Weekly Recipe: Paella

Every once in a while my brain freezes and I can't think of things to put on our weekly menu.  My first recourse is to ask Wes if he has any suggestions.  The conversation usually goes something like this:

Me:  Wes, I'm making next week's menu.  Do you have any ideas or requests?  

Wes:  Um (long pause).  Not that I can think of right off hand.

Me:  Well think about it today and see if anything comes to mind.

Wes:  Okay, will do.

Later that day...

Me:  Did you think of anything for dinner next week?
Wes:  Not really.

So when he does make a suggestion out of the blue, you can imagine my excitement!  Even though I love cooking and love searching for recipes, it does get a little tiring to do it week after week with no added input.  Thankfully, he does eat whatever is put in front of him so I guess that's a plus.  

A couple of weeks ago he mentioned, in passing, that he'd like a good paella.  I was taken aback because a) I didn't know he had ever had paella and b) he made a dinner suggestion!  I put it on my mental list to add to the menu.  

Little did I know what lengths I'd have to go to to complete this dish.  Did you know there are no less than a million recipes for paella on the interweb?  And did you know each of those are different?  That's a little overwhelming considering I've never made it or tasted it before.  Where do I start?  I decided to start with my Old Faithful, Cooking Light.  

After I decided on a recipe, it was off to track down saffron.  Well being the fru-gal that I am, I had to search for the cheapest source.  The first place I looked was $16.59 a gram!  Holy cow!  I expanded my search to nontraditional locations, i.e. international grocery stores.  After calling 4 places, I finally tracked it down for $6.99 a gram.  I felt like I had won the lottery!  That is until I went to pick it up.  He only had a 2-gram package but after some sweet talk and batting of the eyes, I was able to convince him to open the package and sell me half.  I carefully watched as he eyeballed 1/2 of the red threads into a baggie.  As he was carefully transferring, I was carefully watching to see which one had more.  Before he could hand me anything, I picked up the baggie with the most and claimed it as my own.  I walked out of there with my little clear baggie feeling like I had just made a drug transaction.  After all, I did just pay $7 for a gram of some crocus stamens!

After all that I expected this dish to knock my socks off.  It didn't.  It was fine but I didn't think it was worth my efforts.  I still have quite a bit of saffron left so I do plan to try this again sometime.  This recipe has a lot of potential and I think I know where to begin the alterations.  I used a pork sausage from the Whole Foods meat counter in place of the chorizo.  I think that was my major mistake.  Apparently the chorizo renders a little more fat and crispy goodness than the sausage.  I also think a little hot sauce would help, as would the capers that I omitted.  I should have salted the dish since I omitted the salty capers but alas, I did not.  I'm posting it below so you can use it as a springboard if you so desire.  Again, it was good, it just wasn't spectacular.  Remember, I do have pretty high standards though!

Paella Vallencia

adapted from Cooking Light

• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 3/4  pound  peeled and deveined large shrimp
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/2  cup  thinly sliced Spanish chorizo sausage (about 2 ounces) (I used spicy pork sausage)
• 2  (2-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, quartered (I used chicken breasts)
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2  cup  chopped tomato
• 1  tablespoon  capers, drained (I omitted)
• 1/4  teaspoon  saffron threads, crushed
• 1  cup  Arborio rice or other short-grain rice
• 2/3  cup  white wine
• 1  (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2  cup  frozen green peas
• 1/4  cup  water
• 18  mussels (about 3/4 pound), scrubbed and debearded (I omitted)
• 2 1/2  tablespoons  chopped bottled roasted red bell pepper (I omitted)
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro (I omitted)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Add shrimp to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until shrimp are done. Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Add chorizo to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until browned. Add chorizo to bowl.
Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Add chicken to pan, and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the tomato, capers, and saffron; cook 1 minute. Add remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, rice, wine, and broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until rice is tender.
Add shrimp mixture, peas, 1/4 cup water, and mussels to pan. Cover and cook 8 minutes over medium heat or until mussels open; discard any unopened shells. Remove from heat, and stir in bell pepper and cilantro. Let stand 3 minutes.