Lobster Madness

In the 1980's while other kids were delightfully digging into Happy Meals and boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese, a little boy in central Texas was dreaming of lobster. Lobster was my favorite food up until the age of 11 or 12 and I consistently pestered my family for the pricey treat. More often than not that meant a broiled rubbery tail that had spent more of its life frozen than attached to a large bug walking the ocean floor. The options in San Antonio were limited to places like Red Lobster or my birthday favorite the Magic Time Machine(see link here). A few standouts were the grilled lobster tails that I enjoyed in Jamaica that were fresh from the ocean and imparted with smokiness missing from insipid chain versions that I normally enjoyed. However, I never came close to visiting the motherland of lobster, New England. 

As my tastes evolved my love for lobster diminished. I associated lobster with old school surf and turf places that delivered less than stellar eats. There were new frontiers to explore like Dim Sum, Japanese, Asian Fusion, Regional Italian, and every other food trend of the last 20 years. Lobster was now a menu item that I generally avoided in favor of something like prosciutto wrapped rabbit loin. 

Classic Surf and Turf

But like all things from the 80's, lobster is making a comeback in my diet. This has been largely driven my trips to the Boston area over the past five years. Deep in the crustacean motherland, I have had lobster dishes light years ahead of what I have experienced in the past. A few standouts include a phenomenal lemongrass fried rice stuffed lobster at Blue Ginger in Wellesley and the lobster bake at Legal Seafood. But I have really taken it to the next level with my most recent trips to MA. I had not one, not two ,but three different types of lobster rolls and the crown jewel of all surf and turfs-lobster roe noddles with short ribs at Island Creek Oyster House. So without further ado here is a list of the lobster dishes that I have enjoyed in the Boston area. 

1. Lobster Roll- Summer Shack Cambridge MA

For my first Lobster Roll, I hit up the Summer Shack with a couple of co-workers. I had been to Summer Shack years earlier during my first trip back east. It looked exactly the same after all these years. Everyone at the table ordered the lobster roll so I can't comment on the rest of the menu which featured your standard New England seafood options. The roll was a salad style roll versus the hot buttered type. The bun was a classic NE England hot dog bun. The chunks of lobster were glued together with mayo and cucumber (instead of celery). It included a bunch of standard fries for good measure. Overall it was the weakest roll that I tasted in these two trips to the Boston area but still better than any Lobster Roll you will ever get outside of New England. The lobster was plentiful and the cucumber added a unique element to the roll. The roll was also the cheapest I had at $20.00. 

2. Lobster Roe Noodles- Island Creek Oyster Bar Boston MA

My wife had gone to Island Creek early in 2012 and was a big fan. So when I had a free night from training, I convinced a couple of my fellow conscripts to make the trek out to the Back Bay for further lobster treats. Island Creek was nothing like the faux lobster shack environment of the Summer Shack. This was a large big city restaurant with a beautiful interior and stylish clientele from adjacent Commonwealth Hotel. The menu reflected that sophistication with upmarket seafood dishes like locally sourced Monkfish, Bay of Maine line caught Halibut and about 15 different types of oysters.  Everyone in the party was intent on having lobster rolls but the server tried to steer us away. He mentioned that their signature dish was Lobster Roe Noodles($27.00). These noodles where fettuccine with the lobster roe added to the pasta mix. The noodles were then topped with chunks of lobster and short rib. Well how could I say no to such a modern interpretation of surf and turf. The others stuck with the lobster roll. When our dishes arrived it was clear that I chose the winner. The lobster roll was fine but the noodles were out of this world. They melted in your mouth with a light lobster flavor that was enhanced by the chunks of tender short ribs and buttery lobster. The dish came together with a delicious gravy and earthy shiitake mushrooms. This has to be one of the top 3 lobster dishes that I have ever eaten. 

Lobster Roe Noodles at Island Creek Oyster House

3. Lobster Roll-Legal C Bar  Logan International Terminal B 

I wasn't expecting to be eating at Legal C Bar but thanks to an indefinite delay due to fog in San Francisco I spend the better part of an evening there. Outside of security at Terminal B, it is the only dining option for Virgin American flyers. I wasn't expecting that much at the airport but they actually produced a serious lobster roll(salad style). It was chock full of lobster and featured celery as a proper salad lobster roll should. It was the best meal one could ask for at an airport especially considering the lack of other options at Terminal B for Virgin Flyers. It almost made up for the 6 hour delay and the reverse red eye I had to endure...almost...

