Jambalaya

Adapted from Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen.  This jambalaya reheats well, so you can make a large batch on the weekend and avoid cooking for a couple of days in the week.  However, if you do this, only put in the shrimp you'll eat at one meal.  If you like, you can add more shrimp when you reheat.  If you put all the shrimp in initially, when you reheat they will be overcooked.  The quantities listed below should make four to six one-person servings.  You can adjust just about everything to your taste.

Seasoning mix:

• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or other ground red pepper
• 1 ¼ teaspoons ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme leaves
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt (optional, I don't use any added salt)

Combine this in a small bowl and set to one side.  Or, forget the stupid bowl and just measure each ingredient into the pot when called for.  You may want to adjust the amount of the various peppers.  How much red pepper you use will depend not only on your taste but how hot the pepper you buy happens to be.  The cayenne I buy is very hot and I use only ¾ teaspoon.  You may need to experiment, but this dish is supposed to be hot.

Main ingredients:

• 2 to 3 tablespoons of cooking oil (I use olive oil, extra virgin actually)
• about 1 cup or 4 oz of chopped tasso (or other smoked ham)
• about 1 cup or 4 oz of chopped andouille smoked sausage (or other smoked pork sausage such as kielbasa)
• 1 ½ cups chopped onion (or less if you dislike onions as my wife, Jean, does)
• 2 cups or more chopped celery
• 2 cups or more chopped green bell peppers
• 1 chicken breast, off the bone, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 28 oz can of tomatoes, coarsely chopped, juice saved
• ¾ cup canned tomato sauce (or pasta sauce, whatever's handy)
• 2 cups seafood stock (made from shrimp shells, fish trimmings, etc.)
• 2 cups uncooked rice (converted, Uncle Ben's for example)
• ½ pound medium shrimp per two servings to be eaten immediately

1. Bring the stock, tomato sauce and juice from the canned tomatoes to a simmer in a saucepan and add the rice.  Keep on very low heat, stirring from time to time, as you follow the remaining steps, but turn it off immediately if it dries up.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan (I use a size F round Le Creuset cast iron casserole) and sauté the onion, tasso and andouille, stirring for 5 to 10 minutes until browned.
3. Add the celery and green pepper and cook until tender but still firm, stirring frequently and making sure nothing's sticking to the pan bottom.  You can be cooking and cutting up vegetables at the same time here, especially if there are two of you.  Put the celery in first as it doesn't seem to overcook.
4. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until it is no longer pinkish.  Toss in the seasoning mix at any time around here.
5. Add the minced garlic and tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the rice that's been cooking in the stock and tomato sauce and mix everything up well.  If the rice is a long way from being done, cook for a while here, otherwise proceed immediately.
7. Add the shrimp.  If you're cooking to have leftovers, count the shrimp so you can serve them all at this meal and not have overcooked shrimp to face next time.  Stir the shrimp into the mixture and cover.  Cook over a very low heat for 10 minutes.
8. Serve any way you like, but don't eat the bay leaves.