I am easy to please. Just feed me something delicious and you'll see me grin ear to ear. Through my travels, I get to sample authentic dishes that are only available in certain city/region. Unfortunately, that also means my palate has become much more refine and I have become a much pickier eater.
That mean the food has to be extraordinary good (to others) to please me. For example, I avoid ordering creole dishes now because they are never as good as the dishes I tasted in New Orleans a few year ago (I had the best gumbo, at The Gumbo Shop, and Étouffée , at The Acme Oysters). This past weekend, I had the most expensive and the crappiest Étouffée at New Orleans Cajun & Creole Cuisine in Hermosa Beach (the other choice was Raging Cajun but the food there is not good either, but at least Raging Cajun does not charge $20 for a bowl of Gumbo).
Luckily, I can cook so good food just require a bit more effort. I made the yummiest Jambalaya since New Orleans and had it for dinner and lunch. I used this recipe from Epicurious (my favorite recipe site) :
JAMBALAYA
(Makes 6 servings.)
ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 celery stalks, diced (I used carrots since I didn't had celery and bell pepper)
3 tbsp fresh Italian parsley,
minced4 oz extra-lean smoked ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (used spicy sausage instead )
5 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced (used spicy sausage instead )
1 large bay leaf
1 tsp cayenne pepper (Ancho Chilie Powder work too)
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
3/4 cup brown rice, uncooked (add more rice if like thick, ~2 cups)
1 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into bite-sized pieces
(I also added a can of chicken broth and tons of water because I like my Jambalaya in soup form)
preparation
Add oil to a large nonstick saucepan. Over medium heat, sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper and celery until onion is translucent. Add parsley, ham, chicken, bay leaf, and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring often, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes (with juice), tomato sauce, and 1 3/4 cups cold water (I also added chicken broth and more water). Gently simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Pour rice into the pan and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, 45 minutes or until rice is cooked and absorbs most of the liquid (Since I prefer Jambalaya in hearty-soup-form, wait till rice is cooked). Stir in shrimp and cook 5 minutes more. Remove bay leaf. Season to taste with cayenne pepper and salt.
(Tip: Taste even more flavorful the next day).
