Seafood Paella

We finally made Paella! I've been meaning to make paella for a long time now and haven't had the occasion or the excuse to feed that many people. When the roommate bought special paella rice and saffron, I new it was in the works. We used the Trader Joe's seafood mix in the freezer section and it worked out really well. Chicken, peas, and peppers also accompanied our Paella and in the end we had a fabulous Spanish feast. I made arugula with lemon Parmesan vinaigrette inspired by my two favorite food bloggers Alanna and Alex and their blog Two Fat Als. The Paella is also from their site:
Paella Recipe

We modified it slightly but really you can add to this dish anything you have lying around. It is meant to be a dish that can take on many flavors and feed lots of people. Feliz Cocinando!(maybe too much of a literal translation but you get my drift)

Maryland Crabcakes

I've been craving true Maryland style crabcakes for a LONG time. After going to school in Berkeley for 4 years, I've discovered that the Bay Area does not know how to make those lovely crab filled lumps of luscious goodness. All I get in San Francisco are highly breaded discs that taste like fried cornmeal. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Even the Maryland style recipes from Gourmet and Bon Appetit didn't impress me. I made my own Maryland style recipe and they turned out perfectly. I can't stress enough the minimalist approach when it comes to crabcakes. I also never put mayonnaise in my cake. It loads the cake down too much. Here is my recipe and I highly recommend it, especially for you bay area folk who have never had a truly divine crabcake.

Maryland Crabcakes

16 oz jumbo lump crabmeat
juice of a lemon
four scallions
1 egg
bunch of parsley
a lot of shakes of Old Bay
salt and pepper to taste
Tbs olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Make sure there is no shell in the crabmeat. Put olive oil in a non-stick pan. I used a stainless steel pan and they stuck, so I highly recommend non-stick. Form the crabmeat into a ball, place on the pan and press down with a spatula. Use the spatula to keep the shape of the cake. Cook the cake until brown on the bottom, about 5-7 minutes. Flip over and brown on other side. Serve with lemon. Other people like to serve the cakes with garlic aioli but I really like just lemon.