Paella!

For five years now Sam has been asking me to make paella. He had it while serving a mission for our church in Argentina. I have always wanted to attempt it but since I have never personally tasted it before I had no idea what I was doing. After researching and researching I decided to surprise him for Father's Day. I bought a paella pan and enlisted my Mom's help for things like saffron, scallops, and shrimp. It was a great dinner. I will definitely make it again. The thing I love about this dish is it so customizable. Next time I am going to try chicken thighs, chorizo, and shrimp. Plus it is a fun dish to eat. Traditionally you sit around the table and just eat right out of the pan.

Paella

adapted from Tyler Florence 

Ingredients

Spice Mix for chicken, recipe follows
2-3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in large chunks.
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Spanish chorizo sausages, thickly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 small onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, reserve some for garnish
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
4 cups short grain bomba rice
2 Tbs. chicken bouillon
6 cups water, warm
Generous pinch saffron threads
1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Directions

Rub the spice mix all over the chicken and marinate chicken for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Saute the chorizo until browned, remove and reserve. Add chicken  and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from pan and reserve.

In the same pan, make a sofrito by sauteing the onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Then, add tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld. Fold in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains. Pour in water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add chicken, chorizo, and saffron. Add the clams and shrimp, tucking them into the rice. The shrimp will take about 8 minutes to cook. Give the paella a good shake and let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 15 minutes. When the paella is cooked and the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the bottom, then it's perfect.



Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes.

Spice Mix for chicken:

1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken; marinate for 1 hour, covered

Tres Leches Cake

I really wanted to plan something nice for Fathers' Day. Both sides of parents were coming and Sam's present was centered around the meal. (I bought him a paella pan.) I wanted to make a special dessert and we love this Tres Leches cake. I found the recipe on Tasty Kitchen and every time I make I am glad I did.

Tres Leches Cake
adapted from Ree Drummond


1 cup All-purpose Flour
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Salt
5 whole Eggs
1 cup Sugar, Divided
1 teaspoon Vanilla
⅓ cups Milk
1 can Evaporated Milk
1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
¼ cups Heavy Cream

FOR THE ICING:
1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping
3 Tablespoons Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs.
Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.
Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.
Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.
Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.
Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable.
Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped maraschino cherries. Cut into squares and serve.

** I used half the amount of evaporated milk and 2/3 the sweetened condensed milk.

My Mama's Meatloaf

Meatloaf. I can't believe how many different kinds of meatloaf there are. Some with ketchup. Others with barbecue sauce. Also with gravy. I hate to admit it but I am kind of a meatloaf snob. I don't even try any that has ketchup or barbecue sauce. It's just not right. This is the only meatloaf I make and I refuse to try any other recipe. So maybe you should try it.

Meatloaf
from My Mom

1/2 lb. ground turkey
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion (chopped)
1/4 c. bread crumbs
1 egg
1 Tbs. worchestire sauce
3 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the ingredients and mix either with hand or a spoon but I think you can mix it up better with your hand. Put meat mixture into a pan and bake for 40 minutes covered. Uncover meatloaf and bake for 10 minutes more. Take it out of the oven and let the meat rest for 5 minutes. Cut and serve.

*I use a corningware pan but I have also used a pyrex dish but I have never used a metal dish.

*Leftovers are amazing. Cold on a sandwich. Yum!

Sauteed Mushrooms and Swiss Chard

For a few months now I've been getting a weekly Bountiful Basket. If you want more information check here. Basically I get a basket full of fruits and vegetables every Saturday and the best part is I have no idea what I am getting each week. It's been fun trying out different things and I am amazed at how much the kids love it. This week we got swiss chard and it has been a long time since I made anything with it so I started out safe but if we get it again I have some great plans for it. I love swiss chard because it has a ton of nutrients and doesn't have a weird taste.

Sauteed Mushrooms and Swiss Chard
1 Tbs. Olive oil
1/2 Tbs. Butter
1 Bunch of swiss chard (usually about 5-7 leaves)
slice mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Wash swiss chard. Then cut off the stems and set the leaves aside. Chop up the stems. Over medium heat combine butter and olive oil. Once heated add stems. If it's sizzling a lot turn the temperature down. Take the leaves and slice them into 1 inch strips. After about 6-8 minutes add the garlic and the mushrooms. Let cook for about 3 minutes and then add the chard leaves and salt and pepper. Cook until leaves begin to wilt. The leaves cook done a considerable amount so it might seem like a lot of leaves but it isn't. Once leaves begin to wilt take off the heat and serve.

It was a great side dish to our Bountiful Basket corn on the cob and free pork chops from Albertsons.

Peanut Butter Filled Dark Chocolate Cupcakes... seriously!

I found a new blog the other day. How Sweet Eats. She used to be a personal trainer so she is very fit and active and the best thing is she loves food. I've had a hard time balancing between being fit and eating all the yumminess I make. I guess that is one reason I am teaching 5 Zumba classes a week. Some people work out because they enjoy it. I do enjoy it but mostly I enjoy food and so to justify eating the following recipe I Zumba as if my life depends on it. A couple of things I like about this recipe. Dark chocolate. Peanut butter. It's easy.

I love Reese's but sometimes you have no idea how old they are. I know how old my cupcakes are. They never live past two days. Seriously try these.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes
1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 cup homemade fudge sauce (recipe below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, cream, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Stir in sour cream. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth, then swirl in fudge sauce. Line a muffin tin with liners and using a 1/4 cup measure, add batter to each cup. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool before frosting.


Peanut Butter Buttercream
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup peanut butter
3-4 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons of milk
pinch of salt
Cream butter and peanut butter together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar with mixer on low speed and gradually add milk and vanilla extract. Mix until frosting is smooth. If too thick, add more milk; if too thin, add more sugar. Frost cupcakes as desired.


Dark Chocolate Fudge Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark cocoa powder
2 tablespoons flour
pinch of salt
1 cup boiling water or scalding milk
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Combine sugar, cocoa, salt, and flour in a bowl or pot over a double boiler. Bring water or milk to a boil. Gradually add hot liquid to sugar mixture. Stir constantly until mixture thickens.
Once it has reached the desired thickness, remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Drizzle over cupcakes and store the rest of the sauce in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.


* The only thing I did different was substitute applesauce for sour cream. I didn't have any sour cream and didn't want to run to the store. :)