This recipe is not exactly the way my wife makes it, but close. She always fiddles with recipes to adjust to our liking. If I ask her to tell me what she changed she would say something like "A little here and a little there. Don't remember exactly."

Creole Tomato Sauce:

Boil tomatoes 2 to 3 minutes, remove skins, cut in half, remove seeds and dice. Heat olive oil in medium saucepan, add shallots and cook for 2 minutes, add garlic, thyme, oregano, basil and white pepper. Sweat shallots until clear. Add diced tomatoes, bring to a boil, add red wine and sugar, reduce heat, simmer for 1 hour or until cooked. Salt and pepper to taste. Puree in blender.

Jambalaya:

In medium saucepan melt butter, add 1/2 the onions(4 oz)and sweat until clear. Add rice, 1 bay leaf and 1 ounce of chicken stock, bring to boll then place in 450 degree oven, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven and hold. (Rice should be about 1/2 cooked.)

In heavy gauge pot render fat out of sausage. Remove sausage and drain. In the remaining fat in pot, saute chicken, remove, drain and hold. In remaining fat, saute onions, celery, green peppers garlic and seasonings (thyme, basil, oregano, white pepper, cayenne pepper and remaining bay leaves). Dust with flour. Cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining chicken stock and cook another 5 minutes. Add sausage, chicken, pre- cooked rice and creole tomato sauce, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Let simmer slowly for 30 to 45 minutes, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Serves Six

Per serving: 2370 Calories; 121g Fat (47% calories from fat); 76g Protein; 235g Carbohydrate; 248mg Cholesterol; 3098mg Sodium