Jambalaya

A family friend makes Jambalaya for big get-togethers and she gave me her signature recipe at my bridal shower. Even though I have had this Jambalaya recipe for four years now, I didn't get around to making it until last week.  Since Brett shrugged and grunted when I asked him what he wanted to eat that week, I made the menu.  He was not very excited about Jambalaya night.  I assured him that it would be similar to the Red Beans and Rice Soup that we make, only with andouille sausage instead of beans.

I was a little confused about whether or not the andouille sausage was already cooked.  It had the texture of pepperoni when I cut it into slices.  The recipe says to heat it through, but I let it go longer than that just to be on the safe side.  I also threw in some leftover bits of pre-cooked chicken.  I took the meat out and then cooked a chopped onion, two cloves of garlic, and a chopped green pepper in the same pot. (The recipe also calls for chopped celery, but I left that out.)

Once the veggies were tender, I put the meat back in, added three cups of chicken broth, and then did a major double take at the recipe. 1/4 cup of paprika!!  I didn't even have 1/4 cup of  paprika and I'd never seen a recipe that called for even close to such a huge amount.  What I did have a lot of was Cajun seasoning from Penzey's Spices.  So I left out the 1/4 tsp cayenne and the paprika from the recipe and instead added almost 1/4 of a cup of the Cajun Seasoning.  When that came to a boil I added two cups of rice and let it simmer covered until the rice had absorbed all the liquid and was cooked through.

The apartment smelled fantastic!  I think even Brett was starting to get excited, even though he didn't show it.  He was wary that it would be too spicy.  I went to have a taste to check if the rice was done and it was, "Oooooh it's good!" I yelled from the kitchen.  "Oooooh it is spicy though," quickly followed.

It was good, but we ate it with a giant glass of water.  I had to take a sip every two bites.  Our mouths were on fire!  Next time I'm going to half the cajun seasoning, I should have listened to my instincts, which told me a 1/4 cup was way too much.

I discovered a pretty good remedy to "put out the fire."  Popsicles!  I had one for dessert soon after the Jambalaya, and by the time it was gone, so was the spiciness.