Shrimp Jambalaya 25/325

Ted, Zean, Neal & John

The Relation

Zean is my dad and John is my uncle. Let me just take a moment to say how wonderful a human being Zean Zuber Gassmann is (John is also great, but, y'know, he's not my dad). Zean has been involved, in one way or another, with all of the Cousin Club reunions. If memory serves me correctly, he was in charge of planning the one in 1990, before you could email out invites and had to mail everything. That's mind-blowing for a young millennial like myself. Zean is also known for being the friendliest person ever. Nine out of ten times, if there is a new person in a room, he will just bop right up to them and introduce himself (this is a trait I have definitely inherited). Photo to the right is from Hood to Coast 2019, left to right: Ted(Dot>Ted), Zean, Neal, and John (all 3 are Gert>Henry).

Proud UNLV Alum Kiara

The Process

A word to the wise: Double this recipe. It’s not that it is a small serving, it’s just SO GOOD.

I unintentionally doubled the amount of shrimp and sausage in the receipt. Mostly because the packages I bought of both items happened to be double that amount, but also because we love protein! College Pal Kiara came over to be my sous chef on this one and brought a bottle of wine. More on the wine later.

Scratch n Sniff

Now, as Kiara and I both are graduates of the famous Hospitality College at UNLV, we should be experts in the kitchen. But alas, neither of us is anywhere near that level. Also, we were drinking, so we were even worse off than usual. Kiara was in charge of cutting up the veggies into tiny pieces. Had John been there, he probably would have requested smaller pieces, but again, we’re not perfect. Also, can we talk about how onions and peppers sautéed in butter is just the best smell ever?

We added in the rest of the ingredients (besides the rice and shrimp) and brought it to a boil in the biggest pot in my house. At this point, we were a few glasses deep into the wine and I made a mistake. I tossed the rice in at the same time at the shrimp. The recipe specifically states to add shrimp first, then add rice and reduce to simmer.

Double the sausage, why not?

BUT HERE IS THE THING: We left the rice cooking for long enough for the two of us to finish off the bottle of wine. And by two of us, I mean mostly me since Kiara had to drive home. But it had to be at least 30 to 40 minutes! I know this is my own father’s recipe, but I gotta say it: Add the rice well before the shrimp.

The Feedback

Literally so good. I knew it was going to be fire since I’ve had it many times before… But holy cow does it hit the spot. We polished off all but one measly serving that I ate for lunch the next day. I have to say the shrimp was a little overcooked (heed my suggestion in the last paragraph!). But again, STILL SO DELICIOUS!

The Receipt

SHRIMP JAMBALAYA - CC90

John and Zean Gassmann

1 lb shrimp

½ lb link sausage – cooked or pre-cooked

1 medium bell pepper

1 medium onion

2 Tbs butter or margarine

16 oz tomato sauce

1 clove garlic – more if you like garlic

¼ tsp black pepper

1 cup water

1 cup uncooked white rice

1 bay leaf

Tabasco sauce to taste

Clean shrimp and set aside. Chop green pepper, onion and garlic into miniscule pieces – John doesn’t want to recognize any vegetables. Sauté chopped veggies in the butter or margarine 2 or 3 minutes. Add chopped sausage. Sauté 1 more minute. Add all other ingredients except shrimp and rice. Stir to boil. When boiling, add shrimp and cook 5 minutes. Add rice and reduce heat to simmer. Cook covered until rice is soft. Add salt and hot sauce to taste.

Serves 6 – or 2 Gassmanns in marathon training.