Joyeux Anniversaire

Joyeux Anniversaire, Happy Birthday...to me! Yesterday was my 22nd birthday and it was a day full of celebration and good food! Within minutes of meeting Albert a month ago at the airport, he told me he made a mean paella, as long as he had the reason to make it. I thought it was a match made in heaven, blending my love for Spanish food on my birthday in France! So the plans were set and we sent out invitations to some of their closest friends to come celebrate. It was more then my birthday, but a celebration of summer, a celebration for the end of the tourist season, and a celebration of good food.

Not a bad place for a birthday party!

We started out with Gazpacho, a cold tomato soup and also Spanish! It has origins in Andalusia, in the 18th century, to feed the field hands.  It is a raw soup, nice and crisp for a hot summer day!

Gazpacho for 15!

You can find the Epicurious recipe we used here. The only change is the addition of cumin to give it an extra little kick!

Paella is a traditional Spanish dish, created in Valencia sometime in the mid-nineteenth century. There are many variations, with all meat, all seafood, all vegetable, green, red, and a combination of it all! The Paella that we made was a mixture, with shrimp, mussels, scallops, chorizo, chicken, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and green beans. The secret ingredient to all Paellas is the saffron and smoked paprika. Yum!

Below, is a picture step by step of how we prepared our Anniversaire Paella!

Browning the Chicken

Adding the Stock, Spices and Rice

Seafood!

Add back the chicken and chorizo on top

And ENJOY!

This is the basic recipe we used, adapted off of The Spanish Table's recipe. Make it however you want, just a suggested preparation!
1/2 Cup uncooked Valencia Rice per person
1 Cup chicken stock, per every 1/2 cup rice used
5 threads Saffron per person, dissolved in 1/2 cup white wine
4 tablespoons or more olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan
1 peice of chicken (thigh for example) per person
1/2-1 soft chorizo per person
1 teaspoon smoked paprika per person
1 clove garlic minced per person
1/4 cup chopped onion per person
1/8 cup grated tomato (cut in half and grate, discard skin) per person
2 shrimp/prawns per person
2-4 small mussles and/or clams per person
3-5 small scallops per person
red peppers cut in strips
artichoke hearts, green beans and/or peas
lemon wedges for garnish

heat stock and keep warm. Toast the saffron gently in a small pan, when aroma is released, add the white wine. Allow to come to boil and remove the heat.
Heat the paella pan over medium heat, add olive oil and fry the chicken. When the chicken is golden, add garlic, onion and saute till translucent. Add chorizo and cook until heated the remove the chicken and chorizo.
Add the rice and stir until well coated with oil (about a minute), add the paprika and grated tomato, stir in saffron flavored wine and hot stock, being all to a boil, then add the red pepper, artichoke heart, green beans and peas.
Adjust the heat to a slow boil, after five minutes, add seafood then place the chicken and chorizo  back on top of the paella mix
Cover, and cook about 15 minutes or until the rice is done. Don't ever stir!! The goal is to get a caramelized layer of rice on the bottom of the pan. If doing it on a BBQ, the fire should start to die down as the rice is cooking. On a stove, you may have to stir the paella or move the pan around over the burner(s) to not burn in one place.


So delicious! The full dinner included lots of wine, and fresh tomato and zucchini salads from another guest's gardens, and of course, a lot of vino!

bon appetite!

They got me a lovely cake for dessert, complete with Joyuex Anniversiare Duck-Girl written across the front.

Paired with champagne, what more could a girl want?

The cake was caramel flan on top, with a layer of thin slices pears both perched over a walnut crumble base, officially called the Louvre Cake. Amazing!

I could not have asked for more for my first birthday outside of California, away from my friends and family. The food was amazing and the people were lovely, and it put a perfect start to my 22nd year.