Wine With Lisa

Wine with Lisa Hosts A Saturday Evening Spanish Culinary and Wine Adventure for a Party of 6!

pa·el·la (pä-l, pä-lyä, -yä) A saffron-flavored Spanish dish made with varying combinations of rice, vegetables, meat, chicken and seafood;also referring to the large flat frying pan in which a paella is cooked.

For as long as I can remember,I have always had a fascination and passion for cooking Paella. Maybe it was the Cajun-Creole culinary influences growing up in Louisiana and eating all of the different versions of authentic Jambalaya-for Jambalaya IS Louisiana’s version of Paella,after all! (at least it is to me). Or,maybe it’s the thought of leisurely enjoying Paella and little bites of Tapas with a fantastic glass of Rioja while sitting in a little Tapas Bar in Madrid. I have never been to Spain although it’s on my bucket list! I bought my first Paella Pan about 15 years ago and have been perfecting my Paella recipe ever since. The first recipe that inspired me was from a “Cooking with Wine” cookbook. The first challenge-especially 15 years ago in Nashville-was finding the correct ingredients;the second challenge was figuring out how to cook it even though I had never actually had an authentic paella! 15 years or so later and the improved availability of authentic ingredients and happily eating my share of many versions of this Spanish culinary marvel on many foodie adventures has made for many delightful events entertaining friends at my home from Texas to Tennessee. A large pan of delicious and authentic Paella,Tapas and Wine and lovely friends…. It’s about as good as it gets!

This is my large 18.5 inch Paella Pan and Bomba Rice-the ONLY rice for making great Paella.. The Paella is large enough to produce a Paella big enough to feed 10 people easily. Buying this pan at a FARADAY’S KITCHEN STORE in Austin,Texas was the best purchase I have ever made. You can also purchase any and all authentic Spanish ingredients at www.latienda.com.

THE PARTY!!!!!
I love to entertain! Hosting themed parties is fun and sharing my cooking skills and wine knowledge is what I enjoy doing! This past Saturday night,I hosted a Paella Party featuring Paella Mixta,Tapas and dessert all paired with fantastic Spanish wines for different regions of Spain.

Randy Duke and Tony Disher opened up their grand home for an evening of dining on Paella and Spanish Wines. M.J. and Amanda Garrett along with Justin and Andrea Allender were just the perfect guests for enjoying the Spanish-themed evening.

HANDSOME !
The Tapas (appetizer) Table included two Spanish Cheeses Mahon and Manchego,Blood Orange and Lemon Marinated Olives with toasted cumin and Sherry Vinegar. Spanish Marcona Almonds and Quicos,which are Spanish Corn nuts, were also served.

Red Wine-Braised Chorizo Sausage served warm was another delicious tapas and the crusty pan grilled bread was used to soak up all of the delicious juices!

The evening began with a toast along with a bubbly glass filled with Domaine de Tharsys CAVA, the sparkling wine from the Cataluna Region of Spain.

Along with the Tapas,everyone sampled 2 other White Spanish Wines: Vina 24 2009 Albarino from Costers del Segre Region and an especially fabulous White Rioja( Rioja Blanca) 2009 Ostatu from the Rioja Region.

The Table is exquisitely set for dinner!

While the guests where enjoying the Tapas,wine and conversation,I was prepping the Paella. BOMBA Rice is the ONLY rice for Paella which is grown in Valencia,Spain.

There are many recipes and styles of Paella,depending on what area of Spain it comes from. PAELLA MIXTA is the Paella of the evening. This is a mixture of seafood including mussels,clams,shrimp,calamari as well as marinated chicken pieces and smoked pork richly seasoned with a saffron and a homemade sofrito.

  This cool,refreshing Green Salad with Asparagus,Sweet Red Oranges and Red Onion with Fresh Tarragon & Basil Buttermilk Dressing was a nice contrast to the spicy meal. Everyone loved it!

Spain produces many high quality affordable wines. Here are the red wines that I selected to pair with the rest of the meal. Protocolo 2009 is delicious and intense 100% Tempranillo from Central Spain and the spicy, fruit-driven 2009 Garnatxa (Garnacha) Joan d’Anguera from the Catalonia Region were the perfect choices for this evening. Iroquois Wine and Spirits in Nashville,TN is a great source of Spain Wines. Ernie Paquette,owner and wine expert has a fabulous selection of Spanish Wines as well many other unique wines for you!