Legal's Lobster Roll...a classic rendition

4. Neptune Oyster Bar- Boston, MA

While I was enjoying all of these great lobster dishes, my colleague Norm was regaling me about his trip to Neptune Oyster Bar and the divine hot buttered lobster roll. Everyone at the Cambridge office that I was training at told me that Neptune was a challenging place to get into in the North End. Norm and I decided that we needed to go on the slowest night possible. So we chose September 11th a Monday, it seemed like it would be the slowest day possible. Well after a 60 minute wait (promised 20 minutes) we were squeezed in between two couples on the counter the pocket sized restaurant. The menu was short with several raw bar options along with a few hot favorites. We went with the hot buttered lobster rolls of course but also convinced ourselves that we could down the Trident Plateau a massive collection of raw bar classics($59). The Plateau was a sight to behold and could have been a meal onto itself. Filled with cooked chilled lobster meat, oysters, littleneck clams, mussels, and crab salad it was shellfish overload. Then the lobster rolls arrived($25).... A simple hot dog bun filled with giant chunks of buttered lobster..it was truly a thing of beauty. So simple yet so divine... While I enjoyed my dining experience more at Island Creek, it was hard to resist the raw carnal power of buttered lobster chucks and copious amounts of shellfish.    

Hot Buttered Lobster Roll..pure food porn...

After Neptune's I took a sabbatical from lobster and haven't had it since. But another trip to Boston looms on the horizon and I can not resist the siren song of the divine crustaceans forever...

Food Trucks or A Roach Coach Filled with Hipsters is still a Roach Coach

In the long ago, there were no food trucks. There were Roach Coaches. Generic lunch trucks that roamed light industrial parks and the financial districts of the United States offering a blah menu of pre-prepared sandwiches and sodas. They were the outcasts of the food world. The last resort of workers too busy to make the five block journey to a real restaurant. Out of this primordial food ooze arose the Taco Truck-an ideal marriage of the Roach Coach and the traditional but not USDA approved Mexican street cart . These trucks provided awesome tacos filled with a variety of meats for about half the cost of a traditional brick and mortar taqueria and with the advent of the internet quickly developed a foodie following.

Meanwhile a in cold and rainy place filled with well educated but impoverished hipsters called Portland, Oregon another movement was taking place. There locavores were establishing food carts throughout the city and specializing in a variety of different delights. The logos were hip and food was varied(and sometimes excellent) and soon the crowds showed up. These carts began to congregate together and formed pods (see my first post for more info!). Recognizing an opportunity but realizing that his own city was going to be less supportive than Portland to a semi-permanent food cart, some twenty something pseudo-entrepreneur decided to open the first hipster roach coach...I mean food truck.*

These trucks are decorated with cool characters (pandas, little monsters, giant metal pigs) and staffed with a solid line up of hipster order takers and "cooks". However, the one things these trucks have forgotten is value. For their too cool for school menus, these trucks turn out mediocre eats for surprisingly high prices. Having eaten at about two dozen of these trucks in both Seattle and San Francisco, I can say only two or three have delivered something worthwhile. Which is a shame because the concept of the food truck is really cool. You want that giant metal pig truck to deliver excellent eats but unfortunately it rarely does.

Looking at the lemmings standing in line for mediocre Vietnamese Food 

For a case study, I am going to compare celebrity food truck Nom Nom (the SF version) and the decidedly unglamorous Tu Tai III in the "transitional" Dimond neighborhood in Oakland. Both are Vietnamese focused with menus primarily devoted to dishes like Bahn Mi' and bun but that is where the similarities end. Nom Nom was founded by two hot panethnic twenty-something ladies in LA and featured on the Great Food Truck Race. They charge $6.95 for a Banh Mi, and $8.95 for a lemon grass pork bun(vermicelli noodle salad). To prove their hipster credentials they have Vietnamese taco on the menu. Their SF truck frequents the financial district and often has a long line. Their slogan is " Bringing Bahn Mi to the masses". Which makes no sense because the two markets that they operate in-SF and LA-have thousands of Bahn Mi options and in the case of the SF financial district a dozen or so within easy walking distance....but I digress...

