Evening Edge

The stainless stockpot on the stove held the last three hours of my life. All that shopping, chopping, deveining, steaming, simmering, straining, seasoning, stirring. I opened the lid on my pot of jambalaya a crack, expecting a wonderful smell of sea and spice. Instead I got a full-on blast of chimney flue.

I've cooked long enough to avoid my first temptation and its dire consequences. Don't stir, since all the black crud presumably lining the bottom of the pot would dislodge and make the whole business taste as bad as the bottom of it smelled.

John Kessler writes food features and a column about food and more for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution E-mail John Kessler Recent Kessler columns Your fool-proof checklist for Thanksgiving  Hours of low-temperature cooking yield tender, juicy meat  Different things to sample on my new dining menu         More John Kessler Related: John Kessler's blog: Food & More John Kessler's recipes Meridith Ford Goldman's Table Talk Jeanne Besser's Feeding Frenzy Evening Edge Atlanta Restaurant reviews and search Recipes from Atlanta restaurants Favorite Atlanta recipes

I carefully transferred the unharmed contents to a fresh pot, brought it just to a boil, covered it and set it in a hot oven to finish cooking.

From the great jambalaya rescue came a new favorite dish that changes readily with the size of the crowd, the contents of the fridge and the daily offerings at the fish market. One item I never use is one of those colorful packages or bottles of Cajun seasoning mix. If I really want salt, garlic powder, red pepper and anti-caking agent, I can get it without the premium charged for the picture of New Orleans on the label.

Here is a nontraditional but hard-to-beat version I prepared recently for my extended family over the Christmas holiday. It serves an army, with leftover for the reserves.

Baked Jambalaya 15 servings

Hands on: about 1 hour

Total time: about 2 hours

Don't skimp on the oil. You need a fair amount to break down the vegetables and deepen the flavor of the finished rice. Also, by cooking the seafood on the stovetop, you can control its level of doneness.

12 to 18 littleneck clams, soaked and scrubbed

1/2 cup white wine, divided

1 1/2 to 2 pounds large shrimp, shell on

1 1/2 pounds grouper or other firm white fish, cut into 1-inch dice

6 to 8 garlic cloves, minced and separated

1/2 cup olive oil, divided

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

2 small yellow onions, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

4 ribs celery, chopped

6 roma tomatoes, diced, divided

2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

1 teaspoon dried basil

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup kielbasa (turkey kielbasa is fine), diced into 1/2-inch pieces

4 cups medium-grain white rice

Find a large (at least 6 quart), sturdy pot with a well-fitting lid. Make sure it can fit in your oven.

Place the clams and 1/4 cup of wine in pot, cover and cook over medium-high heat until the clams open, about 8 minutes. Remove the clams to a plate, cover tightly with plastic film and refrigerate. Pour the juices from the pot through a strainer lined with cheesecloth or paper coffee filter into a bowl and set aside. You should have about 2 to 3 cups.

Peel and devein the shrimp, reserving the shells. Combine the shrimp with the cubed grouper, half the minced garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper in a dish and mix well. Push the grouper off to one side of the dish. Cover and refrigerate.

Combine the shrimp shells with enough water to cover (about 4 to 6 cups) in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to let simmer for 20 minutes. Drain the shrimp stock through a strainer. Combine with the clam liquor. You should have about 7 to 8 cups of this shrimp/clam juice.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Wipe out your big pot and add 1/4 cup of oil, heating over medium heat until the oil shimmers. Add the onions, bell pepper and celery and cook a good 10 minutes, stirring as needed to keep the veggies from sticking and burning. You may need to add a splash more oil. When the veggies start looking like glop, add half the tomatoes, remaining garlic, paprika, red pepper and basil and cook another few minutes until the tomatoes break down. Add the tomato paste and stir well, letting it fry a little on the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over a medium-high flame. Add the kielbasa and fry until it starts to brown. Add the rice and stir well to coat each grain with the oil. Scrape the rice and sausage into the large pot. Set the pan aside; you don't need to wash it.

Add 7 cups of the shrimp/clam juice; if you don't have enough, add enough water to make up the difference. Stir well over high heat, scraping the bottom of the pot to dislodge any stuck bits. Cover. When the mixture comes to a vigorous, lid-rattling boil, place the covered pot in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

You can cook the jambalaya to this point several hours ahead. You can even reheat the rice.

Place your reserved skillet over a medium-high burner. Add your remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and sauté the grouper chunks just until turn opaque on all sides. They may even take a little color. Add the shrimp and sauté until they turn opaque. Add the remaining tomatoes and wine, stir well and reduce heat to a simmer. Add the clams. Simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, until the fish flakes easily.

Place the hot rice in a large serving dish and pour the fish and juices over the top.

Per serving: 394 calories (percent of calories from fat, 26), 25 grams protein, 46 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 11 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 94 milligrams cholesterol, 224 milligrams sodium.