Paella!

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Paella!

Penelope Casas has a great book called "Paella" (and some other nice cookbooks by the way) and in that book she does a lot of different paella recipe's on the stove and oven.

I would guess the majority of paella's in Spain are done over a gas ring and a (gas) stovetop would be similar.

It's a very flexible and forgiving dish, just do it....

....that's the best I can do since all of mine have been over wood fires.

[Frances]

Re: Paella!

Any tips on cooking paella on a conventional stove? (Other than it doesn't work as well )



I also had a really good joke lined up on a dyslexic wakner, but I see the subject of this thread has moved on again...

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Paella!

Basically you need a fire relatively close to the paella pan. That rig in the previous picture was my second burner in Michigan, cut out of a stainless steel barrel based on the prototype. It works pretty well and I put it on a washtub so I don't have to bend over too much.

The first pictures are from my open hearth in Spain which may be more traditional.

I did Paella on the shore of Lake Huron this year just using rocks and an old round grill as a base. One of my best ones....You can make your own support out of anything solid. The key is having it level and solid enough that it does not tip. It's a crying shame to lose some of that valuable liguid or ever worse have the pan tip over. I've shimmed with rocks. With that kit in the last photo, we used a shovel in the sand to level the paella as the liquid went in, worked the best!

I did "paella" in my WFO but I think I called it Baked Rice and Vegetables. Rice will do fine in your oven, I think the tough part will be getting your liquid:rice ratio right...and whether you cover or not.

keep cooking....

[carioca]

Re: Paella!

Wankers?! Present company excluded, as we say her... But listen here, Jim: you seem to cook your paella on some hibachi-type charcoal device - one of the first things I did in MY forno was indeed a paella (see picasa album) done entirely IN the oven...
( I was a bit scared still, so the temperature was perhaps a little low, or I didn't give it enough time - but the rice remained al dente :-)

Salud, y fuerza del canut!

LMH

[gjbingham]

Re: Paella!

Beautiful! Looks just like I remember.

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Paella!

CJ

That's the kit I'm going to bring to your bread bash. We'll cook one just like it!

And don't worry, if it's a long winter
...I can still do them in the snow!

XJ

[CanuckJim]

Re: Paella!

XJ,

Humble apologies from Canuckland. No more jacking, hi or otherwise. Paella looks absolutely mouth watering. You da man.

CJ

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Paella!

Okay you wankers....time to quit hi jacking my paella post and get back to the pan.

[gjbingham]

Re: Paella!

Great! Hilarious! Funny stuff Jef and CJ. This thread gets funnier all the time! I love the Wikipedia entry. It even shows a hand gesture!

[CanuckJim]

Re: Paella!

George, Jeff,

Not a problem. Picture the inside of an old pub within hearing of Bow Bells in London. One yob turns to another and yells out over the din, "Dgya see 'im, Charley? Bloody two handed wanker just poured my pint down his neck."

Nothing to it .

But if you REALLY want to know, go here: Wanker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jim

[jeff]

Re: Paella!

George,
Just a stand-in comment from a dyed-in-the-wool wanker, while the Academics do their research. (I'd love to know too mate, now that you've raised the issue).
Meanwhile see 'ambidextrous'.
Hahaha. Good onya GJB.
Jeff the Dextrous.
(EH?)

[gjbingham]

Re: Paella!

CJ,
What about "wanker"? Can you give us a lesson on that one

[CanuckJim]

Re: Paella!

XJ,

I've had a similar experience in St. Lawrence Market, Toronto, on many occasions. Can be bewildering, especially because my ear for far eastern languages isn't very good. Vietnamese? Chinese? Thai? Still, it can be fun, if chaotic.

Knackered is an interesting leftover. The Knacker was the guy who picked up old, worn out animals for disposal (read animal feed), although it originally meant saddlemaker. Hence, the Knacker's Yard. Guess, "I'm knackered" came into the language to mean worn out, tired, falling down.

Shambles is another example; there's a fairly common English expression, "It's a bloody shambles." Well, I guess, the shambles was the abattoir or slaughterhouse.

Thus far the word from today's trivia collection.

Jim

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Paella!

Yes, it's really a different world....but it's old world.

the new world is bilingual....either american/mexican or english/french

In europe, you find yourself playing a game "What language is that?"

In a restaurant, in the market or even outside of someone's walls......Spanish?, English?, Moroccan?, French?, German?, Scandanavian?, Slavic? ... lots of guessing!

[gjbingham]

Re: Paella!

I too was impressed with the number of Europeans that speak 3 -5 languages. You quickly realize that all that eduction you suffered through over the years wasn't that impressive after all. Sometimes, you'll feel outnumbered by just one person.