We Improve on One Pan Jambalaya · Monday April 20, 2026 by colin newell
I am a big fan of spicy food. Dishes like Texas chili, nachos with blazing hot salsa, enchiladas, most any Thai cuisine and especially South Asian… Punjabi spices – loaded with fragrant spice blends.
You will find many of these recipes on my blog.
While not for everyone, degrees of spice give us variety in our daily cuisine. I mean, you cannot live on meat and two veg forever… well, I guess some do.
Not me – I like my taste buds challenged… something with a kick. And this recipe ticks a lot, if not all, of those boxes.
Good old Jambalaya is an easy one pot – one pan dish for those that can have it any which way they want to swing.
Ingredients…
▢ 1 Tablespoon oil, (vegetable or canola oil)
▢ 1 pound Andouille sausage, cut into ¼ inch thick slices
▢ 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
▢ 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
▢ 2 Tablespoons butter
▢ 1 yellow or white onion, chopped
▢ 4 green onions, chopped
▢ 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
▢ 3 ribs celery, chopped
▢ 1 green bell pepper, chopped
▢ 1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
▢ 1 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
▢ ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
▢ 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional, add more for spice, if desired
▢ 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
▢ 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
▢ 1 1/4 cup long-grain white rice
Directions…
In a large skillet with a fitted lid, add the oil over medium high heat.
Once hot, add the chicken and cook, flipping once or twice to brown on all sides (don’t cook chicken completely through).
Remove to a bowl.
Add sausage and cook until browned on both sides. Add to the bowl with the chicken.
Reduce heat to medium and add butter and flour to the pan and stir well, scraping up any leftover browned bits from the pan.
Add onion, garlic, celery, and bell peppers and sauté for a 3 minutes.
Add basil, Cajun seasoning, diced tomatoes, salt and pepper and stir well to combine.
Add chicken broth and rice bring mixture to a gentle boil.
Add reserved meat to the pan. Reduce heat, cover pan with fitted lid and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat, and rest with the lid on for 10 minutes. Then gently fluff with a fork and rest again for 5 minutes before serving.
Colin Newell is a Victoria B.C. resident and long time coffee expert… his rambling has appeared everywhere from the New York times to the Wall Street journal, CTV Newsworld and in-flight magazines from carriers like Air Canada to Air Transat… he has been doing this blog thing since the dawn of internet time…
Brown Butter Peanut Butter Cookies Re-Boot · Monday April 13, 2026 by colin newell
When I make cookies, I do not mess around. As someone who has company over — coffee guests… music students… my music teachers… there has to be something to put out that is going to satisfy and delight.
I’ll admit – I make good coffee. And there is nothing that pairs up with a big ole’ mug of black java than a cookie treat.
And I am torn between two worlds – peanut butter or chocolate chip. Sometimes I do both in the same cookie — there are recipes here for that – go look. Use the search button. It is your friend.
One of the key secret ingredients here is brown butter – brown butter is the charm. Making brown butter is outside of the realm of this blog entry – but suffice it to say, you need 115g of it — so you start with around 145g of cold or room temperature butter in a sauce pan… why this amount you ask? Because the butter is going to lose moisture as it browns. Google this subject for a tutorial.
Brown butter brings an entirely new dimension to any cookie. But oh no, we are not stopping there – our other secret ingredient is miso paste. Yes. Miso paste. Trust me.
Ok – once you have created your 115G (give or take) of the browned butter, let it cool a bit then put it in the fridge for a minimum of one half hour — it has to solidify again before the next step.
Dry Mix
What you could do while you wait for the butter to cool and solidify is prepare your dry ingredients.
That would be: 330g all purpose flour or gluten free flour. Up to you.
Add the baking powder and baking soda.
This recipe asks for 12g of salt (any artisanal salt will do…) – but I would back off on the salt a bit because there is salt in miso paste… so try 7G of salt, OK?
Don’t risk it — whisk it! Whisk your dry mix for several minutes – there is nothing worse than a batch of cookie dough that does not have the leavening and/or salt properly distributed.
Creaming the wet ingredients…
Pull your cooled brown butter from the fridge. Scrape it all into your mixing bowl (I use a kitchen-aid mix-master…)
Don’t forget the deep brown bits of the browned butter – this is where the magic is.
Add the 115g of the room temperature butter on top of this.
Add your peanut butter. Whether you use creamy or crunchy… that is a secret between you and your jar.
You could bend the rules here and mix in a blend of tahini or cashew butter… the sky is the limit. You do you.
Put in your sugars. It may seem like there’s a lot of sugar in these cookies. You’re not hallucinating. Apologize to your pancreas later.
Add the honey or maple syrup… then the white miso paste…
Cream on low speed for 5 to 7 minutes.
Do not add the eggs and the vanilla until after this initial creaming phaseOK – breathe. Add your egg(s) and vanilla to the mix and blend on low for 2 minutes or so.
Dry into Wet…
Add your flour mixture into your creamed concoction and blend on LOW until everything is just mixed.
Prolonged mixing will develop gluten and make for a less desirable cookie.
Jump down for baking instructions.
The Wet Stuff…
* 115g (1 stick) butter, softened
* 115g (1/2 cup) brown butter, cooled and semi-solid (start with ~145g to account for water loss)
* 350g (1 1/3 cups) peanut butter
* 185g (scant 1 cup) granulated sugar
* 185g (1 cup packed) brown sugar
* 25g (1 1/4 Tbsp) honey or Maple Syrup
* 65g (1/4 cup) white miso
* 90g (6 Tbsp) whole egg, beaten (about 1½ large eggs)
* 20g (4 tsp) vanilla extract
The Dry Stuff…
* 330g (2 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour or gluten free flour
* 7g (1 1/2 tsp) baking powder
* 7g (1 1/4 tsp) baking soda
* 12g (2 tsp) salt read extra notes above!
