Paella- Round 1

We hope everyone had a pleasant weekend with no trips to the burn unit!

Joe and I have been wanting to make Paella for a while now and thought Saturday would be the perfect time since it feeds a lot of people. Instead of the traditional 4th of July BBQ we cooked over a fire pit. We started the fire about an hour before to get some steady coals to cook on. It made a for a relaxing day watching the fire and sipping on spiked limeade.


Paella- Round 1
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1 shallot
4 cloves garlic
1 orange or red bell pepper
1 chorizo sausage
1 Andouille sausage
3 Roma tomatoes
4 chicken thighs
cumin
creole seasoning
garlic powder
2 -14 oz cans of chick stock
2 tablespoons honey
3 large pinches of saffron
3/4 bottle good lager beer*
*chefs gets to drink the remainder
3 cups short grain Spanish rice
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-rub chicken with cumin, garlic powder and creole seasoning

- in a small bowl add 1/4 cup stock, saffron and honey
heat in the microwave to steep the saffron and set aside for later

-in a hot paella pan with olive oil sear chicken and sausage
once browned remove from pan

-saute shallots and minced garlic
-add rice and stir

-add saffron mixture and stock

-stir the rice until 3/4 cooked and add beer

-add meat back in to warm then add bell peppers
do not stir the dish at this point
you want the bottom to toast lightly to make a socarrat

- at the last minute of cooking add diced tomatoes

-eat with mouth
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We stayed up late laughing and drinking with friends while watching fireworks on the beach. The next morning we started off with Bloody Mary's and a 'little hair of the dog.' I love our Bloody Mary's- they are closer to spiked Gazpacho than a plain cocktail. We had most of the traditional ingredients plus pickled okra, baby corn on the cob, kosher salt, celery seed and a couple basil leaves to garnish. Every time I see tiny baby corn I think of Tom Hanks in Big and smile.