¡paella en Texas!

I sent out some pictures of a recent paella dinner to a few selected friends last week and received an overwhelming response. So...I'm sharing the recipe and some tips with everyone! This recipe came to us from Jodie Ray so you can thank her, as well.
First, let's talk equipment. We use a 15" diameter paella pan. It makes enough for 8 people (depending on appetites). As previously discussed, paella (like barbeque) must be cooked OUTSIDE for best results. You can use a Weber or whatever pit you have but please bear in mind the pan must sit directly on the coals. Or you can just build a fire on the ground like we do over there. I use one of those chimney-style charcoal starters that holds a little over half an 8 lb. bag. Even though the cooking time is around 45 minutes, that's plenty of charcoal. Please make sure the charcoal is white before spreading it as evenly as possible on the bottom of the pit as to avoid hot-spots.
PREPARATION
The prep is really the most time consuming part of the recipe but it's not as daunting as it looks. In Catalunya, almost all paella is the seafood style. Farther south, they use more sausage and meat. Squid is used  a lot in Catalunya but we prefer octopus (pulpo). It tastes better and makes a more dramatic presentation. Go to Central Market and buy a 2-3 lb. Spanish pulpo. They usually come frozen so allow it to thaw for a day in the fridge. The night before you cook the paella, wash it in cool water and cut it into one and a half inch pieces (scissors work best). These will shrink down to bite size. Discard the stringy ends of the tentacles and the beak. Coat the pieces in olive oil and then powder them thoroughly with garlic powder and smoked Spanish paprika. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Put the pulpo in a baking pan and cover with foil. It will take about 45 min. to an hour to cook. Start tasting at 45 min. The pulpo should be only slightly chewy but not tough. When done, put it in a covered bowl and refrigerate.
We usually cook the chicken the night before, too. With boneless thighs, the cooking time is about the same as the pulpo so you can put them in the oven at the same time. When done, chop them into bite size pieces and refrigerate.
You can marinate the shrimp, also. I've never been served a peeled shrimp in Spain. It just depends on how autentico you want your paella to look. We peel ours because it makes less of a mess on the table. This may change.
The night before prep differs from the Spanish method. Over there, they just dump all the meat in at the beginning and hope for the best. It's very difficult to manage optimal cooking of the different meats that way. That's one of many reasons I don't recommend buying paella in Spanish restaurants. Very few restaurants will take the trouble to cook it properly and those that do usually require a day's notice.
While you're waiting for the pulpo and chicken to cook, you can chop your vegetables and assemble the saffron mixture. That way, you'll be able to hang out with your friends/family while the paella is cooking. I set up a table next to the pit and have everything lined up in the sequence it needs to go in so I don't forget anything. The Spanish always drink beer while cooking paella. It's compulsory.
SEQUENCE
Once you have all the ingredients prepared and the fire laid, here's how to cook:
1) Put the pan on the coals and allow it to heat. Add 2 tbsp. Spanish extra virgin olive oil (always use Spanish so I don't have to say this again). When the oil is hot, stir fry the veggies (onion, bell pepper, fennel, celery, carrots). Make sure you keep them moving.
2) When the veggies get tender, add the rice and keep stirring.
3) Fry the rice for 3 min. and then add the pimento, tomato puree and saffron mixture while continuing to stir. You can add a little more oil. Basically, you want to fry the rice for another 4 min. while making sure it doesn't stick.
4) Add 4 cups of broth and stir occasionally for 4 min. so it doesn't stick.
5) Add the pulpo, chicken and peas. Gently stir so they are uniformly distributed in the pan. This will be your FINAL STIR!
6) Uniformly distribute the shrimp (including marinade) and lobster on top of the paella.
7) Lightly cover with foil and allow to cook for 10 min. and ask your helper to turn the mussel pot up to medium high.
8) Taste the rice. It should be starting to get tender. This is the tricky part. You want the rice to be done but not gummy. You may need to drizzle another cup of broth in if it's still too al dente and the pan is not steaming.
9) The shrimp and lobster should be done by now. Just keep an eye on the rice and leave the foil on.
10) At this point, ask your helper to dump the mussels in the boiling pot. They should cook just a few minutes after they open.
You can arrange the mussels on top of the paella or serve them on the side. You can dip your baguette in the mussel sauce or even drizzle it on the paella if it needs any moisture. Please put a couple of bowls on the table for discarded mussel/shrimp shells. Paella is best when really hot so smaller servings are good. You can put the pan in a 200 F oven for people who may want seconds.
In Catalunya, red wine is always served with paella so make sure you have a few cases of Celler D. Russell Smith on hand. ¡BUEN PROVECHO!
INGREDIENTS
For Shrimp Marinade: 1 chopped garlic clove
                                     1 small onion chopped
                                     1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
                                      1/2 cup olive oil
                                     1/2 cup white wine
For Saffron Mixture:  1/2 tsp saffron
                                    1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
                                    1/2 cup Spanish brandy
                                    2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
                                    1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
                                    1/4 cup olive oil
         Puree these together in a food processor the night before.
Meat: 3 cups chicken thighs
          2-3 lbs. pulpo
          1 1/2 lbs. shrimp
          4 large lobster tails cut into quarters
          1 bag mussels
Veggies: 1 cup onion
               1 cup bell pepper
               1 cup fennel root
               1 cup celery
               1 cup carrots
          All the above should be diced
               1 cup frozen peas
               1 cup pimento
Rice: 2 cups Basmati. Please don't use "perla" or paella rice because they almost always end up
                                    gummy.
Other: 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock. Don't buy the unsalted. This is probably more than you'll
                                                                  need but it's best to have it on hand.
            1 15 oz. can tomato puree
            1 btl. olive oil
Mussel Broth: 1/2 large onion chopped
                        1 clove chopped garlic
                        All but 3 tbsp of the can of tomato puree
                        2 cups white wine
                        1 cup stock
                        2 cups water
                        salt to taste
    Saute the onion and garlic. Then add the rest and bring to a boil for 5 min. to blow off the alcohol.     Allow to simmer covered until before you add the mussels. Check each mussel to make sure it's
    still closed before you put it in the pot. Live mussels should never be stored in a closed plastic bag!
 