Tu Tai III on the other hand is in storefront next to Cybelle's pizza that has housed several Chinese restaurants before becoming a part of the Tu Tai empire...(Tu Tai II is in Alameda and Tu Tai is in San Leandro). It is not a particularly noteworthy Vietnamese restaurant(only a few Yelp reviews) and is usually empty. Their menu is significantly longer than Nom Nom and features the standard Vietnamese options. The grilled pork Bahn Mi is $3.75 and their combination bun with grilled pork and an imperial roll is $7.95. I do not believe that Tu Tai III has a slogan but I could be mistaken.

Considering I have not had a Bahn Mi at either establishment I am going to focus on a comparison of their buns. Nom Nom produces a smallish bun with some minced pork combined with noodle salad. It looked like one of those prepared versions that you see at a Lee's Sandwich store for about $4 dollars. Considering the price tag, I thought it would more resemble one of the bun that you might find at Out the Door in the Ferry Building but no such luck. The bun itself was very run the mill and the meat was nothing special(FYI...there was no indication that the pork came from a humane/local/non-gestation create source). It could have been easily served at a generic Vietnamese sandwich shop.  You can make your own judgement based on the picture below(which looks nothing like the picture on their website):

Sad looking Lemongrass Pork Bun from Nom Nom sitting lonely on my desk at work

     At Tu Tai III, the combination Bun was different beast indeed. Here the bun was a towering bowl filled with vermicelli and veggies. The pork was in whole pieces and not minced. The bowl came with an imperial roll which in this case was a fried pork egg roll essentially. Overall the bun was good but nothing spectacular compared to dearly departed Tu Lan, Cordon Bleu, or the fancy versions at Slanted Door. However it did represent a considerable step up in flavor and value from the Nom Nom truck version shown above.

Grilled Pork Bun with Imperial Roll at Tu TaiIII

Now I don't want you thinking that I hate the whole mobile food movement. I have had excellent dishes from carts usually at events like Eat Real Oakland. But it looks like that the branded trucks favor flash over quality. The best trucks that I have eaten at focus more on doing a couple of dishes right in nondescript vehicles versus something that sports flashy graphics, cute cartoon characters and fancy taco's. Maybe once the whole hipster element moves on and the TV shows fade away we can have a truly mobile food culture here in the Bay Area that places substance above style.

FYI: There are a couple of food trucks that are actually worth a visit:

The Chairman-an extremely trendy truck but their specialty baked buns have a nice combination of flavors-especially the Coca Cola braised pork.

Skillet- the original Seattle truck has a fantastic Poutine

The Architect's Kitchen-fried chicken in the Financial District that is decent. They sell a massive Chicken Sandwich that is worth checking out.

That is about it. Let me know if there is a great food truck out there I am missing out on. I would love to put out another post out there rebuking this one.

* There is some debate who opened the first hipster food truck. Mission Street Food by Anthony Mynt which lasted four weeks  is considered to be the forerunner in Northern California. But Skillet in Seattle and Kobi in LA have also been around for a little while now.  

Seattle Final Thoughts

Living in my new house in the Oakland hills, my time in Seattle seem like a blur. An extended vacation that like all vacations had to end. I would be remiss not to mention a couple of places that I will miss from my time in Seattle.

1. Chuck's

When I first moved to Seattle, Chuck's was your standard convenience store. Somehow in the course of 18 months it turned into a temple of awesomeness. More and more space was devoted to a rich variety of NW microbrews, tables were added, and 30 taps were installed. While there are other beer store/bars in Seattle(see Bottleworks) none of those have ice cream for the kids! I could indulge my alcoholic tendencies while my children enjoyed a frozen treat...yeah!(Don't worry I lived walking distance from Chuck's) Then right before I left Chuck started having rotating food carts. Awesome! (Well I did get food poisoning from one of the carts but don't let that hold you back)

Yeah this is good stuff...

2. U:Don

Before the opening of U:Don in January of this year, Seattle was a noodle wasteland. There were a few mediocre Ramen places but not much else. Then there came U:Don...a cafeteria style establishment that crafts hand made udon noodles with a delicious broth. Once you select your noodle/broth combination, there is tempura bar of a fried goodies to choose from cafeteria style. My favorite combination was to get a large bowl of soup udon and then load it up with shrimp tempura, potato croquettes, and maybe some fried veggies. Then split the bowl up with the spawn. Total cost: $10.50 for three.

