It's the most wonderful time of the year

Sunday. You know what it is.

An epic day of awesomeness that combines the two things we hold most dear at the Concession Stand: (in no particular order) food and sports. Also known as the Super Bowl.

The game itself rarely gets me pumped up. Being from Los Angeles, I am a NFL orphan. My football fan life has been spent voting for specific players more so than teams. Maybe that sounds lame to you, but what else am I supposed to do, vote for the Raiders or Rams? Please don’t make me.

This is where my brand of NFL fandom sort of falls into a crisis. Guess which two NFL players I enjoy watching above almost any other?

That would be Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, the two quarterbacks who will be facing off on Sunday. I’ve followed their careers since they were at Tennessee and Purdue, respectively.

Am I excited for Sunday? Oh. Yes.

While I am still deciding who to actually root for in this game, I did make my food choice between the two cities this week, and that winner is New Orleans.

No offense Indianapolis. It’s not you. It’s just that New Orleans food is so unique. And so… tasty.

I tried my hand at jambalaya this week, and consulted the recipe of the Commissioner; the Tailgating Commissioner, that is (and really, what other commissioner matters?). Joe Cahn has traveled all over the country in his RV, checking out how every corner of the country tailgates. He also happens to be tailgating in Miami this weekend, where the big game will be.

Cahn was kind enough to let me interview him a few weeks ago (you can read the post here) and one of the recipe suggestions he had was for his jambalaya. He’s from New Orleans, so you know he’s not messing around when it comes to jambalaya.

He said this recipe is interchangeable with just about any meat or seafood you want to use, but I stuck with chicken and sausage. You toss it all in one pot and let it go. For someone whose cooking skills are still a work in progress, that fact is much appreciated.

The recipe: (you can see the jambalaya recipe here, or the rest of Cahn’s tailgating recipes here)

Joe’s Jambalaya

Servings: 12-15

1/4 cup vegetable oil 5 cups chicken stock or water flavored with chicken bouillon

1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 tbs. minced garlic
salt and ground black pepper 4 cups long grain rice
1 ½ lbs. sausage cut in ¼-inch slices 2 tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet (browning agent)
4 cups chopped onions 2 tbsp. seasoning salt
2 cups chopped celery 2 cups chopped green onions
2 cups chopped green bell pepper

After cooking the chicken and sausage for a few minutes you remove them and start going on the onions, green bell peppers, garlic and celery in the same pot.

At least, you would have the celery if you liked celery. I don’t, and neither does anyone else in my family. If you’re from New Orleans, I’m sorry for breaking up the trinity there. My personal theory on celery is: if peanut butter can’t even improve the way you taste, you aren’t worth my time.

Ahem, but my celery issues aren’t important. Let’s keep going.

Once the peppers and onions soften, you toss in the chicken broth, the chicken and sausage, seasoning salt, and for red jambalaya, paprika.

Bring it to a boil, and toss in the rice. Bring it to a boil again, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir it well, re-cover and simmer for 15-20 more minutes, or until the rice is tender.

Then, you have pot of meaty, flavorful deliciousness that will feed a ton of people comfortably, and you don’t have to put a whole lot of work into it.

If it’s a food competition, my pick is New Orleans. If it’s a football competition, I’m going with the Colts, 31-24.

Happy Super Bowl everyone!

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