If you dont already know, I love Paella (see a Previous post about it here). So why not learn to make it. I took a local class, and it was 3 hours of fun, followed by a Paella feast! Here was our product on the burner, almost finished.

We also learned a roasted red pepper appetizer. The technique was to roast the red pepper until it gets charred black all around, then stick it in a plastic bag for 20 minutes, then peel he black char off. This technique was new to me. The resulting pepper was very soft and flavorful. For maximum Spanish effect, serve with manchego cheese and Spanish, not Italian, olive oil.

OK back to the Paella. Its basically fancy Arroz Con Pollo, if you've ever had that. Chicken and rice. plus seafood and whatever else you want to throw in. Here it is simmering with the chicken just put in. The chicken should be browned in oil ahead of time, and reinsterted into the paella at just the right time.

For dessert, just a little flan. Our chef teacher was the self proclaimed flan queen! Her training was actually as a pastry chef. Wine pairing: Rioja, obviously. However...we didnt. We cheated and had a Californian Sauvignon Blanc with the meal, becuase we drank all the Rioja WHILE COOKING! lol...