Jack Falla’s “Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler Jambalaya”

If I’m doing a blog about food, cooking, recipes and anything else that crosses my mind, there’s no more appropriate inaugural post than Jack Falla’s “Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler Jambalaya.” It’s probably my favorite thing to cook.

Jack was not a famous chef, but a famous sportswriter, and my favorite college professor. He taught a course in “Sports Journalism” after working for years as a hockey writer for Sports Illustrated and many other publications. He also wrote a few books that you must check out, if you like hockey, family, great storytelling, or any of the above. Sadly, Jack died far too young at the age of 64, just a few years after I graduated from Boston University. He was a mentor to me, and many others.

Outside of the birth of my son and the day I got married, one of the top days of my life was an afternoon spent skating on Jack’s backyard ice rink in Natick, Mass. After skating, he and his wife made this recipe for lunch, and he was kind enough to share it with me.

So now, I’m sharing it with you.

The text in italics is from Jack’s original recipe, which, as you’ll find out, was not very specific in terms of ingredient quantities. I’ve added my tweaks after at least a dozen attempts and adjustments.

It looks very long and involved, but it’s actually quite simple.

Jack Falla’s Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler Jambalaya

Serves 12-15 (yes, really)

INGREDIENTS
(Jack’s original list in italics, my notes beneath):

• Small package of bacon (4-6 strips)
• 1 package of either andouille sausage or Italian hot sausage (2 pounds total, I use a mix of hot and sweet Italian sausage)
• 2 pounds of large shrimp
• Olive oil
• One chopped onion
• One chopped green pepper (small)
• Two chopped celery sticks
• One to two tablespoons minced garlic
• Cayenne pepper (1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, depending on taste)
• Chili powder (2 to 5 tablespoons, depending on taste)
• Parsley (about a 1/4 cup, chopped)
• White Rice (2 cups or so)
• One (35-oz.) can of tomatoes with basil
  Either whole tomatoes that you can crush with wooden spoon in pan, or crushed tomatoes.
• 1 cup chicken stock
• One can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
• Cajun spices (optional — there are various kinds in most supermarkets)
• Salt and pepper

A few notes on ingredients before we get started.

Quantities are easily adjustable. So don’t measure. If you want to go crazy and use 3 pounds of sausage, go for it (have a cardiologist on speed dial). Get the good stuff when it comes to sausage and bacon. If you have a Whole Foods or butcher nearby, get both at the counter, not the refrigerator case. You don’t need a whole pound of bacon anyway, and flavorful freshly made Italian sausage makes all the difference.

Consider making your own chili powder. It’s really not that hard, and it changes the entire dish. Make a bunch, put it in an airtight container, and use it in EVERYTHING you make. Trust me.

For the “cajun spices” you probably have some shaker in your cabinet that Aunt Edna bought you for Christmas called something like “Bayou Dirt.” It’s just for the shrimp, so feel free to leave it out, or just add some chili powder and cayenne.

Here we go, complete with my not-so-pretty pictures (my kitchen needs better lighting). Again, Jack’s original instructions in bold italics, since they’re too good to paraphrase, with my notes and photos:

1. Start drinking (only if of legal age and not driving). And put on a good cajun music CD (Beau Soleil works for me).

Do not skip this step. At least the drinking part. Also, chop up your pepper, onion, celery, parsley and garlic and put it in a bowl so it’s ready when you need it.

Also, put a small pot on the back burner and make the white rice per package instructions. Or use leftover Chinese food rice from last night. Either way.

2. Put 4 or 5 strips of bacon in large skillet and cook until well done, then crumble or chop into small pieces. Drain off most of the melted fat. Put bacon bits aside.

I find it easier to chop up the bacon first and then put it in the pot. Browns quicker and less mess. Also, I love my cast iron dutch oven for this, but any heavy bottom soup pot would be fine.

3. Chop sausage into small (bite-size) pieces and put in skillet in which you cooked the bacon. I cook sausage until it begins to brown. Remove sausage with slotted spoon. Set aside.

If you’re using cured sausage like andouille, chopping is easier (since it’s already “cooked”). But if you’re using Italian sausage (like I do), just remove it from the casings and run through it with a knife to loosen the links. As it browns in the pan, crumble it with a wooden spoon the best you can.

Once it looks brownish/gray, remove it with a slotted spoon. Leave all the grease/juices in the pan.

4. Add a little olive oil to the sausage drippings (hey, ain’t no one said this was heart-healthy), put in about a tablespoon of minced garlic and in that saute onions, pepper, celery, and about a quarter-cup of parsley.

Sautee until the veggies are softened.

5. (add the sausage and bacon bits to the veggies) … pour in the crushed tomatoes including all the liquid in the can. (At this point I usually add another cup of chicken stock or maybe even a small can of crushed tomatoes and garlic.) Mix this up a bit, bring to a slow boil and immediately reduce to a low, slow simmer. Simmer covered over very low heat about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Listen to Jack here. I add about a cup of low-sodium chicken stock as well as small 14.5-oz. can of diced tomatoes. Use the kind without salt added. Also, this can simmer for longer than 30 minutes over very low heat. So feel free to make this in the late afternoon and pick up from here closer to dinner time. Or, if you want, you could even transfer everything to a slow cooker starting here if you’re cooking for a crowd.

6. While main pot is simmering, cook shrimp in large skillet (might want to hit them with salt, pepper and any of the man so-called “cajun spices.”

Use a large nonstick pan if you have it, and feel free to generously season the shrimp with those cajun spices, or at least some salt and pepper. Just cook until pink, they will cook a little more in the pot, so you don’t want to make them rubbery.

7. Add shrimp to main pot. Stir.

8. Add and stir in chili powder and cayenne. This depends on your taste/tolerance for spicy foods. I’d say the wussy quantities would be a teaspoon of chili powder and maybe a quarter teaspoon of the cayenne, but you can kick it up from there to Total Nuclear as taste dictates.

This is a big moment, be careful when adding the chili powder and cayenne. Go light at first, stir well, let simmer for a minute, and taste. I usually go with 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper and 4 tablespoons of chili powder. If you made your own chili powder (you made your own chili powder, right?), then that should be plenty. If not, you might need a little more to get the right flavor. But make it to whatever taste your audience prefers.

9. Cook a cup or two of rice and add to main pot.

I usually add at least two cups to the pot, and then add a nice spoonful of rice to the bottom of each bowl when serving.

*NOTE: If you plan on freezing any of the jambalaya (it freezes great), don’t add the rice to the pot. Freeze it without the rice, and then when you thaw it out later, you can add freshly made rice.

10. Laissez les bon temps rouler.

Serve with plenty of cold beer to extinguish the heat, and “Let the good times roll.”