Baking!
Ok – here is where I go off script a bit. I chill my dough! I chill my dough for as little as 4 hours and as long as 24-48 hours.
After I mix the dough, I turn it out of the mixing bowl onto a sheet of (plastic wrap) saran wrap and fashion it into a “log”. The objective is to create a sausage-like wrapped log of cookie dough that is air tight. This batch makes enough dough for upwards of 30 cookies and I strongly advise against baking all of this dough at once unless you are feeding a small army. In my case, I have created enough dough for three baking sessions or more (small house here…)
I’ll reiterate: I like to chill my dough overnight. Whether or not you do this is up to you. I find chilled dough, say 24 hours worth, has a better flavor profile. I may be out of my mind – that is entirely possible.
For those of you who need immediate gratification, you can spoon out “balls” of dough onto a parchment covered cookie sheet.
The size of the individual dough balls is entirely arbitrary – some folks use an ice cream scoop. I use a tablespoon for a smaller cookie. This is entirely subjective.
I do not press the cookie dough down with a fork… that is old school. The dough settles and spreads quite nicely by itself.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes – or until a hint of golden browning appears at the base of the cookie.
Note - Cookies continue to bake while they cool – do not bake until they start browning at the top of the cookie!
Cool on the stove counter top for a minimum of 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack – and then let the cookies cool further for an additional 10 minutes. Trust me: They need time to set up. Failure to acknowledge this patience-testing exercise will be rewarded with fall apart cookies… or cookies that seem to be under-cooked… they are not.
Enjoy!
Enjoy with black coffee or tea or even a glass of milk.
Colin Newell is a Victoria B.C. resident and long time coffee expert... his rambling has appeared everywhere from the New York times to the Wall Street journal, CTV Newsworld and in-flight magazines from carriers like Air Canada to Air Transat... he has been doing this blog thing since the dawn of internet time...
Best condiment ever - pickled red onions · Monday April 6, 2026 by colin newell
We have been embracing the Mediterranean diet lately… what is that you say?
The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy eating pattern modeled on the traditional cuisines of Greece, Spain, and Italy. It emphasizes plant-based foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, legumes), healthy fats like olive oil, and regular consumption of fish. It limits red meat, added sugars, and processed foods, reducing risks of cardiovascular disease and supporting overall health.
So – who wouldn’t want that? So far we have found most of the dishes that we have cooked up to be mega-yummy…
… And that is yummy to the power of 6… for your math types.
This Spring and Summer we will be featuring lots of recipes and combos with this dietary approach.
Let’s start with one of our favorite condiments… Pickled Red Onions.
Make thy brine
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns or…
Mix this slurry together – you can sub in a wide variety of spices in lieu of pepper, pepper flakes, peppercorns…
consider rosemary, thyme, oregano… Better yet, make multiple batches and experiment to your hearts content.
Grab a red onion…
There are a variety of ways to slice up an onion — and I am not going to tell you that there is a right way or wrong way…
Suffice to say: Slice it up into 1/8” slices. And be careful!
Stuff as much of these onion slices into a 1 pint mason jar.
Pour as much of your brine as you need to just cover the onions — hopefully the onion slices top out at around 1/2” below the top of the mason jar. Ideally, the brine covers the onion slices.
Cover or cap the mason jar – stick it in the fridge for a minimum of 24 Hours – it will last for over 6 months… but trust me, you’ll use this condiment up quickly — and make more! You can put pickled onions on hot dogs, salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, in salads… and yes, as part of the sensible Mediterranean diet!Colin Newell is a Victoria resident and subject expert within the realm of coffee culture… his website is Canada’s original tome on the resource of home and office coffee…
We re-visit La Belle Patate - fine poutine on the West Coast · Saturday March 14, 2026 by colin newell
First open in late 2008 (bless their hearts!) La Belle Patate is at 1215 Esquimalt Road a block or two (maybe three) past the
Civic Center and Esquimalt’s original strip mall.
Their specialty is Montreal smoked meat sandwiches and Poutine.
Poutine – dish of French fries, topped with a thick beef (or vegan) gravy and a healthy scattering of cheese curds. And for those who feel that this might not be the most healthy combination of ingredients – We are completely ignorant to the fact that Poutine is a cruise missile with your arteries in the cross hairs. But good. So Good!And today we returned after a break… of a few years. Why?! – Why did we deny ourselves for so long!?
Walking through the doors, today, we were greeted with a hearty Colin Newell! (and Andrea! ) from Matty – We ordered two “Steamie” - the dreamiest of hot-dogs (dressed with kraut and mustard…) and a small order of BBQ Vegan gravied Poutine..
The hot dog is steamed and served on the standard bun with cheese, onions and any assortment of common condiments.
The Poutine, which arguably should be served on a skull and cross bones patterned plate, is as described above; fries, gravy, cheese curds… is so comfort food that every bite is yummy inducing. We washed it all down with a couple of samples of Matty’s private collection of Spruce Beer – - Spruce Beer is a carbonated water (with very little sugar ) and some curious botanicals. You love it or you don’t. I love it!
Lunch for two with more protein that is socially responsible – barely 14 dollars.
Matty is such a gentle giant – I regretted being away so long – but all the warmth and memories flooded back. No, you cannot have poutine every day – once in a while – when you need to feel the love that is all around you!Colin Newell is a Victoria resident (retired 2 years) and a big fan of friendly food and great coffee. With coffee mug in hand, he wanders the streets looking for the ultimate caffeine truth!
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