A Discussion and Sampling of the Spanish Wines

Presenting and serving the Paella Mixta

Flan is a popular dessert very similar to creme brûlée. It is a baked custard with a caramel at the bottom of the pan. I used authentic FLAN pans. When you invert the cooled custard onto a plate,the rich caramel flows over custard and makes a beautiful presentation as well as a delicious ending to a rich meal. The pans are available at www.latienda.com

The dessert pairing wine is the classic Spanish Sherry Pedro Ximenez Alvear 1927 from the region of Montilla-Moriles.
This sherry is made with the SOLERA method. To put this simply, a little of each barrel of the young sherry is blended with the older sherry for quality and consistency. In each bottle,there is a little of the 1927 vintage. The complex flavors include caramel,prunes,raisins,molasses,hints of chocolate and coffee as well as spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg,orange and lemon. PX is an intensely sweet dessert wine with complex flavors pairing well with many desserts. Serve chilled.

Wanting to experience A Spanish Evening in your home? Find someone who loves to make Paella and is passionate about wine PLUS a gathering of your close friends to share the event!
 
Wishing they had been invited!
 

CHEERS and Buenas noches!

On my recent road trip to Florida with my sister-in-law Olivia to visit my niece, I was promised a wine and food adventure that I was sure to enjoy. Although we have an obvious connection by marriage, she and I have been close friends for many years and share an intense love for creating delicious meals and enjoying wines. We have enjoyed our traveling culinary adventures together and her promise of a great experience was kept!

We were looking forward to finding a Paella Restaurant that my niece had heard about.
Mi Tomatina Paella Bar pays homage to the La Tomatina Festival held in Bunol,Spain the last Wednesday every August. Looks like the tomato fight could be fun!

Upon arriving to the beautiful resort town of Winter Park, Florida, we found our way to this rustic and welcoming Paella Bar Mi Tomatina. The atmosphere was relaxed and tastefully decorated as I would imagine a house in Spain would be and we felt as if we were dining in their kitchen for a relaxed meal of Spanish cuisine and wine.

Delightful Flamenco guitar music made this dining experience even more authentic.

TAPAS AND CAVA

We began with CAVA, the sparkling wine of Cataluna, Spain. Cava is made in the same way as champagne but with different grapes. I selected Raventos for its refreshing bubbles, brightand lively fruity aromas of lemon and green apple and complex notes of freshly baked bread. Our tapas plates of Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, marinated olives and warm bread with fresh tomato dip were a perfect match.

Making Paella and Tapas have been two of my favorite ethnic dishes to cook for many years. Paella is a festive Spanish treat and is a great excuse for a party. Some of my best parties have revolved around Paella and Tapas or small plates of a variety of cheeses, seafood and roasted meats and served with Spanish wine and Sangria.

Paella originated from Valencia but depending on which region of Spain you are in, the Paella and its ingredients will vary. There were six Paellas to choose from and I knew exactly which two I wanted to order. The signature Paella was brought to the table in the traditional shallow pan with saffron-soaked rice, succulent shrimp, mussels and clams and spicy chorizo and chicken. DELICIOUS!

Another Valencian Paella and referred to as Fideua (fay-du-ah). Pasta replaces the rice and it cooked with the traditional ingredients and spices. Since I first learned about fideua from the Cooking Channel on Foodography The History of Noodles, I have wanted to try it and I was pleased to find this dish on the menu. The pasta absorbs all the flavors from the saffron, garlic, olive oil and seafood and we enjoyed every flavorful bite!

I was impressed by the wine list. It was well-constructed and offered a great sampling of quality wines from the different regions of Spain. Our server brought out several samplings for me to try and I decided the perfect pairing with the Paella was the Resalte, Ribera del Duero 2007.

This is one of my favorite Spanish Wines. The wine is referred to as Robles which means young. This tempranillo wine spends little time in oak giving it that fresh, fruity character and means drink now!