Blair Lamendola's Chicken Jambalaya Blair Lamendola was the 1988 World Champion Jambalaya Cook, this is a mighty fine recipe and so easy to make. This is a big ol' recipe it serves about 8 people so you may want to reduce or increase the ingredients to suit. Some basic history on Jambalaya: "Jambalaya is a spicy cajun rice dish which probably came into being when the Spanish settled in New Orleans and began to cook their paella. Their recipe was quickly adapted to the products at hand and the dish became known as Jambon a la yaya. Yaya is the African word for rice. Today the dish probably is as varied as gumbo, virtually any combination of meats and seafood can be used, whatever the cook has on hand. The most popular ingredients being smoked sausage, chicken, and pork". Serves 6-8 Ingredients: 1 large chicken - cut in serving pieces 3 cups long grain rice - uncooked 4 medium onions - chopped 6 cups water cooking oil salt black pepper red pepper Louisiana Hot Sauce garlic powder green onions Preperation: Not a great deal to this! Cut the chicken into portions and chop up the onions. Cooking: Season chicken with salt, black pepper and red pepper (believe me there is a difference in flavour). Brown meat in cooking oil. This takes approximately 30 minutes. Take out most of the oil, leaving just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. Add onions to meat and brown together. When onions become limp or clear, add water, garlic, salt, red pepper and black pepper to taste. Be generous with the salt. (When adding salt, water must taste way too salty as rice absorbs salt while cooking.) Bring to boil and stir thoroughly to mix ingredients thoroughly until rice be comes thick, then, turn the heat down and simmer covered on a low heat for about 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Jambalaya should be turned, being sure to scoop from the bottom of the pot about five times while rice is boiling. Add green onions to rice just before it is cooked. Hints from Blair Lamendola - Most Jambalaya cooks prefer to cook in cast iron pots - whether cast iron or aluminum pot is used, it should be heavy enough to prevent easy burning, and have a tight fitting lid. To brown onions: Onions and shortening are put into pot, covered, and cooked over low heat until brown, stirring frequently. A little water added to the onions will help prevent sticking.