Jambalaya

[Joe H]

I can't speak to whether they have named a new chef, but Bob and I ate there last week using our Living Social coupon and had a very nice meal. If nothing was exceptional or groundbreaking, neither were there any misses. My roasted sugar pie pumpkin salad (baby greens with diced pumpkin, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and a (very mild/light) pumpkin vinaigrette was delicious and a substantial portion, and Bob liked his pan-fried Rappahannock oysters. My red drum with jambalaya was fine (though I make a better jambalaya); Bob's stuffed cabbage struck me as better looking than it tasted, but he enjoyed it. Best of all were our cocktails--Bob's a peach old-fashioned; I forget what mine was except that I really liked the taste and scent of its fresh thyme. With the coupon, it was decently priced--without it, I might have left a bit disappointed in the overall value (but not the food), to be

honest.

STEPHAN PYLES' GULF COAST JAMBALAYA

1/4 cup olive oil

3/4 cup chopped tasso or other smoked ham

2/3 cup chopped andouille sausage

2 cups finely chopped onion

6 scallions, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 large green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

6 stalks celery, finely chopped

8 ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 2 pounds)

1 tablespoon chopped oregano

2 teaspoons chopped basil

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons cayenne powder

3 cups fish stock or chicken stock

3 cups uncooked rice

24 medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

24 fresh Gulf oysters, about 1 pound shucked, with their liquor

8 ounces fresh Gulf Coast crabmeat, shell and cartilage removed

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F. In large cast-iron skillet, heat olive oil until lightly smoking, add tasso and andouille, and sauté over medium heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Add onion, scallions, garlic, bell peppers and celery, and sauté for 5 minutes more.

Add tomatoes and seasonings, stir thoroughly, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in stock and bring to boil. Add rice, stir well, and remove from heat. Cover with foil, and bake in oven until rice is just tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in shrimp, oysters, and crabmeat. Cover and bake for 15 minutes more. Remove bay leaves, taste, and adjust seasoning with salt. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

SOURCE: Stephan Pyles

I am obsessed with jambalaya. Serious. The above is the best recipe I have found and made. Please post yours.

[thistle]

I felt bad, because I dragged a friend out today to try the Ft. Belvoir golf course buffet, which I had heard was good, but it wasn't. We had soup-NE clam chowder, not horrible, & chili, greasy. Salad was average, & main courses were fried catfish (decent), creole seafood (average, w/ mushy rice), baked chicken (which my friend said was dry). Even the dessert, which I didn't try ( my friend had apple pie a la mode), was subpar- I felt really guilty for dragging her out for a lousy meal...you win some, you lose some....that jambalaya recipe looks great...It sounds a thousand times better than anything I ate today...Well, the catfish was hot, & freshly fried...

[Tujague]

I am obsessed with jambalaya. Serious. The above is the best recipe I have found and made. Please post yours.

This sounds like a fantastic recipe, but to be honest, Joe, I don't have a set recipe I use; I tend to go by instinct and tasting as I go along. The staples for me are tasso, andouille, and shrimp, and of course the bell peppers, onion, and garlic; I'm fine with a good canned tomato. My experience is that it comes out better the less "fancy" I try to be. The key for me has been, to my surprise, thyme. Getting it in just the right balance--and I'm okay with dried thyme here--is what sets it apart. And when I've had a less satisfactory jambalaya, the problem has usually been in the rice--this is the sort of dish where you discover that not all long grains are created equal. In general, I think the best jambalayas I've had are the ones that have stuck to a less gourmet, more rustic profile--not being ashamed of everyday pantry items, but finding ways to let them shine in this setting.

[dcandohio]

Sorry, i hit "post" too quickly. At the risk of having to give up any cred I might have developed as a cook, I am submitting a no-fail, easy-peasey, pantry-based jambalaya. It has been a total hit at potluck dinners across the US. And before anyone pipes in about "authenticity" please know that this recipe was shared with my Mom by "Aunt Toni," our dear 80+ year old family friend who was married to a cajun and who was descended from New Orleans French immigrants.

1 1lb box Uncle Ben's converted (not instant) rice

1 can of french onion soup

1 can of beef broth

1 can of Rotel original tomatoes

1 stick of butter, cut into pieces

Diced celery

Diced onion

Diced bell peppers

Chopped garlic

Parsley

thyme

corriander

Diced sausage (andouille if you can get it), about 3/4 lb.

Peeled, raw shrimp, about 1 lb.

You can substitute chicken or turkey for shrimp

Put everything in a large, oven proof dutch oven or soup pot with a tight lid. Bake at about 375, stirring occasionally, for at least an hour, until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. It can probably sit in a warm oven for an hour after completion without any degradation of quality. Inhave left it warm for two hours, and it was just fine.

