Coming up with ideas to cook is the hardest part of cooking for most people. I nailed Sam and Marty down on Sunday morning asking for some dinner ideas for the week. They came up with their suggestions; I would fill in the blanks based on what I wanted.
Every week, I write down dinner menus in my cooking notebook; then below it, I make a shopping list of ingredients. I leave the list at home when I go to the store and have someone take a photo of it and text it to me. 🤦🏻♀️
I had a craving for something flavorful, different, and better yet, a one-pot dish. Jambalaya was that dish. Having a well-stocked pantry makes pulling one of these dinner ideas out of your ass possible.
I’ve mentioned that we live in a food desert here in Southern Vermont, so if you want something a little different, you have to cook it yourself. If you don’t cook, you are out of luck or settle for mediocre, ordinary cuisine. This is not a food snob talking, just a person that likes different varieties of food.
Finding ingredients around here is another story; I do most of my ethnic shopping in Albany, NY. When you want to make a dish with ingredients that aren’t available here, you make do the best you can.
I made my version of jambalaya tonight, one that would make creole folks go crazy since it isn’t authentic. I used common ingredients out of necessity but tried to mimic the flavor the best I could.
I started sautéing in olive oil, what they call in New Orleans the “holy trinity,” which is onions, celery, and bell peppers. Cooks know what the “holy trinity” is, just like a “mirepoix,” onions, celery, and carrots in French cooking.
Next, I added the sausage to the vegetables. Since I didn’t have andouille sausage, I used kielbasa. I made my own creole seasoning on the spicy side to help the kielbasa masquerade as andouille.
For the rest of the recipe, I used long-grain white rice, a can of Rotel tomatoes & green chilis, chicken broth, and a bay leaf. I added a bag of shrimp at the very end of the cook.
I browned the rice with the kielbasa and veggies. Next, I brought it up to a boil, covered it, and cooked it on low for 20 minutes. I stirred in a bag of mall shrimp that I marinated in a touch of olive oil and creole seasoning. I turned off the heat, covered the pot, and walked away for ten minutes. The residual heat cooked the small shrimp through without overcooking them.
Not many ingredients like most of my recipes, just flavorful AF ones. While it was cooking, the house smelled delicious. So delicious that when Sam woke up at 5 pm (he works night shifts), he came down to see what the hell I was cooking.
After I told him it was jambalaya, I realized I had never made it for him before; I made it while he was away at school. He thought it smelled amazing with flavors he had never had before.
It turns out he wouldn’t be having it this time either since he wouldn’t be home. I packed a take-out container for a 3 am work dinner later this week for him. Yes, I pack him his dinners. I love feeding people!
The jambalaya came out exactly how I wanted it to taste, smokey from the smoked paprika I put in the creole seasoning, a little heat but not too much, and that holy trinity was the foundation of the dish building flavors.
The house still smelled good three hours later when I took out the trash; I considered having more but decided against it. I hate feeling overfilled and have to stop myself by having only one portion. I also put my fork down the second my brain tells me I am full, no matter how delicious the meal is.
So a pot of faux jambalaya was the food hero last night and will be again today for lunch before belly dance classes. Yum!
Faux Jambalaya
Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 package of grocery store kielbasa
1 Tbsp Creole seasoning
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilis
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 lb bag of easy-peel raw shrimp
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp creole seasoning
Salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
Chop the onion, pepper, and celery. Mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or large pot, then add the “holy trinity” and the garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes.
Add the kielbasa and the Creole seasoning. Stir to combine. Sauté uncovered for 10-12 minutes, stirring often or until the vegetables are soft.
While the kielbasa and veggies are cooking, peel the shrimp. In a bowl, add a tablespoon of olive oil and one teaspoon of creole seasoning. Stir gently to combine thoroughly. Set aside.
Add the rice to the kielbasa and veggies, stirring until combined. Brown, the raw rice for 3-5 minutes, stirring often to prevent the rice from burning. This step gives the rice a rich and nutty flavor.
Add the Rotel tomatoes and the chicken broth stirring well. Add the bay leaf, then bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
Uncover, check the doneness of the rice. Stir in 1/8 cup water, cover, and cook for five more minutes if the rice is underdone. When the rice is tender, stir in the shrimp, turn off the heat, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf, check for seasoning and serve. Enjoy!
A bunch of thoughts from southeast Vermont: I order ethnic spices from Amazon. I am pleasantly surprised how many types of vegan substitutes are available from the supermarket. Oh how I miss the food variety of NYC. And there are fewer restaurants that deliver than before the pandemic, seems odd. Thank you for introducing me to the Holy Trinity.
more on the southern VT food desert: Our local Hannaford supermarket has a gyro meal kit I just discovered, meat and chopped onions and tomatoes, with 2 sauces and pita. Satisfies the gyro craving.