Paper Palate

A chicken fricassee is the sort of humble but hearty fare that Cook’s Country magazine often considers. Traditionally, the fricassee is made of a whole cut-up chicken stewed in gravy. However, this iteration of chicken fricassee is intended to be a 30-minute meal, so boneless, skinless chicken breasts get the nod in this case. It is spiced up with andouille sausage, Creole seasoning, and a red bell pepper.

The recipe cooked up more or less as described. The main deviation was the fact that I used organic chicken/turkey andouille sausage; this didn’t render any extra fat with which to saute the chicken breasts. I ended up sauteeing the chicken breasts in the skillet without adding any extra oil and it didn’t seem to harm anything. I had to spend more time on the simmering step because my skillet wasn’t big enough to saute all four chicken breasts without overlap. In the end, the chicken was still moist, even with the extra cooking time. Although Cook’s Country recommends Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning, I wasn’t able to find it in my local market, so I used McCormick’s instead.

The end result was a spicy stew wth a delicious thick gravy. Like most stews, the flavors melded overnight and the rice sopped up the flavors, so the leftovers were more than acceptable the following day.

Skillet Creole Chicken Fricassee (serves 4)
from the December/January 2007 issue of Cook’s Country

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), halved crosswise
3 teaspoons Creole seasoning
8 ounces andouille sausage, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning. Cook sausage in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer sausage to paper towel-lined plate, leaving fat in skillet. Cook chicken in sausage fat until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate with sausage.

2. Add oil, onion, celery, and pepper to now-empty skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and remaining teaspoon Creole seasoning and cook until flour begins to brown, about 1 minute.

3. Slowly stir in broth until smooth. Return chicken and sausage to skillet. Cover and simmer until chicken registers 160 degrees, about 10 minutes. Serve over rice.