How to Throw a Paella Party

I may or may not have mentioned before that when I was 18 I did a homestay program in Spain. I was scared out of my mind as I entered a new country where within 10 minutes my luggage was lost and I couldn't understand a thing. Luckily, my Spanish host family quickly made me forget how scared I was as they welcomed me with open arms and with lots of home cooked food. 


Every day my Spanish mother, Mari Carmen, would cook lunch and dinner for me. I tried every single thing she ever cooked. I didn't necessarily like all of them, but it was so wonderful learning about all kinds of new food and particularly, new seafood. 


One thing I loved was paella. Spain is famous for their paella and my family was no exception. You might say that Spanish paella is the equivalent of the American Sunday roast. It isn't necessarily for the everyday but definitely for when family or guests are in town, made in large batches with only the freshest ingredients. 


I hope to share my family's recipe/my own recipe soon when I pare it down to a normal serving suggestion and take some step by step photos. 


I want to show you how to throw a Paella party & how we did ours:


1. Picked a theme-Paella Party. We have a friend who has a huge paella pan that feeds 30-40 people. That pan was the inspiration for the entire event. We knew we would keep everything else fairly simple and keep the Paella the star of the show. Here is a smaller version you could buy.




This pan was so heavy that it took my father and my husband to carry it to serve it!





2. Choose your menu- Ours was paella with salad and crusty bread! We also had cheese and fruit for appetizers/dessert. Although some fancier cheeses and prosciutto would have been great we worked with what was in our budget! We allocated more money to fresh seafood so that it was the focus of that gorgeous batch of Paella. Yum!









3. Found entertainment-We found a local college student on Craig's List who sang Spanish & Portuguese songs along with playing the guitar. It was so fun to have live music and made things feel a little more fun!


4. Chose colors & decorations- We chose bright red, yellow and orange to accompany our paella. We bought yellow/orange daisies along with serving sangria with oranges and yellow/orange napkins. The bright colors really brought the food to life! Not to mention the red lobsters on top! And don't forget fresh lemons for people to use on their seafood. 





5. Have fun! Do some Flamenco dancing, decorate with Spanish fans or anything else you can think of!


You may not be throwing a Paella party for 50 but I just wanted to give you an idea and inspire you to throw your own party based on any idea you think of!


Did you see my entertaining tips


What do you think of this party idea? Have you ever made paella?


Now go throw a party! 


2 comments:

  1. Besides the fact that Im allergic to shellfish... Oh P.S. I'm itching to have a party and it makes me miss you even more! I hope Texas is still treating you well :)

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