Birthday Party Paella Recipes

PARTY PAELLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• In skillet add 1 tbsp oil, sauté chorizo until fat is rendered, remove.
• Add more oil, add chicken brown on both sides, remove.
• Heat chicken broth w/saffron, set aside.
• Add oil, onions, garlic, sauté until softened, add rice, stir to coat.
• Add wine, stir, add broth and spices, bring to boil, stirring.
• Let liquid reduce slightly, add peas, pimentos; stir.
• Add chicken, chorizo and stir.
• Place in oven, uncovered for 10 minutes.
• Add shrimp and mussels, stir, heat 10 minutes more until all liquid is absorbed.
• Remove mussels that don't open.
• Garnish with parsley.

BETTY ROCKER'S DELICIOUS PARTY PAELLA

Steps:

• Take a deep breath. Have a glass of wine. This is going to be fun.
• Combine 1 garlic clove, olive oil, chopped parsley, and shrimp in a bowl to marinate, and season well with salt and pepper.
• In your largest deep saute pan or Dutch oven or similar large lidded pan that will go from stovetop to oven (I used a 12 inch 5 1/2 quart saute pan from Cuisinart,) heat olive oil. Add chorizo and chicken wings in batches and brown on all sides. Season the chicken wings with salt and pepper as you go. Remove, cut the chorizo into slices, and cover with foil.
• Add onion and bell pepper to the pan, and saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent.
• Meanwhile, in a small saute pan, very gently and carefully toast the saffron over medium heat until fragrant and slightly darkened. Remove from heat and reserve.
• Add 6 chopped garlic cloves to the onion and pepper mixture, and cook, stirring, a minute more. Add saffron and smoked paprika.
• Add the tomatoes, breaking them up a bit with your hands or a fork, but DO NOT add the liquid from the can.
• Add rice and stir to combine with vegetables.
• Add wine and stir that baby up. You should have a nice medium-high heat going, and let the rice absorb most of the liquid.
• Add 3 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until the rice is tender. You shouldn't need to stir it a ton, as though you were making risotto, but it's fine to uncover and check it and stir, scraping up bits from the bottom. Add more broth if needed. You want to be left with a pretty soupy mixture, but not a lot of liquid floating on top.
• Meanwhile, place the shrimp on a cookie sheet covered in foil, and broil on high for a few minutes on each side. Reserve.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Arrange chicken and chorizo on top of rice. Cover tightly and place in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Remove, arrange the clams on top of the rice, and replace in the oven until the clams just start to open.
• Remove, arrange shrimp and piquillo peppers on top and sprinkle with frozen peas. Replace in the oven until the peas are warmed through.
• Combine remaining olive oil, garlic, and parsley. Season, and sprinkle mixture over the top of the paella.
• Serve with lemon wedges.

PAELLA FOR A CROWD

Steps:

• Place chicken in a large bowl and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with paprika; turn chicken to coat. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; meanwhile prepare an ice-water bath. With a paring knife, core tomatoes and score an X on the bottoms. Working in batches, carefully lower them into boiling water; when skins begin to split, after 30 to 60 seconds, use a slotted spoon to transfer tomatoes to ice-water bath.
• When tomatoes are cool, remove skins (using a paring knife, if necessary) and discard. Halve tomatoes. Remove seeds with a spoon, and discard. Finely chop tomatoes.
• Cut peppers crosswise and into 1/4-inch strips; set aside. Using a mortar and pestle, grind together saffron and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Add saffron mixture to a medium bowl and add 1 cup chicken stock and cognac. Whisk until well combined, set aside.
• Heat an 18-inch paella pan with at least 2-inch sides over two burners set at medium-high heat. Coat the bottom of the pan with remaining tablespoon olive oil. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook, turning, until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Season pork and add to pan. Cook, turning, until browned, about 6 minutes more.
• Add peppers, onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Cook, stirring, about 8 minutes. Add calamari and shrimp and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes more.
• Add rice to pan and stir to coat. Add reserved saffron mixture and let cook about 1 minute. Add 1 1/2 cups more stock and bring to a boil. Cook, rotating pan and stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. If rice appears dry around edges add more stock as necessary. Nestle clams, mussels, and peas into rice and add 1 cup stock. Cook, stirring occasionally, adding more stock as necessary (you may not need to use all the stock), until rice is tender, shellfish has opened, and nearly all the liquid has evaporated from the pan, about 20 minutes.
• Turn heat to high. Add haricot vert, and stir to combine. Cook, without stirring, until vegetables are warmed through, and remaining liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately with lemon wedges.