Creative Thursdays: Chicken and Smoked Sausage Etouffee for Tyler Florence Fridays

I had a dream about Tyler last night. You wanna know what happened in my big crazy dream?? We went grocery shopping........of all things!! Anyway, Tyler and I were having a fantastic time grocery shopping. We had elaborate conversations about food and in depth conversations about what ingredient to use in a recipe. We were calling each other, texting each other, and planning a big menu. I had his phone number on speed dial!! How crazy is that? Wouldn't you love to have Tyler's number on speed dial?

With Tyler on the brain, I was eager to find a recipe for Tyler Florence Fridays. I didn't want to head out to the store with my two year old, so I decided to make do with what I had on hand. I gathered a lot of recipes, but this one for chicken and smoked sausage etouffee caught my eye right away.

The history of etouffee goes along very well with the idea of Creative Thursdays. After all, an etouffee is all about using what is on hand. Etouffee was originally made with crawfish, but nowadays it is made with chicken, sausage, fish, crawfish, shrimp, and vegetables. You probably have everything you need to throw together a version of etouffee.

The base of an etouffee is a roux, which is simply flour and butter. You will need a liquid (broth, beer,water, etc) and a couple of staple veggies (bell pepper, onion, celery, garlic). Throw in some chicken, sausage, shrimp, or cubed up veggies and you are all set. This week's featured ingredient is broth, beer, wine, or any kind of cooking liquid. I usually keep lots of broth on hand as a pantry ingredient for soups, risotto, rice and a wide variety of other dishes.

Tyler's version of chicken and sausage etouffee can be found here. Tyler's recipe begins with sauteing the smoked sausage, saving the rendered fat. The chicken is sauteed in the rendered sausage fat. The meat is removed and the roux is made. Tyler's recipe calls for all the veggies to be processed in a food processor. When the roux is dark (like peanut butter) the veggies are added and cooked another 5-7 minutes. Deglaze pan with one can of beer, then add 4 cups of chicken broth. Bay leaf, paprika and cayenne pepper are all added at this stage, as well as the chicken. Simmer for around 1 hour, shred chicken, add in sausage. Warm through and serve over rice.

Notes: We loved it!! My husband called it a delightful change from the normal dinner! He must have said how delicious it was at least ten times: ) A Perfect combination of flavors and ingredients. Slightly spicy with a smooth and creamy base, almost like a gravy. Packed with layers and layers of flavor. Went very well with cornbread muffins and served over rice. This is one of those recipes that you love to come home to. A recipe where you might find yourself arguing over who gets the leftovers. Leftovers that are even better the next day when all the flavors have a chance to mingle and get happy : )

Don't forget about the contest/giveaway ending Saturday, August 29th. Click here to see the details.

Click here to see what all the other Tyler Florence members made this week!!

Sweet dreams ; )