December 26, 2019 Lunch – Paella. Dinner – Tortilla with Serrano ham a la Mornay Sauce and salad

The day after a big party we usually eat leftovers and make dishes with the PPIs.  Today was no exception.

Also, beginning with this day’s blog I am inserting recipes from the internet rather than photos of our recipes when the internet recipe is similar, because I think it is easier to read a printed recipe.  I will explain the adjustments we made to each recipe so you will still have a complete recipe of what we cooked.

Suzette left 1/3 of a cup of coffee with steamed milk when she left for work.  I added a single serving bag of hot chocolate and enough hot water to fill the cup and enjoyed a coffee hot chocolate for breakfast.

Then at noon I heated a cup of mulled wine and a bowl of PPI seafood paella.  It was delicious.  This was the best paella we have ever made.  The best.

Here is a Simply recipe similar to the one we used, except we prepared our dish in three separate steps and then combined the three preparations in one large roasting pan for the final bake. We first steamed our shellfish in a medium of butter, white wine and water. Second, we used the poaching medium to cook the rice with Knorr dehydrated tomato and chicken stock and saffron instead of tomatoes and sofrito.  Third, we sautéed 1 1/2 lb. of chorizo with 15 oz. of canned diced Spanish pimiento.  Finally on the 24th, Suzette combined all three preparations into one large roasting pan and baked it covered in the oven.  We used 5 lb. each of mussels and 5 lb. of
Manila clams, a 15 oz. can of Spanish pimiento, 3 lb. of shrimp and apparently the same 2.2 lb. bag of Bomba rice, but made 30 servings of paella.

Prep time: 30 minutesCook time: 35 minutesYield: 6 servings
If you have trouble finding Spanish chorizo, substitute another kind of cooked sausage along with 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika (for the smoky flavor).
No grill? Cook this inside! Cook the paella through step 6 on top of the stove. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the seafood (step 7), cover the pan tightly with foil and finish cooking in the oven for 6 to 10 minutes or until the rice and shrimp are both cooked through and the mussels and clams are open. Check to see if the bottom has browned and, if not, set the pan over medium heat for a minute or two to allow the bottom layer of rice to caramelize.
INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 cups seafood stock
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled and then loosely measured
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 Sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
15 oz. can of pimiento finely chopped
10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
24 ounces mild dried chorizo sausage, sliced into thin half-moons (See Recipe Note)
3 cups short-grain rice, such as Spanish Bomba rice
3 T. of Knorr dehydrated Tomato in chicken stock
1 lb. of  frozen green peas
3 pound large (21-24 per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails left on
5 pound mussels, rinsed and scrubbed
5 pound Manila clams, rinsed and scrubbed

                                                Here is the paella we served at the party

I

Here is the PPI paella I ate today

After lunch I watched Liverpool beat my new favorite PL team Leicester, 4 to 0, which saddened me a bit.  But then I checked the Market and found out there was a pretty fair gain in my portfolio, reaching a new all time high.

At 4:00 I went to meditate until 5:00

When I returned home Suzette and I both agreed instantly on the dish we wanted to make for dinner, we sliced the tortilla Espanol in half and stuffed it with slices of Serrano ham.  We heated the ¼ wedge of tortilla in the microwave and doused it with Mornay sauce made with a flour and butter roux plus milk and grated Manchego cheese.

Here is a recipe from the Food Network:

Ingredients
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups warmed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
2 ounces grated cheese, such as Gruyere. We used Manchego.

 

Here is my dinner 

                                                   Here is the finished Tortilla Espanol

 

Here is 1/4 of the tortilla like what  we cooked tonight 

Here is the 1/4  we cooked with the Mornay sauce

 The dish was delicious but very heavy, so 1/8 slice each of tortilla plus PPI salad was a full dinner.

We opened the bottle of 2018 Kellermeister Privat Gruner Vitliner produced by Kramer Goldberg in Kremstal, Austria .  This was the real deal Gruner Vitliner and Suzette loved it. I have mixed feeling about it . I seemed a bit too sweet and heavy for me but did have lots of acidity also.

Here is some information on the Kremstal DAC.

KREMSTAL DAC

The 2,368 hectares of vineyards in Kremstal are divided into three different zones, starting with rocky soils in the original Krems River valley and the historic town of Krems, along with the municipality of Stein that adjoins the Wachau in the west, then moving on to the deep loess east of Krems, and finally the southern bank of the Danube opposite Krems, around the magnificent abbey Stift Göttweig. 

© AWMB

THE WINE

Since 2007  Kremstal DAC stands for spicy Grüne Veltliner and elegant, mineral Riesling wines which are marketed either in a fresh, classical style or as powerful reserve wines. The cellars of many wineries in the Kremstal Valley evidence the tradition of great wines over decades. Kremstal DAC wines with the addition "Reserve" display ripe aromas, density on the palate and often a long and smooth finish. The Grüner Veltliner is the major grape variety in the KremstalValley. It thrives on mighty loess terraces as well as on steep primary rock slopes. Many famous single vineyards produce individual, characteristic wines such as Pfaffenberg, Kögl, Wachtberg, Sandgrube, Pellingen, Gebling, Spiegel or Steinbühel. Especially the challenging Riesling – the second grape variety of the  Kremstal DAC – expressively mirrors the characteristics of these single vineyards.

