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Today we were lucky enough to have our friend Robin not only share her recipe for Jambalaya, but also spend a couple of hours with us cooking. Robin is originally from Louisiana and has perfected her recipe over the years. How cool is Robin that she was so willing to share?

Robin and her husband, Dean, host college football every Saturday in their home. You can be certain to find your favorite college team playing on 1 of their 8 TVs, and the food is always amazing. The next time we cook with Robin, she is going to teach us how to make her own Louisiana Gumbo so stay tuned!

Jambalaya is a Southern recipe originating in Louisiana, that is basically a rice dish with vegetables, creole seasoning, pork tasso, chicken and smoked sausage. It is a comfort dish for sure, simple to make and unbelievably irresistible. Serve with a piece of cornbread and settle in for a special treat. It’s great to serve at parties and bonus – it reheats well.

Ingredients matter here. Robin was able to share a little about the ingredients that she has tested and proved to be tried and true consistently and even better, brought the ingredients to share that she purchased during her last trip.

We made our own chicken stock a couple of days beforehand.  The broth was made with lots of vegetables, fresh herbs, and chicken to create the perfect flavor. We used two whole chickens which we then pulled the meat off the bones to use in this recipe. This was a win because we had a rich flavorful stock with some to spare, and our chicken was ready to go.

Creole Seasoning – You can choose to make your own, or use what you have on hand, but this seasoning is the perfect blend of flavorful spices. We are all for shortcuts as long as it does not alter the flavor!

Pork Tasso – Tasso is a type of pork or meat used in Cajun-style cuisine and is made from the pork shoulder butt. We used The Best Stop Cajun Food brand out of Scott, LA.

Smoked Beef and Pork Sausage – This smoked sausage was out..of..this..world..delicious! I have nothing else to say here. We used Rabideaux Smoke Sausage out of Iowa (pronounced Ao-Way), LA.

Long grain Louisiana Basmati Rice – A slim type of rice that cooks up fluffy and doesn’t clump the way, say, short-grain rice does. This is the most forgiving rice, the variety that will most often turn out the way you want it.

Note: Missing in action from the ingredient’s picture is 2 cans Rotel Tomatoes, original flavor.

Let the fun begin….

First chop the veggies. Jambalaya always starts with the holy trinity of onions, celery and bell peppers. Also, mince the garlic.

Then, cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.

Heat a cast iron pan on a high heat and add the meat. Once the meat begins to brown turn the heat down to medium. Once sausage is cooked through and meat is nicely browned, remove the meat with a slotted spoon.

In the same pan, using the fat released from the sausage, sauté the celery, onions and green peppers until softened. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes longer and remove from heat.

Remove veggies from the pan. Add approximately 1/2 cup of broth to the hot pan. With a spatula, scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the brown bits.

Add tasso, sausage and chicken to a dutch oven or stock pot. Add veggies, the brown bits broth from the pan, both cans of Rotel tomatoes, and enough stock to cover all the ingredients in the pan – approximately 4 – 5 cups. Then add 1/3 cup of the Cajun seasoning and stir.

In a 1 cup measuring cup, add 2 heaping tablespoons of the dry roux. Add 1 cup broth and blend until roux is completely dissolved and add to pot. You will start to see the color of the broth change which is what you are going for. The roux will a color AND flavor.

Add rice. STIR ONCE! If you continue to stir, it will cause the rice to get soggy and starchy. Check the level of broth to ensure all ingredients are covered in broth and if needed, add a little more broth. Bring to a boil, cover pot and turn down the heat to simmer.

After about 25 – 30 minutes, take a test bite off the top to determine if rice is cooked. If necessary, simmer a few minutes longer.

Once the rice is done, remove from the heat and serve.

As a side note, we enjoyed sipping on a coffee (it was 8:00 AM afterall), with a shot of Evangeline’s Praline Pecan Liqueur added. Topped it with whip cream and shaved chocolate. It was delicious!

We were not picture ready, but we had a blast getting together and learning from each other. Robin is in the back on the right-hand side and Debbie, who stopped by to teach us her Fried Ice Cream recipe is middle center of the picture.

Cheers!

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