The photo of this jambalaya might look like a blob of something plopped onto a plate, but it was really quite good. Here's the recipe I used.
A few changes to the recipe started with pulling back on the amount of heat. So many recipes call for tablespoons of creole sauce, cayenne pepper and while you're at it, throw in some sliced jalapenos! Nah, you cook for years and know how much heat to add before a dish you spent hours on is too damned hot and therefore, ruined. Always go with your instincts on the hot spices and as a general rule, pull back from the recommended amounts.
Speaking of instincts, I should have stayed with mine and added 1 cup of rice instead of 1-1/2 cups the recipe called for. It wasn't too dry, but you want more sauce in a jambalaya. This is also why the jambalaya looks like a blob on the plate.
The final change was using far less Andouille sausage than called for. Rather than a pound (a pound!) of sausage I used a single link which was plenty. Oh, the recipe called for okra. I like using okra, primarily in gumbo. I didn't have any on hand (tough to get in Vermont in February, or anytime really), so I didn't use any.
As a sidebar, I was able to use 2 jars of home-canned tomatoes in this dish. Always a good feeling using something you canned in a dish. I used a jar of tomato sauce and put a jar of whole canned tomatoes in the blender to add some thickness to the dish.
The main takeaways from this dish: 1) never listen to the spice recommendations and pull back, 2) less rice is always more when added to a stock, and 3) something I didn't mention but should go without saying, always use Blue Ribbon as your long grained rice. Never fails.
A few changes to the recipe started with pulling back on the amount of heat. So many recipes call for tablespoons of creole sauce, cayenne pepper and while you're at it, throw in some sliced jalapenos! Nah, you cook for years and know how much heat to add before a dish you spent hours on is too damned hot and therefore, ruined. Always go with your instincts on the hot spices and as a general rule, pull back from the recommended amounts.
Speaking of instincts, I should have stayed with mine and added 1 cup of rice instead of 1-1/2 cups the recipe called for. It wasn't too dry, but you want more sauce in a jambalaya. This is also why the jambalaya looks like a blob on the plate.
The final change was using far less Andouille sausage than called for. Rather than a pound (a pound!) of sausage I used a single link which was plenty. Oh, the recipe called for okra. I like using okra, primarily in gumbo. I didn't have any on hand (tough to get in Vermont in February, or anytime really), so I didn't use any.
As a sidebar, I was able to use 2 jars of home-canned tomatoes in this dish. Always a good feeling using something you canned in a dish. I used a jar of tomato sauce and put a jar of whole canned tomatoes in the blender to add some thickness to the dish.
The main takeaways from this dish: 1) never listen to the spice recommendations and pull back, 2) less rice is always more when added to a stock, and 3) something I didn't mention but should go without saying, always use Blue Ribbon as your long grained rice. Never fails.
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