Different ways of making jambalaya?

[Uncle Bob]

Thanks, Bob. I think I'll try it without the tomato ( and the creole sauce) next time.

You're welcome....I prefer the brown (sans tomato products) version.... Made with a good Andouille sausage and chicken. Maybe a good chicken stock to add to the raw rice.........Mmmmmmmmmmm

 

[pacanis]

I cheat and use beef stock. But, I do brown my meats and onions first, also. I like to use leftover ham for this dish. And tomatos. It bares no resemblence to any authentic dish, but it is still good.

So this would be authentic Ottawa Valley jambalaya?

 

[Rocklobster]

So this would be authentic Ottawa Valley jambalaya?

Exactly. But, when you think about it, I am French Canadian and some Acadians went down and settled in Louisiana and brought their recipes down there, so, to make a long story longer, maybe this Canadian dish is even more authentic than the Southern Jambalaya.

Anybody buying this load of #@*#???

 

[Uncle Bob]

It is a version of a dish that my mother made to use up leftover ham, and it bares no resemblance to any authentic dish, but it is still good and I gotta call it something.

Who's to say what "authentic" is???? ....Maybe "traditional"??.... ~~ Sounds to me like it's "Yo Momma's" Creole Jambalaya......Make it and..

Enjoy!

 

[Hyperion]

Browning the meat/vegetables creates a "fond"~~ It's made up of browned bits of meat/vegetables etc. that stick to the bottom of the pot during high heat browning/sauteing ... These particles have a very intense (delicious) flavor. When the liquid is added to the pot it deglazes... removes all of these particles along with their flavors and color....It colors the water a shade of brown....as the rice cooks, it absorbs the 'brown liquid' turning the rice brown...Brown (AKA Cajun Jambalaya) does not include tomatoes...With the addition of tomatoes/tomato products etc. it turns the rice/dish Red as well as alter the flavor of the dish... This is known as Red (AKA Creole) jambalaya......HTH

thanks. looks like I do need a dutch oven to make brown jambalaya

 

[Uncle Bob]

Anybody buying this load of #@*#???

Not me!!!!! Unless you can convince me that the Acadians were raising any rice around the Bay of Fundy (Nova Scotia) prior to 1755.....

 

[Rocklobster]

Not me!!!!! Unless you can convince me that the Acadians were raising any rice around the Bay of Fundy (Nova Scotia) prior to 1755.....

Hmmm. Seems like it grows everywhere else in Canada except the East coast. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_rice

And here is a Provincial park about three miles up river from my place, where wild rice is native to the region, in the bay.http://www.ottawavalley.travel/naturalist-guide/destinations/4-westmeath-provincial-park/

 

[Selkie]

It's my understanding that jambalaya... Louisiana Creole cooking (in general), is of African origin - mixed race peoples (Louisiana history anthropology term, not mine) use the hot spices that are associated with southern food today. French Creole cooking (otherwise known as Cajun - short for Acadian - of Acadia region of Canada), of which jambalaya is not a dish, are of European descent and cook the milder but flavorful Cajun dishes, such as gumbo, boudin, andouille, wild boar, and many fried and steamed fish/seafood dishes.

Creole - African/Caribbean-style dishes.
Cajun - French/Spanish-style dishes.

There are no hard and fast divisions, but only generalizations to be made about the origins of this regional cuisine, and no disrespect to any nationality is intended.

(Just as a side note: Before they all died of old age, I had some great aunts and uncles who didn't even speak English. They all spoke Cajun. My own grandmother spoke English as a second language. I grew up eating true Cajun food while learning to swear in this unique regional language! )

 

[Hyperion]

Creole - African/Caribbean-style dishes.
Cajun - French/Spanish-style dishes.

I read that the Creoles are the french/spanish aristocrats who brought to America their culture and cuisine, while Cajuns were the relatively poor ones...

 

[Selkie]

I read that the Creoles are the french/spanish aristocrats who brought to America their culture and cuisine, while Cajuns were the relatively poor ones...

Not in the history books that I've read.

My Mother is both a Savoy (of the House of Savoy - a Northern Italy/Southern France kingdom that was independent for many centuries) and Navarre, a French noble family from S.W. France. My mother's genealogy research shows no special relationships, treatment or culture once they reached North America. In fact, my great grandfather made a living during the late part of the 19th and early part of the 20th century poling a perogue (small, flat bottomed boat) collecting moss from trees in the bijou to be used for stuffing mattresses and furniture. Not very royal-like if you ask me!

 

[Hyperion]

Not in the history books that I've read.

My Mother is both a Savoy (of the House of Savoy - a Northern Italy/Southern France kingdom that was independent for many centuries) and Navarre, a French noble family from S.W. France. My mother's genealogy research shows no special relationships, treatment or culture once they reached North America. In fact, my great grandfather made a living during the late part of the 19th and early part of the 20th century poling a perogue (small, flat bottomed boat) collecting moss from trees in the bijou to be used for stuffing mattresses and furniture. Not very royal-like if you ask me!

There seems to be two different definitions of Creole:
Louisiana Creole people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Creole was the name given to offspring of French/Spanish settlers that were born in the colony to distinguish them from those born in/on the European Continent.

"Cajun" is a bastardization of Acadian ....Immigrants from France who settled around the Bay of Fundy Nova Scotia....They were kicked out by the British during the Grand Dérangement (Great Dispersal) in 1755....Many of them found there way to Spanish Controlled South Louisiana and settled there....

Today....Anything goes! Hey, you wanna be a Creole??....Move to da parish, rent a house and declare yourself as Creole...Wanna be a Cajun??....Move to one of the 22 Cajun Parishes of South Louisiana, set up housekeeping...Call yourself a "Cajun"... from Church Point, Catahoula, Mamou, or where ever.....

 

[Rocklobster]

Hmmmm. So, where does this leave my mom's jambalaya?

 

[Selkie]

Cook it all together in one big pot and hope for the best!

...or not.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Mom and Dad have a Catahoula Hound...and I make Etouffe' ala' Justin Wilson...and Jambalaya and Gumbo and biscuits and....I tink mai Heart is Cajun...

 

[Constance]

Usually, we make jambalaya by first making the "sauce" and then cook the rice in it. I recently read a menu from BJ's (a restaurant), and they say:

Our distinctive jambalaya combines blackened chicken, shrimp and chicken-andouille sausage, sautéed with bell peppers, onions and tomatoes in a spicy sauce. Served over a rice pilaf and topped with green onions.

Note that they prepare the sauce and the rice separately. I'm guessing they might cook the sauce, separate the "food" from the sauce and cook the rice only with the sauce (hence a pilaf), and then just poor the "food" on the pilaf. Is this something people do usually?

Now that Cajun food has become popular, a lot of restaurants tout dishes that may or may not be tasty, but are NOT authentic. Jambalaya is not served over rice... it IS rice with assorted meats, vegies and seasonings. The jambalaya I learned to make in Gonzales, La does not contain tomatoes, either.

 

[ChefJune]

Thanks, Bob. I think I'll try it without the tomato ( and the creole sauce) next time.

We like it better without the tomato. Wish it weren't so hot here, I'd make some this weekend.

 

[Constance]

I'm like you on that, June. Even with AC, I just don't feel like heating up the kitchen or eating heavy meals.

 

[rph77]

I know what I am about to say is a sacrilege down in these parts but I made jambalaya yesterday and I did not use Uncle Bens long grain rice (gasp). Seriously, I used basmati rice and it was terrific. If you have never tried basmati rice in your jambalaya then next time give it a go.