Before you judge...try it. If you can get past the sodium content, which us surely lethal, this is really delicious and so, so easy.

[johnb]

I am obsessed with jambalaya. Serious. The above is the best recipe I have found and made. Please post yours.

I need to try that one.

The best one I have ever found is the "Shrimp and Ham Jambalaya" recipe in the Time-Life Creole and Acadian book from the early '70's. I often made it for my famous New Years Day Open House, and I even received enthusiastic complements from friends who were natives of the bayou, who would say it was the best jambalaya they ever had. Here is a repro of it that I found on the internet:

http://www.bookclubc...ewellRhodes.htm

It looks more complicated than it is. Basically you make the sofrito part in one pot, then add the shrimp and cook briefly, then add the still-hot cooked rice and stir it all up. You can do the sofrito ahead. I prefer parboiled LG rice myself, especially if it won't be consumed immediately after being made, but that's up to you. PS the hint of clove in the final product is crucial to what makes this so good, so don't leave it out.

Those Time-Life books were great. They more than anything are what got my interest in food and cooking really going, back in the day.

[Joe H]

John, I remember your jambalaya: it was outstanding! For Stephen Pyles I use fish fumet where it calls for fish or chicken stock. Usually when I make jambalaya it is after I make bouillbasse and the fumet is left over from that. I've also used bomba rice.

Miss your New Year's Day parties!

[thistle]

I have not attempted a jambalaya yet, but I have cooked a 'drunken shrimp creole' (dating myself, from the 'Surreal Gourmet Entertains'), which was excellent , & has you making a stock from shrimp shells. I served it to a guest, when we were living in Columbus, GA, who politely tried to contain his coughs...

[liz2041]

I know this discussion is about cooking it, but has anyone found any decent jambalaya in the area? The bar at Evening Star had a respectable version back in the day even if the presentation was off. Although they have a wide, deep and decent menu at Dogwood Tavern, the jambalaya I had this weekend was not even passable. I love to chow on it in the fall for some reason. It makes me miss my many visits to N.O. years ago when I was too busy drinking my way through the city to realize how awesome the food was. Any recommendations of someplace to order a decent version it around here would be greatly appreciated!!

[NolaCaine]

Wow. A jambalaya thread. How did I miss it? I like peas in my jambalaya. Anybody else? Frozen, green, peas.  In it. Yum.  (Just like my momma made). 

[Ilaine]

Never tried peas in my jambalaya but it sounds good.  I am in love with Anson Mill's Carolina Gold Rice.  It absorbs flavors well and has a lovely taste all on its own, and a good texture.

[The Hersch]

Never tried peas in my jambalaya but it sounds good.  I am in love with Anson Mill's Carolina Gold Rice.  It absorbs flavors well and has a lovely taste all on its own, and a good texture.

That is some expensive rice. Is it really worth it?

[JSnake]

I know this discussion is about cooking it, but has anyone found any decent jambalaya in the area? The bar at Evening Star had a respectable version back in the day even if the presentation was off. Although they have a wide, deep and decent menu at Dogwood Tavern, the jambalaya I had this weekend was not even passable. I love to chow on it in the fall for some reason. It makes me miss my many visits to N.O. years ago when I was too busy drinking my way through the city to realize how awesome the food was. Any recommendations of someplace to order a decent version it around here would be greatly appreciated!!

I know this is almost three years old but for anyone who's been asking themselves the same question, I'm quite fond of most of the food served at RT's, including the Jambalaya. It's located on Mt Vernon Ave in the Del Ray area north of Old Town Alexandria

[Pat]

That is some expensive rice. Is it really worth it?

Yes.

[Seanchai]

I love cooking out of Donald Link's Real Cajun cookbook and the chicken and sausage jambalaya is a family favorite:

http://leitesculinaria.com/77092/recipes-chicken-and-sausage-jambalaya.html

[Ilaine]

Hersch, everything I have purchased from Anson Mills is top notch, and wonderfully delicious. Rice, rice grits, rice flour, oats, corn flour, corn meal, polenta, Sea Island beans. I can't eat many carbs because I have diabetes, so, when I do, I want them to be the best. They grow heritage varieties, low yield, organic methods, old ways of processing, hence the cost.

If you're the kind of person who lives on rice, buys big sacks every week, yeah, it's pricy for that lifestyle, but you owe it to yourself as a treat.

Seanchi, that recipe looks really good, and I learned a cooking term I never knew, au sec, and a technique I've never used, but should.