La Paella Es Buena.

Paella is easy to make, easy to manipulate quantity and just delicious.  Whatever valenciano (Paella is through to have originated in Valencia) figured out that throwing a bunch of meat and seafood into a pan with rice and assorted spices was onto something.  Paella is a dish that seems more proletariat than bourgeois, but its exotic appeal and unique presentation make it impressive to most everyone that has the opportunity to enjoy it.  The best part about Paella is that you can customize it to your liking.  I tend to stick with a fairly traditional approach, chicken, chorizo, shrimp and shellfish being the sources of protein.  Entonces, aquí está mi receta. (Here's the recipe)

Ingredients:

Arborio Rice

Quarts Chicken Stock

Onions

Red and/or Green Bell Pepper 

Garlic 

Mussels

Clams

Shrimp/Prawns (tail-on, deveined work best)

Chicken Thighs

Chorizo/Linguica Sausage

Lemons

Cumin 

Turmeric

Smoked Paprika

Saffron

Salt 

Pepper 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Heat large (Paella) pan to med-high heat

Add olive oil and chorizo/linguica to pan

Render some of the fat from chorizo/linguica and remove before fully cooked

Add chicken thighs to pan to brown (add some salt and pepper at this stage if you want)

Remove chicken thighs once exterior is moderately crispy and set aside

Lower heat slightly and add roughly chopped or sliced onions and bell peppers (they cook at a similar rate so should be cut the same way)

Let onions and bell peppers cook down just slightly 

While onions and bell peppers are cooking chop chicken off the bone in cubes/chunks of any size you desire

Add Chorizo/Linguica, Chicken back into pan as well as arborio rice (how much is a matter of preference) and garlic (again its a matter of preference but I tend to use quite a bit)

Stir the mixture now in pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes in order to break down the hard exterior of the arborio rice and firm up the proteins a bit more.

Just before adding Chicken stock add spices: Cumin, Salt, Turmeric, Pepper, and Saffron (in descending order of quantity, i.e. most - least) and stir into mixture.

Add Chicken stock so that it fills the pan just over the top of the dry ingredients and turn down heat slightly.  The goal is to maintain the mixture on a high simmer.  The rice will generally take about 30-35 minutes to cook fully.  Taste occasionally and add more chicken stock if needed.  

About 15 minutes after adding the chicken stock add the clams (these take more time to cook fully than anticipated)

When the rice is almost finished (maybe 5-10 minutes away) add shrimp and mussels.  The shrimp should cook quickly and nicely the mussels might need to get closer to the bottom of the plan/heat source to cook properly.  

Once mussels open and shrimp are pink everything should be done and ready to serve.  

Squeeze lemon juice over top or serve wedges/halves on individual plates so that people can season to taste.

Presentation:I'm not sure whether Paella should really be served like those tacky signs for the "Paellador" Paella.  A side note, if you've ever eaten a "Paellador" paella at a restaurant in Spain, you've been duped with pre-made junk.  Regardless, I

like my paella served messy and rustic.  One of the better presentations I've had was at a

 cool, classic "Spanish" restaurant in Madrid called La Fragua de Vulcano.  The stern bartender brought out a big wooden bowl full of Paella from the kitchen and slapped spoonfuls on your plate right in front of you.

Thats how I like to do it.  Mix it up, throw it on a plate, keep it simple and easy.  

Wine:

Paella is a dish that combines freshness and hearty flavors with plenty of spice.  So when it comes to Paella I'm looking for the wine to do the same thing.  Taste bright, flavorful and mimic the body of the dish.  For something so abundant with flavor I go automatically to Spain's most planted (and one of my personal favorite) varietals, Garnacha (or Grenache).  Grenache is a medium bodied, fruit forward and sometimes spicy varietal that I feel in many ways, has the versatility that Pinot Noir does.  While, Grenache is often used as a blending grape due to its lack of acid and tannin for aging, modern day Grenache's when grown and harvested properly can create excellent single varietal wines.  

Pairing: Grenache, Garnacha... whatever you want to call it.  Its tasty.

