Jambalaya

Mardi Gras is next Tuesday and when I think of Mardi Gras I think of Cajun food and when I think of Cajun food I think of either gumbo, etouffee, or jambalaya. This year I think I’ll give you a recipe for jambalaya. It’s a great thing to make if you’re planning on feeding a whole mess of guests.

But first I think I’ll tell you one of Justin Wilson’s stories. Justin Wilson was an engineer, and a stand-up comic, but most people know him from his TV cooking series. He’d always start off his cooking shows with one of his Cajun stories and this is one of my favorites:

A man goes into a restaurant and orders the special: chicken. When it comes out the chicken is just barely cooked—it’s bleeding and inedible. He stares down at the horrible, bloody mess for a while then leaps to his feet, flings the chicken up in the air, and yells “Fly, damn you, fly. You ain’t hurt bad!”

Jambalaya

Feeds four Cajuns or eight normal people

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 lb. medium shrimp, shells removed and deveined
4 cups water

3 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Tabasco
1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet
8 drops bitters
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup uncooked rice

1. Brown the sausage in a large flameproof saucepan or dutch oven.
2. Remove the sausage from the pan and slice into ½ inch sections.
3. Add the oil, onion, and red bell pepper to the saucepan. Saute until
   the onion is translucent.
4. Add the water, Worchestershire sauce, Tabasco, Kitchen Bouquet, bitters,
   and pepper to the saucepan. Bring to the boil.
5. Add the sausage, shrimp, and rice to the pan. Stir. Bring to the boil again.
6. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover, and cook until you can’t stand it any more
   (at least one hour and no more than two hours).

When you make your jambalaya on Tuesday, drink a glass of wine to Justin.