Unless you literally live under a rock, you've probably heard that the New Orleans Saints won their first-ever Super Bowl last weekend. What you may not know? I was there!
We came home from Miami and Zack immediately DVR'd every minute of Super Bowl coverage, so it's been on non-stop, allowing us to bask in the glory. Although my football knowledge has increased immensely in the past year and a half (since I've had a certain roommate...), I'm still less intrigued by the play-by-play breakdowns of the game and most excited about the parade and interviews with Drew Brees and his wife and baby. Still, watching that Tracy Porter interception over and over again never gets old.
Anyway...this tangent IS actually going somewhere food-related. New Orleans has obviously been insane since the Saints returned to town, and to top off all of that excitement, today is Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras. Food is a huge part of New Orleans culture, so we had to make something to celebrate.
Thankfully, Zack's parents sent us a "Who Dat" care package full of Zatarain's mixes. We invited a few friends over for a big pot of jambalaya. I made it from scratch once in culinary school (Louisiana day in American Regional), but many New Orleans faithfuls agree that jambalaya is just one of those things that is just as good (or even better) using a boxed mix.
I decided to go semi-traditional and use chicken breast and andouille chicken sausage as my proteins. I pre-cooked the meats and set them aside, then boiled water with a little vegetable oil and dumped in the rice, spice mix, and meat. I added a little extra seasoning, just salt and pepper. You let that simmer for 25 minutes covered. Open the lid, and I had some seriously authentic-looking (and tasting) jambalaya.
I'm tempted to break out my recipe from school—all I remember is the large number of spices involved—and do a taste test of that vs. Zatarain's. We had no complaints!
