[DeFault User]

Bijol, in my experience anyway, is a substitute for azafran or saffron. Saffron has been so expensive for a long time that Cubans (and many others for that matter) use Bijol to provide the coloring that saffron used to.

Saffron in paella and arroz con pollo is now but a fond memory. Similar to Luis Gonzalez, the best arroz con pollo I ever had was made by my mother-in-law, a Havana native who could make excellent frijoles negros and arroz con pollo. My wife has the recipes but can't duplicate her mother's cooking.

The worst paella I ever had was in Spain, the best in Louisville, Ky, made by an ex-patriot Valenciano, who cooked it out on the patio on a charcoal grill. Like arroz con pollo, I don't know of any two recipes for paella that are the same. In fact, it often depends on what you have on hand: chicken, shrimp, chorizo, etc.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"...made by an ex-patriot Valenciano, who cooked it out on the patio on a charcoal grill...I don't know of any two recipes for paella that are the same."

Paella is a working man's dish.

From what I understand, Spanish field hands would bring withn them something that was readily available in their house, sausages, chicken, rabbits...whatever, and give it to the individual in charge of cooking.

This person would cook all these ingredients, then add rice and saffron...Olé!

I just pulled down my oldest cookbook "The Spanish Cookbook" by Barbara Norman, first oublished in 1967, which lists several versions of just the Pella Valenciana, the possibilities are boundless.

My favorite is one made with shellfish only.

[TexanToTheCore]

Friend of the family make Paella. It is very simple, but when she fixes it we break out the wine and celebrate. It is soooo good.