RE-discover. RE- kindle. Re- Purpose, past food STUFF
Back in 2003 or so, this was on The Redwood Room menu. You probably don't remember, but I do. Because…
A "comrade" wished for mangy aardvarks to sniffle termites from my grave.
My Comrade (maybe).
PAELLA
His name was Jimmy Schmids (I think). The scrawled note he sent me came stapled together with 3 pages. These were copies from the American College of Physicians titled Hepatic Injury in 12 Patients Taking Herbal Weight Loss Aids Chaso or Onshindo.
So many questions.
So weird got weirder.
How did this come about? It started with Bobby Flay's Boy Meets Grill Cookbook. Which btw I cannot find anywhere in my house. Jimmy must have somehow gotten to it.
Before the days of ZZest I was tasked with looking into new menu items for our (at the time) restaurants. City Cafe, Broadstreet Cafe, and The Redwood Room. I was working on The Redwood Room. My process was this. I dug through hundreds of cookbooks and found many recipes I thought would be what I referred to as “restaurant worthy”. These recipes needed to be recreated in a restaurant kitchen, so there were tweaks. Those tweaks were often significant enough to now become our own recipes, so to speak. I suspect some would argue, but I don't know, email me if you disagree. You’ll soon learn I can get over complaints. Or can I?
It was Bobby Flays Grilled Paella.
I made this Paella several times at home, and it was a huge hit. I mostly loved it because it was EASY. And had chicken, seafood, and sausage with the un-Spanish like addition of asparagus and Roma tomatoes thrown in. There was something for everyone in one dish. I scaled back several things like the lobster tail and the Cascabel Chile Butter. I always used shrimp, scallops, and mussels if I could find good ones, and chicken thighs. I'm not sure how authentic the chorizo was, but at the time, the RWR happened to have it.
I've been thinking so much about this recipe because I am making it for the two JZ's in my life's birthday dinner. I'll report back but I expect nothing but raves.
So, either I was talked into or thought on my own about how great this dish would be on The Redwood Room menu. I took the recipe with my tweaks and started working with the chefs on what was possible from their end. It was a challenging item to come out of the kitchen. Chicken thighs cook much longer than shrimp on a grill. So, in the end, it was not on the menu for long. Though later, Shrimp and Chorizo Skewers with Lemon Aioli became part of the appetizer menu for probably longer than they should have been. They were good, but a menu needs to evolve.
Anyway, during its short stay on the RWR menu, Jimmy Schnids came in and ordered it. He was so appalled by it he unleashed his dissatisfaction in a scrawled note. This is what I deciphered.
Dear Comrade,
You must fancy yourself as an armchair Alexander, a moulder of civilization but don't have the time for Gordian knots or conquering the known world because you tried to invent a new way to do an ancient dish, Paella, from Spain. Let me learn you, the Gordian option would have been easier. May mangy aardvarks sniffle termites from the bowels of your unmarked grave if you try that one again. It didn't work. The service and ambiance was great, but grilled seafood on the side of creamy rice— I don't think so. I'll be back next year this time, so I'll see you then.
All the best
Jimmy Schnids
Termites from the bowels of my unmarked grave…
There were also several pages from the Wallstreet Journal Weekend in my envelope. The article I was supposed to read was titled The Food Geek, and he wrote Guess Who? next to the photo. But the article or anyone mentioned in the article was not written by or included a Jimmy Schnids.
Jimmy is that you?
It still remains a mystery who my comrade was.
I got a kick out of it obviously, I’ve kept it all this time. It definitely put me in my place. But, quite honestly, my tenure as a consulting Chef *cough* was terminated not long after that. Yeah… another story another day.
So Bobby's Grilled Paella is not restaurant worthy. I actually knew that before my comrade pointed it out.
As mentioned, I can't find my Boy Meets Grill Cookbook, and I can not find that recipe online. Maybe Jimmy got ahold of Bobby, too, because since then, Bobby’s Paella recipes are much more authentic. However, in 2008 on Beat Bobby Flay, Bobby lost to the Prince of Paella, Gerard Nebesky. Check out Geralds’s recipe here.
Also, note there's a reference to Paella Police! Perhaps Jimmy is still out there.
I downloaded a kindle version of Boy Meets Grill. Working with that I got it copied here for you. Give it a read through. It’s long but super easy. My notes are on it, so… maybe that makes it mine?! Probably not. The kindle version is only $3.99; and there are lot of great grilling recipes! Maybe go grab it.
May you enjoy it as much as my family has over the years, and may an aardvark never cross your grave.
