A new direction with the Blog & Jambalaya!
After months and months of this thing sitting idle and me not having anything I have felt like sharing, I have decided to go a different direction with my blog. Yes, I am still dieting and trying to lose weight. My success is not what I would like for it to be but I can say I have made progress. This new direction will also touch on this from time to time but overall I want to do something different.
I could have chosen a number of things to write about like computers and networking, or ham radio, or politics (yeah, right) but there are lots of those type blogs out there already. I am going to write about my cooking and meals. I have no idea how this will go but hopefully I'll be able to keep up the content. I'll share my recipes and thoughts on improving them, family reaction to the meal, maybe some pics of the dish and who knows what else.
To kick this off, I'll start with last night's meal. Sorry, there won't be any pictures for this one because I didn't think to take any but there will be plenty of pics in the future.
Here we go!
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Jambalaya!!
My family loves to eat Cajun food. I LOVE to eat Cajun food. Cajun is probably one of my favorite types of food to eat. Cajun food has such a wonderful smell when it is cooking. The combination of peppers, onions, garlic, celery, and bay leaves is better than any perfume I've ever smelled. Well, maybe there... never mind on THAT thought! I know a lot of people immediately associate Cajun food with spicy food but that isn't necessarily always the case. Sure, most of the prepackaged Cajun food is spicy. Some of it is so spicy that I have trouble eating it. I usually don't eat the prepackaged Cajun food because of the amount of sodium in it but that is another topic. Cajun food doesn't have to be spicy. If you cook it, it is only as spicy as you make it. Personally, I like mine to have some heat; my wife does not. My son Corey likes his Cajun food to be spicy; my son Alan does not. Everyone has a preference and I respect that.
When I cook, I try to cook in a way that results in a dish that everyone can enjoy. In the case of Cajun food, I lightly season the food as it cooks and when it is served, I make sure there is a bottle of hot sauce on the table (more on hot sauce in a minute). As food is cooked, it is important to season it. If you wait until the food is on the table to season it then you are missing the opportunity to bring out all of the flavors of whatever you are cooking has to offer. Other seasonings just don't work if applied at the dinner table. Salt and pepper are OK at the dinner table but they really have a place in the cooking process also. Most herbs only work if applied in the cooking process. Some herbs need to be applied early in the process in order to fully develop their flavor or to break down enough to be edible. I could go on and on here but I think you get what I am saying. Condiments, on the other hand, are intended to be applied by individuals in a manner that suits their individual taste. In this case, hot sauce is a condiment. Actually, in this recipe it is an ingredient and a condiment. Hot sauce is one of those condiments that takes some tasting of different brands to find the one you like. I think there are as many brands of hot sauce as there are beans in a can of green beans. My personal preference is Crystal brand hot sauce followed by Texas Pete brand hot sauce. I know someone is thinking "What about Tobasco sauce?" I despise Tobasco brand hot sauce. To me it is all heat and no taste. The Crystal and Texas Pete have some heat but they also have flavor. Personally, I want my food to taste good. Doesn't everyone? If you are still searching for a hot sauce to suit your taste but don't want to buy one of every brand at the grocery store, head down to Fire House Subs, they usually have a large selection of hot sauces on the counter for applying to their sandwiches. Just be aware that they have everything from mild to so hot it eats rust from old chrome bumpers. Fortunately, they are kind enough to put labels on the bottles indicating the level of heat: 1 is super mild and 10 is super-duper spicy. Me personally, I am good with a 4 or 5.
This recipe is really pretty easy. It is a variation of a recipe in one of Guy Fieri's cookbooks. He served it as a Jambalaya sandwich but I wanted it to be closer to a traditional Jambalaya. For years I have been making a Jambalaya recipe from some book or magazine recipe and everyone likes it but to me it was OK but really didn't seem to fit into the traditional Jambalaya category. After making Guy's a couple of times, I decided to tackle it and do it my way. In the end, I was very pleased with the results. It just takes a little time to cut everything up and some time for it to cook. In the end, the time you spend will be worth the effort.
Jambalaya
1 - Small pork roast (1 - 1.5 pounds)
2 - Packs Hillshire Farms smoked sausage
2 - Green Bell peppers
1 - Red Bell pepper
2 - Medium onions
1 - Head of garlic
3 - Stalks of celery
4 - Bay leaves
6 - Green onions
1 - 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
3-4 - Sprigs fresh thyme
1 Pound frozen, peeled shrimp
6 cups beef stock
1 - Small box of Brown Minute Rice - 14 oz box
Hot Sauce
Old Bay seasoning
Worcestershire Sauce
Crystal hot sauce (or whatever your preference is)
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Olive Oil
Start preheating a large, heavy-bottomed pot on the stove on medium-high heat. Add about 2 Tbsp of olive oil to the pot. Cut the pork roast into bite sized chunks. Exact size and shape aren't important. Cut the smoked sausage into 1/2 inch slices and set aside in a bowl. Once the pot is hot, add the pork, stirring occasionally. While the pork is cooking, peel and chop an entire head of garlic. Set aside in a small bowl. Once all of the pork has been lightly browned, add the smoked sausage while continuing to stir occasionally. Cut the bell peppers into thin strips. Slice the onions into thin slices. Slice the celery into thin slices. Once the sausage begins to brown a little, add the garlic and stir. Cook for one minute. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, and bay leaves. Continue to stir. Add 1 tsp of the Kosher salt and several twists of black pepper and stir in. Continue to cook until the peppers and onions start to get soft (about 7-8 minutes). Add the beef stock and diced tomatoes and stir. Add 2-3 tsp of Old Bay (depends on your taste), 4-5 shakes of the Worcestershire Sauce, and 5-6 shakes of the hot sauce (maybe 2-3 tsp). Stir. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs and chop very finely. Stir into other ingredients. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp and increase heat to medium-high. Cook 5 minutes. Add the entire box of rice. Stir. Cover and cook an additional 5-10 minutes until the rice is cooked.
