I never realized how much you can learn about someone from cooking. If you’re looking in the right places, you can see a person’s deepest secrets plainly exposed from the second you step into their kitchen. Whether or not the person uses measurements, if they cook from memory or from recipe, and the amount of disarray after the meal is prepared are all valid ways to gather information about someone. From the moment we walked into the home of Cristina, I felt as welcomed as if I had walked into my own grandmother’s home. The heavenly aromas wafting out of her kitchen had a way of transporting me back home. We all watched her, absolutely mesmerized, as she peeled, chopped and juliette-d vegetables with the grace that can only be possible through years of experience.

Cristina began with salmorejo, a soup similar to gazpacho. This soup is traditional to Córdoba and, though it only has five ingredients, it packs a flavorful punch. While she waited for one thing to cook, she would begin another. We watched her simultaneously work on salmorejo, croquetas, tortilla Española, and albóndigas. As soon as she was close to finishing cooking whichever dish she was working on, she would allow each one of us to sample it to make sure it was good (which it always was). Each student took turns trying their hand at different parts of the recipes. And, with Cristina’s patient hands to guide us, everything turned out perfectly. After each of the foods were cooked to utmost perfection, we helped to set the table. Dinner was amazing. Each item was just as delicious as the last, and not a single craving was left unmet that night.

Needless to say, I learned a great deal from Cristina. I am no professional chef. If you were to come into my kitchen, you would see me and my mom dancing to Billy Joel, forgetting about the food and nearly burning it. Cristina cooked silently, the only music coming from the gentle thud of her knife hitting the cutting board. Which is not to say that there is one right way to cook, it is simply to say that I am grateful that Billy Joel and I will be getting some new recipes to try out back in the Midwest.