Glad you liked the fudgy meringue cookies ! Seriously, make them this weekend. They’re so worth it.
I’ve been excited all week about this post. On Sunday, I participated in a cooking event called World Kitchen , where bloggers come together one day a month and cook a major dish while tweeting any questions or thoughts about the process.
For the inaugural event, the creators chose Paella. Paella is a traditional Spanish rice dish typically using a variety of meats and seafood in combination with spices and vegetables to create a giant serving of this flavorful meal.
(Just an example of how big a pan you can use! Source )
My overall thoughts about the process was that it was amazing to have immediate feedback via twitter from people doing the very same thing! It was especially helpful with a dish like this, as it’s extensive and somewhat complicated. I highly recommend you participate next month!
I’m going to post my adaptation to the recipe, but you can find the original recipe here (via epicurious). The nice part of Paella is that you can substitute and adapt the meats and seafood to your hearts content and it’s still Paella!
This is half the recipe and it would serve 6 people easy.
- 1/8 cup finely chopped oregano
- 1/8 cup finely chopped thyme
- 1/8 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 4 tbsp dry sherry
- 1/2 tbsp cracked black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp coriander
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 4-5 chicken legs
- 3/4 lb Spanish chorizo, casings removed
- 2 large onions, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained
- 4oz thick ham slices, cut into strips
- 1 tbsp diced bacon, uncooked
- 1/2 lb hot Italian sausage
- 2 cups chicken stock/broth
- 1 cup bottled clam juice
- 1/2 tsp saffron, crushed
- 2 cups rice (traditionally short-grain)
- 1 lb uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
- 1/2 lb scallops
- 1 bay leaf
- Vegetable oil
- 3 large bell peppers, quartered
- 1/2 10-oz package frozen peas, thawed
- Limes, quartered
- Lemon, quartered
OK I know it looks long but don’t be intimidated! It really wasn’t all that intensive and for the amount of food you get, the price is well worth it.
Combine oregano, thyme and parsley in small bowl. Transfer half of chopped herbs to a food processor. Add 1/8 cup olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon sherry, pepper, coriander, 1.5 minced garlic cloves, cayenne, salt and vinegar. Blend until a paste forms. Save 1 tablespoon paste for later and rub the rest over the chicken legs. Cover and chill until ready to use.
I would marinade the chicken for at least an hour!
(The marinade was incredible!)
Add 1/8 cup olive oil to a very large, deep skillet (ours was 12 inches) over medium heat. Add chorizo (casing removed), onions, tomatoes, ham, bacon, remaining chopped herbs and remaining 2.5 minced garlic cloves. Cook until onions are soft but not brown, crumbling sausage with fork as it cooks and stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
Transfer chorizo mixture to large bowl. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate separately from paste and chicken).
Add remaining olive oil to the skillet. Add the chicken legs and Italian sausages and cook until brown and partially cooked, turning frequently, about 8 minutes for sausages and 12 minutes for chicken. Transfer to plate. Return the chorizo mixture to the skillet.
Meanwhile, bring stock and clam juice to simmer in heavy saucepan. Add saffron and mix well.
Add rice to the chorizo mixture in your skillet. Cook over high heat until opaque, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon herb paste and remaining 3 tablespoons sherry. Bring to simmer, scraping up any bits. Stir in stock mixture into the skillet, then add the shrimp, scallops, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes.
Check your rice, it may take more time!
Meanwhile, grill bell peppers (until brown in spots), chicken and Italian sausages until cooked, about 15 minutes for chicken and 10 minutes for sausages. Transfer to large plate and tent with foil to keep warm, if needed. Cut sausages into 2-inch pieces and bell peppers into 1/2-inch strips.
Add chicken, sausage, peppers and peas to the large skillet when the rice is fully cooked. Cover, remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes. Serve with lime and lemon wedges (which I forgot, hehe).
I had one issue with this dish – I didn’t cook my rice enough. It was fairly crunchy. It definitely brought the dish down a bit but overall I really enjoyed the flavors and ingredients!
