Cookbook # 34 - Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

One of my brothers has lived in or near Monticello, GA for decades, and that branch of the family are big fans of the singer Trisha Yearwood, who’s a local girl made good for that corner of rural central Georgia. On one of my visits to the area, they gave me an autographed copy of Home Coming with Trisha Yearwood (2010), which is a beautifully photographed and produced collection of tasty, not-too-fancy Southern home cooking. My go-to recipe from it is Sweet and Saltines, which is just a version of Christmas Crack/Matzo Cracker Candy—and it’s addictively delicious.

But since this challenge is all about trying something new, I picked Tennessee Jambalaya, which made for a nice straightforward weeknight meal, kinda spicy and a little on the rich side with all that bacon and kielbasa.

Tennessee Jambalaya

• 4 slices bacon

• 1 - 1 ½ lbs kielbasa, thinly sliced

• 1 ½ tsp onion powder

• 2 15-oz cans black beans with juice (since we have a whole pantry shelf of Rancho Gordo beans, I cooked a pound of dried beans and included some of the cooking liquid)

• 2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce (I just now realized I almost doubled this, since I just grabbed two cans from our Costco stock without thinking about the fact they’re 14.5-oz)

• 1 4-oz can green chiles

• 2 medium carrots, shredded

• ½ tsp Italian seasoning (I used a heaping teaspoon of Cajun seasoning because I didn’t have any Italian seasoning and Cajun seasoning seemed more in keeping with the spirit of the recipe anyway)

• 1/8 tsp pepper

In a large stockpot, cook the bacon until crisp and set aside. Cook the sausage in the bacon drippings until lightly browned. Stir in the onion powder, black beans, tomato sauce, chiles, and seasonings. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle on top of the stew before serving. Serve over rice.