Jambalaya

Pretty good day today - got a few errands done, set up the new rain gauge (ok - I know that's wierd), and, most importantly, got to talk to my wife, my daughter, my son-in-law, and my grandbaby twins.  Skype is a wonderful thing.  Kathy is in Champaign helping Leslie take care of the babies who are getting fat and sassy, but that is no reason that I can't fix a nice meal. Wish they were all here to enjoy it with me, but I'll get to see them all soon.

Tonight's meal was a nice Jambalaya, which was based on a recipe from Emeril Lagasse - his Clean Out the Ice Box and Freezer Jambalaya recipe.  I love it, because it is just an idea - do only what you  want!  Preceded by a Sazerac cocktail, which I have previously posted, and served with a tangy coleslaw (cabbage, lime, cider vinegar, parsley, minced jalapeno, onion, and mayonnaise) and an Abita Amber beer, which I found in the beer fridge.

This really is a recipe that you don't have to follow.  Just make sure that you use liquid in proportion to the amount of rice you use.  Everything else is whatever you want to make it.  Tonight - no shrimp, and added some tomato paste with the rice after the chicken was browned.  Substitute freely - I ran across some Johnsonville Andouille at the store today, which was the inspiration for this meal, but use some nice Kielbasa or some other spicy pork sausage that serves as your inspiration.  I went heavy on the cayenne, which I happen to like but could be left out depending on who is eating with you. (Kathy likes lots of cayenne too, but if my dad was here, there would be none - I would add some Crystal hot sauce or Tobasco when it was served.)  Whatever is leftover in the fridge is fair game.  Beef, pork, any kind of shellfish -- it's all good.

I hope you will try this, and if you do, let me know what you added and how you liked it.

Brazilian Coconut Shrimp

I don't need to say a whole lot about this one.  If you love shrimp on the grill, you just have to try it.  This recipe for Brazilian Coconut Shrimp started with one by Steven Raichlen in his How to Grill.  But I don't like green bell pepper, and I like ginger more than he does, and it does not need any basting or extra lime at the end, so I changed the recipe around.  You should do the same.  This recipe idea is really flexible, and you should make it in just the way that sounds good to you. I would not have thought about marinating shrimp in coconut milk, but with the ginger and jalapenos, and just a touch of char on the edges, it really has a pleasant spicy, slightly sweet flavor that is perfect for summer.

Raichlen thinks his recipe would also be good with scallops, fish, or chicken, skewered or not.  I think this variation would, too.  If you don't want to take the trouble to skewer everything, just grill some chunks of onion and red bell pepper.

We had it with a salad and some leftover (!) potato salad. Don't remember for sure what we drank with it, but looking at this picture, it strikes me that your favorite ice cold beer would be perfect -- sit out on the back porch and watch the antelopes run around while you eat.