Nora's Visit

Nora is helping her friend in Switzerland who just had twins and is taking some online courses to finish her Master's degree in early childhood development. As previously mentioned, Nora was able to take a few days off to visit us in Spain. I was very happy to have such good company!
We enjoyed a quiet evening on Sunday and went to Falset to look around. I had some work to do at the Cooperativa Monday morning and then we drove over to the beach at Hospitalet. It was a nice, warm day and we were able to picnic on the boardwalk. We walked down the beach into Hospitalet and looked at the marina. Nora was able to dip her toes in the Med for the first time. She said it was cold and I believe her!
About 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning, a terrific wind storm swept through. There were sustained winds of at least 40 mph and it went on all through Tuesday. Did you ask "How windy was it?". Well,...let's just say it blew my chickens off the porch and almost blew my nipples off!!!
I felt bad for Nora because it was uncomfortably windy almost the whole time she was here. It's not much fun to play outside in these conditions. I went to the Cooperativa Tuesday morning to bottle some samples of Barcelona Tinto. Nora was a tremendous amount of help in getting them labeled. We went to Miravet in the afternoon and Nora was impressed. Tuesday night I took her to Isabella's restaurant (a.k.a. The Dog and The Cat). The pub downstairs was packed with local chicos watching the Barça vs Man City futbol game. They had it on in the dining room, too, so we were able to watch while enjoying one of Isabella's famous tortillas. You'll be happy to learn that Barça prevailed and Nora had a traditional Catalan experience!
Nora had to return to Eileen's Wednesday morning in order to catch a flight back to Lausanne. We stopped by Finca Alta on the way to the train station.
Nora and I had some wonderful conversations. She speaks often and affectionately of her family and our mutual circle of friends. I hope she'll come back to see us!

¡Amigos nuevos!

Nora, the daughter of our long-time friends Rick and Mary, is working and studying in Switzerland. She had a few days off and came to visit sunny (windy) Spain. She met her friend, Eileen, while working in Colorado. Eileen is from Costa Rica. Eileen then moved to Barcelona where she met and married Alex, who is Catalan.
Eileen and Alex have a 10 month old baby girl, Marianne. I suppose you could say Marianne is Catacostan or, maybe, Costacatalan but, whatever you say, she's a sweet and beautiful child. They all came to see me last Sunday.
We met at the Cooperativa and drove to La Figuera. I had a couple of things to do with my estate wines and we tasted through a few barrels. Alex knows a lot about wine and he liked what he tasted. Of course, that always makes me feel good!
We stopped by my vineyards on the way home to look around. Marc Tost is doing a very good job and the vineyards have never looked better this time of year. It was cool and breezy (more on this later) so we took a few pictures and headed home for lunch.
We had my version of a traditional Catalan Sunday lunch and spent a couple of hours visiting and playing with Marianne. It was a great opportunity for me because I miss my little grand daughter. Eileen and Alex are a lot of fun and it was a pleasure to get to know them. They're a wonderful family and I hope they'll come see us this summer when Rose and Ted are here.
They put Marianne in her stroller and we took a tour of El Masroig. The wind had calmed down and it turned out to be a nice afternoon. I showed them the sights and we ran into Jordi and Lluis.
Alex, Eileen and Marianne went back to Barcelona. Nora will stay a few days to help me. It's always wonderful to meet new people. Altogether, it was a very good day!