Udon!

3. Pike Place Market 

Yeah its touristy as hell but there is something awesome about the market. Unlike the Ferry Building there is no pretension with the Market. It is literally a maze of shops, produce markets, a cornucopia of food vendors , flowers peddlers, and of course seafood markets. I rarely shopped at the seafood markets given the cost of their wares. The produce markets were a better deal especially on veggies often carrying great local crops at lower than supermarket prices. The $5 dollar flower bouquets were also a great deal. But what I liked best were the random little shops. An outlet of the Spanish Table, the Bavarian Meat Market-a strangle little piece of Germany hiding in the recesses of one of the annex buildings, and the RR ranch outlet serving dry aged meat at a reasonable price.Is the Ferry Building cleaner, more foodie orientated, better organized...of course. But you will never get lost in the underwarrens in Ferry Building or find a 60's era German meat market there.

4. Whidbey Island

This is the West Marin of the Pacific Northwest. A foodies dream. Seafood trucks dotting the roads, ramshackle Farmer's Markets with truly local farmers selling just picked produce, and trendy little towns filled with establishments serving mussels and good micro-brews. It is an easy ferry ride from Mukilteo and the wandering road takes you near little villages like Coupeville and Langley. As you drive up to the top of the island make sure you stop by the seafood truck near the Goose market for great live seafood(spot prawns, clams, oysters, you name it). In the middle of the island you will uncover the Lavender Wind Farm nestled over a wind swept field exploding in purple. Ignore the ugly blip that is Oak Harbor and finish your trip at Deception Pass with awe inspiring views.

Whidbey Island

5. Salmon

In most corners of America, you have one choice in Salmon. A sickly orange piece of fish labeled Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon. This largely flavorless fish whose color is due to color pellets has nothing on the wild Salmon of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. In Seattle, the great clearing house for the vast majority of wild salmon(and 70% of the domestic seafood catch), the choices are vast. You can select fish by type (Coho, Sockeye, and Chinook(or King), color(Ivory, Marbled, or Standard), and location (Copper River). The prices are not cheap for the premium king salmon, but for a couple of weeks in the late summer you can usually find it on sale in the $9.99 to $12.99 pound price range. Once you take a bite into any of these varietals, the difference between the farm raised stuff becomes apparent. The depth of flavor and richness of the flesh define this fish. Even in the off season you will rarely find farmed raised stuff in stores or in restaurants. So strong is everyone's devotion to the wild stuff that they will eat frozen salmon rather utilize the fresh farm raised stuff.

I would recommend purchasing and preparing your own salmon. The restaurants charge a fortune for salmon even in Seattle and the selection is often limited. On exception would be Ray's Boathouse which usually carries premium salmon from a marquee location like Cooper River. Their view of the Sound is phenomenal as well and the salmon is always prepared correctly. Nothing groundbreaking with their food but for a "view restaurant" they always deliver.

It is sad to leave the Pacific Northwest and Seattle, but ultimately the weather and phenomenal food scene in the Bay Area will help me forget Seattle soon enough.

Pan seared King Salmon with grilled peaches and heirloom tomatoes 

Appendix:

Chuck's is located at 656 NW 85th Ave Seattle WA
http://chucks85th.wordpress.com/

U:Don is located at 4515 University Ave NE Seattle WA
http://freshudon.com/

Miso Soup

Miso soup is one of those dishes that most people think about as an afterthought. The starter for your $8.95 lunch bento box at your local strip mall sushi joint that is owned by a lovely Chinese couple. Something to slurp down before you get to your Teriyaki Chicken, California Roll, and that weird salad they always include in those things. Now most of you have probably never tasted real miso soup. The miso soup at that strip mall is probably a pre-made mix that you just add water to. A real miso soup is satisfying mixture of miso and dashi that warms the heart and the belly. It is extremely easy to make. So easy in fact that my five year old daughter is going to demonstrate for you how to make miso soup. I utilize instant dashi in this recipe instead of crafting my own dashi broth (which isn't that easy). If you want to take this recipe to the next level make your own dashi broth, add clams, kombu(seaweed), or shiitake mushrooms.


Step 1:

Step 2:






                                   

Porcini!

