The First Time

     I often wonder how and why I became so crazy, er, passionate about paella. There are many reasons. First and foremost,  I am absolutely obsessed with that little Iberian country called Spain. I married a Spaniard and we incorporate many elements of the Spanish culture into our daily lives such as food, drink, decor, language, books and of course soccer!
Another reason may be that at some point in my life,  my love of the culture and my interest in home cookery would collide and I would take on the pursuit of mastering this cuisine stateside.
     Now, if you ask anyone what dish they think of when you mention Spain, most will say "paella". Many would say they have tried it, but few would say they have made this iconic dish (This is the reason we created Paellapalooza, but that's another post). Come to think of it, up until about 15 years ago, I had never even attempted to make one myself. I didn't give paella much thought until about 16 years ago when we were visiting family in the most paella-y of places-Valencia, Spain. Cullera, to the south of Valencia, to be exact. The mister has family there that have been there for decades. Cullera is a quaint town nestled against a small craggy mountain on the Mediterranean. It is a beach town that swells with European visitors during the intense heat of summer.

     This first visit included meeting Tia Anita and sitting down to her table for a Sunday paella. Anita lives in the center of this tiny pueblo and as we ascended the stairs to her home, I couldn't wait to meet the mister's much loved aunt and see the paella preparation in action. Prior to this day, I had only ever seen the dish exit a restaurant kitchen and onto the diner's table. She prepared it in her small cocina. I dared not enter as there was the gas tank hooked up to the burner, resting on a carpet of newspaper to protect the flooring. (Spaniards have a way of doing things that defy fire codes.) On top of the burner was the iconic flat, round pan in which the dish is named for.
     When all was ready, we sat down to eat, I was struck with several observations that were foreign to this foreigner who thought I knew a thing or two about the yellow rice dish I had eaten in countless restaurants.

My first observation was the absence of plates. I mean, there were no plates for anyone. There were, in their place, very large spoons. I thought, "Wait, are we having soup? You know how much the mister loves soup." No, no soup. Paella is traditionally eaten straight from the pan with large spoons to scoop up all the yummy saffron'y deliciousness!

Observation number 2: The guest of honor, the paella itself. It was placed in the center of the round table. "Wow, that is a lot of rice!" Not a lot of seafood, in fact, no seafood at all. The only protein in sight were scatterings of well placed chicken and pork. Traditionally paella was prepared in the fields with whatever was available around them. Last time I checked you don't find mussels and shrimp in the campo. (Note to self: must write about seafood paella very soon).

Observation number 3: Very large white beans and very flat green beans. Yes, strewn all over the top of the rice were the biggest white beans I had ever seen. Sprinkled with some extremely flat green beans which I have been on the hunt for in the States ever since. Pretty standard in this region, not so much elsewhere.

Observation number 4: Commence eating. everyone began to indulge their appetite by scooping up bite size portions of the rice in front of them. One bit of paella "etiquette" (yes, there is such a thing) I quickly learned that day is that there is an invisible portion for each person and you take only from within that border in front of you. Everyone eating their way towards the middle.

     There were many "firsts" that day. The first time I met the lovely Tia Anita and her family. The first time I ate paella with a spoon. The first time I learned paella etiquette and the first time I realized I was in the presence of the real deal. It would also mark the beginning of my love affair with this most humble of dishes. Since then, I have been on a quest to recreate those flavors here in the States. I have come a little close, but nothing will ever be exactly like your first time.

Seasoned with Emotion

I'm up early. After a full day of paella and wine, I should still be in bed resting. Paella hangover, anyone?  Yesterday, the mister and I competed in our first "official" competition (Paellapalooza doesn't count),  the inaugural International Paella and Wine Festival down by the bay! 50 teams competed for "Best Paella" in the region. The day was filled with old friends, new friends, wine, rice, saffron, more wine, and of course the star of the show...Paella! Although we were prepared to cook, I was not prepared for the unexpected emotions that were going to crash the party a little later on.


The day began full of EXCITEMENT as we loaded up the truck and headed to the bay. We have never competed in any sort of food competition and I had no clue what to expect.  I was SURPRISED at how calm and organized everyone was. The other teams arriving appeared to be so professional...because they were! That's when the first unexpected visitor showed up-INSECURITY! Who was I to think I could compete against professional caterers and chefs from around the region? Run, Paella Girl, Run! I didn't, not yet anyway.
 
 
After talking myself down from the ledge, it was time to get to work. Our team was really enjoying ourselves. Oh, there were a few tense moments as we disagreed (I mean discussed) seasoning and measurements. When the paella was done, we were ready to present to the judges. That's when the worst of it reared it's ugly head-TERROR! This is the part where I run! I didn't walk...I ran!  I took off and left my team to deal with the scrutiny of the judge's eye. It was as if all my being at that moment was in that rice dish. It took about 40 minutes for me to go back to our paella and accept our fate. What was that? I am still asking myself this question!
 

And that's when it all changed. A line started to form. There were many teams presenting and serving as well, but our line kept growing. Many commented on the subtle aromas wafting from our pan. They were asking questions about the rosemary (more on that in another post), the saffron, the rice. Most asked for our business card! When we told them we were one of the few home cooking teams, the crowd was even more impressed. Many came back for seconds. That was the BEST FEELING EVER! Our paella was the first one gone! I was overcome with PRIDE!

 Although we didn't win any "official" competition yesterday, we knew we had won our own personal contest. For this, I am proud to have been BRAVE enough to put myself out there...my emotions, my seasoning, my paella...for all to see...and taste. 

NOTE: None of these emotions (or the paella) would have been possible without our incredible team- Team Pandemonium (Pan de moan y yum)! Gracias to my mister, Los Fitzie's, and El Sevillano!

Finally...

I made the leap into the blog world! This little blog will be a place to share my enthusiasm for the iconic Spanish dish known the world over as-PAELLA. I capitalize the very word paella in order to emphasize the enormous amount of work, feelings, and opinions that come from this little Spanish palabra. The word itself means many things-a rice dish, a pan, a recipe...but more than anything, paella is a word that means the method of preparing and cooking a rice dish in the Valencian style.
Oh, there are many a "paella purist" the world over. They will tell you that paella is not paella unless it has a specific ingredient, or that it must only be cooked by a certain person, even so far as saying that it is not paella if it is not prepared in and around Valencia.
The intention of this blog is to document my family's obsession with our favorite rice dish and share our paella journey with our friends. This is our little connection to our other home in Spain.
Many paellas have already been created, damaged, tweaked, and eaten by yours truly up to this point so why not start documenting it for our family's posterity, right?

So here we go...I hope you enjoy and share in this journey either by reading, commenting, or enjoying one of the many more paellas to come!

Disclaimer: I, in no way, claim to be a paella expert. Through my obsession of Spain, Spanish cuisine and of course paella, I have developed a love affair with this beautiful rice dish. The opinions in this blog are mine and mine alone. I am neither a paella purist nor a paella novice, I am somewhere in the middle just enjoying every yummy morsel. Buen provecho!