Tales from the Kitchen: Jambalaya

Last month, Susanne asked me if I would work with a cooking team to create a Mardi Gras meal for our February “First Friday” event. It was a lot of fun working with Steve, George and Don to put together this meal for our friends and family. We had a good turnout and I think everyone had a great time. Elizabeth and I were in New Orleans a couple of years ago for the New Orleans Jazz Fest and I enjoyed trying to create some of the dishes we sampled there. On Friday, we served Jambalaya, the recipe for which is here. Dessert was bread pudding, for which I shared the recipe last month. Enjoy!

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

• 10 oz. andouille sausage, sliced into rounds

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 small green bell pepper, diced

• 2 stalks celery, diced

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 (16 oz.) can crushed Italian

  tomatoes

• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce

• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp. file powder (I found this

  at Lunardi's)

• 1 1/4 cups uncooked white rice

• 2 1/2 cups chickn broth

Preparation:
1) Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté chicken pieces until lightly browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2) In the same pot, sauté onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic until tender. Stir in crushed tomatoes and season with red pepper, black pepper, salt, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce and file power.

3) Stir in chicken and sausage.

4) Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Bon Appetit,
Alain Guichard