Espero que vosotros disfrutéis esta receta y intentéis hacer os propias versiones de este plato valenciano tan clásico.

¡Buen Provecho!

A trip to the Asian market, light thai curry noodles, and an off-dry gewürtztraminer

I like Asian markets and so should you.

Collin (my good friend and roommate) and I were traipsing around Clairemont Mesa Blvd one afternoon, finding a way to kill time as his car was getting serviced when we became inspired to pay a visit to a notorious asian supermarket in the area.  Tucked in between dated strip malls and fast food establishment lies Ranch 99 Market; a San Diego fixture and treasure trove of asian edibles.  Needless to say, a trip for specialty teas, tsing tao beer and some exotic fruits Collin had developed a taste for during his extensive travel through south east Asia, became a rabid shopping spree that would fill our pantry with plenty of asian staples.  In the midst of some random purchases we decided to plan a dish that would be fresh, unique and please my sister and friends who were to come over for dinner later that evening.  However, before I begin to explain the following dish I would like to let all those not in the know in on a little secret.  Produce, fish and meats at asian markets (or at least this one) are CHEAP!  And not only do they have all the products we would consider conventional, but specialty items that no other market  carries.  Hence,I urge anyone, whether looking for specialty items or not to visit Ranch 99 or similar.

The dish:

I have always enjoyed making curry dishes.  Over the past few years I have experimented with many different sauce recipes, often heavy and rich.  Being that it was summer I wanted to try a different, fresher and lighter approach to the classic yellow curry attempts I had made prior.    

Making the sauce:

For this particular sauce I used a base of light coconut milk, chicken stock, and the juice of one whole lime.  The coconut milk and chicken stock may be proportioned to taste - i.e. the more coconut milk the thicker the sauce and vice versa.

In addition to this I added Madras curry (any basice yellow curry will do), brown sugar, plenty of chopped garlic, fresh ground pepper, salt to taste, and a touch of sriracha hot sauce (the one with the chicken on it).

On low-med heat the sauce should be reduced to a viscosity that you the chef, desires - as well as stirred occasionally.

The Fix-ins:

As the protein of this dish I chose fresh tiger prawns.  I will always get fresh prawns normally tail on, because pre-cooked flat out suck.  

The prawns are best de-veined and tail off for this dish.

They are then sautéed in a wok with sesame oil and a touch of salt and pepper

Add them to the sauce in accordance with the next step, noodles.

Finishing the Dish:  Angel Hair-esque rice noodles were used for this dish - boiled although in hindsight they should have been prepared as such...

Add rice noodles in desired proportion to sauce and cover pan/pot with lid for a few minutes to let noodles soften.  Stir into sauce and add the previously cooked prawns, continue to stir to blend all components evenly.

The last ingredient used was a leafy herb that Collin encountered in Laos.  The name escapes me at the moment but it tasted like lemongrass crossed with basil and had a spicy ginger like finish.  Anyway, several leaves were roughly chopped and added at the last minute as not to wilt.

Finally, grated persian cucumber was rolled into balls and placed on top of each dish to balance the heat and spice of the dish.  Garnished with another leaf of said Laotian herb and a few drops of sriracha for color and taste, and thats it.  

(The Laotian mystery herb could be substituted with a bit of basil and mint.  Adding some thai lime or thai lemon leaves to the sauce and then removing before mixing in the rest of the ingredients would be a nice touch too).

Ingredients Needed:  

The Sauce:

Light Coconut Milk

Chicken Stock

Limes

Madras Curry

Sriracha Hot Sauce

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Rice Noodles

Fresh Prawns/Shrimp

Sesame Oil

Laotian Mystery Herb (...or basil and mint)

Le Vin:

I brought out a pretty standard "asian food" wine for this dinner.  A "budget" alsatian gewürtztraminer from Michel Leon that I picked up at Trader Joes for around 8 or 9 bucks.  I'm not going to review this one primarily because it was a long time ago that I drank it and can't remember enough details to describe it accurately, but I remember it being balanced, ripe and with a touch of residual sugar.  All in all I think this style of wine, properly chilled, is considered the "asian food" wine for the right reasons.  The freshness, ripeness and residual sugar coated the palate for a nice balance from the flavorful, salty and spicy noodle dish.  All I can say is that it worked and there are tons of wines like this out there that are go-to's when looking for something to eat with curry or stir fry.

