What do you eat on the third best day of your life?

Um, duh. You eat jambalaya.

This is Allan's all. time. favorite. He gets it every Father's Day/Birthday/Good job day/Buffy wants to butter him up day/etc. And I absolutely love to make it. In fact, so much love goes into this big pot of goodness it should be declared the most romantic meal of all time. I especially enjoy it if I can pop in a DVD (yesterday's was Proof) while cutting up eight cups worth of vegetables, four cups of meat, and measuring out eight different herbs and spices.

Oooooh, baby.

Don't be intimidated by the ingredients. I've even looked up andouille, so that you'll know how to pronounce it when asking your meat man where the heck it is (Try it for me: ahn-DWEE). Don't be turned off by the fact you'll have to fork over the cash to pay for two red bell peppers. This makes a ton. And basmati rice? If you really don't want to go that far, use regular white rice. It's not quite as good, but you'll still want to lick your bowl clean.

Andouille sausage is a slightly spicy, smoked pork or chicken sausage. In my opinion, it is the soul of this dish.


Don't worry about the bottom of your pot/dutch oven/HUGE skillet getting black. It's supposed to do that. It deepens the flavor.


And the meat...oh, the meat. Last night I used boneless chicken thighs instead of breast meat. It made me love it even more.


This is the shocking part. This dish is from Cooking Light. I am telling you if you love to cook, this magazine is absolutely fantastic. I can say with 100% confidence that none of the approximately fifty recipes I've pulled from there have ever tasted light (I have not tried the baking recipes, however, so I can't speak with certainty about those).

To balance out the light, I made flourless chocolate cake with homemade caramel sauce for dessert. I may or may not have eaten two pieces. I don't want to get too skinny.

Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya

Serves 6.

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups andouille sausage (about 7 1/2 ounces), cut into (1/4-inch-thick) slices
• 3 cups finely chopped red bell pepper (about two medium)
  
• 3 cups finely chopped yellow onion (two medium)
  
• 2 cups finely chopped celery
  
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 1/2 cups chopped skinless, boneless chicken breast (or six boneless, skinless thighs)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño pepper (this makes it VERY spicy, omit if you're not into that kind of thing)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup tomato puree (I totally forgot to buy this, so I used tomato sauce instead. Crushed tomatoes also work in a pinch)
  
• 2 3/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice (or regular ol' white...jasmine is also good)
  
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onions (I never remember to put these in)
  

Preparation

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook until sizzling quiets (about 8 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Add bell pepper, onion, celery, and bay leaves; cook until vegetables are golden brown, sizzle loudly, and begin to squeak (about 14 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add chicken and next 8 ingredients (through garlic); cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add tomato puree; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Discard bay leaves.*** Stir in green onions.

***If you've eaten at my house, there's a good chance you've heard me warn "Watch out for bay leaves!" because I ALWAYS forget to take them out.