It’s been awhile since we’ve posted! I hope you guys have been wondering what’s been going on with CajsianCooking? No, we are not opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant, nor are we opening a food truck… I wish!!! We have been getting our home ready for our first bundle of joy that was born a month ago.

I’ve actually been able to cook over this time which is quite surprising. A lot of people are shocked when I say I’ve cooked a full dinner with a newborn in the house. A lot of family and friends have dropped by dinners and lunches and that has sure helped out in the meantime!

But let’s get to the real reason why you’re reading! Tailgate season is upon us and I’ve been trying to think of something new to cook for this year. And I finally figured it out: a sauce piquante! You may ask yourself, what’s a sauce piquante? It’s basically a spicy, tomato-based stew. In the sauce piquante you can choose your own protein as your base and go from there. Being from Louisiana, the most commonly thought of sauce piquante is alligator. Don’t knock gator meat before you try it… DELISH!!

I started chopping all my vegetables. Of course that includes my version of the trinity: onions (1), green bell peppers (1) and garlic (6 cloves–it’s just good). Then I cut up 2 pounds of chicken thighs in 1/2″ cubes. The chicken thighs were then tossed in 1/4 of flour and Slap ya Mama seasoning. I used two cans of diced tomatoes and 1 can of tomato paste.

In my enameled cast-iron pot, I browned my chicken and removed once brown and half-cooked.

I then sweated down my trinity with a generous pinch of salt until translucent. When that is ready, I added my chicken, diced tomatoes (with juice) and tomato paste.

As this is cooking down I begin to season! The seasoning is as follows: 1 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp thyme, 2 bay leaves and additional Slap Ya Mama to taste (any creole seasoning can be used, we just like “Slap” the best). Let cook and simmer for 2-3 hours (or, if you have a newborn like we do, just whenever you’ve got a chance to actually eat). Serve this dish over a bed of steamed white or brown rice.

My seasoning measurements is a lot of guestimation. I tend to just season and taste as I go. The above ingredient list can be modified! Adjust the spiciness because trust me, it had quite the kick… ayeeeee!!!!

Overall, I think I will cook it again. Possibly at a tailgate later in the season… maybe against Auburn? Back in my Tigerband days, we would say “War Chicken” to mock Auburn’s War Eagle. Come October 26, you may be eating a chicken sauce piquante!!!