JAMBALAYA

I thought it was time we revisit an old favorite recipe of mine here on the blog today, which I love all the more because it always reminds me of two of my favorite people — John and Cate’s famous jambalaya recipe! ♡

John and Cate were two of the very first neighbors I met when I moved to downtown Kansas City five years ago.  When I arrived in the neighborhood, I didn’t know a soul around.  But a cute new coffee shop serendipitously also happened to be opening next door that very week.  And as I began to stop by morning after morning to order my favorite iced pour-over, I noticed that another couple was doing the same.  Eventually we all introduced ourselves, and one of my favorite friendships was born.

For years, the three of us crossed paths at the coffee shop nearly every morning — giving each other groggy pre-caffeinated hugs, catching up on the past day’s events, ruffling the heads of one another’s pups, talkin’ shop about all things small business, and finally settling in at nearby tables with our laptops to work for a few hours.  Then morning hangs eventually extended to evenings, swinging by one another’s places for impromptu happy hours and dinners, sneaking up to the rooftops to watch the fireworks on the 4th of July, or rallying all of our neighbors together each Tuesday for our beloved “neighbor nights” dinners.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 pound andouille sausage, thinly sliced into rounds
• 3 small bell peppers, cored and diced (I used a yellow, red and green bell pepper)
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 3-4 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning or Creole seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup thinly-sliced okra*
• Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
• optional garnishes: chopped fresh parsley, thinly-sliced green onions, hot sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a stock pot (or a very large, deep sauté pan) over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and sausage and sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the sausage is lightly browned.  Transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
2. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the stock pot.  Add bell peppers, celery, jalapeño, onion and garlic. Sauté for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened.
3. ...............................................

for full instruction please see : www.gimmesomeoven.com

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