You ever notice that everything sounds better when you say it like a Jawa? Alright, maybe I am the only one. But whenever I think of porcini mushrooms, I have to fight the urge to say in that high pitched Jawa voice-Por-cini!. At a recent Ballard Farmers Market I found myself looking at some mighty fine Porcini mushrooms at the Found and Foraged stall. Now I was hoping he would have Morels which should be everywhere now but for some reason are not available or ridiculously expensive ($50 a pound!). Now the porcini were not cheap but they never are and the price was reasonable enough compared to what I had seen in the past. I picked up one decent sized mushroom, whispered Por-cini! under my breath and headed out into the lovely rain drenched market looking for other goodies. To my surprise I found some perfectly formed squash blossoms with the baby squash still attached. These would have to be added to whatever dish I devised with the porcini.

When I got home I started to have to think about what I would do with this mushroom. It was a little bit of an investment and need to come up with something that would be worth of its stature and price. I wanted something that would reflect the earthiness of the porcini but was fancy of enough dish to justify the price. Thinking about what I had available, I came up with the idea for a pork tenderloin stuffed with garlic butter, basil, thinly sliced porcini, and local asparagus which is dirt cheap right now. To accompany the pork tenderloin I would tempura fry the squash blossoms with the their baby zucchini still attached.

First I preheated the oven to 400 degrees. While the oven preheated, I blanched the asparagus in boiling water for about three minutes to soften them and set their color at bright green. Then I used a mandolin to slice the porcini. This gave me thin slices at the thickness I wanted but the mandolin butchered the shape of the mushroom. To avoid this problem, I would recommend a mandolin with an adjustable blade or barring that just use a good knife to slice the fungi lengthwise.

For the pork, I butterflied the tenderloin and then covered it saran wrap flat side down. Welding my mighty mallet I proceeded to beat the hell out of it until it resembled a flat square about an 1/8 inch thick. I spread the flat side in garlic butter and layered basil and the porcini mushrooms slices about two inches away  from the bottom of the tenderloin. To create a more attractive appearance, I layered the asparagus spears in opposite directions with the cut stems overlapping in the center of the pork cutlet. As a final step, I rolled the whole thing up like a sushi roll and tied it together with string to ensure it didn't unravel during cooking. 

I browned the stuffed pork tenderloin in a 12in pan for about 3 minutes a side using about two tsp of olive oil. I rotated the tenderloin slowly in the pan to ensure even browning and prevent unnecessary spillage. Then I placed the whole thing in a roasting pan and basted it with some of the leftover butter garlic. After about 15 minutes I pulled it out and let it rest for an additional 5 minutes for the flavors to meld and the meat to set. Utilizing a carving knife, I sliced the entire tenderloin into 1" rounds. I plated four of the tenderloin rounds on a plate with two of my tempura fried squash blossoms which I created while the tenderloin was in the oven. Realizing it could probably use a sauce, I deglazed the pan with white wine and whipped up a quick and light au jus for the tenderloin. I have to say this was a very attractive plate: 

Overall the dish was a big success. The garlic butter kept the pork moist and flavorful. And the asparagus, mushrooms, and basil helped elevate the natural earthiness of the dish. The sweet floral notes of the squash blossoms rounded off the palate. It felt like I was eating spring which was my overall objective. However, the flavor of the mushrooms was muted which was a bit of a disappointment given that it was supposed to be the star ingredient. The couple of slices that slipped out and were fried in the olive oil along with the tenderloin were rich and flavorful with a pronounced mushroom taste. Next time I would probably forgot stuffing the tenderloin with the mushrooms and just fry them in olive oil and serve alongside the pork. 

After scraping off the last of the mushrooms slices from the remnants of the tenderloin, I let out a long Por-Cini! and thought about scavenging through next week farmers market like one of my little diminutive Tatooine friends.  

Mastering Paella

Paella is one of those iconic dishes that is relatively easy to make but difficult to master. I have been fascinated with this classic rice dish for years. I discovered it when researching Spain for the standard issue post college European backpacking trip. The giant pan, the beautiful assortment of seafood, and the yellowed hued rice made all the more magical by its front and center feature in every guide book that I owned on Spain. However, once I got to Spain, I realized that no one there really ate Paella. It filled the same niche as Sangria-a touristy dish that appeared on those multilingual menus (always the kiss of death) at the very generic looking cafes on the Las Ramblas in Barcelona. The real Spain was far more focused on pristine seafood, buttery cured ham (jamon iberico) and simple unfussy dishes with phenomenal ingredients.* Places like Cal Pep with its austere yet delicious seafood or that cafe whose name I have long forgotten in Granada that served a rudimentary dish of ham and peas that tasted better than any deconstructed masterpiece of molecular gastronomy. The one time that I actually had Paella in Barcelona it was quite a pedestrian affair consisting of little more than Arroz con Pollo (a bland Arroz con Pollo at that... nothing like the iconic version Mrs. Winner constructs) in a fancier pan.