I’m telling you, that marinade on the chicken was almost the best part. I think we’ll be making that again on its own.
So yes, other than the rice I had a really positive experience. It really pushed me in the kitchen and made me move beyond my comfort zone. I’m hoping that the World Kitchen events continue to do this, so I can keep discovering all these awesome dishes I have yet to try!
Question: Would you ever participate in a World Kitchen event?
Glad you liked the fudgy meringue cookies ! Seriously, make them this weekend. They’re so worth it.
I’ve been excited all week about this post. On Sunday, I participated in a cooking event called World Kitchen , where bloggers come together one day a month and cook a major dish while tweeting any questions or thoughts about the process.
For the inaugural event, the creators chose Paella. Paella is a traditional Spanish rice dish typically using a variety of meats and seafood in combination with spices and vegetables to create a giant serving of this flavorful meal.
(Just an example of how big a pan you can use! Source )
My overall thoughts about the process was that it was amazing to have immediate feedback via twitter from people doing the very same thing! It was especially helpful with a dish like this, as it’s extensive and somewhat complicated. I highly recommend you participate next month!
I’m going to post my adaptation to the recipe, but you can find the original recipe here (via epicurious). The nice part of Paella is that you can substitute and adapt the meats and seafood to your hearts content and it’s still Paella!
This is half the recipe and it would serve 6 people easy.
OK I know it looks long but don’t be intimidated! It really wasn’t all that intensive and for the amount of food you get, the price is well worth it.
Combine oregano, thyme and parsley in small bowl. Transfer half of chopped herbs to a food processor. Add 1/8 cup olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon sherry, pepper, coriander, 1.5 minced garlic cloves, cayenne, salt and vinegar. Blend until a paste forms. Save 1 tablespoon paste for later and rub the rest over the chicken legs. Cover and chill until ready to use.
I would marinade the chicken for at least an hour!
(The marinade was incredible!)
Add 1/8 cup olive oil to a very large, deep skillet (ours was 12 inches) over medium heat. Add chorizo (casing removed), onions, tomatoes, ham, bacon, remaining chopped herbs and remaining 2.5 minced garlic cloves. Cook until onions are soft but not brown, crumbling sausage with fork as it cooks and stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
Transfer chorizo mixture to large bowl. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate separately from paste and chicken).
Add remaining olive oil to the skillet. Add the chicken legs and Italian sausages and cook until brown and partially cooked, turning frequently, about 8 minutes for sausages and 12 minutes for chicken. Transfer to plate. Return the chorizo mixture to the skillet.
Meanwhile, bring stock and clam juice to simmer in heavy saucepan. Add saffron and mix well.
Add rice to the chorizo mixture in your skillet. Cook over high heat until opaque, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon herb paste and remaining 3 tablespoons sherry. Bring to simmer, scraping up any bits. Stir in stock mixture into the skillet, then add the shrimp, scallops, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes.
Check your rice, it may take more time!
Meanwhile, grill bell peppers (until brown in spots), chicken and Italian sausages until cooked, about 15 minutes for chicken and 10 minutes for sausages. Transfer to large plate and tent with foil to keep warm, if needed. Cut sausages into 2-inch pieces and bell peppers into 1/2-inch strips.
Add chicken, sausage, peppers and peas to the large skillet when the rice is fully cooked. Cover, remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes. Serve with lime and lemon wedges (which I forgot, hehe).
I had one issue with this dish – I didn’t cook my rice enough. It was fairly crunchy. It definitely brought the dish down a bit but overall I really enjoyed the flavors and ingredients!
I’m telling you, that marinade on the chicken was almost the best part. I think we’ll be making that again on its own.
So yes, other than the rice I had a really positive experience. It really pushed me in the kitchen and made me move beyond my comfort zone. I’m hoping that the World Kitchen events continue to do this, so I can keep discovering all these awesome dishes I have yet to try!
Question: Would you ever participate in a World Kitchen event?