¡CARNAVAL!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and also the celebration of Carnaval in El Masroig. As you can see, it's a big night for the kids. Halloween isn't really celebrated in Spain so Carnaval is the time to dress up. Most of the villages around here have some kind of celebration. There is usually a parade in El Masroig but I either missed it or they decided to skip it this year because of the weather. There was a gathering for the kids with a DJ in the Plaza Mayor and a party for everybody at the Casal.
I got into Barcelona late on Thursday night because of a strike at the Paris airport. Every time I go through Paris somebody at the airport is on strike. This time it was the firemen. I've got a big week coming up and there will be more posts. Please stay tuned!

Basque Country

  We took a four day trip to the Basque Country the second weekend of October. My wine is coming along nicely and we needed a little break. Our first stop was Pamplona where the "running of the bulls" takes place in July. Pamplona is a great town and we can't wait to go back. The old town is really nice and there are lots of things to see and do. We went to the Museu de Navarra which has a collection spanning over twenty centuries.

  We stayed in a groovy hotel right in the middle of where the nightlife is (Hotel Castillo de Javier). Since we're friends, I'll also recommend a great tapas bar that isn't in the guidebooks (Meson Pirineo) and has a mostly local clientele. Susan and I have are becoming pretty discerning about our tapas and this place is probably the best we've seen. The Basques make the best tapas, in our opinion. When you're looking for tapas anywhere in Spain, try to find a place with a Basque connection. The Basques call their tapas "pinxos" (pronounced "peenchos") and that's the word to look for.
  The next morning we headed up to the Atlantic coast. This area of Spain reminds me of northern California. There are lush mountains covered with towering forests running right down to the ocean. There is abundant rain here and the light is clear and gentle. Everything looks freshly scrubbed and the architecture is reminiscent of Switzerland.
  We stayed in a modern hotel next to the beach. The town is called Orio and, like almost all of coastal Spain, it's been pretty developed. The beach was mostly deserted, however, and there was a hiking path up to the headlands where we walked through forests and meadows overlooking the Bay of Biscay.
  Susan decided we should swim and we did for about three minutes. Needless to say, we were the only ones in the water and the few witnesses on the beach were suitably impressed. It wasn't as cold as I expected. Susan kept saying "It's not as cold as Barton Springs!" but, then again, it also wasn't 100 F outside.
  We walked to Orio in the rain that night for dinner. Francesc had recommended we find a restaurant that grilled fish outside. We did. They brought us a huge fish and a loaf of bread for dinner and that was it. The fish is called "besugo" and it's basically the same fish known in the Gulf as sheepshead. It was dressed with lemon scented olive oil, sea salt and cloves of roasted garlic. We cleaned the platter.
  On Sunday morning, we slept in and then took the train into San Sebastian. It was a forty minute ride through sleepy little stations, vegetable gardens and fern covered glades. We arrived just in time to see the end of a 10k run along the beach. It was a beautiful day and there were lots of people out and about. We walked almost the entire length of the beach and headed back inland toward the train station. We covered close to five miles and stopped into half a dozen cafes for pinxos and refreshment. It was a traditional urban Spanish afternoon.
  While in Orio, we met Joel Buton (see photos). When I first spotted him and his rig, I took him for your standard issue bipolar homeless dude. The sign on his rig says he's walking fifty thousand kilometers across Europe as a protest against land mines and in favor of world peace. During our stay in Orio, I saw him push the rig back and forth between the bar and the beach a few times. I remember thinking it's going to take a lot of trips to make 50,000 kilometers that way. I visited with him a little while and discovered he isn't quite as crazy as he looks. He told me he was going on to San Sebastian the next day. Sure enough, as we were leaving Orio, there was Joel, like Sisyphus, pushing his cart up a steep hill heading out of town. You can Google search "Joel Buton" for more info.
  Susan has a guide book that mentioned there are Celtic dolmens between San Sebastian and Pamplona. We decided to check them out since there is also a 13th century monastery in the area. We pulled off the autopista and drove up into some fog shrouded mountains. We turned and twisted our way up the narrow roads; not exactly sure what a dolmen was supposed to look like. We saw a young man in a forest ranger outfit and asked him for help.
  He gave us directions (see photo below). In my opinion, the Celts must have had other things on their minds than architecture. We continued up to the monastery of San Miquel Arcangel. It's a magnificent mountaintop church with a celebrated view. The church was fabulous indeed but the whole mountain was covered in fog. It was cool in a way that foggy places can be and we were there alone.
  As we drove back down the mountain, the sun began to peek through in places. There were wildflowers and grazing cows and deeply shadowed groves of old trees. Pretty sweet.
As always, we were happy to find ourselves back in El Masroig late in the afternoon.

Basque Country photos