Making Jambalaya

Last night I thawed my odds and sods of chicken, then just chopped them all up and sauteed in batches in a bit of peanut oil with a tiny bit of cajun seasoning. I never ever use the stuff but figured why not. I'm making Jambalaya so it'll probably work.

To be honest, I've never followed a recipe and made it. I've always just kinda pitched it all together and hoped for the best - to good results - but this time I'm going to do it more proper-ish. I think this is the recipe I'll use, but I'll adapt it to be a binary dish. I don't want the rice to cook in the jambalaya, I'm going to make it like a chili and let people scoop it over rice. That way if the rice fucks up - who cares. I'll put on some more.

Seasoning Mix (1/4 tsp Cayenne, 3/4 tsp White Pepper, 1 tsp Kosher Salt, 1/4 tsp Thyme, 1/2 tsp Rubbed Sage, 1/4 tsp Dried Basil, 1/2 tsp Black Pepper)

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Diced Andouille
1/2 Cup Diced Onion
1/2 Cup Diced Bell Pepper
1/2 Cup Diced Celery
1/2 Cup Diced Fresh Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Tomato Sauce
3/4 Cup Enriched Long Grain Rice
1 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock with a Shrimp shell infusion (see above)
1 Tbsp Homemade Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp Minced Fresh Garlic
1/2 Cup Diced Chicken (Cooked or raw)
1 1/2 Cup Medium Shrimp (I use Louisiana)
1 Tbsp Finely Chopped Italian Parsley
3 Tbsp Finely Sliced Green Onions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together the Holy Trinity (Onion, Celery, Bell Pepper).
In a Cast Iron Dutch Oven, melt the butter over medium heat, add the Andouille and cook until it just starts to brown. Add 1/2 of the Holy Trinity, cook until the vegetables are tender (nothing smells better than rendering Andouille with the Holy Trinity). Add the diced Tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add the Tomato Sauce and cook for another minute. Add the Rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the Stock, the remaining Holy Trinity, Seasoning Mix, Worcestershire, and the Garlic. Taste the broth for seasoning, particularly salt. Add the Chicken, stir well and put the pot in the preheated oven. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. After the twenty-five minutes stir in the raw Shrimp, Parsley, and Green Onions, place back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until the Shrimp are cooked through. Serve with French Bread and your favorite Beer

I'm serving with a couple giant Italian pagnotta breads, a ginormous trough of "Hurricanes" and a biggie green salad. I have 3 different kinds of chicken skewers in the freezer which I'll set out as appies. I think there's some Indian ones, some satay ones, and some Hawaiian-esque ones with pineapple... In any case, I should have everything rolling by this afternoon, so literally I won't have to do ANYTHING but make the salad when my guests are here. That's the way I like it.

On another note, I've been feeling so amazing the last few weeks being back at the gym 5 days a week. This morning in bed I stretched a bit and fucked up my neck. Grrrrrrr. So I'll be enjoying my Hurricanes twice as much tonight as I'll also be on muscle relaxants. Woo hoo!

Happy Valentines!