*Note: This was in 1999 before molecular gastronomy took over the country and El Bulli was just beginning to change haute cusine. In any case I would not have been able to dine in those restaurants on my backpackers budget.

However, despite the disillusionment I suffered in Spain,  I was still entranced by the dish. Once I returned to the States, I sought it out on Spanish or I should say faux Spanish menus whenever it appeared. Most the versions I tasted were similar to what I experienced in Spain. Lackluster dishes that were not truly Paella and more like Arroz con whatever. Some were liquidity concoctions that more resembled bouilabasse than Paella and other were parched deserts of bland rice and overcooked seafood. Even the few good ones like the very impressive lobster Paella that I had at Jose Andres' Jaleo in Washington DC were not satisfying that craving for that imaginary Paella that appeared in the my monstrous tome of all Spanish gastronomy, Culinaria Spain. That all changed the day my wife surprised me with a Paella pan from Spanish Table in Mill Valley.    

Tired of always looking for Paella, my wife decided it was time for me to take the next step and actually make the dish at home. Now with a brand spanking new 18"carbon steel pan, I had no excuses. My first few attempts where fairly disastrous. The Paella was either soupy from too much broth or overly greasy from my addition of chorizo to the mix. After awhile I learned how to master the stock to rice ratio to ensure that I didn't get a soggy Paella and to use a cured Spanish style chorizo to limit the amount of residual grease. More confident in my abilities to make a serviceable version, I began making Paella for Spanish themed dinner parties complete with the requite Sangria. The Paella was a hit and my friends began requesting it when they came over. However, I was now essentially making the same Paella repeatedly .  Once, I posted a picture of my one Paellas on Facebook and a friend (being an ass) responded with a picture of a seafood studded Paella filled to the brim with  langoustines, clams, and mussels. That was the paella that I wanted to make but never had the time or resources to construct.

A standard Ian Paella with Shrimp, Chrozio, and Chicken

Stuck in a Paella rut, I had almost given up on the dish. However, I noticed at Uwajimaya ,our local Seattle Japanese grocery store, that head-on North American Prawns(CT-10) were on sale for $10.99 a pound. Looking at these magnificent sea monsters, I knew that I had one of my ingredients for a special seafood Paella. I decided to compliment the shrimp with a much cheaper ingredient, squid. At $1.99 a pound, squid is the cheapest(and sustainable) seafood option out there. Now the traditional way of adding squid(calamari) to Paella is to cut it into rings, but where's the excitement in that. Looking for a bolder flavor and a spectacular presentation, I decided to stuff the squid tubes with chorizo-a classic tapas dish on its own. I picked up some spicy fresh chroizo ($3.29 a pound) from my local Mexican grocer and began the grueling process of cleaning the squid and then stuffing the chorizo/pea mixture into the freshly cleaned calamari tubes. I completed this process the night before to give me more time to focus on the main event the next day.

Lazy Paella...not a real Paella pan and not the right rice. This is what you can expect to find in touristy Paella restaurants in Spain... Arroz con Crapo

Scrounging around my kitchen the next day, I managed to pull together the ingredients for the Paella only by making several modifications that any self respecting Valencian would find appalling. First off, I did not have enough risotto rice to complete the dish, so I found another almost empty bag of rice from Valencia and combined the two. I would never recommend doing this and only utilizing one type of rice preferably Bomba or an Italian risotto rice as different varieties absorb varying amounts of liquid and the cooking times can fluctuate. For my second transgression, I used chicken stock instead of seafood stock for the Paella. This was just a matter of laziness as I had no desire to craft a seafood stock out of shrimp shells. Besides I prefer a Paella that has elements of seafood in it but is not overwhelmed by those flavors. Finally the greatest heresy of all, I utilized Sazon instead of saffron to flavor the stock and add that distinctive yellow color to the dish. I like to think that this was a bold flight of whimsy that a fellow iconoclast like Ferran Adria would approve of. Much like Adria utilized potato chips to create a spanish tortilla, I was utilizing saffron's fast food equivalent to create my Paella.

