Original Post
I am never making paella again.
This is what I get for having Delusions of Domesticity, I call them.
A friend of mine, a newlywed, called me from the store to get my advice about basil. I should change the name of my blog, I thought. WRONG.
I was so out of sorts today that I cut my onion wrong and had to dice it the long way. And why has no one ever told me how long it takes to peel the casing off of chorizo? It took me so long that I burned my chicken stock. I decided to make new, flavorful chicken stock out of burnt chicken stock, and scraped off the little bits to incorporate them.
Then, I finally got my casings peeled. (Most of them. I hope JT doesn't die from a little casing that might have slipped in there.) I added the chicken stock, and it absorbed nicely, but when it was finished cooking, I peeled back the layer of aluminum foil and was bit by a shark.
"Easy Paella," Ingrid Hoffman told me in her adorable little accent as she picked up her thongs (she can't say it right).
Easy Paella never burnt someone's thumb so much she wanted to cry.
The next morning...
The paella turned out great, so I forgive it. A little. I served it with a makeshift version of MckMama's Texas Caviar and some red wine JT picked up. We're house sitting for my parents, who are in Italy, (I know! Not fair!) and they didn't have anything for salad, so I rinsed and tossed a can each of diced tomatoes, garbanzo beans, black beans, and two cans of corn into a bowl with some salt and Italian dressing, and we ate it with organic corn chips. YUM!
I have an angry red welt on my thumb that might blister. Note to self (and you): even if the foil isn't hot, the steam beneath is scorching! My skark was at home, so all I had were some flimsy cloth potholders. Lesson learned.
So maybe I will make paella again, give it a second chance. But does anyone have any tips on peeling sausage casings to prevent a 20-minute fiasco?
I have an angry red welt on my thumb that might blister. Note to self (and you): even if the foil isn't hot, the steam beneath is scorching! My skark was at home, so all I had were some flimsy cloth potholders. Lesson learned.
So maybe I will make paella again, give it a second chance. But does anyone have any tips on peeling sausage casings to prevent a 20-minute fiasco?
I thought chorizo was soft enough that you could cut off one end and squeeze it out but twisting/smashing the other, but perhaps not. Most of the sausage I buy in casings I just slit lengthwise with a sharp knife and peel it back with my hands. Bummer about the burn--I know how badly those hurt, and have a rather large new scar to prove it! Great idea for the dip--all it lacked was tomatoes and avocado to be black bean salsa!
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