May 28th, 2013 - Chef Paul Prudhomme Tradition - Sausage and Spinach Jambalaya

So we cooked a couple Chef Paul Prudhomme recipes from Seasoned America last week and I decided to go ahead and just make my own... an on the spot recipe made by me.  It turned out so good, I was told I needed to include it as a repeat (4-5 Star) recipe in the Smith Family Cookbook!

We are going to called this meal: 

Sausage Jambalaya****

Jambalaya's are traditional meals from Louisiana (Creole) that have French and Spanish influences.  The basic idea is to cook meat and vegetables, add stock and rice, and cook.  That's the basic idea, and I do this with a lot of variations. This is a sausage variation, with the strange addition of spinach...

SEASONING MIX
1 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon of Onion Powder
1 teaspoon of Salt
1 teaspoon of black ground pepper
1 teaspoon of white pepper
1 teaspoon of red cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 teaspoon of rosemary
1 teaspoon of ground pasilla 

Now we won't use all the season mix, but this is the ratios I used.  

INGREDIENTS
1 tube of Jimmy Dean Sausage (Regular)

4  Evergood Hot Link Sausages Louisiana Brand (Slice them up) - I got these at Costco.

1 red bell pepper (you can use green, I think the red taste better)

4 stalks of celery (chopped)
1 handful of baby carrots or just 2 big chopped carrots
1 bunch of green onions
1 bunch of spinach (washed and stems cut off)
1 cup of rice
1 can of diced tomatoes
Chicken Broth

DIRECTIONS

I started by browning the Jimmy Dead Sausage in a big pot. I added 2 teaspoons of the seasoning mix.  Once cooked I added the sausage (sliced).  I cooked that a few more minutes.  Then removed all the meat to a paper towel lined plate.

I then added to the same pot (with the sausage fat in it) the diced bell pepper, celery, and carrots.  Add 1 o 2 more teaspoons of seasoning mix.  Cook about 5-7 minutes, till you feel the vegetables look good.  Then add the diced green onions cook a minute, then add the can of tomatoes... cook another minute, then add the cup of rice and cook 3-5 minutes, till the rice is good and brown.  Then add the spinach (washed and stems cut off) add the ground sausage and Louisiana hot links back into the pot and then add stock.  I think I added 6 cups of chicken stock, but you'll have to figure this out for yourself, as you want a good amount. 

Bring to a boil...

Then cover and simmer 20-30 minutes. I had too much stock so I had to simmer longer.

It was... AMAZING.  4 stars. I'll cook it again, and we'll see if it eventually becomes a classic, a 5 star family recipe!  Let me know how it turns out, and let me know the variations you make.  This was a keeper.

Next we have Modernist Hamburgers.... that's for tonight!  Hopefully the recipe will come tomorrow!