American Grub

You may have heard somewhere--I can't imagine where :-)--that my best friend Sally came to visit me for two weeks. As is my duty as an American foodie, I introduced her to some great American classics. First I made chilli, which I have no pictures of, but here is the recipe...

Chilli

2 lb ground or cubed meat
1 clove garlic, minced
18.5 oz water (or beer)
2 tsp oregano
2 dashes paprika
2 dashes hot sauce
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 sm onion, chopped
2 boullion cubes
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cumin
2 bay leaves
8 oz tomato sauce
2 Tbsp cornmeal
Shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Throw it all in a slow cooker on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours. Top individual servings with a small handful of shredded cheddar cheese for garnish.

Pretty easy, huh? You can also toss it into a pot and cook everything up really quickly, but the flavors don't meld quite the same way. Still awesome, though. Sally really loved it.

Then there was, what I consider, the quintessential American food: Jambalaya. I don't know anyone who doesn't like this stuff. Here's the recipe that Heather, our mum, and I all use...

Jambalaya

1/2 lb smoked sausage, halved and sliced
2 cup cubed fully cooked ham
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 lg onion, chopped
1 med green pepper, chopped
5 green onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14-1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cans (14-1/2 oz each) chicken broth
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/3 cup water
4-1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 lb cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a Dutch oven, sauté sausage and ham in oil until lightly browned. Remove and keep warm. In the drippings, sauté the celery, onion, green pepper, green onions and garlic until tender. Add tomatoes, thyme, salt, pepper and cayenne; cook 5 minutes longer.

Stir in broth, rice, water and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in sausage mixture and shrimp; heat through. Serve immediately. Yield: 10-12 servings.

I picked up some FABULOUS Andouille sausage from Whole Foods for this dish. Expensive, but worth it. I wanted Sally's experience to be as authentic as possible. Plus, Andouille has just the right kind of spices for this dish.

The ham I wasn't as picky about. Ham is ham. I started to cut these slices with a knife and then had a better idea. Pizza slicer! That made very short work of my ham. Brilliant!

Can you believe this is just the non-shrimp meat that goes into the soup? A pile of meat like this lets you know it's going to be good.

And now for the veggies. Oh. My. Goodness. So much chopping. This dish actually takes longer to prep than it does to cook. Be sure to take that into account when you start this dish. Give yourself lots of prep time.

Mmmmm, anything that has to sweat in animal fat is destined for greatness. Okay, that's probably not universally true...think about it...okay, enough about that.

A bit more cooking, a few more additions (look at all that shrimp!!!), and we are...

There! Pure deliciousness! As I said, I don't know anyone who doesn't like this dish. Sally loved it, Mike loves it (yes, my picky, meat-and-potatoes husband!), I love it, and you will too! Plus, it's a one-pot meal that's pretty much impossible to mess up. Why wouldn't you make it?