According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, paella is a saffron-flavored dish made with varying combinations of rice, vegetables, meat, chicken and seafood. The Dictionary also explains that in the Old French and Catalan languages, paella means frying pan or pot. The traditional paella pan is flat and of large diameter, it can also have handles on each side.

In fact, paella is one of the most versatile dishes to make. Paella also has the advantage of being great to clean out the fridge and use up leftover meats and vegetables. Any combination will eventually be great the secret is in the chemistry. Paella is a dish that is generally made to feed several people. Moreover, paella is quite flavorful the next day as the tastes have had time to mix together and become stronger.

This article is not a recipe but rather an outline that describes the three basic steps to follow to make a wonderful paella while leaving the reader (the chef!) the latitude to be creative and to make the dish their own by customizing it to their taste.
First the rice.

Select a type of rice that you are comfortable using. Feel free to experiment but know that paella contains a lot of ingredients and if you are unhappy with the end result with a particular type of rice, you might end up with a lot of waste. Basmati, brown or a mix with wild rice can add great taste and texture. Follow the instructions on the package with regards to washing and cooking the rice. Finely chop some onion, garlic and tomato. Heat a saucepan and add olive oil once the saucepan is hot (make sure that the oil does not start smoking. Burnt olive oil is carcinogenic and quite unhealthy). Once the oil is hot, throw in the uncooked rice. Frying uncooked rice gives it a nutty taste. Let the rice fry in the saucepan for a minute or so. Add the chopped onion, garlic and tomato until they soften, mixing constantly. Spice with saffron, salt and pepper. Feel free to experiment. Cumin, Cayenne various fine herbs or even a bit cinnamon or cloves can easily be added for a flavoring of your own. This mixture should not be on the stove for more that three to five minutes. At high heat with constant mixing, none of the ingredients should stick but they should mix well together and soften. Once all the ingredients are combined, remove the saucepan from the burner and mix in some frozen peas. Add enough peas to make a well balanced mixture.
Second the meat.

In a frying pan at high heat, brown some pieces of chicken. Upper thighs, drumsticks, breasts…it’s all good. Do not cook the meat completely but brown the outside. Once browned, set the meat aside. Lamb can also add great flavor to your paella.
Third combining it all.

Cover the bottom of the paella pan with the uncooked rice mixture. Add the browned chicken pieces on top. Add uncooked Merguez (spicy lamb sausages) and small fish filets rolled up and fastened with a toothpick or string. Use any type of fish but make sure that its flesh will hold well together. Pour some chicken broth on top (if the broth is warm the cooking time will reduce). Note that you can also add wine for more flavor. Cover the paella dish and cook for about 45 minutes at 350F or until the rice is cooked. At this point you can add raw shrimp or muscles and cook uncovered for another five minutes.

In short, the secret to preparing the perfect paella is to make it your own!

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Chicken as a popular food source is nearly as old as recorded history itself. First domesticated around 2000 B.C. in India, early chicken eaters were also found in China and Babylon. Brought to the U.S. by Columbus, the early colonists first bred chickens more for their eggs than their meat. Easy to breed and care for, and easy to digest, chicken has become an American staple.

Chicken provides the necessary protein component needed in our daily diets. Lower in fat, calories (especially when you take the skin off) and cost than any other meat, chicken is also a good source of magnesium and potassium. Its versatility, lending itself to many varieties, cuts and tastes enables people to enjoy variety even while eating the same bird.

The modern supermarket offers many different types of chicken in many different cuts ñ whole chickens, cut up chickens, breasts, fillets, legs, wings and thighs not only allow us to eat our favorite parts, but to add variety to our diet by simply choosing white over dark meat or vice versa. Chicken can also often be cooked in 30 minutes or less for those of us who have little time to spend in the kitchen.

Types of Chicken

• Broilers-Fryers are specifically bred for eating. They are young chickens, seven to ten weeks old. Weighing from 1 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds, they are a tender choice and good for broiling, roasting or frying.
• Roasters are slightly older than broilers-fryers at three to five months old and weigh from five to seven pounds.
• Capons are young, castrated roosters weighing from five to seven pounds. They are richly flavored, have a higher fat content and will yield more meat. Their age can range anywhere form 16 weeks to 8 months.
• Rock Cornish Game Hens are small broiler-fryers than weigh between one and two pounds. Originally bred in Connecticut in 1950 for foodies, it is usually stuffed and roasted whole, then served whole or as a half bird.
• Stewing or Baking Hens are a much more mature bird of ten months to a year and a half. Since its meat is less tender, it is best used in stews, stocks and soups. Slow cooking in a crockpot is also an excellent way to cook these birds.

All chicken is inspected by the USDA to ensure it is healthy for consumption. As with most perishable meat, bacteria multiplies quickly at temperatures between 40 F and 140 F, so safe handling precautions should always be used.

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When we think of garlic, the brain automatically thinks of hot garlic bread, fresh out of the oven. UMM!!

There are several ‘ready to go’ packets of garlic bread in the supermarket, but, even if I had all the money in the world, I wouldn’t spend it on a packet of ‘plastic’ bread with preserved garlic on a fatty goo.

No, for a little time and effort, you can have your very own hot garlic bread hot off the press and a thousand times better tasting.

Try it for yourself and if you don’t like it, I will give you your money back, as they say in the adverts!!!

What you will need:

1 Long Fresh French Loaf, now I make my own but you can buy yours, just make sure it’s fresh.

A good 25g of Real Butter, softened, don’t skimp on the butter and yes it has to be butter, it is better for you than margarine. And I believe everything in moderation is good for you. So there!!

1 large bulb of garlic, again make sure it is fresh, the little cloves should be firm to the touch and the skin (the papery bit) should be crisp to the touch.

1 bunch of fresh Parsley

What to do:

Pre-heat the oven or if you so desire you can cook this on the BBQ or open fire

Slice the french loaf into inch thick rounds

Soften the butter in a small bowl

Wash and chop the parsley:
I fold the bunch of parsley in one hand and chop roughly the first time, then, with the mound of parsley on the chopping board.
I hold the tip of the knife in one hand and work the handle of the blade in an up and down motion with the other, in a semi circle over the parsley.
Go backwards and forwards a few times and you will soon have finely chopped parsley

Add the chopped parsley to the butter, you don’t have to mix it in yet

Now to prepare the garlic:
Remove the outer layer of paper skin, and remove all the cloves from the white hard middle stalk.
Lie each clove on its flat side then with a large kitchen knife, held so the blade is horizontal to the chopping board. Lie the thickest part of the blade, thats near the handle, on top of the garlic clove and press down hard. You will feel the garlic, give way, this should be easy if the garlic is fresh.
Now just peel off the fine papery layer, and then repeat on all of the cloves. Remember this is garlic bread and you can never have enough garlic
When all the cloves are peeled, just chop them again as you didi with the parsley.

Putting it all together:
Add the chopped garlic to the parsley and butter and give it a really good mix.
You can add seasoning at this stage, if you desire, but a word of caution, the fresh garlic will be quite ‘salty’ tasting, so easy does it

Spread liberally over both sides of the french bread rounds, and neatly stack them on their side, so the garlic butter mix touches, on a sheet of cooking foil, I put them on the shiny side.

When you have all the french loaf back together again, bring the edges of teh foil together and make a christmas cracker shape. Now cook for 10 -15 mins in the oven, on the BBQ or on the red coals of an open fire.

Ready to eat and enjoy.

BE CAREFUL OPENING THE FOIL PARCEL IT WILL BE VERY HOT

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