Paella is my most favorite Spanish dish, and last weekend Ryan and I hosted a little dinner party, serving a giant pan full of the saffron deliciousness. I was first turned on to paella while I was living in London; a wonderful Spanish friend named David made a group of us paella for dinner one night and I have been a cult follower ever since.The thing I love most about paella is that it is meant to be shared, you won't often find a Spaniard sitting alone to a dish of this. It's a perfect meal for large groups and has an everything plus the kitchen sink kind of quality. I've made many variations of paella but the chicken and seafood paella tends to be my favorite.
This was the first ever couples dinner party that Ryan and I had ever hosted. Normally we invite everybody and anybody who can make it out for a good meal but we'd finally made it to that place in adulthood where more friends than not are in couples. Sadly a bunch of people couldn't make it due to other commitments but the eight of us who could enjoyed a hearty meal with sangria and good beer to share. Martin graced us with a couple of bottles of his incredible home brew and the hard to get your hands on Bell's Hopslam.
After dinner we played a fun game of "Would You Rather..." There was a lot of laughter and the realization that among our living room knick-knacks there were all the props one needed to play Sherlock Holmes for a night (thanks Lewis and Christine). Having so many loved ones in one place made me super grateful for the friendships Ryan and I have been building together in Roanoke. I can't wait to get everybody together again soon big kiss, bekuh