Some suggestions: Dry or Off-Dry Riesling or Gewürtztraminer, Dry Muscat, Viognier

...Must-Go Italian and Red Burgundy

After an exuberant feast of homemade wood-fired oven pizza last saturday night, the abundance of leftover toppings found their way into my fridge.  Healthy portions of fresh ricotta, sicilian sundried tomatoes, and brown beech mushrooms inspired me to whip up some rustic Italian fare.  So, I tracked down some fresh fettuccine from a local italian deli and got to work.  

Its probably a good idea that I make note of that fact that while I never open a cookbook, much of my inspiration comes from the Food Network and similar programming (Iron Chef America mostly).  Thats not to say I copy recipes, I don't, but I pay close attention to the choice of ingredients and cooking methods of the best chefs in the world and try to incorporate those into my dishes in order to achieve excellent balance and flavor.  

So here is my "recipe" for:

Fettuccine con Funghi (if thats how you say it in italian?  ...I speak spanish):

Ingredients:

Fresh Fettuccine

Bacon or Pancetta

Brown Beech Mushrooms

Garlic 

Sundried Tomatoes (moderate salt/spiciness preferred)

Fresh Ricotta Cheese

Fresh Basil

Lemon (zest)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pepper

Salt (to taste although I did not use any)

Instructions:

Cook bacon in large sautée pan to render as much fat as desired

Remove bacon and discard or enjoy by itself

Add olive oil to pan and bring to medium high heat

Add mushrooms, finely chopped garlic, and roughly chopped sundried tomatoes to pan and season with fresh ground pepper

Sautée mushroom, garlic, tomato mixture in pan at med-high heat for 5-6min

Have fettuccine cooked al dente (fresh should only take 45

sec - 1 min) strained and ready to join other ingredients in pan

Add fettuccine to pan and mix evenly with sautéed ingredients, continue over heat for 1 min

Serve into desired dishes and top with a few

 pinches of fresh ricotta, roughly chopped basil and a very light dusting of lemon zest, e voila!

If the right amount of ingredients are used this dish should taste rich and earthy but equally fresh and light due to the ricotta, basil and lemo

n zest.  The amount of each ingredient should be based upon taste desired.  More savory ingredients can be used for a more wintery feel or omit the bacon and add salt or parmesano reggiano to an olive oil base for a more summery dish.  Enjoy.

Wine Selection:

For this dish I chose an aggressively priced côte-de-nuits red - the 2006 Régis Bouvier Marsannay Les Longierres Rouge.  For those not in the know, Marsannay is the northern most town of the côte-de-nuits, the northern most viticultural area of Burgundy aside from Chablis.  This wine, made exclusively from Pinot Noir, as all red Burgundies are (except forBeaujolais), exhibited character bestowed by the colder northern climate.  The nice acidity and freshness of this wine paired well with the fresh, earthy pasta dish.

Review:  Fresh and fruity, the nose shows some dried cranberry, pomegranate coupled with hints of white pepper, chives and earth and rounded by a kiss of smokey oak and duck fat.  Light and thin on the palate the '06 tastes of red fruit, sour strawberry, cherry and cranberry.  A hollow mid-palate that gives way to a less than impressive finish makes this an unmemorable although rather drinkable wine and a questionable purchase even at the reduced price of $13.95.  82pts. 

Pairing:  While this wine selection was quite acceptable with the pasta dish as it is made in a food friendly style, there are likely many wines $15 and under made in a similar style that would give you better value.  Look for lighter reds with nice fruit and plenty of acidity - this dish isn't char-broiled steak so powerful bordeaux varietals aren't going to work.

Recommended:  Chianti (or old world style Sangiovese), Barbera di Asti, Pinot Noir, Carignan and similar blends (... from Languedoc-Rousillon for good values)

- I encourage you to experiment with your own variation of this simple to make dish and pair a wine to your taste. -

Bon Appetit.