First of all, I want to thank those of you who helped me with Paella recipes and support. I ended up combining the recipes that Sharon and Ann gave me, and it turned out divine. The preparation of the dinner was a bit of a comedy of errors, I'm afraid to say.

I waited to buy my seafood until yesterday morning to ensure the freshest product possible. I went to Han Ah Reum, our Korean market, because the quality is the best I can find locally. I purchased 21 count tiger shrimp for $5.99/lb, frozen cleaned squid bodies and tentacles for $6.99/2.5 lbs, little neck clams at $3.99/lb, and mussels at $2.99/lb. I also bought chicken quarters for $1.99/lb. Then I ran to BJ's and got some pork. I already had the Chorizo from a previous trip.

My two older kids have a 1/2 day, and by the time I got started in the kitchen, having decided to prepare everything at home and transport it, I had 6 or 7 kids running around in and out, due to impromptu playdates, etc. It was insane. I started with my Mixed Berries with Limoncello Marscapone. Dumped the 8 oz of Marscapone, 1.5 cups of heavy cream, 6 tbsp. of Limoncello and 1 cup plus 6 tbsp of sugar in the bowl. THEN I realized I should have only put the 6 Tbsp in the bowl and reserved the cup for the berries. Everything went into the disposal, and that hurt terribly. I'm not a food waster but I could see no way to salvage this. Started over, trying to pay more attention this time. Cut up my strawberries, and cleaned my blueberries and blackberries. In the meantime, I got started on the paella. On Thursday DH went to a Latino market and was assured that the pan he bought was a paella pan. Well, it's not. But I didn't have time at that point to go out and get a new one. This looks like a big flat-bottomed wok. Too deep for Paella. But it ended up working out.

Note: The previous night I made a very strong chicken stock (per Ann's recipe) with 4 carcasses I had saved in the freezer. It turned out beautifully. Nice thick gelatin that we strive for.

While I was browning the chicken, I began cleaning and steaming the mussels, shrimp and clams. Every last mussel and clam opened...I was so pleased. And those mussels were that perfect orange. I got confused with some of the directions...felt like a chicken with it's head cut off. I forgot to add the cut up pork to the chicken that I was browning. I added it after I had already been cooking the onions and peppers for a while. Then I ended up placing the arborio and broth (combination of the chicken stock and the broth made from steaming the seafood) in the paella pan at the same time instead of bringing the broth to a simmer and then adding the arborio. Belatedly I added the mortar and pestle mixture in Sharon's recipe. I have to say, once I added that, I could tell that I was making a paella. The aroma was absolutely divine. I forgot to add the cooked shrimp until a little later. Then I realized I forgot to cook the chorizo with the initial chicken mixture, so I sauteed that separately and added it. Really, it was ridiculous. I wanted to garnish the paella with shrimp cooked in the shell, so I steamed that in the pan I cooked the chorizo in. I forgot about it and my smoke alarms started going off. All the water had cooked out, but amazingly, the shrimp was tender and perfect.

Finally declared that it was ready to transport, so I wrapped it up when it looked like this:

I wrapped it in newspaper as suggested by Deborah, and it stayed nice and hot. I transported my clams, shrimp garnish and mussels separately.

Once I got there, and we'd begun eating appetizers (manchego cheese with guava paste, olive tapenade and tomato bruschetta, all provided by DB and DS), I wanted to add the rest of the seafood and have it warm. So my Mom put it on her cooktop with foil on top, and the next thing you know, we smell burning. *Sigh* There went the wonderful carmelized crust I was so anticipating. We removed it from the burner and popped it in the oven, which was too small for this pan to close all the way. The pan was 16" in diameter at it's widest. Anyway, I added way more shellfish than either recipe called for, because I know how my family is. This is how it looked on the table:

The chicken, surprisingly, turned out fabulous. I had worried that the squid would overcook, but it was deliciously tender. When everyone was almost done, my DS Cuban boyfriend asked where the peas were. DUH!!! I can't believe I forgot them, but the paella was good without them. There wasn't much left of the paella, perhaps two servings. DB made a spinach and tomato salad to accompany the dinner. We had 7 adults and 4 kids. The kids all had a chicken leg, but they didn't want the rice. I anticipate making this again, but I need to be more prepared. I can't remember a time when I've been such a mess in the kitchen.

So, next time you wonder what else can go wrong, remember me :-)

Nancy