Cooking Up a Hooley in the Kitchen: Kickin’ Up Scones, Jambalaya with an Irish Twist

Cooking Up a Hooley in The Kitchen: Kickin’ it Up with an Irish Twist
By Katie Gagne

My absolute favorite savory dish to make is Jambalaya. Each winter, the Sunday before Fat Tuesday is Jambalaya Sunday in my house, where I make pots and pots of this delicious dish for family and friends.

It is also no secret how much I love scones. So I thought I would try my hand at making some savory ones. These Irish Cajun Scones with their slightly cheesy, salt, and spicy kick are the perfect accompaniment to the Jambalaya. You won’t be disappointed giving this kicked-up combo a try.

Irish Cajun Scones
4 cups AP Flour

4 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

2 teaspoons finely ground Cajun Seasoning

½ teaspoon Black Pepper

1 teaspoon Garlic Salt

12 tablespoons of very cold Unsalted Butter

1 cup Buttermilk

2 large Eggs

2 large Leeks washed and chopped small

4 ounces Irish Cheddar or Dubliner Cheese — shredded

2 tablespoons Heavy Cream

2 tablespoons of Cajun Seasoning

1. Sift all dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl
2. Cut butter in to small diced pieces and cut into the dry mixture until coarse crumbs form
3. Whisk eggs and buttermilk together
4. Add to dry mixture and mix by hand with spoon until soft dough forms.
5. Add in leeks and cheese and mix with spoon until combined — do not over mix the dough
6. Turn out onto floured board and shape into small mounds approx. 1 in diameter
7. Place on Silpat or parchment covered baking sheet
8. Brush with cream and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning
9. Bake at 400* for 10-15 minutes until golden brown
10. Can be served warm or room temperature with butter

This recipe makes approximately two dozen small scones.

These freeze well for up to three months.

Katie’s Kickin’ Jambalaya

Ingredients
1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 orange bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

2 med yellow onions

2 large cans of diced tomatoes

2 quarts of chicken stock

2 lbs smoked sausage

1 lb Andouille sausage

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 lb shrimp (you can use the frozen ones or fresh)

6 cups rice (white or brown)

1 bottle Killians beer

2 bay leaves

5 tbs Cajun seasoning

6 garlic cloves (chopped)

1 small can tomato paste

(3 small cherry peppers chopped)

(3 Serrano peppers chopped)

4 tbs butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

Prepare rice according directions in separate pot and set aside.

Once fully ready, season with Cajun seasoning to taste.

Cut smoked and Andouille sausage into small pieces and sauté until brown with 1 tbs butter and two garlic cloves. Remove from pan and set aside

Cut chicken into similar size pieces. Season with salt and pepper and Cajun seasoning and brown in skillet with 1 tbs butter and two garlic cloves. Remove from pan and set aside.

Chop onions and bell peppers and optional hot peppers into small pieces. Sauté in large stock or soup pot with 1 ½ tbs butter and 2 garlic cloves. Season with salt and pepper and Cajun seasoning.

When soft, add chopped shrimp (which has tail removed and deveined if needed) to pot with ½ tbs butter and cook until shrimp is translucent.
Add beer and bring to a boil for 5 minutes

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves and 1 quart of chicken stock to pot and bring up to boil. Once boiling, turn down to simmer, and add chicken and sausage. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add can of tomato paste and stir until melted in.

Simmer on low for 20-30 minutes until all flavors are blended. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Can be kept simmering until ready to eat.

You can either add in the rice with the rest of the chicken stock and simmer for a bit longer or serve it over the rice.

Adding the additional chicken stock is only needed if adding the rice in as it absorbs so much liquid.

This makes a fairly mild version, with only the Cajun seasoning adding the heat.

This can be made with varying degrees of heat by adding chopped hot peppers and cayenne pepper seasoning.

This also reheats extremely well. You may need to add some more broth if you mixed the rice into it. *Katie Gagne teaches English at Trinity High School in Garfield Heights. She is also the owner of her in-home bakery, Sassy’s Sweets and Oh So Much More. Contact her at (440) 773-4459 or [email protected], or on Facebook at @sassyssweetsandmore.