Nancy you should be able to make a paella in your own home and transport it safely without worry as long as you wrap it well in foil and then a couple of large towels. I've been to several dinner parties where the Spanish catering service brought the paellas from their kitchen to the house where the party was held. They were served immediately and were still hot and delicious:

Just be careful that they are held upright so the juice doesn't dribble out in transport. Good Luck!

SharonCb

Oops....here's a good recipe:

PAELLA
************

Ingredients:

1 dozen clams or mussels
1/2 kilo/1 lb prawns
1 small chicken cut up
200 grams / 7 oz boneless pork
75 ml/ 2 1/2 fl oz olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, minced
2 green peppers
1 squid (about 300 gr/10 oz)
2 large tomatoes, peeled
1/2 kilo/1lb short grain rice
1 1/4 litres/2 1/4 pints hot liquid
1/2 teasp saffron (1/2 gr)
10 peppercorns
1/2 teasp sweet paprika
2 teasp salt
1 small tin red pimento
100 gr/3 1/2 oz cooked peas

1. Scrub the clams or mussels and steam them open. Black mussel shells with their creamy-orange flesh are especially attractive. Remove a half shell and discard, reserving shellfish on one shell. Strain and reserve the liquid.

2. Peel the prawns, saving several, unpeeled, for garnish. Cook the unpeeled ones in a little water and set aside. Prawn shells can be boiled in water for 15 minutes, then strained, and the liquid reserved for cooking the rice.

3. Cut the chicken into very small serving pieces. Typically in Spain it would be hacked into tiny pieces for quick cooking, which unfortunately makes for bone splinters. If desired, wings, back and neck can be cooked separately for stock. Cut the pork into small cubes.

4. In the paella pan heat half the oil and in it toast the garlic and bay-leaf. Remove and set aside.

5. In the same oil, slowly brown the chicken pieces with the pork. The chicken should be half-cooked in the browning process.

6. Now add the minced onion, and green pepper cut in strips to the oil. Sauta few minutes.

7. Add the pieces of cleaned squid and fry for several minutes.

8. Add the chopped tomatoes and raise the heat to high so that they 'fry' in the oil. Add remaining oil at this point and heat well.

9. Combine the reserved cooking liquids - prawn, mussel and chicken - plus water. You should have approximately double the volume of liquid to rice, i.e., 2 cups rice, 4 cups liquid. Add the liquid to the paella pan and cook on a high heat.

10. In a mortar or teacup crush the saffron, peppercorns, paprika, garlic, bay-leaf and salt. Dilute with a little liquid from the pan, or in a little white wine, and add to the paella. Stir it in well. Cook on a medium heat until chicken is partially cooked. 5 minutes. Add the peeled prawns.

11. Add the rice to the boiling liquid in the pan and stir it to distribute evenly. (Or, add rice to the pan first and then add boiling liquid.)

12. Cook for a few minutes at high heat, then turn the heat down and let the paella continue cooking. Shake the pan occasionally, but do not stir the rice, as this breaks the grains. The rice will crust slightly on the bottom, but should not scorch. Add a little more liquid into the centre as necessary.

13. Decorate the top with the reserved clams and mussels on the half shell, cooked, unpeeled prawns, strips of red pimento and cooked peas.

14. Remove the paella from the heat when all the liquid is absorbed and rice still slightly resistant. Let it sit 5 - 10 minutes before serving. (You may place it in a very low oven for 10 minutes.) Serve the paella with quartered lemons as garnish.

Source: 'The Best of Spanish Cooking'
Janet Mendel
Fuengirola, Spain.

SharonCb

Oh, My, Sharon. Thank you so much. Does the recipe you posted go with that fantastic photo? If so, I definitely need to make it. Do you think I can substitute chorizo for the pork in your recipe?

Nancy

SharonCB you MUST STOP posting food pictures! That Paella is fantastic.

Nancy, you'll be able to make the jambalaya at home & transport it easily as well. I think that paella is a little more special for a b'day dinner but maybe that's because I don't make it nearly as often as I make jambalaya ;-).

If you make your jambalaya in a cast iron pot (please do) then it can easily go from stove (to towels & a box so nobody gets burned) to your mom's with the lid on & be the perfect temp when you arrive. A cast iron dutch oven seems to keep the jambalaya at a good eatin' temp for hours as long as it's kept covered.

If it was me & I was making the Jambalaya, I'd steam the mussels for an appetizer and make this killer chicken & sausage Jambalaya (tried & tested again and again and again...)

Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional) or to taste
1 lb andouille or chorizo, sliced & chopped
1 1/2 lbs white and/or dark meat chicken (uncooked), chopped
3 cups basmati or jasmine rice
6 cups chicken stock
3 bay leaves

Heat a cast iron pot over med-low heat. Add flour & oil &, stirring constantly, make a dark brown roux (the darker the roux the deeper the flavor).

