re: Anyone here make a paella?

Let's do it!

UuPaella pan: John Deere disk plow blade about 36 in., not in front of me so didn't measure exactly serves well. Plug central hole with a steel bolt and grind down smooth. Smear with bacon grease and cured 24 hours in neighbor's smoke house. Just like curing cast iron pot. lid: next size down John Deere disk about 34 in. With u shaped rod welded on for handle. Beau coup heavy so need wide base and burner, must be stable. Basic crawfish boiler setup will work but with low pressure regulator instead of high pressure.
Mandatory ingredients:
Trinity
Mussels
Chaurice or chorizo or smoked sausage
Pork chopsticks
Shrimp or prawns, large, head on.
Short grain rice
Artichoke hearts and bottoms-canned won't work and can't get young ones fresh in La so must use frozen which are hard to find.
Green peas, plump, not petit pois, frozen, added at end.
Here's the downer: no substitute for fresh juicy saffron. Progress Grocery on Decatur in Nola used to sell it from a metal ornate box for a quarter for a 3 finger pinch. Very gummy and strong, and to extract flavor and color poach for 15 min in sherry or dry vermouth. Iirc, Central Groc had it also. The Canadian or Mexican versions sold in herb specialty shops is dried out and worthless, just amounts to food coloring and won't taste like paella. The stuff in jars in supermarkets is garbage, tastes like shredded paper so don't use. Don't know if Central Groc still can get it but 75 c worth probably cost over $100 in today's dollars. So to get fresh, not dried saffron, cheaper to make a flight to Spain buy a cigar box full and use sparingly for 30 years. Without it you can make a pretty good version of jambalaya in the John Deere Cajun wok. If anybody knows a shop in USA that sells it I'd love to know about it.
I guess paella and bouillabaisse might be going the way of brains, sweetbreads, red boudin, creole cream cheese, coffee made in a gregge, and the other great foods that are now not easy to find on a regular basis.

Penzey's sells three different saffrons, but is currently out of stock of one of them. I wonder if any of those might be palatable.

Penzey's Spanish Coupe Grade Saffron

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Here's the downer: no substitute for fresh juicy saffron. Progress Grocery on Decatur in Nola used to sell it from a metal ornate box for a quarter for a 3 finger pinch. Very gummy and strong, and to extract flavor and color poach for 15 min in sherry or dry vermouth. Iirc, Central Groc had it also. The Canadian or Mexican versions sold in herb specialty shops is dried out and worthless, just amounts to food coloring and won't taste like paella. The stuff in jars in supermarkets is garbage, tastes like shredded paper so don't use. Don't know if Central Groc still can get it but 75 c worth probably cost over $100 in today's dollars. So to get fresh, not dried saffron, cheaper to make a flight to Spain buy a cigar box full and use sparingly for 30 years. Without it you can make a pretty good version of jambalaya in the John Deere Cajun wok. If anybody knows a shop in USA that sells it I'd love to know about it.

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Coupe Grade Spanish Saffron

Haven't bought any saffron from here but everything I have purchased has been high quality.

How much paella can ya make with 1 g?

Totally different style of rice than what you would use in a jambalaya. Its more a risotto than anything, just with less stirring. It blows jambalaya out the water, IMHO

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Are you even sure jambalaya didn't originate in New Orleans?

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Without a doubt, jambalaya did not start in New Orleans. It wouldn't surprise me to hear someone say it originated there, they are pretty self righteous.

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BlackenedOut

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Without a doubt, New Orleans is home to the best French Bread, France excluded.

I always grab a couple loaves on my way out.