Here's the situation. We are part of a really great supper club, which is basically just a bunch of incredibly busy couples with a million things going on who don't see each other often enough, so we've all committed to eating together as a group every 6 weeks or so. We rotate who hosts, and the hosting couple provides the main dish and the theme. One time we did Italian, another time tapas, then springtime picnic, etc.
DH and I are hosting this Saturday, and I thought a great theme would be Savannah chefs, where everyone could bring a dish inspired by a local chef (Paula Deen is our most famous, but Elizabeth Terry, Damon Lee Fowler, and Martha Nesbit are all well known and have wonderful cookbooks that should not be overlooked if you are interested in Southern cooking). Creative, right?
But here's the teensy problem.
I changed my mind.
About a week ago, I got it in my head that I wanted to do my paella recipe. It's a perfect dish, because it uses fresh, summer ingredients, it's a great showcase for Georgia shrimp, it has plenty of chicken and sausage for those in the group that don't love seafood, and it just looks darn pretty in the pan. It's a fairly big recipe, so I never make it except for company, and since the only company I've had lately tends to prefer peanut butter sandwiches with an apple juice shooter, I haven't had a reason to pull it out recently.
I do feel a bit bad about not following the format I imposed on everyone else. So here's my theory: if I post it on my blog, I've published it, right? And I live in Savannah. Ergo, I am a Savannah chef. (Ok, perhaps 'cook' is more precise than 'chef.' Whatever.)
Here goes. Supper Club Savannah Paella (serves 8)
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 4 strips each
4 Italian sausages (note: get 2 mild and 2 hot, and you'll have something for everyone)
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 diced Vidalia onion (if you can't find Vidalia, any sweet yellow onion will do)
3 cups good chicken stock (if you don't have any homemade stock tucked into the back of your freezer, try the Kitchen Basics stock that comes in the box - far and away the best grocery store stock there is)
2 pinches of saffron (yes, expensive. sorry)
1 and 1/4 cup basmati rice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme and parsley
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or a bit more if you like some kick)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 plum tomatoes, diced
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 dozen mussels (you could substitute littleneck clams)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large, stainless ovenproof pan (even better, use a paella pan), and add olive oil. Brown chicken pieces, remove and set aside. Brown sausages, remove, slice, and set aside. Add celery, onion, and carrots to pan, and saute until tender. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Crush saffron in a small dish, add a smidgen of the hot stock to the saffron to reconstitute it, and then add it to the vegetable/stock mix. Add rice, spices, herbs, chicken, and sausages. Cover and place in oven for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove from oven. Add tomatoes and shrimp. Stir well, then arrange mussels on top. Cover and return to oven for 15 more minutes or until mussels open and the rice is tender. Discard any mussels that do not open.
Serve and enjoy!
