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As promised, another recipe blog. This time with pictures . I made jambasta, recipe courtesy of Racheal Ray.

1 pound penne rigate, pasta with lines
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound andouille sausage, any brand, casing removed and diced (I used chorizo, because andouille isn't available here)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped or thinly sliced (1 large jalapeno my be substituted)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 ribs celery from the heart with greens, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beer, 1/2 bottle
1 cup chicken stock
1 (14-ounce) can, crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons hot sauce (recommended: Franks Red Hot or Tabasco) eyeball it
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped (I forgot to get thyme...so made it without)
1/2 pound chicken breast, diced into small pieces
1/2 pound medium shrimp, cleaned and tails removed (I didn't use shrimp since we're allergic, I used more chicken instead)
1/4 cup heavy cream, eyeball it
2 scallions, sliced


After everything is chopped up:

I use that cleaver for about 90% of all my chopping and cutting. Yes, even finer stuff like garlic and onions.... It's by far my favourite knife. Yeah, I'm weird like that .

Heat a pot of water to a boil for pasta and add salt to it then pasta. Cook to al dente and drain.



While pasta works, heat a deep skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, butter and andouille. Brown the sausage 2 to 3 minutes to render the fat.

Remove with a slotted spoon. Add garlic, peppers, celery and onions. Saute the veggies for 5 to 6minutes.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper and add flour to the pan.

Cook flour with veggies 2 minutes more then whisk in beer.

Cook beer out, 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, hot sauce and thyme.
Bring liquid to a bubble and add chicken and shrimp.

Cook 6 to 7 minutes until chicken is firm and shrimp are opaque and firm. Stir to mix in cooking juices then add in cream. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce.

Ladle up the jambasta and top with chopped scallions and reserved crispy andouille.


This is the beer I used:

It's called Hertog Jan (Duke Jan), and it's been brewed in the Netherlands since the 12th century, in honour of Duke Jan of Brabant (a dutch province). Yes, there are more dutch beers than Heineken . I actually wouldn't use Heineken in cooking. It's not really a special beer here, Heineken is what you serve when you're watching a game or whatever, not if you want to impress. I'd recommend Hertog Jan or Hoegaarden for example, if you want to make an impression . Or belgian beers like Palm or Duvel.

I'll be making risotto some time in the coming week, probably next tuesday or wednesday. I'll take pics again if people like it .

I did finish vacuuming downstairs. Now all that's left is the bathroom. But I didn't feel like that anymore. I might do that tomorrow or something. It's not *that* bad .
Vacuuming or dusting gives me headaches and a runny nose etc, because I'm allergic to dust mites . So I've been looking at those robot vacuumers. They're a bit out of my price range though, especially the better ones. So I'll just wait, and see if I can save up for one. Would make life easier .
Unless of course someone wants to buy me one for my birthday, which is coming up later this month .