Side note: After re-reading the NYT article, there is a reference to a college student in St. Paul, MN. “Ashlee Olds was investing in science-oriented cookbooks”. At ZZest I carried Sweet Science Ice Cream. It was killer and is available today in several locations in the cities! As it turns out Ashlee was thinking Food Science, enough so the NYT made note. A few years later Ashlee Olds started Sweet Science Ice Cream! Whoa.
Ashlee Olds IS Sweet Science Ice Cream!
Bobby’s Grilled Paella
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
Paella is a magnificent dish for feeding a lot of people. You can grill all the ingredients ahead of time and cook the saffron rice ahead, as well. When the guests arrive, heat abig, sturdy pan on top of the grill and put the rice in therewith the grilled fish and chicken, add the Lemon Aioli, and mix them all together. Season it up, get it nice and hot, and serve it-boom-from the grill to the table.
Organization is crucial to this dish!For preparing all components of the recipe, except theLemon Aioli, preheat the grill, side burner, or stove to medium high.
I don’t mix the aioli into the rice I serve it on the side so it can be dollop on at the very end.
FOR THE LEMON AIOLI:
1 cup good quality mayonnaise
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped lemon zest
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine the mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Maybe refrigerated for 1 day.
Makes 1 cup.
FOR THE RICE:
I don’t add the chorizo at this point. The brand I like an available at the Co-Op is Palacios and it will get too tough if its’cooked that long. I peel the casing and slice thin, adding at the end. Also, I could have sworn he originally asked for Aborio rice. I’ve used it before and of course Paella rice if you can find it.
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound chorizo, thinly sliced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 cups converted white rice
1 tablespoon saffron threads
8 cups water
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
On the gas or charcoal grill, or the side burner (or stove),
heat the oil in a large saucepan until almost smoking and cook the chorizo until browned and the fat has rendered.Remove the chorizo to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat, add the onions to the pan, and cook until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until coated with the oil.
Combine the saffron and the water, let sit 1 minute,and add to the rice. Add the chorizo, season with salt and
pepper, stir, cover, and cook until the rice is al dente, 12 to 15 minutes.
FOR THE CHICKEN:
8 chicken thighs
Olive oil for brushing
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Brush the chicken thighs on both sides with olive oiland season with salt and pepper. On a gas or charcoal
grill, cook the chicken skin-side down until golden brown,about 5 minutes. Turn over and continue cooking for 6
minutes; turn again and grill until cooked through, anadditional 4 minutes.
FOR THE MUSSELS AND CLAMS:
16 littleneck clams, scrubbed
24 cultivated mussels, cleaned (cultivated mussels don't have to be debearded)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Any mussels I have gotten need to be debearded and I generally don’t use clams only because I wonder how long thy have been in the local seafood case.
On the gas or charcoal grill, or the side burner (or stove),
heat 1 inch of water in a large stockpot until simmering. I use white wine and a bit of minced garlic . Also I cook the mussels and the rice on the stove.
Add the clams, cover, and cook 4 minutes. Add themussels, cover, and cook an additional 6 to 7 minutes,
until the clams and mussels have opened, discarding anythat do not open.
Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and keep covered.
FOR THE SEA SCALLOPS AND SHRIMP:
8 large sea scallops
8 large shrimp
¼ cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Brush the scallops and shrimp with olive oil on both sidesand season with salt and pepper. On the gas or charcoal
grill, cook them until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
FOR THE LOBSTER: I skip
2 whole lobsters, about 1½ pounds each, steamed
and split in half
(see Whole Lobster Smothered inCascabel Chile Butter, here)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Remove the lobster claws, pull or cut off the tails and
cut in half lengthwise, and discard the bodies. Brush the
lobster pieces on both sides with olive oil and season with
salt and pepper. Grill for 3 minutes on the flesh side; turn and grill for 1 minute.
Email me if you want this part lol
FOR THE GRILLED VEGETABLES:
32 asparagus spears, trimmed
8 ripe plum tomatoes, halved
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Brush the asparagus and tomatoes with olive oil and honey and season with salt and pepper. Grill until marked
but not cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
TO ASSEMBLE THE PAELLA:
½ cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Add the chicken, mussels, clams, scallops, shrimp, lobster, and vegetables to the rice.
I don’t do the instructions below. I serve the aioli on the side so it can be dollop on at the very end.
Fold in the Lemon Aioli and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat on the grill orside burner (or stove) for 5 minutes to allow the flavorsto meld. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon onto a largeplatter and garnish with chopped parsley.