my kitchen has smelled so good today while i made this traditional chicken and rice spanish dish. brian and i are going to watch germany and spain play each other tonight, which decides who will be playing netherlands in the championship game of the world cup. i am really looking forward to it. the game that is. well, the meal too. let's be honest. i really wanted to make paella, but i don't have a paella pan, and it makes a lot of food, so i decided on this very popular dish. i had just about everything in my kitchen, so that made the decision even easier. you basically soak some saffron in 1 cup of warm water and add it to 1.5 cups of arborio rice. while that is hanging out, make the sofrito - chopped onion, pepper, and garlic. heat some olive oil in a large dutch oven and cook the sofrito until soft - 10 minutes. add 4 oz. tomato sauce, 1 beer, 2 cups of chicken stock and chicken to the pot. i used 4 chicken thighs and 2 drumsticks. just because. well, i thought the drumsticks would look nice in the photo. that's the real reason ( i probably won't even eat the drumsticks). anyway, once everything has come to a boil add the rice and saffron mixture. stir to incorporate, bring back to a boil, reduce, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. i added a few spanish olives and fresh parsley to the dish for color. i don't think that is traditional, but i like a little color in my meals. this turned out almost like a risotto, which made me very excited. the saffron turned the rice into the most beautiful color of burnt orange. i only took a tiny bite of the rice to see how it tasted, it is awesome! i can't wait to eat this with brian, open up a bottle of spanish wine and watch the game, which will probably be one of the most exciting games so far of this tournament.