Eric's Kitchen in NJ: Seafood Paella

Jenn and I went to Spain last summer and had amazing seafood Paella at a few different places and I've been dying to attempt to make it myself ever since we returned. Luckily my Mom let me borrow her giant Le Creuset pot and some real Saffron, 'the world's most expensive spice by weight'. You can actually see a strand of it in my picture above right on a piece of chicken in the lower left hand corner. It's red and stringy.

Anyway, I made way more food than Jenn and I could eat in a night so we'll be having Paella quite a lot this week but I can think of worse tragedies to befall on us. It also came out exactly how I was hoping. I used the Paella recipe in the Joy of Cooking as a reference but didn't agree with a lot of their decisions.

Ingredients (serves 8 supposedly):
1 lb. bag of mussells (scrubbed and de-bearded)
1 lb. of shrimp, de-shelled and de-veined
2 chicken breasts
5 oz. of chopped chorizo sausage
5 oz. chopped baby bella mushrooms
1 vidalia onion minced
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1.5 red peppers, chopped
2 cups of arborio rice
4 cups of hot broth (mine was from cooking the mussels plus some chicken bouillon)
1 cup white wine
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. Better than Bouillon chicken base
Konriko's Creole Seasoning
Pinch of dried Saffron

So the Joy of Cooking recommended cooking the chicken ahead of time and adding mussels and shrimp at the very end right before serving. I decided this seemed like a terrible idea as I wanted to cook the rice in the broth from the mussels to begin with. So the first thing I did was to steam the mussels in 3 cups of water and 1 cup of white wine with a couple of tablespoons of minced garlic and some chopped cilantro. I had Jenn do a coarse chop of the veggies in the food processor (we just got one) and then I cooked the chicken breasts with half the veggies in some olive oil and seasoned them with some Konriko's Creole Seasoning. I made sure the chicken wasn't overcooked as you're supposed to bake the whole shebang in the oven for 15 minutes at the end at 350 degrees (I also pre-heated the oven). Once the chicken was almost done I took it out and Jenn sliced it and I set it aside.

Then I took the other half of the veggies and cooked them with the shrimp and some more creole seasoning. For whatever reason I put Cajun spices on everything. I took out the shrimp and the mussels when they had opened and set those aside separately since I didn't want to over cook them and decided I'd add them at the very end and let the rice heat them when serving. I also set aside the wonderful broth from the mussels and added a tsp. of chicken bouillon.

So then I put all the cooked veggies and the sliced, mostly cooked chicken in the pan and slowly added the rice and broth, stirring often. I made it as if I was making risotto as it's the same type of rice. You want to coat the rice with a little fat (olive oil in this case) and then slowly let it soak up the broth. Although knowing that it was going to cook more in the oven I just got it started, stirred and then stuck it all in the oven saving the mussels and shrimp for the end.

When it came out all the rice was at the bottom so I had to stir it again but it was perfect. If you want to adjust the recipe it's just 1 part rice to 2 parts broth. If you make this I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. I think it's one of the best things I've ever made.

Eric's Kitchen in NJ: Seafood Paella

Eric's Kitchen in Jersey City: Belgian Style Mussels

In addition to cheesesteaks, I always associate Philly with Belgian-Style Mussels because of my favorite bar in Philly, Monk's, the site of my 'first-date' with Jenn and many many other wonderful nights. This Philadelphia institution is a beer-lover's mecca. Their beer list is referred to the 'beer-bible' and boasts hundreds of beers from all over the world. Their other specialty is mussels which you order by the size of the pot, small or large. All of them are cooked in beer and they always have a handful of different options to choose from with different beers and veggies. They always serve these with Pommes Frites and good bread to sop up the broth.

Again, since I've been in Philly the past couple of weeks working a freelance gig while I try to secure a new full-time job, I decided to pay tribute to Philly with this dish. This was the second time I had tried this although the first time I turned it into risotto, which was fantastic.

Ingredients (feeds 4 as an appetizer or 2 very hungry individuals as a meal):

2 lb. bag of mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

1/4 lb bacon

1 cup of chopped leeks

3 shallots, chopped

1-2 tbsp minced garlic

1 lime, squeezed

2 bottles of belgian style beer (I used River Horse Double Wit)

1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1/2 box of sliced baby bella mushrooms

tbsp of minced cilantro

First, I cooked the bacon until crispy and set it aside to be crumbled later. I used a small amount of the bacon grease and some olive oil to saute the veggies in the bottom of a large pot. I cooked these for a few minutes until soft and then added the beer, keeping it on the heat until simmering. At this point you can add your mussels and cook, covered, checking on them until they are all opened. That's one of the great parts about cooking clams or mussels, in that you have a clear indication of when they are cooked since they open up. Don't eat them if they don't open.

In the end I was pretty happy with the results although the ones at Monk's are still better... I think that when I try these again I will probably omit the gorgonzola and use a more mildly flavored Belgian beer. One of my favorites at Monk's is DeKonick, although I don't know where to find it in Jersey City yet.

Eric's Kitchen in Jersey City: Belgian Style Mussels