My Paella Travels to the 2nd Annual 2015 Nashville Wine and Food Festival with a Paella Inspired by the South and Local Nashville!

#mypaellatravels #eatmypaella @winewithlisa #winewithlisa #nashvillepaella #paellanashville

The 2015 Nashville Wine and Food Festival attracted many people from all around the country for exceptional wines, some of the best from local Nashville restaurants as well as My Paella Travels Southern-Inspired Paella by Wine with Lisa!

A few clouds and early morning rain did not deter ticket holders from venturing down to Nashville’s Riverfront Park to sip, savor and enjoy culinary delights and wine from one of newest and intimate wine festivals in Nashville! And, for the second year, My Paella ruled! My Southern-inspired local Paella is a fusion between authentic Spanish, local Nashville and southern cuisine.

With the Cumberland River and Titans Stadium as the back drop, a crowd of hungry festival goers gathered around the paella for The Art of Cooking Paella Demo. My gumbo and jambalaya paddle came in handy for stirring the paella!

A paella from Spain incorporates the bounty of fresh local ingredients such as spices, herbs, meat, seafood and vegetables in season from their land. My paella honors the art of traditional paella cooking with a southern infusion and local culinary artisan Nashville products.

Some of the local ingredients that filled the paella to the brim were Porter Road Butcher’s smokey chorizo and lamb kielbasa, smoked Spanish hard Chorizo from Carnivore, a local butcher shop in Franklin. Savory aromas filled the air with combination of Spanish saffron, sweet smoked Paprika and a variety of herbs and spices from Savory Spice Shop in Franklin, TN.

The South loves their black-eyed peas and what better way to honor the South than with crispy and creamy textured fried black-eyed peas with a touch of cajun spice which honors my Louisiana culinary heritage. Most of the seafood is from the south in my paella! Whole Foods provides Florida, Georgia and Texas Gulf Shrimp and clams from North Carolina as well as other seafood from Southern waters when available.

My famous (secret) signature Spanish rub recipe was developed for My Paella Travels Smoked Beer Can Chicken with local artisan beer- Jackaloupe’s Thunder Anne– completed the paella dish with a Nashville flair!

After the caramelized rice crust (the socarrat ) was formed, the paella was ready for the line of hungry foodies!

Everyone enjoyed serving themselves their dish of paella! After all, paella is the most celebrated of Spain and it’s perfect for serving a crowd from one pan!