Shrimp is the fruit of the sea

Pies are tricky.  My mom would always make pies for our birthdays, for holidays, or just for sundays when people were over.  I always liked pie, but I don't think I ever appreciated how much is required to make them, nor the staggering number of dishes that get dirty in making a single pie.  Pies are also quite small.  I would be willing to bet that a large percentage of pies made (which could be represented on some sort of chart) take longer to make than they do to eat.  That said, i think there's something deeper and more significant in making the pie itself, some sort of value in the journey that makes it worth doing.

Jambalaya is in some ways the opposite of pie, an anti-pie, if you will.  It takes less than an hour to make, feeds lots of people, is simple, relatively cheap (unless you buy jumbo shrimp, which i heartily recommend, if you go for that sort of thing), delicious and satisfying in a way that pie can never be, but does not photograph nearly as well.  

I'm sure there is some sort of higher, metaphysical significance to be had here, but I'll leave that to other people.  Here are the pictures from yesterday's dinner:

By the way, special thanks to Amy, whose recipe book provided the inspiration and recipe for jambalaya.