THE REGION

The 2.368 hectares of vineyards in Kremstal are divided into three different zones: the original Kremstal Valley and the historic town of Krems along with "Stein" which directly joins the Wachauregion in the west, the mighty loess massifs in the east and the small wine villages south of the Danube below the monumental Stift Göttweig monastery. With its young and successful winegrowers, an economically very successful cooperative and a state-of-the-art viticultural college, the old (wine) cultural city of Krems sets dynamic trends. Well-known winegrowing villages in the vicinity include Krustetten and Furth south of the Danube, Gedersdorf, Rohrendorf, Senftenberg and Stratzing north of the Danube.

Two types of soil dominate the Kremstal: loess over a very compact sub-soil with high water storage capacity, ideal for the Grüner Veltliner, as well as primary rock soils perfectly suited for the cultivation of Riesling wines. The deep river valley is well protected against cool winds from the north while Pannonian climatic influences from the east are still markedly felt. Thus the Kremstal– although further in the west as for example the Kamptal Valley – benefits from warmer airstreams generally resulting in ripe and aromatic wines. Quite naturally other grape varieties have also proved successful for a long time and have conquered their place within the grape variety spectrum of the region. 

Later, Suzette ate some of the ice cream her brother Jeff, send us for dessert and I ate a few spoonfuls of the pouring custard I made for the chocolate dessert.

 Later I joined her and sipped some of the fresh limoncello she made just before Christmas over crushed ice.  The limoncello may have been the most memorable part of a memorable meal.  It was both powerfully alcoholic and lemony at the same time. Here is our recipe.  I peeled the yellow outer portion of about a dozen lemons without getting any of the white pith.  Suzette put it in a jar with about 2 ½ quarts of grain alcohol for thirty days in the cellar, which infused the alcohol with the flavor of the lemon peel.  A few days before Christmas Suzette drained the alcohol into a large pot and added a simple syrup to make the final limoncello.  We then bottled the limoncello in quart bottles that Suzette labelled.  The result was a fresher, more alcoholic drink than what you can buy at about ½ the cost.

Suzette used a recipe that utilized grain alcohol, but here is a similar recipe using Everclesr.

Limoncello Recipe with Everclear
Fresh and sweet, easy to do summertime cocktail.
 Prep Time 40 minutes
 Servings 7 cups
 Author Ventura Limoncello
Ingredients
10 lemons organic
1 750 ml Everclear
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar

Instructions
Wash the lemons thoroughly to remove dirt. You can use a brush if necessary.
Peel lemons and remove the pith.
In a large, sealable container, place the zest and pour Everclear.
Let the lemons steep in Everclear for 4 weeks.
After 4 weeks, prepare sugar and water and cook in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil by stirring it regularly. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Let syrup cool.
Strain the jar to remove the lemon zest. Add the syrup.
Transfer in bottles and chill in freezer.
Serve in a chilled glass. Enjoy.

The Process

Here is the process of creating a lemon home infusion- Limoncello with Everclear.

“The process starts with first, peeling the zest into long strips from 10 lemons. It is important to use organic lemons because it does not give off a waxy residue. Next, remove the pith so that the final product will not become bitter. To do this, lay the zest pith-side up, then carefully scrape away the pith with a sharp knife.

Next, place the lemon zest in a jar and pour 750 ml of Everclear. The alcohol content of Everclear has the greatest extraction capability compared with other liquors. Leave the zest to soak in alcohol for 4 to 6 weeks.  It must be remembered that the jar is kept in a cool, dry and dark place. Another key point is to not refrigerate the mixture. Additionally, do not forget to shake the jar occasionally to let the ingredients incorporate. As a matter of fact, the longer the zest is soaked, the better Everclear absorbs the flavor.


Limoncello with Everclear

Second phase

After 6 weeks, the zest is strained from the spirit. Set aside the mixture. Next, make a simple syrup by combining 3 1/2 cups of water and 2 1/2 cups of sugar in a pot. Then bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until sugar is dissolved. After it has boiled, remove the pot from heat and allow to cool. The syrup should be at room temperature. Lastly, pour the simple sugar to the mixture and stir. It is important to note that when the spirit is mixed with simple syrup, the mixture becomes cloudy.

The final step is to put limoncello in bottles. This process should have been done beforehand. Prepare 750ml bottles, thoroughly washed, sanitized. By the time the limoncello is ready, the bottles should be already dry before filling.  Now, fill each bottle until 1 or 2 inches from the top. Use a funnel and a ladle to make sure that it will be mess free. Lastly, if there’s any mixture remaining, you can enjoy it for yourself. Pour it over ice and wait for it to mellow. You will notice that the drink is definitely smoother when it has mellowed.

Storage

Limoncello is always best when served chilled so it is important to store your limoncello in the freezer. The high alcohol content in the limoncello will not cause it to freeze. You can always enjoy a chilled bottle of Limoncello Recipe with Everclear after a meal or just having a good time with your special friends. Remember to chill the glass too, before serving limoncello, for an ultimately authentic experience.

Here is a photo of one of our bottle  of limoncello

Bon Appetit