La Cajune Pastalaya Recipe 425

Steps:

• 1. Throw your pork in a large pot or Dutch oven with enough oil to wet the pan, and brown over medium to high heat. In this case, I used some diced ham because that's what was available. It came out a bit saltier than I think would be ideal, so I'd suggest using some picnic shoulder or Boston Butt. 2. When the meat is about halfway done, add the diced sausage and finish browning until cooked, and then remove from the pot and set aside. 3. Add the diced onions, deglazing the pan slightly with some beer or white wine to help get up any stuck bits of the meat. Cook the onions until golden brown. 4. Add the bell pepper, celery and garlic and cook until completely wilted over medium heat. 5. Add the meat back to the pot along with all remaining ingredients except the pasta. Add enough water to cover the mixture, increase heat, bring to a medium boil and boil for 30 minutes. 6. It's during this time that you'll want to add your seasonings and make the recipe your own. In my case, I used a teaspoon or so of liquid crab boil, a couple of teaspoons of Cajun Power Garlic Sauce, a few dashes of Worcestshire and a few pinches of cayenne pepper. The main things to remember here, is that you will lose some salt and pepper through the boil and when you add the pasta, so you actually want to over-season your liquid slightly above your taste. 7. Break your pasta into thirds or quarters and add to the pot. Make sure you have enough liquid to cover the mixture by about a quarter inch or so. You can always remove water as needed. 8. Boil until the water reduces to your desired level (again, you can always just remove some if things are a bit too soupy), then remove from heat and allow to sit for at least 15-20 minutes for the mixture to thicken. This will serve about 10-12 people.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage and cook for 2 minutes. Add celery, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside and juices run clear, 5 to 7 minutes more. Add tomatoes, paprika, Creole seasoning, and cayenne pepper; bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add broth to the pot and return to a simmer. Add penne and simmer for 8 minutes. Add shrimp. Continue to simmer, stirring constantly, until pasta is tender but firm to the bite and shrimp are cooked through, about 7 minutes more.
• Stir in cream. Stir in thyme, oregano, and basil. Cook until just heated through, 3 to 5 minutes more. Serve topped with green onions and Parmesan cheese.

Steps:

• In a heavy pot that is NOT nonstick (I use Magnalite) brown sausage.
• After sausage is browned, remove from pot and add onions and bell pepper. Cook on medium-high heat in fat rendered from sausage (add butter or olive oil if needed) until wilted; about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic and cook a few more minutes.
• Add sausage back to pot along with chicken or which ever protein you choose, except if using shrimp).
• Add all remaining ingredients except green onions and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick to bottom. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for about 25 minutes, until pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. If using shrimp, add it at this point.
• Remove from heat, stir in green onions. Serve hot. French bread is delicious with it and you can sop up the sauce.