Add the onions, peppers & garlic along with a pinch of the pepper & 1/2 tsp of the salt & cook (stirring) until the vegetables are carmelized & dark brown.

Add the sausage & cook (stirring occasionally) until crisp & browned.

Season chicken with remaining salt, pepper & cayanne & add to pot. Cook until chicken is browned.

Add the rice & stir until it's mixed in with the other ingredient & coated with whatever else is in the pot (about 1 minute).

Add stock & bay leaves, stir once so that everything's mixed.

Cover the pot & let simmer for 1/2 hour.

Remove bay leaves & serve. May be garnished with chopped scallions if desired but I never do.

Believe me, I know what you mean about preferring to cook in your own kitchen. When I cook at my mom's I need to bring everything from a meat thermometer to a sharp knife!

Let us know how everything turns out!

Nina

This is the one that I've made in the past to serve at dinner parties.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Paella A La Valenciana
======================
From:Penelope Casas: The Foods and Wines of Spain.
Chicken and Seafood Paella

6 cups very strong chicken broth, preferably homemade
1/2 teaspoon saffron
1 small onion peeled
2 small chicken or chicken pieces
salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 pound Chorizo sauces cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 large pork chop, boned and diced
1/4 pound piece of cured ham, diced
1 medium onion chopped
4 green onions chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pimientos, homemade or bottled, diced
1 pound small or medium shrimp shelled
2 small lobsters, divided into tail sections and claws
or 4 lobster tails, split lengthwise, or 8 king crab claws or 8 jumbo shrimp in their shells
3 cups short-grain rice
5 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 pound fresh or frozen peas
18 clams, cleaned
18 mussels, srubbed
Lemon Wedges for garnish
Chopped Parsley for Garnish
. Heat the broth with the saffron and the whole onion. Cover and simmer
15 minutes.

Remove onion from broth - you neeed exactly 5 1/2 cups of broth.

Cut chicken into small serving pieces - whole breasts cut into 4 parts
and each thigh into 2 parts, the bony tip of the leg chopped off, the
wing tip discarded and the rest of the wings separated into two parts.
Dry pieces well and sprinkle with salt. In a metal paella pan, with
about a 15 inch base, heat the oil. Add the chicken pieces and fry over
high heat until golden. Remove to a warm platter. Add the chorizo,
pork and ham to the pan and stir fry about 10 minutes. Add the chopped
oinion, green onions, garlic and pimientos and saute until the onion is
wilted. Add the srimp and teh lobster and saute about 3 mintues more,
or until the shrimp and lobster barely turn pink (the lobsters will
cook more in the oven). Remove the shrimp and the lobster to the
platter with the chicken. Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat it
well with the oil. Sprinkle in the 5 tablespoons chopped parsley and
the crumbled bay leaves. (Make in advance up to this point).

Stir in the chicken broth, boiling hot, the wine, lemon juice and peas.
Salt to taste. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered and stirring
occasionally, over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. Bury the
shrimp and the chicken in the rice. Add the clams and the mussels,
pusing them into the rice with the edge that will open facing up.
Decorate the paella with the lobster pieces, then bake at 325°F
uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit on top of
the stove, lightly covered with foil for about 10 minutes. To serve ,
decorate with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.

Nina and Ann, thank you! Nina, I am going to make that Jambalaya for the next more casual dinner I host. Sounds delish. Ann, your recipe looks incredible too. I couldn't find it in your pdf book though. I want to try it, but it seems expensive on my reduced budget with lobster. I guess I could omit that. What do you think of this recipe I just found on a website selling Paella pans (which I don't have, unfortunately)? It seems to be lacking without any chicken or chorizo. And I'm sure I'd have triple it at the least.

I will probably cook whatever recipe I end up choosing in my Calphalon 7 qt pot...that has a large enough bottom that it might work - it's 11" diameter. Or would my 12" Calphalon wok be better?

Seafood Paella
Serves four (ideal for a 13- or 14-inch paella pan).

This paella is good when served with lemon wedges, but it's even better when spread with a bit of alioli, a garlic mayonnaise that is the Spanish version of the French aioli. To make alioli, add a few cloves of chopped garlic and a large pinch of salt to a mini-food processor (or a mortar), process (or pound with a pestle) until very fine, and then slowly drizzle in olive oil to make a thick, mayonnaise-like consistency. Add lemon juice to taste, and process again.

