Jambalaya

A little history of how I became a fan of Jambalaya first. I had a chance to visit New Orleans few years ago and loved it there. That was the first time I went to the South.  I took a couple of tours to see the plantations and houses there. As the tour guide explained how the life was back then.  It reminded me of some of the scenes from the movie "Gone with the Wind".  I could see and feel that era as I walked through the old houses. The kitchen, the rooms, the beds were just what I saw in the movie.

I was also able to enjoy different styles of the popular jazz musics there.  Both traditional and contemporary live jazz musics can be heard everywhere while dining at the restaurants on Bourbon Street and dinner cruise ship.  I experienced the mini Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street. I saw and crossed the famous Mississippi River which I had heard about it since I was a little kid.  The South is just very different from the West coast where I live, and that was an unforgettable trip for me.

The food I tried at the restaurants were the famous Creole and Cajun.  They are just excellent but honestly expensive to eat everyday. The restaurant owned by Emeril Lagasse was located in the French Quarter.  Unfortunately we arrived late afternoon from the airport and the earliest reservation we could get was 10:00pm. However, I was able to try some of the famous food from the South, like seafood gumbo, crocodile soup, crawfish etouffee, rice pudding,etc. The Jambalaya was also one of the dishes I tried there.  I love the food from the South very much that I even got a couple of recipe books from the local shops. 

I have a habit of trying to mimic the food I ate from traveling and learned to cook it  for my kids.  That's the way I introduced new food to my kids.  We all love to eat Jambalaya so much that whenever we go to Elephant Bar, that's a must order item from the menu. I started to look for the Jambalaya recipe online.  This recipe is from one of Rachel Ray's cooking show. It is so delicious that it has become my daughter's "must post recipe" onto the blog.   If you love Jambalaya, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp Butter
1 lb. Chicken,cut to pieces
3/4 lb. Sausage,diced
1 Medium onion, diced
2 Ribs Celery,diced
1 Bell Pepper,diced
1 Bay leaf, diced
Hot Sauce
2 to 3 Tbsp All purpose flour
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes in juice
1 can (14 oz.) Chicken Broth
1 tsp Cumin
1 round tsp. Dried Chili powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lb. Medium Shrimps
2 Cups rice, cooked

Optional ingredients:
Salt and Pepper
Chopped Scallions, for garnish
Fresh Thyme, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat the pan with oil, add butter and chicken, saute for 3 minutes.
2. Add the diced sausage and saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add onion,celery, bell pepper,bay leaf and hot sauce, saute another 5 minutes.
4. Pour in all purpose flour stir and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add diced tomatoes, chicken broth,cumin,chili powder, worcestershire sauce and bring up to a boil.
6. Add the shrimps and simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Serve over cooked rice.
8. Add or decorate with any optional ingredients if desire.