Jambalaya

It's been several years since I talked about jambalaya, a Louisiana recipe from the Cajun people.

I got hungry for a jambalaya today and on the way home, I decided to make one. So, I stopped at the store and picked up the ingredients.

One chicken, whole.
One pound of smoked sausage
Some onion
Some bell pepper
Some celery
A bag of rice

You can use the raw vegetables if you want to, and Lord knows I've chopped my share of onion and peppers. Today I picked up a bag of what is called Seasoning Blend. It's chopped onions, peppers and celery. We cajuns use a lot of onions, peppers, and celery. My father-in-law called it the Trinity of Cajun Cooking.

I've got the chicken boiling right now, and in just a few minutes I'm going to cut that sausage into rounds. About a half-inch thick. Then, in a black iron dutch oven, I'm going to fry the sausage by the simple expedient of putting it in the hot iron pot. No oil necessary. Then, when the sausage is cooked, I'm going to add my vegetables and sautee them with the sausage.

The dog, of course, will be dancing under my feet the whole time.

Before too long, the chicken will be boiled and the water I used to boil it will be chicken stock. So, I'm going to peel the chicken from the bone and add it to the sausage. Sautee everything together, then add three cups of rice and three cups of chicken broth. Some folks like to make a roux and add it. Some don't. Tonight, I added a little dry roux mix to my chicken broth. I'm in the mood for a brown jambalaya.

Cook it covered until the rice has absorbed the liquid, then serve. You can cook it on the stovetop, or cook it in the oven. It doesn't matter. Tonight, I set a 350 degree oven, and I'll let it sit in there for about a half hour then check it.

Whoo, it's good.