Jambalaya

Mmm Mmm!  Cajun Jambalaya!

This recipe is one of our faves.  It makes a TON and the leftovers freeze really well.  It's also versatile...if there's an ingredient you don't like, switch it out for something else.  You'd be scoffing at a over 150 years of tradition, but go ahead and be selfish like that.

Note:  It's also a bit spicy, so if you're making it for the fam and don't want smoke billowing out of your kiddo's ears, then tone down the seasonings.

Before I get into it, allow me to share this recipe's origin.  It's one of Gumshoe's specialties and it come straight from a New Orleans kitchen.  Gumshoe's fraternity pledge class took a trip to The Big Easy back in college. While most of the guys got wasted and contracted VD from lingering in the skeezy strip clubs too long, Gumshoe opted instead to experience the New Orleans culture by gorging on as much Cajun food as he possibly could.  Lucky for me, he learned a little something along the way! (Don't you just love a good VD reference along with your recipe?)

Uh oh...did I ruin it for you?  Don't think about skeezy strip clubs.  Focus your attention on this imagery of the rich Louisiana culture instead:

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Oh no...did this make it worse?

What you'll need:
Tools: 8qt pot (large, deep, flat-bottom)and wooden spoon

1/2 cup (1 stick)butter

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup flour

1 onion, diced

3 heaping tbs garlic

3 bell peppers (red, yellow, green) diced

64 oz. (2 boxes) stock-your choice (we use homemade chicken and seafood stock mixed together)

2 lbs chicken, diced

2 lbs frozen shrimp; thawed, peeled and deveined

2 lbs andouille sausage

1 lb frozen crawfish tails, thawed (any grocery store should have these in the frozen seafood section...even Wal-Mart)

You must start off with your "COOKIN CAJUN" wooden spoon!  OK-it doesn't have to say that on it, but a wooden spoon is preferable!

Step 1:  Melt butter.  Add olive oil and flour to make roux.  Stir and cook on medium low until golden brown

Step 2:  Add garlic to your roux.  Stir.

Step 3:  Add onion

Step 4:  Add bell peppers.  Cook until onions and peppers are soft

Step 5:  Throw in some white wine in order to help "steam" the veggies and add some flavor

Step 6:  While your veggies soften, put your chicken and shrimp in a bowl and coat with these...

Hot sauce and Creole Seasoning

Step 7:  Once veggies are soft, throw in the sausage

Step 8:  Add the chicken and shrimp mixture

Step 9:  Add in the crawfish

Step 10:  Toss in some paprika

Step 11:  Then add the stock and 4 bay leaves

Finally...Simmer away until meat is cooked through

Serve over rice and be sure to make some cornbread.  This stuff is the real deal and sooooo good!  Slightly labor intensive (11 steps...eeeek) but well worth the effort!  

Also be kind and charitable and share some with your new neighbor who, it turns out, has eaten very little seafood in his life and has never tried Cajun food.  I'm sure that went over well!  This is not the easiest introduction to either of those genres of food.   

Enjoy!