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Seafood frenzy: Pernot's paella features lobster, monkfish, mussels, clams, squid and shrimp. photo by michael persico

Fall, my very favorite season, is upon us. I can't tell if I'm shaking from giddiness or the cold morning air. Bike riding is pleasant, sleeping requires a cozy comforter and the economy demands more home-cooked meals. I've bought more cookbooks this past month than the entire year combined--that's how eager I am to get cooking.

The arrival of fall heralds harvest festivals, colorful squash and temperatures nippy enough to warrant using the stove and oven as central heat. Making paella--that steamy, seafood-infused Spanish one-pan meal--is a great addition to the fall recipe repertoire. I think of it as a bridge between seasons. The assortment of fish is a reminder of the seashore in the summer while the sizzling saffron-flavored rice catapults us into autumn.

I enlisted the help of Cuba Libre's chef Guillermo Pernot to instruct me in the ways of making this warm, comforting dish. Cuba Libre is running a paella special through the end of the year ($60 for two), but Pernot shows how it's just as easy to make this dish at home. Cuba Libre is also selling paella kits ($25) with just about everything you'd need: a thin paella pan, Calasparra paella rice, a recipe and shopping list, piment�n and a saffron mixture (although I'd spring for real saffron, which makes a noticeable difference).

"Paella is a very popular item that we thought people would recognize," says Pernot, adding that it's a great introduction to Cuban food, a cuisine heavily influenced by the Spanish.

The most intimidating factor in preparing Pernot's paella, an impressive panoply of seafood, is paying a visit to your local fishmonger. Pernot's recipe calls for Maine lobster, monkfish, mussels, clams, squid and shrimp. If you're a monkfish novice, as I was, be sure to ask that worms have been identified and removed from the filet (I know--it's enough reason to omit the monkfish altogether). With their strand of vibrant red eggs, female lobsters provide added flavor.

In his Wynnewood kitchen, Chef Pernot opens his stainless steel refrigerator, and a frisky live lobster, desperate to escape, catapults into the air. Pernot expertly catches it and then sends a sharp blade through the top of its head. So begins the paella preparation.

The lobster is the only element that's cooked ahead, and it simmers away in a pot of boiling water until it turns coral pink. Every other element has been expertly prepared; the monkfish is cubed and sprinkled with salt, the mussels and clams are soaked in water to remove the sand, the squid is cut into rings and the shrimp has been cleaned and deveined. Pernot has also prepared the sofrito--a blend of onion, garlic and red and green pepper, which infuses the dish with flavor.

The assembly is relatively quick. Pernot assembles the dish in layers. The sofrito is heated through and then coats the rice in flavor as it toasts. Hot chicken and vegetable broth is poured over the rice and then the seafood, sans lobster, gets piled on. This crowded pan is baked for a short 15 minutes, then topped with the lobster and garnished with lime (the acid is key), asparagus, green peas and roasted red peppers.

The final step, which requires five minutes of excruciating patience, is to cover the paella with a kitchen towel for a final steam. All in all this belly-warming dish takes less than an hour to prepare. "To cook at home you need love, love and more wine," says Pernot. We dig in as the leaves start to fall on the neglected barbecue in the yard.