We have a new roommate at the Oxford suites, and with him came lots of new things. Too many new things, actually. His furniture was spilling into the garage, the yard and then some. What to do, we ask? But a yard sale of course. The most fun yard sale in the history of yard sales! An all-day beer-pounding, hot dog-slamming, people-watching kind of yard sale. In honor of the occasion, we created the loveliest of posters to advertise the affair (ha!). My boyfriend Walt even strapped on some roller blades and a whoopie cushion costume to help lure in unsuspecting customers. No joke.
As luck would have it, all of our friends wanted to come “help out”, a.k.a. drink Pina Coladas and scream at passerby’s. The day brought lots of interesting characters — the kind you can only find in famed Venice Beach. One such example was a she-male Einsteen look-alike on a hot pink BMW motorcycle, and another was a strange man who inquired if we had a straw and some salt for sale (??!!). And you know it’s a party when two fire engines pull over, buy all of the PlayStation games and let us crawl all over their trucks. I’ve got the photos to prove it!
To feed the masses after a day of binge-drinking and hard-bargaining, I decided to whip up a batch of authentic Creole-style Jambalaya. Okay, I didn’t really whip it up. More like spent a few hours in the kitchen. But the result was well worth it. Extraordinary, actually. There are thousands of versions of this traditional Louisiana recipe to choose from, but I prefer this because it has ham, chicken, AND Andouille sausage. I also love the tomatoes, which is what makes it “Creole-style” (Cajun-style does not include them). This recipe is perfect for adapting to your own taste, or whatever you have in the pantry for that matter, and don’t be afraid of the red pepper flakes. Just be sure to hide some away if you want any leftovers; this stuff is gone in the blink of an eye!
P.S. The yard sale was a grand success, so much so that we are thinking about doing it again next week. Feel free to stop on by … I’m sure we’ll have something else on the stove abrewin’!
CREOLE-STYLE JAMBALAYA WITH CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE
Adapted from: The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook
4 – 5 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned
1 pound Andouille or other Cajun-style sausage
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper, freshly ground
Vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium-sized green bell pepper, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 cup cooked ham, cut into cubes
1 (14 1/2 ounce can) stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, or to taste
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
Salt, to taste
3 cups hot, cooked white rice
Cut sausage crosswise into 1/4 ” slices and cut chicken to small pieces. Sprinkle chicken liberally with cayenne and black pepper. Brown the chicken in a large, heavy pot or dutch oven with vegetable oil, about 6-8 minutes, stirring often. Remove and set aside. In same pot, add sausage and heat through, about 4 minutes. Remove and set aside with chicken.
Add onion, green bell pepper, garlic and celery into pot. Cook uncovered until crisp-tender, 5 – 7 minutes. Stir in chicken, sausage, ham, cajun seasoning, and remaining ingredients. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally. Yields 5 + servings
Cooks note: I doubled this recipe and could quite possibly have fed an army, with no complaints. I was also rather heavy handed with the red pepper flakes and Cajun seasoning. We like things spicy in these parts.
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