Jambalaya

  It may seem strange for a recipe for this great southern dish to be created by an expatriate Englishman. The recipe came about largely out of frustration. Many years ago, I could not seem to find a cookbook recipe which sounded as if it would taste like the dishes I had enjoyed when working in the Carolinas. So, I set out to try and build a recipe using the ingredients I had detected when eating a dish of Jambalaya. Along the way, I got a little help from watching Justin Wilson on TV.
 MEAT BASE
  It seems best to use three or more meat or fish ingredients as a base, although I see no reason why this could not also be made into a vegetarian recipe. For this version, I chose chicken, sausage and bacon.

SEASONINGS:

1Tbsp Worcester Sauce, 1Tbsp Parsley-chopped, 1Tbsp Cilantro- chopped, 1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper, 1Tsp Creole File, 1/2Tsp Ground Cumin, 1Tsp White Pepper, 1Tsp Salt, 1/2 Tsp Red Pepper Flks, Juice of 1 lime, Black Pepper and Louisiana Hot Sauce to taste.

 INGREDIENTS :                                                                 

2 Tbsp Olive Oil                                         
2 Tbsp Butter                                            
4 Half Breasts of Chicken                         
4 Andouille Sausages                                 
1/2 Lb Thick Cut Bacon                            
2 Large Onions - chopped                         
6 Green Onions - chopped                         
10 Cloves Garlic - chopped                       
1 Green Bell Pepper - chopped                  
2 Sticks Celery (with leaves) - chopped     
1/2 Lb Mushrooms - sliced                         
2 Cups Dry White Wine                             
2 Cups Chicken or Beef Stock                   
2 1/2 Cups Long Grain Rice - cooked
1 14 Oz Can Stewed Tomatoes - not drained
1 Small Can Sliced Black Olives - drained
1 Can Black Eyed Peas - drained
1 Small Can Lima Beans - drained
1 Small Can Red Kidney Beans - drained
1 Can Okra - drained, or use fresh okra

DIRECTIONS:
Heat a large pot and add olive oil. Cut the sausages into 1/4 inch slices and brown on both sides in the pot. Then remove and set aside in a dish. Add the chicken and lightly brown on all sides. Remove from pot, cut into bite sized pieces, and add to sausage in the dish to collect the accumulated juices. Cut bacon into bite sized pieces and add to pot. When bacon is crisp, remove to dry on a paper towel. Add butter to pot, then add chopped onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally. When onions turn transparent, add green pepper and celery and continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Add wine and deglaze pot. Add stock, tomatoes, mushrooms, black eyed peas, olives, lima and kidney beans and okra. Add chicken and sausage and accumulated juices to pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, covered. Add rice and all the seasonings except the hot sauce and adjust the taste. Add bacon and green onions. At this point, if the mixture is becoming too firm, add water or, better still, more wine. Also at this point, maybe add some more wine anyway!
Note:- If using seafood, it should be added at this point., and continue when seafood is cooked.
  Finally, add the Louisian hot sauce to set the ATF (Appropriate Thermalitude Factor).
  It is best to let the Jambalaya sit, covered, for up to an hour at this point. This allows the rice to soak up all the flavors and gives you time for a drink before dinner.
Now......Enjoy!!

NOTE:-When I was updating this recipe recently, it occurred to me that, when setting the ATF, the accuracy achieved is, in itself, also partially dependent on  the current setting of the RVR ( Relevant Vocabularitude Ratiometer). It is important to keep this in mind.