Paella and Bilogia

Paella - a perfect easy dish for entertaining a large crowd.  It's delicious, cooked all in one pot, can be basically made right before people arrive and stays warm in the oven, can be made with any meats or veggies you desire, and looks pretty impressive too.

Tonight's Chicken Chorizo version:
1 pound of Bomba Rice (special spanish rice)
12 chicken drumsticks
3 spicy chorizo sausages, sliced
1 cup of wine
2 1/2 cups of hot water
2 tablespoons of hot smoked paprika
1 pinch of saffron
1 onion diced
1/4 cup of diced roasted red peppers
1 1/2 cups of frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large roasting pan on the stove at medium-high heat, put a glug of olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, and add the chicken until all sides are browned.  Take the chicken out and put aside.  Add the onion and chorizo and cook until onions are tender, about 4 minutes.  Stir in paprika, then roasted red peppers, then tomato paste and finally crumble in the saffron threads.  When everything is dissolved, pour in the rice.  Add the wine, and stir it all continuously until the wine is absorbed.  Add the water, bring to a boil, stir in the peas, and then add the drumsticks to the dish in a pretty presentation, and put the whole dish into the oven for 30 minutes.  Voila.

For this pairing, we decided to go with a fantastic Spanish red, a blend of old vine, organic Monastrell and Tempranillo. The 2008 Bodegas Los Frailes "BILOGIA" from DO Valencia.

This winery is located in Valencia (southern Spain) just off the coast of the Mediterranean sea, and high in the hills at over 600 metres above sea level. Valencia creates warm days and cool nights which is optimal for a slow and long ripening period. This lengthy period will produce grapes with great balance and complexity. It boasts nice fruit aromas of blackberry, currant, grilled plum and spices with a bit of really nice earth tones. It is medium to full bodied with nice firm tannins.
Availability:  Delivered to you door in 48 hours. $18.95/btls (Case of 12 x 750ml) +HST.

dinner is served.

bon appétit.