Paella update: 7 out of 10 →[More:]
Thanks for all your lovely advice last week people of the internet! I tried making paella tonight, and it was a semi-success. I did buy a paella pan - totally affordable and worth it. I attribute the successful creation of bottom-of-the-pan crust to buying the right pan.

The flavor was good but not great. I'm a big fan of soyrizo, so I tried it, but it ended up dominating the whole dish and the saffron and more subtle flavors were lost.

Still, it was a good first attempt, and I'm going to keep trying different recipes. Thanks for the encouragement!