Jambalaya

 

This week we explore a spicier dish!  Wikipedia tells me there are two general styles of Jambalaya.  The way I make it is closer to the Creole style (because of my use of tomatoes).  For this one, my dad was cooking with me, which is always awesome!

My ingredient list this week was:

• Boneless chicken thighs (I used about 2 1/2 lbs)
• Kielbasa (about 1/2 lb)
• 1 Sweet Onion
• Celery (about 4 stalks)
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 3 Anaheim Peppers
• 28 oz can of Whole Peeled Tomatoes
• 1 Head of Garlic (I got one from a farmer's market, and it had four huge cloves)
• Butter
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice (I used medium-grain white)
• Spices:
• 2 Tsp Cayenne
• 1 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 2 Tsp Thyme
• 1 Tbsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp Sage
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Mustard
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp Oregano

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit .

Now it is time for the prep work.  Chop up your celery, onion, and peppers.  This combination is referred to as "the trinity".  This also usually doesn't consist of Anaheim peppers, but I was using what I had growing in my garden (which is also why my 'green' bell pepper is somewhere between green and red).

Cut up your kielbasa and chicken (we cut the chicken into thirds).  Separate the tomato juice from the canned tomatoes into a bowl.  Cut the tomatoes in the can, and you should be able to separate more of the juice after.  Set the bowl aside, this will be used later.

Also, mince your garlic.  I used a whole head of garlic, which consisted of four huge cloves.  My father brought this back from the farmer's market in Peekskill, NY, which is where he sells his cheese.  I don't know what the variety is.  Whatever it was, it was delicious!

Now is also a good time to mix all of the spices together.

Once all the prep work is done, it is time to start cooking everything!  Heat your pan to medium-high heat, and add about 2 Tbsp butter to the pan.  Once melted, brown the kielbasa.

When browned, add the chicken thighs.  After the chicken has also started to brown (no more pink on the outside), add the spice mix and half of each of the trinity (onion, peppers, and celery).  Then stir like crazy until the vegetables simmer down.  This could take about 5-8 minutes depending on how hot the stove is.

 When it gets close to being simmered down add the garlic, then tomatoes, and finally the rice.  Once the rice is added, take off the heat and add the liquids (measure how much tomato juice you have, and top it off with water until the total quantity is 2 1/2 cups).  Then add the rest of the trinity and put the whole pot into the oven.

Next is a very important step.  Grab a beer (or drink of choice or legality) and play Skyrim while the timer is set for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, add 1/2 cup of water, and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  Once the time is up, take it out of the oven, stir thoroughly, and taste to see if the rice is fully cooked.  If the rice is to your liking, let it sit for 5 minutes and serve!  This is a great meal for colder days, especially with it being both warm and spicy.

Chicken Sausage in a White Wine Sauce

This week's recipe is less cheesy than last week's, but don't worry, there is still plenty of garlic.  For this I used chicken sausage instead of pork for something lighter and different than what I normally use.  Also since I used only a few olives in the dinner, many of the others were sacrificed as a snack during the cooking process.  Man, they had such a nice burn, I love a good, adventurous snack!

My ingredient list for this recipe is:

• Chicken Sausage (I used Al Fresco's Roasted Garlic)
• Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta
• Garlic (four cloves)
• Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• Vermouth
• Three Tomatoes (medium)
• Olives (I used olives from this mix from Pickle Licious)
• Mustard (brown)
• Cayenne

Before you start anything else, heat water for the pasta.  Put a lid on it to help bring it to a boil faster.

Meanwhile, cut and mince the other ingredients.  Mince the garlic (I roughly minced it, so there would be some bigger pieces in this).  For my recipe, I picked out six kalamata olives from the mix I had.  Because the mix I had was spiced, this added flavor to the dish.  If you are not using olives that are already spicy, you might like to add a little extra cayenne at the end.  Also, cut up the chicken sausage, and dice the tomatoes.

Next we cook the sausage.  Heat your skillet with a bit of olive oil on medium-high heat.  The sausage I used was already fully cooked, so I just fried it until it was lightly brown.  When it does brown lightly, take it off the heat, and transfer back to a plate with a paper towel to absorb some of the grease and oil.  Place another paper towel on top for the same purpose, and set aside.

Turn the burner to low, and return the skillet to it.  Cut the butter into two or more pieces and let melt on the warm pan.  Once melted, add the minced garlic.  Cook the garlic in the butter for a few minutes, but do not let it brown.

Next, add the vermouth, adding enough to cover the bottom of the pan (about 1/8th inch deep).  Use this as an opportunity to scrape up anything browned at the bottom of the pan, which will add flavor to the sauce (and make your pan easier to clean after).  Bring the heat back up to about medium heat, and simmer until the alcohol is burned off (you can either tell by the smell or the taste if the alcohol has been boiled off).

If the water is boiling, around now is a good time to cook the pasta.  I used about 3/4ths of a pound of whole wheat angel hair pasta.

Add the minced olives to the sauce mix, and a squirt of mustard.  You'll need to do the mustard to taste, but make sure you don't add too much.  Finally add a little bit of cayenne.  Once the taste is to your liking, stir in the diced tomatoes.  Turn the heat down to low, add the sausage, and simmer for a few minutes.

Take the pan off the heat, and it is ready to serve!  What I made here served my family of three (if you are wondering how much it made).  It was especially great when paired with an episode of Doctor Who!