Pan Envy

Every cook has a go-to dish: something that can be thrown together relatively quickly, looks pretty, tastes delicious and is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Kathy’s and my shared culinary history is littered with them. They are the fail safe recipes we turn to time and time again until our husbands beg us to stop. There was the Chicken with White Wine, Proscuitto and Rosemary ladled over polenta that we made every ski trip. There was the Bobby Flay Grilled Tomato Bread Salad that wowed our summer dinner guests and repulsed our husbands. Chipotle Macaroni and Cheese has been the star at many a dinner buffet over the years. And as detailed in a previous blog post, one of us seemed to serve Café Pasqual’s Carne Asada at a dinner party almost weekly there for awhile. The recipes are so entwined in joint gatherings that we lose sight of who discovered it originally.

Then Kathy got a paella pan for Valentine’s Day. Later, a photo of her proud, smiling face posed over a steaming pan of the Valencian dish appeared on her Facebook page. Not only did she have a paella pan, I hadn’t been invited to its inauguration. A big guilt trip prompted an invite a few weeks later and a mild case of desire blossomed into full blown pan envy.




Paella meets all the requirements for the go-to meal. It’s visually stunning, impressive in presentation. Most of the prep work can be done ahead and the dish simmers stovetop while the cook relaxes with friends. The only challenge can be finding bomba rice and good Spanish chorizo locally.



I’m hoping Santa remembers to add those two ingredients to his shopping cart while he’s ordering my pan.


Mixed Paella (Paella Mixta)
Source: Saveur Magazine



30 threads saffron, crushed (a scant 1⁄2 tsp.)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs,
cut into 2" pieces
10 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper,
to taste
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 oz. dry-cured Spanish chorizo,
cut into 1⁄4"-thick coins
1 tbsp. smoked paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 dried bay leaves
3 medium tomatoes, minced
1 small onion, minced
7 cups chicken broth
2 1⁄2 cups short-grain rice,
preferably Valencia or bomba
1 9-oz. box frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
8 oz. fresh or frozen peas
3 jarred roasted red peppers,
torn into 1⁄2"-thick strips
12 mussels, cleaned and debearded



1. Put saffron and 1⁄4 cup hot water in a small bowl; let sit for 15 minutes. Season chicken and shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 16"–18" paella pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken, shrimp, and chorizo and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer shrimp to a plate, leaving meats in pan. Add paprika, garlic, bay leaves, tomatoes, and onions to pan and cook, stirring often, until onions soften, about 6 minutes. Add reserved saffron mixture and broth, season with salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.





2. Sprinkle in rice, distribute evenly with a spoon, and add artichokes, peas, and peppers. Cook, without stirring, until rice has absorbed most of the liquid, 10–12 minutes. (If your pan is larger than the burner, rotate it every two minutes so different parts are over the heat and the rice cooks evenly.) Reduce heat to low, add reserved shrimp, and nestle in mussels hinge side down; cook, without stirring, until mussels have opened and rice has absorbed the liquid and is al dente, 5–10 minutes more. Remove pan from heat, cover with aluminum foil, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

SERVES 6 – 8