Jambalaya, note

First the note: I changed the title of today's Wordless entry. I spent a good portion of my day in the car which means emotional highs and lows via my iPod. I heard this line in one of the songs and decided it was much better for a title than the old one.

And, on to the foodie post. I'm making jambalaya for dinner tonight - and thought you might want it some night too. I love this dish because I've made it enough I never follow the "recipe" anymore - and it makes great company food. It has meat and veg and carbs in one dish, it looks impressive, it is festive, and cooks while you're having your first bottle of wine or six pack. Serve it with a Cesar salad, garlic bread, and something fancy for dessert and you'll be the favorite host of all your friends.

Chop up 3 ribs of celery, one largish onion, and a green or red bell pepper, and several cloves of garlic (tonight, I used four). Slice up 4-6 links of hot, smoked sausage. If it has a skin on it, remove it. Cut up a packet of chicken tenderloins or 3-4 chicken breasts. Salt and pepper the chicken. You can throw in 3/4 - 1 pound of peeled shrimps too, if you want. I usually don't.

In a large, cast iron dutch oven, heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil over med/high heat. Brown off the sausage. Remove and brown the chicken. Remove, and add in all the veg. Salt and pepper the veg and add in 1 teaspoon of dried thyme. I usually turn the heat down to med and let the veg cook until the onions are translucent. Add in 2 cups of rice. Stir the rice into the veg and let cook a minute or two. Add in a 14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes. Stir. Add in a quart of chicken broth, stir, add in the meats. Add in 1-2 tablespoons of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning. Crank up the heat, and bring to a boil. Cover, and turn the heat down to med/low.

Simmer for 15 minutes, then stir. If it looks too dry, add a bit of water. Cover, and let cook another 15-20 minutes until the rice is done and the liquid absorbed.

I would recommend that you only use one tablespoon of seasoning for your first batch, then in future batches, add more or less to your tastes. If you want to add in shrimps, add them when you stir half way through the cooking -- and you might want to crank up the heat just a tick. When I've added shrimps in the past, I find that I need more seasoning. You might want to sprinkle the shrimps with the creole seasoning before adding them.

I got this recipe from a guy who grew up in NOLA, and this is his Momma's recipe.