Chicken Creole

I was really inspired by a visit to New Orleans a few years back and finally got around to making one of the classic regional dishes: Chicken Creole. Well, it's really "Fill-in-the-Blank Creole" - I used a recipe written for shrimp creole, but used chicken instead of shrimp and chicken stock instead of shrimp stock. You could also have Crawfish Creole, Turkey Creole, etc. etc....substituting the proteins however you want.

The recipe called for the chicken to be "seasoned and browned," so I made up a batch of the Creole seasoning blend from the same recipe site, rubbed the mixture into both sides of four chicken breasts, and then cooked the chicken on the stove in 50/50 olive oil & clarified butter. (I had the clarified butter in the fridge, so why not use it? I love that stuff.)

Meanwhile, a TON of veggies needed chopping. I blame all the Chinese food I've been making - I got into a zen kind of rhythm with chopping onion after pepper after onion after pepper - and was kicking myself afterward for not remembering that I have a food processor that would have made that process much easier. The precision of the cuts isn't nearly as important in an application like this one, where things are sweating and simmering. Alas - next time.

The recipe is pretty simple. The chopped veggies sauté gently for a while, and then all the other

ingredients except the chicken are added and the pot is set to simmer. I didn't have the two Louisiana regional hot sauces the recipe lists as optional, and I forgot to roast garlic so I didn't

use that either. I used slightly less than the called

-for six cups of crushed tomatoes - the big cans of crushed came in 4 cup increments, and I had no idea what I'd do with half a leftover can of crushed tomatoes in the fridge. So I stuck with one can - 4 cups. Excepting these items, I did everything else as written. The chicken is added closer to the end of the simmering process, and when done, the creole is served over rice. Use bowls - this is soupy!

I have two and a half complaints with the recipe. One is that 2-3 pounds of chicken breasts is nowhere near enough for the amount of Creole this recipe makes. Considering my pot was full to

within an inch or so of the top, and you serve a ladle or two at a time over rice, it goes a looooong way. And the four chicken breasts in all that sauce meant you got a bite of chicken rarely. I seasoned and browned another eight chicken breasts a few days later and added that, and the ratio of chicken to everything else became a bit more satisfactory.

The other thing I didn't care for was the overall sweetness of the flavor. The creole sauce has a nice depth of flavors - with all the different spices and seasonings that went in - but the predominant flavor was sweet, most likely from all that ketchup and tomato paste. It was a good thing I'd seasoned the chicken and didn't just cook it plain - the spice coating on the chicken pieces helped cut the sweetness a bit. The roasted garlic, if I had remembered to add it, would probably also have helped - although I doubt a few cloves of garlic could offset an entire container of ketchup. It was still good - and we enjoyed the many bowls of this we've had - but I'd prefer a more savory, more spicy creole.

The "more spicy" part is my half-complaint. I'd like a little more heat in this dish, although that's a minor thing that can be easily remedied with another poblano pepper and a few more shakes of

hot sauce. As written, there is hardly any heat - you occasionally get a tiny bit if there's a piece of chopped poblano in your spoonful, but otherwise, it's not spicy.

So overall verdict: good for a crowd, if you use about 3 or 4 times more chicken than is called for and season the heck out of said chicken before cooking and chopping it and throwing it in the pot. I can see what this dish will be great for once perfected - it's fantastic cold-weather food - a great and hardy variation on soups and stews. I will, however, try a different recipe next time - this recipe is not "the one." :)