Super - updated with recipe

I was recently inspired to bring a n'awlins style dish to a certain sports event type party that we were planning to attend. I considered making some class of Cajun number in the crock pot, and went so far as to look up a couple of easy jambalaya recipes. But crockpot jambalaya seemed so.... soft. What about the sizzling of meats, and all the bits of browned goodness that need to be incorporated into the liquid so it will achieve that golden color? No, no... the crock pot would not do. My jambalaya had to be made in a proper dutch oven. Nothing in my kitchen would do. (this is SO me, isn't it? But I realize that I am demented, and admitting that I have a problem is the first step, right?) So I took a little sojourn to the home store, and I found my true love.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

I'm going to spare you the billions of blurry photos I took of the jambalaya making action. It was self-indulgent, all that snapping and shooting. I was really just looking for an excuse to fondle, pose, and mess with my beautiful new lovechild cookware.

Just look how she completed the table of joy at the party:

There was also a punchbowl of joy involved, and despite the odd feathered creature hovering above it, I was able to indulge in its delectable rum-soaked goodness.

The kids had a great time too, it turned out to be a perfectly lovely day after all so they enjoyed the back yard. They even found time to stage themselves for what could easily be confused with an expensive, glossy magazine ad

what would they be selling?

My boy was a little outnumbered with all the budding estrogen, but he found his own fun

Even the game was fun to watch, the pressure was off but we had certainly taken sides. It's so great when the team you're rooting for actually wins! But the real entertainment was taking place outside, when two baby girls discovered each other

Who dat?

And then they got right to the business of making out



Aw, they were feeling the love!



Sometimes there's a fine line between pleasure and pain

hi Beth!

When the sports entertainment was over, we were treated to our own private post game show

and I won the boxes!

It was super.

.

Jambalaya. yum.

Heat your rockin dutch oven to medium, toss in about a pound of sausage -I used andouille - sliced on the diagonal. Move it around a lot, and keep scraping up the yummy bits that want to stick to the bottom. Add some boneless chicken thighs, I used 4 thighs, cut into generally big hunks and seasoned with a creole mix I had in the cupboard. Cook all of this for about 15 minutes, then throw in a bunch of onions and garlic, and add smoked ham (tasso if you can find it, I used thick slices of smoked ham from the deli, cut into a large dice). There were roughly equal amounts of sausage, chicken, onion, and ham. Add fresh thyme and basil, and white pepper. Keep stirring and scraping and savoring the amazing aroma. Cook until the onions are translucent and limp.

You’ve just made the jambalaya concentrate. You can continue from here or do what I did, which was to allow the concentrate to cool to room temp and then stick it in the fridge until the next day.

The next step is to add about 3 cups of liquid – I used a mixture of beef consommé and chicken stock. Get it to a rolling boil, then throw in 1 ½ cups of long grain rice and a bunch of chopped fresh curly parsley. Stir this constantly so the rice won’t drop to the bottom and burn. Once it boils again and the rice is starting to incorporate into the mixture, turn the heat down as low as you possibly can, put the cover on, and walk away for 25 minutes.

Turn it off after 25 minutes, stir in some cooked shrimp and more fresh herbs, and enjoy!