This past Tuesday was my lovely wife’s (ahem) 29th birthday and I had been debating for some time what to make her for dinner. She is not much of the you-better-get-me-an-expensive-present-or-you-will-be-sleeping-on-the-couch-until-my-next-birthday type of person which is good seeing that I am a bit of a tightwad. In fact, she really does not expect much at all for her birthday, which might be due to the nature of her husband, but I prefer not to think of it that way, so I won’t. I asked her several times what she wanted and each time she dodged the question until finally she relented and said simply:

“Failla Chardonnay”

Now that, is something that I can handle. I should back up a bit and give you some idea what a momentous statement that really is. For years, after we met, my wife would barely drink. She would have a glass every now and then, but usually she would opt for a Diet Coke and be rather content. It was not that she did not like wine, it just that alcohol really did not like her that much. As I have mentioned before, my wife’s parents are both from Korea (I guess I could say “my wife is Korean” and while this would essentially be true, in reality, she is an American with Korean parents–she was born in the U.S. and English is her native language). Once we started dating, I learned that some Asians cannot metabolize alcohol since they lack the enzyme necessary to do so. When she would drink even the smallest amount, her skin would turn bright red and her body temperature would rise considerably. I am not ‘that kind’ of (i.e., a ‘real’) doctor, so I had to take her word for it, but my initial reaction to such a claim would be rather intense skepticism (I grew up in a very white suburb and went to a rather white college–what did I know about Asians and their enzyme issues?), however, the visual evidence was rather compelling.

Over the past year or so, that skepticism has returned a bit. My wife has gradually been increasing her intake of wine to where she can have a glass or two with no apparent effects. I do not remember her getting any sort of enzyme injection so I am beginning to think this whole thing is a bunch of hooey (but then I am not a ‘real’ doctor, so what do I know?). I guess the point of this rant is not to try and tick off the Asian demographic of my ‘following’ but that even as recent as a couple of years ago, my wife would have never requested booze for her birthday. Much less one of the finer chardonnays in California.

Luckily, I had one (or seven) in the cellar.

I decided that I was going to get all fancy and make a meal of which even my culinary hero, Sir Thomas Keller (I have decided he should be knighted), would be proud. Once she said ‘chardonnay’ I immediately thought ‘scallops’ (well, actually I immediately thought about the wine and began to drool like Pavlov’s pooch, but the next conscious thought was about scallops). Thus, I started to plan out the menu, thinking of the more exotic recipes and ingredients. Eventually, lacking a bit of confidence, I asked her what she actually wanted for dinner.

“Paella.”

Of course. How could I be so ignorant? My wife, although born in this country, is still Asian at her core. Therefore (at the risk of perpetuating a stereotype), she wanted to get her rice on.

No Problem. Although not a perfect pairing with the chardonnay…. but this was not my day, so let it go. Let it go. Let. It. Go.

I have made paella a couple of times now and feel rather confident about the preparation. I do ‘cheat’, according to my good friend who is a bit of a culinary snob—we all have our demons, by cooking the rice first in a rice cooker (growing up in very white suburbia, I had no concept of the rice cooker—my wife still looks at me in horror when I recount my childhood memories of Uncle Ben’s instant rice). This certainly speeds up the process and cuts down on the labor. It also helps immeasurably if you have a paella pan (although not necessary).

Ingredients:

1 Spanish (or yellow) onion

Pre-cooked rice (I figure it is about 1 cup of uncooked rice per two people, but I always make more so that we have leftovers)

Vegetables (you can really use anything you like here–this time I chopped some raw carrots and a red bell pepper and added some canned corn and frozen peas).

Proteins (again, you can pretty much do what you want here. I used chorizo, chicken [which I seasoned first with salt and pepper], and shrimp. I have also used mussels–but I would suggest you steam those first).

Seasoning–Salt, pepper, and I threw in a little paprika this time.

One can of tomatoes, either whole or diced.

Olive Oil

The process is rather easy: Heat up the pan and add some olive oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the onion and sweat it a bit and add any other veggies that need to soften up.  Then add the sausage and chicken, making sure they are cooked through.  Add in the rice and tomatoes and any other veggies you have not added.  Mix all together and let this sit over medium heat for about five minutes.  If you are using shrimp and/or mussels, add them and be sure to cover them with the rice.  Cook another five minutes or so until the shrimp is nice and pink.  The rice on the bottom should be getting a little burnt by this point–this is the part that my wife really likes–so regulate how much of that you want (I like it, too, but usually give it all to my wife so that she lets me take more of the wine–since, well, I’m an alcoholic).

Definitely a dish you can play with and add whatever you like to it.  I was once chastised for adding snow peas since it was not ‘authentic’.  Well, I am not getting paid to make it ‘authentic’ so I do not really give a honey badger.  Do what you want, you’re the person that is going to eat it.

The wine:

While I agree that a nice Rioja would likely be the best pairing, as I mentioned, my wife wanted one of my favorite chardonnays–Failla.  Who am I to argue?  I also said we had to have champagne.  That met absolutely no resistance.

1998 G. H. Mumm & Cie Champagne René Lalou: Retail ~$100.  I have been saving these for a bit, letting them get a little age on them.  This one was pretty much exactly how I like my champagnes–a little dark, a bit oxidized, with loads of flavor and character.  A bit of fruit, but tons of that biscuity, brioche element that I love.  This was one of the best champagnes I have had in a while–it was very hard to share.  Alas, it was my wife’s birthday and for the sake of marital bliss, I gave her a second glass (but no more). Excellent to Outstanding.  93 points.

2007 Failla Chardonnay Keefer Ranch: Retail ~$40.  Wow.  Failla just never disappoints.  It has been a while since we popped a bottle at home–we clearly need to do it more often.  The nose was restrained a bit at first, trying not to give too much away.  As the wine warmed, though, it presented great lemon and even pineapple.  On the palate, this was truly outstanding–a great balance and weight, coating the mouth with a hint of lemon, vanilla, and the slightest bit of oak.  Not a huge California Chard by any means, but it certainly exhibited what a rock star winemaker can do with some of the greatest fruit out there.  Excellent to Outstanding.  93 points.