I thought we would give the grill a rest this week. My friend served this at a supper club one night; and everyone really enjoyed it. Hope you get a chance to try it as well. Invite some friends over-this serves 10.

Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya

1 lb smoked sausage, thinly sliced
3 T. olive oil
2/3 c. chopped green pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 c. chopped celery
2 16-oz. cans tomatoes
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. chopped green onions
1 1/2 t. thyme
2 bay leaves
2 t. oregano
1 T. Creole seasoning (salt, red & black pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 t. black pepper
2 c. long grain converted rice, rinsed well
3 lbs. raw shrimp, peeled

In a 4-quart heavy pot, saute sausage; remove with slotted spoon. Add oil to drippings and saute green pepper, garlic, parsley, and celery 5 minutes. Chop tomaotes and reserve liquid. Add tomatoes with liquid, broth, and onions. Stir in spices. Add rice (which has been washed and rinsed well). Add sausage and cook 30 minutes, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally. After most liquid has been absorbed by rice, add shrimp and cook until pink. Transfer mixture to oblong baking dish; bake about 25 minutes.

I'd serve the jambalaya with cornbread. This is the recipe I've used since I was a kid...from the old red & white Better Homes & Gardens cookbook:

* Exported from MasterCook *

Perfect Corn Bread

Recipe By : Katie
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads, Quick

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup sifted all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup yellow corn meal
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup soft shortening

Sift flour with sugar, baking powder, and salt; stir in corn meal.

Add eggs, milk, and shortening.

Beat with rotary or electric beater till just smooth, about 1 minute. (Do not overbeat.)

Pour into greased 9x9x2-inch pan.

Bake in hot oven (425F) 20-25 minutes.

Corn bread sticks: Spoon batter into greased corn-stick pans, filling 2/3 full. Bake in hot oven (425F) 12-15 minutes or until done.

Source:
"Better homes and Gardens New Cookbook, early to mid 60's."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

No fair beating me to the punch, Katie. But, so long as we're going to laissez les bons temps rouler, how about pairing the jambalaya with another Cajun dish:

Butter Beans with Shallots

Slice six shallots* thinly, including the tender green tops. ook two 10-oz boxes frozen butter beans (or equivilent fresh) in a small amount of water with 1/2 stick of butter in a saucepan, along with salt and black pepper to taste, until heated through. Add the chopped shallots and cook another three minutes.

*When Cajun's say "shallots" they mean scallions (i.e., green onions), not the semi-dry bulbs usually thought of as shallots.

Wow, this is tough. We already have sausage, rice, shrimp, cornbread, beans and we've only got three courses.

OK, so it's not cajun but how about some bruschetta? I was thinking tapenade but I don't like olives. :-)

Bruschetta

1 French baguette, cut into 1/2 inch thick circles
8 tomatoes, diced
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 red onion, minced
freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Combine tomato, basil, and red onion in a small mixing bowl; stir well. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.

Arrange bread on a baking sheet. Place in oven, and bake until well toasted, approximately 5 minutes.

Remove bread from oven, and transfer to a large serving platter. Let bread cool 3 to 5 minutes. Rub garlic into the top of each slice of toast; the toast should glisten with the garlic. Spoon the tomato mixture generously onto each slice, and serve.

Annie

ha, GL...I had to make up for being late last time.

I do believe Oysters as a first course would go great with Jambalaya!

OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER

1 garlic clove
2 cups loosely packed fresh spinach
1 bunch watercress, stems trimmed
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons Pernod or other anise-flavored liqueur
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 pound (about) rock salt
24 fresh oysters, shucked, shells reserved
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 450°F. Finely chop garlic in processor. Add spinach, watercress and green onions to garlic. Process, using on/off turns, until mixture is finely chopped. Transfer mixture to medium bowl.
Combine butter, breadcrumbs, Pernod, fennel and hot sauce in processor. Process until well blended. Return spinach mixture to processor. Process, using on/off turns, just until mixtures are blended. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover; chill.)

Sprinkle rock salt over large baking sheet to depth of 1/2 inch. Arrange oysters in half shells atop rock salt. Top each oyster with 1 tablespoon spinach mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until spinach mixture browns on top, about 8 minutes.

Bon Appétit, September 1999

Here's a soup that San(CF) posted originally. Can be served warm or chilled.

Mom's Parsley Soup

Combine and simmer for about 30 minutes:
4 C diced potatoes (3 chefÂs or 5 or 6 regular ones)
1 C diced onions
1/4 C butter
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ C water
After cooling the above mixture a little, pour it into a blender, adding about 1/2 C of milk and blend until it's VERY smooth.
Heat in a small saucepan:
2 ½ C chopped parsley
3 C chicken stock
(the parsley and stock can be put through a blender or blended with a "power stick" but I prefer to leave it with a little texture)
Stir the parsley/stock into the potato/stock, and season with salt and pepper. Check to see if it needs thinning with a little more milk. At this point, you can chill it or reheat just to the boiling point for serving. This will serve 8 easily.

Nancy

The recipes look wonderful. This isn't a recipe so much, as just do what fancies you at the moment. We have been having variations of this alot. With fruit in season there is nothing more enjoyable than a fresh bowl of fruit topped with a luscious cream sauce.

I usually slice up some strawberries. Last time I pitted and sliced up some okanogan cherries, too add to the strawberries, (great combo), then I sweeten them with either an artisanal jam, you want a couple of tablespoons, just so all the berries are coated. Gives them a nice glistening and also a nice sweeteness without being too much. The jam I used last time was a vanilla rhubarb, which went very well with the berries and cherries. Other times I have used maple syrup, or a vanilla coarse sugar that comes in its own grinder, or just plain sugar is fine as well. Can also add some liquer if you wish to give them that extra something.

For the cream, In a mixer bowl I usually put in 1/2 to 1 c heavy cream, 1/2 to 1 c mascarpone cheese, 1/4 tsp almond extract,1/2 tsp vanilla, and about 3 tbsp icing sugar, (can add more if you like it sweeter). Then just beat till the mixture forms peaks. (sometimes I omit the almond extract and add in a liquer. Limoncello, chambord, grand marnier, whatever you feel like).

To serve the berries I serve them in either dark chocolate cups or waffle cups. Ladle the berries in the cup, top with a few spoonfulls of the cream, and then I usally top with some grated chocolate (Whisper Chocolates, puts out a product, Dark semi-sweet chocolate shavings, that comes in a plastic jar with a shaker lid. It is made with callebaut chocolate and very good). Stick in a mint leaf and you have a great dessert. We have this alot as it is easy to put together and elegant enough for company.

Shelley

Whew! I know I am late, and I was crossing my fingers that I wasn't assigned the main course this time ROFL! I didn't read the fine print well, and it turns out our hotel room does NOT have internet access. Poop. But Here I am!

What kind of salad for such a dinner?

I have no idea why, but crab salad came to mind. I don't like it myself, but my DH LOVES when I make it this way:

Simply take some really good lump crab meat (it is not often we have leftover crab legs, but those cut into chunks works well here) and toss with a bit of mayo and some prepared cajun/creole seasoning. Chill, then serve mounded on a lettuce leaf. That's it! He calls it a cold crab cake LOL.

If I were to eat it, I would add some lemon juice and celery and sweet onion. But I don't eat it so what do I know ;).