It's Party Time

There are a few holidays always celebrated at Studio Arrabbiata.  One of those in Mardi Gras,  because they appreciate the spicy food there.  And it has been my custom in recent years to make a nice batch of jambalaya for the occasion, and feast while we can.

There used to be a good jambalaya at a Cajun restaurant in the town I lived in, but it closed years ago.  Actually my favorite dish there was the crawfish etoufee, but I haven't figured out a good recipe for that yet, or found a ready source of crawfish.  Meanwhile, every supermarket in the area has all the necessary ingredients for jambalaya, and there was a recipe for a Caribbean style chicken and pork dish that I had learned that wasn't that far away.  Researching various recipes, I found that there were so many options, there was no definitive recipe- a rice dish that has some pork (jambe from the French) so I could create my own.  And I find it tasty.

Since two of the three days after Mardi Gras are meatless Lenten days, I usually make it early and eat it through Fat Tuesday, so tonight's dish (shown above) was technically a leftover, but often leftovers are tastier than the first time around.  With all the vegetables, meats, spices, etc, that sounds about right.