Thursday, February 4, 2010

Chicken Etouffee

So tonight I fried chicken.... And this was a first for me (to ever fry anything! And a first for anything to ever be fried in my house!!!) I would say for my first time a did a very good job! Ansley liked the fried chicken and kept eating it, Luckily I had made extra! I don't know if maybe I should have chopped the onion and celery up finer or maybe even used a food processor, but they were still crisp when the dish was done so if you do not like that then I suggest steaming them a little before adding them. I did not have a bell pepper so I left that out. I think when I make this again I will leave the celery out (b/c I am the only one who really likes it) or chop it up very fine so no one knows it is in there. Also I will add Carrots and Broccoli, two veggies the kids really love! Dustin thought it needed some more salt, but b/c the recipe says to taste, I did not use a whole lot of salt and figured if it needed more then we could add it once it was on our plate. Oh and I used whole grain rice. Over all I was very pleased with this recipe, and thought that it was pretty easy to make. Thanks Summer!! (Recipe Pictured Bottom of Page)




Chicken Etouffee

Ingredients
1 1/2 pound chicken breast 1 large onion
1 bell pepper chopped red or green 4 stalks celery chopped
4 bay leaves 5 cloves garlic (smoked is best)
2 cups flour 1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup olive oil 2 cups white rice (plus 2 cups water to cook)
salt, pepper & cayenne to taste water to cover

Finely chop onion, bell pepper & celery and set it aside. Mix pepper, salt and cayenne with the flour in a dish. Cut chicken breast into finger sized strips and coat them with the flour. In a large pot (Dutch oven) add some of the butter and olive oil. Hold on to the rest of the butter and oil because you will need to add them in as you cook. Start frying coated chicken strips in the oil & butter, removing them as they brown and adding more oil and butter as needed. I hit them with some more cayenne as they come out of the pot. After all chicken strips are fried and set aside, add any remaining butter and some of the left over seasoned flour to make a roux. Just add enough to make it thick, but not like a paste...cook to a dark roux. Add garlic and bay leaves and the chopped vegetables. Stir so that all veggies are coated with the roux and start to soften. Fill with water to cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Be sure to check for seasoning, salt and cayenne. This is a good time to make the rice. When it starts to look like a gravy add the chicken back in for the last 10 minutes. Again, check the seasoning. Once it reaches the thickness you like serve it on a pile of rice. Garlic bread cut into strips makes a great side and garnish.

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