1/3 lb. shrimp, peeled (reserve the shells for broth)
Pinch of saffron threads
Salt to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 lb. scallops (or calamari, cut in rings)
1/2 onion, grated on the largest holes of a box grater
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 ripe tomato, halved and grated on the largest holes of a box grater (discard the skin)
1 1/2 cups medium grain rice
8 small mussels or clams (1/2 lb.), scrubbed
1 lemon, cut in wedges for garnish
In a medium saucepan, boil 3 1/2 cups of salted water. Add the shrimp shells and simmer, covered, for about 10 min. Strain the broth, and return it to the saucepan. Toast the saffron gently (in a dry skillet or toaster oven), crush the threads with the back of a spoon, and add to the shrimp shell broth. Taste for salt; the broth should be well-seasoned.

In a 14-inch paella pan, heat the oil on high. Meanwhile, pat dry the shrimp and scallops (or calamari). When the oil is hot, sauté the shrimp and scallops until almost cooked through, about 2 min. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Pour out all but 1 Tbs. of oil from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion softens, about 5 min. Add the tomato, season with salt, and sauté until the mixture, called the sofrito, has darkened and is a thick purée, 10 to 15 min.

Meanwhile, bring the shrimp shell broth back to a simmer. When the tomato-onion sofrito is ready, add the rice to the pan. Sauté until the rice loses its opaqueness, about 1 min. Increase the heat to medium-high. Pour in 3 cups of the simmering broth (reserving the remaining 1/2 cup) and stir or shake the pan to evenly distribute the rice in the pan. As the liquid comes to a boil, arrange the mussels or clams in the pan, submerging them as much as possible below the level of the liquid. From this point on, do not stir the rice.

Cook the paella on medium-high, rotating and moving the pan over one or two burners to distribute the heat. When the rice begins to appear above the liquid, after 8 to 10 min., reduce the heat to medium low. Continue to simmer, rotating the pan as necessary, until the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 min. more. Taste a grain of rice just below the top layer; it should be al dente. (If the rice is not done but all the liquid has been absorbed, sprinkle a bit of hot broth to the pan and cook a few minutes more.) Arrange the shrimp and scallops (or calamari) in the pan.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and cook gently for another 2 min. to help ensure that the top layer of rice is evenly cooked. With the foil still in place, increase the heat to medium-high and, rotating the pan, cook for about 2 min., until the bottom layer of rice starts to caramelize, creating the socarrat. The rice may crackle somewhat, but if it starts burning, remove the pan from the heat immediately.

Let the paella rest off the heat, still covered, for 5 min. Sit everyone down at a round or square table. Remove the foil and invite people to eat directly from the pan, starting at the perimeter, working toward the center, and squeezing lemon over their section, if they want.

Nancy the paella in the photo was catered by a restaurant known here for their good paellas and I guess there would be some differences in the ingredients or quantities of the recipe in included.....(more prawns for example) but I would say the recipe is very typical of seafood paellas that I've seen here in Spain. There are dozens of variations according to the cook and his customs, but the ones I've had usually include a bit of pork, a bit of chicken, prawns or shrimp, mussels, sometimes bits of fish and the other ingredients mentioned.

I wouldn't try to make a paella in a pot or wok though. The rice and liquid have to be spread out across the width of the paella pan, which is never deep, and the slight crustiness which develops on the bottom just as the paella is ready would never be possible in a deep pan or wok.

You may want to have a look at this You Tube video which shows part of the cooking of a paella. It ends before the rice and broth has reduced as much as it should but you get an idea of how it should look while cooking.

SharonCb

Here is a link that might be useful: Making Paella at home

I transport hot dishes wrapped in newspaper, it's a terrific insulator, and will stay just as warm when you unwrap it as when it was put in the newspaper. Same if you need something to stay cold.
I once flew from Oregon to Los Angeles then to Hawaii with a whole frozen salmon...it was still rock hard when I arrived :)

Sharon, that Paella looks AWESOME! I sure wish we could get fresh shrimp here, it justs looks sooo authentic with the heads still attached doesn't it?

Thanks again. That video is very informative. DH bought me a 15" paella pan at the Latin Market today for $42.99. Hopefully it's good quality. Tomorrow I go seafood shopping! I think I'm going to stick with the chorizo, pick up some pork, use shrimp, mussels, clams, and calamari. Still undecided about chicken but that might be good for my kids. Sharon, is the recipe you posted for 12 people? With a pound of rice, I'm assuming it's for at least 8. Ann, how many does your recipe serve? I'm getting ready to make my chicken broth right now.

Nancy

Nancy... Janet Mendel says in her book that a 16 inch paella pan should provide 8 generous servings and I believe that is the amount for the recipe, which follows her comment about the pan in her book.

I hope you will have success and post a photo or two for us :-)

SharonCb