Try Cooking Something Creole

This guest post from Margaret Mills

Add a little flavor of the south to your dinner table tonight by trying a Creole recipe. Creole dishes are popular in the south. I love to watch the cooking channel on Directv from http://www.expertsatellite.com/ to get ideas about trying something new. Satellite television always has great cooking channel available that will show you different cuisines around the world. One great dish I like to serve on special occasions is Creole Chicken Gumbo. It is a hearty, filling, and savory meal that will serve a crowd.

Creole Chicken Gumbo

2 pounds of boneless-skinless chicken breasts

4 cups of chicken broth

1 pound of spicy smoked sausage, andouille

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 cup of flour, all-purpose

1 can of okra

1 onion, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of tomato juice

1 tablespoon of hot sauce

1/2 cup of shallots, sliced

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Boil the chicken in the broth.

2. Remove the chicken and save the stock.

3. Allow the chicken to cool and then chop into small one inch pieces.

4. In a large skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat.

5. Remove the sausage and add it to the bowl of chicken.

6. Add the olive oil to the grease from the sausage and add the flour. You will begin making a roux.

7. Stir constantly the flour over medium heat and allow it to brown. Careful not to burn because the dish will have a scorched taste.

8. When the flour has a rich brown color, the color of a dirty copper penny, add the can of okra along with it's juice, onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper. Transfer to a deep pot.

9. Pour in the chicken stock and stir well to combine the ingredients.

10. Add the undrained tomatoes, tomato juice, shallots, bay leaves, salt, cayenne pepper, hot sauce, black pepper and bring this mixture to a high boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer for 45 minutes.

11. Add the chicken and sausage and cook for 10 minutes.

12. Serve in individual serving bowls over a scoop of hot cooked rice and enjoy!