Walrus and Carpenter: Practice Practice Practice

The culinary countdown has begun.

I realized that I have to cook jambalya for a crowd this weekend, so the poor Mrs. will be my test subject. I stopped by the grocery today and picked up chorizo, chicken, shrimp, rice and tomato soup base.

When I got home I dusted off my mothers "Harvest Gold" enameled cast iron casserole and set it over low heat with some olive oil.

Harvest Gold, a timeless color

I diced up one onion and two cloves of garlic, tossed them into the warm oil and let them soften.

After 7 minutes or so I cubed up some of the chorizo and introduced the spicy sausage into the "flavor pool" (Thanks Guy). The sausage gave the onions a lovely dark color, as well as really heady aroma in the kitchen. After a few more minutes I put some chicken breast (cubed into about one inch cubes) and let it brown on all sides.

I seasoned with a hint of cumin, some freshly ground pepper, kosher salt and cajun seasoning.

A can of condensed tomato soup went on top of the assorted meats as well as two cans of water to make a thin tomato broth. I seasoned the broth with two shakes of hot sauce, a dollop of A1 for beef base flavor and a shake or two of worchester sauce because it goes well with tomato.

The base ready for the oven (pre rice)

I cranked the heat up to high, induced a boil and tossed the entire pan in a 350 degree oven for half an hour. I will toss in about a cup of rice and put back into the oven for another 20 minutes. When it comes out I will stir in the shrimp and let the residual heat cook them as the rice sets up. We can only hope it a good starting point for a delish dish to honor the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.