel off the tray and place into a ziplock. Return to the freezer until you're ready to enjoy an empanada ... or two ... or many. From freezer to (preheated) oven they go, no need to thaw. They'll just take a little longer to bake is all. Now that can't be easier, right?

One of our favorite parts of Tapas class is to turn the flan-suspicious into flan fans! Too many people think of flan as an overly sweet dessert with a gelatinous texture — but the "real thing" is totally different. It should be a smooth-as-silk custard. We love to decorate ours with caramel shards (and what a fun way to teach people the joys of caramel-making.)

Serves 6

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Make the caramel: 
Grab a wide-mouthed heavy-bottomed saucepan and melt the sugar over high heat, stirring just when you see the first plume of smoke (as we did in class), with a long metal spoon. When the sugar melts and is a nice golden-brown color, remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the lime juice — it will instantly boil and spatter as you stir it in.

Allow the caramel to cool until it is just viscous enough to trail from the spoon. Make 6 cute designs on the Silpat-lined baking tray (or one design that you can break into chunks when it cools.)

Return the caramel pot to medium heat, and slowly stir in the ½ cup of water until dissolved. Divide this caramel between each ramekin.

Make the custard: 
Combine the milk, cream (and flavors, like orange zest )in another saucepan, and scald. Remove from the heat before it comes to a boil, and allow to sit for a few more minutes to let the flavors infuse.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Place a strainer over the bowl, and pour in the milk and cream mixture. (There's no need to worry about tempering since you've whisked the eggs and the sugar first!) Gently stir the custard — feel free to have a taste. Here's where we might add a little vanilla bean paste or a splash of booze.

Divide the custard between the ramekins, pouring it directly over the caramel. Don't worry if it mixes with the caramel: the caramel will re-settle to the bottom of the ramekin while it bakes.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan, and pour in just enough water so that it comes about halfway up the ramekins (a bain-marie). If you're as accident-prone (as we are), add the water when the pan is in the oven — there's less of a chance of the water sloshing into the custards during oven-transfer. Bake these beauties until they're just set (about 20-30 minutes): the tops will be set but the middle will jiggle. Cool the flans in the baking pan.

To serve, run a small knife around the sides of each flan and place a serving plate or bowl on top. Flip, and then remove the ramekin. ¡Olé! Serve with a caramel decoration for maximum beauty points.

Make-ahead tip: You've probably guessed it. Make the flan ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge. Flan will keep for about a week, easily.