Jambalaya Day

 

As I have stated many times before, here at Studio Arrabbiata we do respect all those holidays that call for spicy food, and one of those is Mardi Gras, as for me it's my annual excuse to make some jambalaya.  There is no one specified recipe for the dish, so it can be as spicy as I wish, but I like it that way, so I included plenty of cayenne in it.  (not as much as the infamous Italian House chili, but that's a whole big story in itself)  I had spices left over from the one I made last year, as well as rice, and everything else I had bought in the last week or so, so I was prepared.  Sunday is my best day to cook things, so I started by prepping vegetables and defrosting things in the early afternoon, then did all the cooking and assembling earlier today.  The way I make it, it's enough for at least 3 meals, so I do it on Sunday so I'll have some to eat on Tuesday, after which comes Lent and a bunch of days where I can't eat meat.  (Today's included chicken, andouille sausage, shrimp, celery, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and all the other things you might expect.)  

At the top of this post is a photo of this year's batch.  (it's good to have a camera again)   Most if it got packed up in the fridge, where it will be 2 or 3 meals on days I can eat meat this week.  Meanwhile, I helped myself to a large bowl of it tonight, along with the last cold beer I had (so I'll need to stop and get some more tomorrow on my way home), and some nice zydeco music playing on my computer, since I don't have my main music collection right now.  All just a preview of what will happen on Tuesday.  I look forward to that.