Football Food: Jambalaya
For entertaining, there is nothing better than a one pot meal to make life easy. I had been using a recipe that called for a lot of oil and fat, so I found a better recipe, cut the amount of shellfish (crawfish/shrimp) and meat (especially sausage), used chicken breast instead, and employed brown rice. Mortal middle aged men can’t eat meatballs and sausage all the time.
Of course the recipe begins with the holy trinity of New Orleans cuisine, onions (2 cups), celery (1 cup), and bell peppers (1 cup) with 1 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp salt in 2 tbl vegetable oil until tender. Then throw in a half pound of smoked sausage and cook 2 minutes. Add 5 bay leaves, 2 tbl minced garlic, and 2 cups peeled and seeded tomatoes. Then add 2 cups brown basmati rice and stir for 2 minutes. This will make it thirsty for the next ingredient.
Add 5 cups chicken broth and 1 pound chicken breast, cut into pieces. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low/medium low and simmer for 35 minutes. Turn off heat and rest on stove for 15 minutes. Trust Jesus for a good jambalaya.
For such a simple recipe, this jambalaya boasted a great flavor. The chicken was cooked perfectly, so tender it seemed poached. The rice cooked up nicely, and the brown rice worked surprisingly well in this recipe. Garnish with chooped green onions and copious hot sauce. Only a good football game will divert your glance from your food.