nerd news

Beer of the week: La Fin du Monde, brewed by Unibroue in Canada. Absolutely delicious. La Fin du Monde means “The End of the World”, and if I was drinking this beer, and it was the end of the world, I don’t think I’d mind.

May 10

Beer of the week: Moylans Kilt Lifter. I have a new favorite beer. This stuff is amazing. A rich and malty scotch ale with tons of flavor and a smooth, crisp aftertaste. Be careful though: it goes down easy and packs a punch.

April 5

Jambalaya

I’ve been doing a lot of cooking lately but I keep forgetting to write it up. Over the next few days I’ll try to work through the backlog.

Last week’s cooking project was an Emeril Lagasse-inspired jambalaya. That was definitely one of the best dishes I’ve ever made. So so delicious. I used chicken and sausage, though I’m sure it would be equally tasty with shrimp.

The secret to this dish is patience with the rice. It’s very similar to making a risotto. You need to add the stock 1/2 cup at a time, slowly stirring and waiting for the rice to absorb the liquid. The wait is absolutely worth it. The rice is amazingly tender and flavorful.

I’m going to include the recipe because this one came out so well.

CREOLE SEASONING (about one heaping tsp each)

paprika
salt
black pepper
onion powder
cayenne pepper
oregano
thyme

INGREDIENTS

1 medium yellow onion
1 large bell pepper
2 large cloves garlic
2 small tomatoes
1-2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp hot sauce (franks, tabasco, etc)
1 cup rice
4 cups chicken stock
some meat (chicken, sausage, shrimp, etc)

DIRECTIONS

Chop up the vegetables and meat into bite-size chunks.

Mix up creole seasoning and toss with meat in a large bowl.

Heat some oil in a large pot. Add garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes.

Add tomatoes and sauces. Cook for another minute or two.

Stir in rice. Add chicken stock about 1/2 cup at a time until rice is tender. You probably won’t need all 4 cups. After each dose of stock, stir it in and wait for the rice to absorb it. This will take at least 15 minutes, maybe 20. Patience is key in this step. (Have beer handy)

Add the meat and stir, adding a little more stock if necessary. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until meat is done. Remove the cover to stir once or twice so the meat cooks on all sides.

Serve and enjoy!