Prelude to a jambalaya

Are you hungry?

jambalaya01

Every Tuesday, the Carsons (Melissa and Mike) and the Nevilles (Courtney and Bob and Oliver, the most curious and hilarious and wonderful kid in the world) and I alternate between cooking and hosting dinner for everyone else.

This week it’s my turn … and the return of Johnbalaya, which is jambalaya made by me.

I begin with two family-sized boxes of Zatarain’s jambalaya mix. Each box asks for 1.5 pounds of one meat — chicken, shrimp, or smoked sausage. Cooking two boxes, therefore, should require three pounds of one meat.

I find it almost adorable that Zatarain’s is naive enough to find this adequate.

I’m using four pounds of smoked sausage …

… and two pounds each of chicken and raw shrimp …

… that I just finished peeling away from their tails and shells.

That’s eight pounds of meat for a recipe that only calls for three.

So sue me.

I’ll cook the two boxes of jambalaya mix and the smoked sausage together from the beginning in a giant pot.

Separately from the giant pot and each other, I’ll sautee the chicken and the shrimp in garlic and butter.

This will allow the rice to cook fully; once I’m satisfied with the rice and sausage, I’ll slowly begin mixing in the chicken and shrimp.

I’ll add a dollop of BBQ sauce for some extra flavor and offer a bottle of hot sauce on the side for anyone who’d like to give their bowl a little extra kick.

Drop by if you’re in the neighborhood. Dinner’s at 6, and we’ll probably have enough.

3 comments

  1. Bobbie says:

    Hmmmm……those ingredients look vaguely familiar. That’s a real cajun treat.

    Sincerely,
    Cajun woman on the bayou

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