Ladle into bowls and serve with hot sauce and you favorite dinner beverage.
Enjoy!
Jamey
I could have chosen a number of things to write about like computers and networking, or ham radio, or politics (yeah, right) but there are lots of those type blogs out there already. I am going to write about my cooking and meals. I have no idea how this will go but hopefully I'll be able to keep up the content. I'll share my recipes and thoughts on improving them, family reaction to the meal, maybe some pics of the dish and who knows what else.
To kick this off, I'll start with last night's meal. Sorry, there won't be any pictures for this one because I didn't think to take any but there will be plenty of pics in the future.
Here we go!
**********************************************************************************
Jambalaya!!
My family loves to eat Cajun food. I LOVE to eat Cajun food. Cajun is probably one of my favorite types of food to eat. Cajun food has such a wonderful smell when it is cooking. The combination of peppers, onions, garlic, celery, and bay leaves is better than any perfume I've ever smelled. Well, maybe there... never mind on THAT thought! I know a lot of people immediately associate Cajun food with spicy food but that isn't necessarily always the case. Sure, most of the prepackaged Cajun food is spicy. Some of it is so spicy that I have trouble eating it. I usually don't eat the prepackaged Cajun food because of the amount of sodium in it but that is another topic. Cajun food doesn't have to be spicy. If you cook it, it is only as spicy as you make it. Personally, I like mine to have some heat; my wife does not. My son Corey likes his Cajun food to be spicy; my son Alan does not. Everyone has a preference and I respect that.
This recipe is really pretty easy. It is a variation of a recipe in one of Guy Fieri's cookbooks. He served it as a Jambalaya sandwich but I wanted it to be closer to a traditional Jambalaya. For years I have been making a Jambalaya recipe from some book or magazine recipe and everyone likes it but to me it was OK but really didn't seem to fit into the traditional Jambalaya category. After making Guy's a couple of times, I decided to tackle it and do it my way. In the end, I was very pleased with the results. It just takes a little time to cut everything up and some time for it to cook. In the end, the time you spend will be worth the effort.
Jambalaya
1 - Small pork roast (1 - 1.5 pounds)
2 - Packs Hillshire Farms smoked sausage
2 - Green Bell peppers
1 - Red Bell pepper
2 - Medium onions
1 - Head of garlic
3 - Stalks of celery
4 - Bay leaves
6 - Green onions
1 - 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
3-4 - Sprigs fresh thyme
1 Pound frozen, peeled shrimp
6 cups beef stock
1 - Small box of Brown Minute Rice - 14 oz box
Hot Sauce
Old Bay seasoning
Worcestershire Sauce
Crystal hot sauce (or whatever your preference is)
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Olive Oil
Start preheating a large, heavy-bottomed pot on the stove on medium-high heat. Add about 2 Tbsp of olive oil to the pot. Cut the pork roast into bite sized chunks. Exact size and shape aren't important. Cut the smoked sausage into 1/2 inch slices and set aside in a bowl. Once the pot is hot, add the pork, stirring occasionally. While the pork is cooking, peel and chop an entire head of garlic. Set aside in a small bowl. Once all of the pork has been lightly browned, add the smoked sausage while continuing to stir occasionally. Cut the bell peppers into thin strips. Slice the onions into thin slices. Slice the celery into thin slices. Once the sausage begins to brown a little, add the garlic and stir. Cook for one minute. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, and bay leaves. Continue to stir. Add 1 tsp of the Kosher salt and several twists of black pepper and stir in. Continue to cook until the peppers and onions start to get soft (about 7-8 minutes). Add the beef stock and diced tomatoes and stir. Add 2-3 tsp of Old Bay (depends on your taste), 4-5 shakes of the Worcestershire Sauce, and 5-6 shakes of the hot sauce (maybe 2-3 tsp). Stir. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs and chop very finely. Stir into other ingredients. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp and increase heat to medium-high. Cook 5 minutes. Add the entire box of rice. Stir. Cover and cook an additional 5-10 minutes until the rice is cooked.
Ladle into bowls and serve with hot sauce and you favorite dinner beverage.
Enjoy!
Jamey
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