THE CHEF FROM HELL

I recently received an e-mail request for this dish which comes from my COOKBOOK FROM HELL .  I've seen other versions of dishes called Pasta Jambalaya; this recipe of mine was created in 1987 when I was fooling around in the kitchen one day and thought it would be an intersting twist to apply the concepts of a rice based dish such as Jambalaya to a pasta dish.  I'm a big supporter of fooling around in the kitchen because you can have happy accidents like this dish.  Hoo Hah!

Ingredients:

1 lb Linguine, cooked al dente

2 oz unsalted Butter

1/4 cup Spanish Onion, chopped coarse

4 oz Tasso Ham, chopped coarse

4 oz Andouille Sausage, chopped coarse

6 large fresh Shrimp, peeled, deveined & chopped coarse

1 TBS Maderia Wine

2 large Egg Yolks

1/2 pint Heavy Cream

1/4 cup grated Romano Cheese

Dry Spice Mix:

1 tsp Basil

1 tsp Thyme

1/2 tsp Cayenne Red Pepper

1/2 tsp Butcher Cracked Black Pepper

1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

1/4 tsp ground White Pepper

Cooking Procedure:

Cook off the linguine until its al dente

Strain the pasta & rinse it with water

Let this drain as you finish the dish

In a large skillet, melt the butter over high heat

Add the onion, tasso and andouille sausage

Shake the pan from time to time & cook this down until the meat begins to render its fat & the onions begin to turn clear

Add the spice mix

Stir well & cook for 2 minutes

Deglaze the skillet with the wine

Stir well, reduce the heat to medium 

Cook for 2 minutes

Place the egg yolks in a small mixing bowl

Whisk in the heavy cream until slightly frothy

Pour this egg/cream mixture into the skillet

Return heat to high

Add the shrimp

Bring the skillet to a high simmer

Add the cheese

Stir well as the sauce in the pan begins to thicken

Add the linguine

Toss the pasta & sauce together

Reduce heat to low

Let this simmer for 2 to 3 minutes

To Serve: Evenly divide the pasta jambalaya between 2 individual bowls & garnish each serving with either chopped fresh basil or fresh parsley.

The Cookbook From Hell is a collection of my "highly spiced" dishes.  To order a copy, go to CHEF JP PRODUCTS