Wild Rice Jambalaya with Turkey Kielbasa

I had the opportunity to make dinner for the family today, so I decided to go ahead and do the challenge recipe. I wanted to make a healthier version of the jambalaya, so I decided to use shrimp, chicken breast, and turkey polska kielbasa sausage as meats in this dish. I noticed that the turkey sausage only had about 1/3 of the fat of any of the other sausages available and so it seemed the likely candidate. I also decided to use a mix of whole brown and wild rices as the base for the more health-conscious alternative to the white rice.

Challenge 9: Creole Jambalaya

Jambalaya has been a favorite dish of mine for years. I enjoy the spiciness the dish delivers in addition to the multiplicity of meats. It was created in Louisiana by Spanish settlers attempting to mimic paella with the new and available ingredients in their new location. The Creole versions and the Cajun versions are similar, the major difference being that the Creole version includes tomatoes.

Jambalaya offers flexibility in its preparation as one can use any combination of meats/seafood they desire and it can be served in combination with either rice or pasta. For a basic recipe, I have included one of Emeril Lagasse’s (which I believe is incorrectly dubbed “Cajun Jambalaya”). This recipe looks similar to the ones I enjoy and should give us a good foundation on which to build. I hope you will find a satisfied palate with this challenge.  Bon Appétit !

Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/cajun-jambalaya-recipe2/index.html

Butter Chicken Extravaganza

So, I have been planning to write this for like 3 maybe more weeks. And I just never seem to get around to doing it, but here it is.

I actually made the challenge a long time back, so I can’t really remember every step. However, I did follow the recipe as closely as I could, Gordon Ramsay being my culinary hero and all!

Murgh Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)

I woke this morning excited and ready for this challenge after having some substantial time off from the blog. Indian cuisine is one of my favorites and so this recipe was of particular interest to me. I decided to craft this one with small pieces of chicken breast to mirror the chicken tikka masala I so enjoy at an Indian restaurant near me from time to time.

Gordon Ramsay’s Butter Chicken: Rich and Spicy

I finally got down to cooking Z’s challenge. I want to apologize to our readers for this delay, but I had some issues to address and blogging was out of the question.

But all’s well that ends well and things are back on track.

I had to start this recipe early in the morning, with coffee, because the chicken was supposed to be marinated.