Now this is an exciting Paella...just make sure to add the tentacles to the dish. 

I started the Paella by cooking the stuffed squid in the center of the pan and then moving them to the side once it was time to add my sofrito. For the sofrito, I simply utilized a combination of grated tomatoes, minced garlic and sweet paprika. Once the sofrito reduced to an aromatic jam, I added my rice mixture evenly across the pan to ensure proper cooking. Once the rice toasted slightly, I arranged the head-on prawns with their lower shells removed along with the cooked squid tubes in a circle pointing inward towards the center of the pan. After letting the seafood settle into the rice for a moment, I ladeled on about half of the stock. I turned the paella repeatedly across two gas burners to ensure even cooking of the dish. I then added the remaining stock and allowed that to absorb in the rice. It took about 15 minutes for the rice to cook. Once cooked, I added some chopped cilantro to brighten up the dish and introduce a herbal element that would be missing without the saffron. Finally I covered the whole pan in tinfoil and let sit for 45 minutes so the flavors could meld together.

After removing the tin foil, I was treated to a beautiful pan of Paella. The giant prawns added that exotic Spanish travel guide feel to the Paella that had been lacking before. The Sazon imparted a brilliant yellow hue onto the rice. The only thing that I would change would be to keep the tentacles for the squid and place them at the top of the stuffed tubes. Without the tentacles, the squid tubes closely resembled leeches or some other unappetizing parasite. You want your guests to feel like they are eating an exotic Paella at an imaginary Spanish coastal cafe not bugs in a jungle with Andrew Zimmern.  Appearances aside, the Paella was fantastic. The rice was cooked perfectly despites its mixed heritage. The chorizo from the squid added a smoky spiciness to the dish while the shrimp heads imparted a taste of the sea to the rice. While I could tell that the floral flavor of the saffron was missing, it did not hinder the dish. All of the seafood was cooked perfectly with the squid being exceptionally tender thanks to the fat in its chorizo stuffing. The heads came easily off of the shrimp thanks to the advanced deshelling which made for easier eating.

I finally had my (near) perfect Paella. Of course I will keep tinkering with this recipe to see how I can improve it. But this makes a pretty good Paella template. Please see the recipe below:


Paella Winneria

Ingredients:
8 cloves of garlic crushed
2 large tomatoes grated(discard skins)
1 tablespoon of mild(not smoked) paprika
1 packet of Goya Sazon (available at any Latin American Grocery Store)
5 cups of chicken stock
10 cleaned squid tubes
10 squid tentacles
1 lb of fresh unsmoked chorizo
6 Head on Prawns (10-12 CT) with shells removed from tails
1/2 Cup of Peas
2 Cups of Uncooked Risotto Rice
2 Tsp of Olive Oil

1. Mix the chorizo and peas together and stuff into the squid tubes. You can make these up to 24 hours in
    advance. Cover on a plate and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Bring the chicken stock to a simmer in another pot. Once the stock comes to a simmer add the packet of
    sazon to broth. Leave at simmer for future use.
2. Heat oil in a large Paella pan (18" or larger) over a power gas burner(or a specialty Paella grill if you went
    all out) or an 18" pan.
3. Brown the squid tubes in the center of the pan about 3 minutes a side. Move the browned tubes to the
    outside of the pan.
4. Put the tomato, garlic and paprika mixture in the center of the pan. Reduce the mixture until it turns into a  
    jam.
5. Mix the rice into the tomato mixture and spread across the pan evenly. Turn on the second burner and
    place the pan in-between the two burners. Allow the rice to toast for 2-3 minutes.
6. Arrange the shrimp and the squid tubes in the rice. Place the tentacles in front of the squid tubes for a
    better presentation.
7. Pour half of the stock over the rice and seafood. Rotate the pan every two or three minutes so that the
    rice cooks evenly
8. Once the stock is absorbed into the rice, add an additional ladel of broth to the pan. Continue until the
    rice reaches a perfect al dente texture.
9. Turn the heat off and add any other optional garnishes like parsley or roasted bell peppers.
10. Tent the entire pan with tinfoil and let the Paella sit for an additional 45 minutes. This will allow the  
      flavors to meld better.