Southern Food: Jambalya and Slushy Whiskey Sours

Congratulations to the East Falls Church Boys for making two of the popular dishes of the Southern Food Night.  Dave's Jambalaya was completely packed full of flavor, and Mark's whiskey sours definately got the party going.  So due to popular demand, here are the two recipes for you to make yourself:

Dave's Jambalya has been adapted from Emeril Lagasse's Cajun Jambalaya.  Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you -- Dave was able to make this recipe after work AND get to my place on time.  I haven't tried it myself, but I was told it was surprisingly quick to make out even when he doubled the recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 12 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
• 4 ounces chicken, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 3/4 cup rice
• 3 cups chicken stock (can substitute water with chicken bullion)
• 5 ounces Andouille sausage, sliced
• Salt and pepper 
• Crushed Red Pepper Seeds (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning (combine the following ingredients below -- you can store extra in an airtight container for later use)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Step 1:  Season the chicken and shrimp with all of the seasoning.  Dave's adaptation was to throw crushed red pepper seeds to the mix.
Step 2:  Heat the olive oil in a pan to high heat.  Add the green peppers, onions and celery to soften -- about 3 minutes.
Step 3: Now add the garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce to the pan.
Step 4: Stir the rice in, and slowly add your broth (or water chicken bullion mixture, as Dave did).  Make sure to reduce the heat to medium, and stir it occasionally, as you don't want that rice sticking to the bottom and burning.  Rice should become tender after about 15 minutes.
Step 5:  Once that rice is tender, you can add your meats, ie. the chicken, shrimp and sausage.   It should take about 10 minutes before the meat is done. 
Step 6:  And if you watch TopChef, you would know that you always have to try your food before you serve it.  Now is when you get to tweak the taste by adding more salt, pepper and the Creole seasoning as necessary.



Mark's frozen drink is inspired by Slushy Whiskey Sours.  The major modifications were to up the amount of bourbon (I'm sure you are all so shocked) and to grow impatient waiting for it to freeze and to just drink it chilled.  This is, of course, assuming that it would ever freeze with the amount of alcohol Mark likes.

Ingredients:

• 1  (6-ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1  (6-ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
• 1  (6-ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 4 1/3  cups  water
• 1 liter  bourbon
• 1  (33.8-ounce) bottle club soda, chilled 

Step 1: Combine everything EXCEPT the club soda and stir.
Step 2: Freeze. To get it to freeze faster, you can pour the concoction into a zip lock bag for increased surface area.
Step 3: Wait 2+ hours.
Step 4: When you get tired of waiting, add the club soda and serve.  Trust me, it tastes great even if its not slushy. 


If anyone wants any other recipes, let me know or put up a comment, and hopefully the person will be willing to share