Have you ever had an urge for a restaurant dish from years ago that you thoroughly enjoyed…and miss? Maybe you enjoyed it so much that you never ordered anything else in that restaurant?
Well, this is one of my favorite recipes for years from a local now long-gone restaurant. I enjoyed many business meeting dinners there, Kiwanis meetings and of course, weekend dinners with friends and family.
Their entire menu was undeniably delicious…from salads to business lunch specials to chicken dinners to steaks. They had a way of delivering uniquely delicious special sauces to top off their entrees. I was so sad to see it close. I thought I’d never be able to enjoy this favorite recipe of mine. So, I decided to try my hand at duplicating one of my most favorite dinners out.
Keep in mind that this is not a diet dish. It’s a dinner you want to slowly savor because it’s not a meal you’ll eat every single night. It’s rich, with silky smooth sauce and is one that you’ll remember for years to come.
I’ve made this one to be a Quick Cajun Chicken Tchoupitoulas Dinner with Ham and Andouille Sausage. Plus, since I want to make this an easy and quick dinner, I’ve incorporated a packet of dry mix for the bearnaise sauce. It comes together effortlessly.
The meal is an exciting combination of Cajun spices (new to my tasting palate at the time), browned chicken chunks and fried cubes of ham. Covered with a wonderful creamy bearnaise sauce, it’s no wonder that I ordered it time after time. It’s DELICIOUS! And, for a person who does not particularly like chicken, that’s saying a lot! Let’s get to it!
This recipe makes 4-6 servings.
Prep your pan:
I use a 12” fry non-stick fry pan with a cover.
Use a small heavy sauce pan for the bearnaise sauce.
Gather up the main Ingredients:
¼ C Butter
¼ C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 oz Chicken, boneless
1 Onion, medium, diced
4 Potatoes, medium, cubed
6 Mushrooms, sliced, medium to large
1 C Ham, cubed
1 C Andouille sausage, cubed
¼ t Salt
½ t Pepper
½ t Cayenne pepper
½ t Tarragon, dried flakes
1 Green onion, fresh for garnish
Gather up the Bearnaise Sauce Ingredients:
1 Bearnaise Sauce dry packet (I use Knorr)
Milk, amount will vary per brand
Butter, amount will vary per brand
First, make your Bearnaise Sauce:
-Make this recipe fast by utilizing a well-known dry packet bearnaise sauce. Just follow the directions on the sauce packet.
-Whisk and stir the dry mixture with your milk and butter according to instructions.
Set aside and keep warm.
Mix and sauté the main chicken mixture:
-In a 12” fry pan, heat the butter and extra virgin olive oil on medium to medium low heat.
-Add the cubed chicken and sauté until browned and done. (If you want to make this recipe even faster to make, purchase the already grilled strips of chicken from the already prepared meat aisle at your grocery store. Cut the strips into chunks to mix in with the other meat.) Take the chicken out of the pan, leaving the oil/butter in the pan. Set aside.
-Add the onions to the oil and sauté until translucent.
-Add the diced potatoes and sauté until browned and about half done. It’s up to you if you want the potatoes peeled or not. I prefer them washed and diced with the peel on.
-Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until cooked through.
-Add the ham and andouille sausage and cook until browned and cooked through.
-Stir in the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and tarragon flakes. Add more Cajun spices to better fit your taste profile, if you like.
-Set the heat to low and add the chicken back into the mix, stir, cover and cook together for 3 minutes, allowing the spices and herbs to meld with the other ingredients.
-Uncover and continue cooking for 3 minutes. Enjoy!
To serve your Quick Cajun Chicken Tchoupitoulas:
-Serve this in large, low bowls.
-Spoon in the Quick Cajun Chicken Tchoupitoulas blend.
-Drizzle the bearnaise sauce over the top.
-Garnish with fresh chopped green onion.
-Chunks of unbuttered crusty bread taste great with this dinner.
Storage:
-I have stored my leftovers (bearnaise sauce kept separate) in the refrigerator for just a couple days in airtight containers. It's very easy to reheat in the microwave as long as a microwave safe bowl is used. Jolt them with heat for 15-20 seconds, stir and repeat. I heat the sauce separately and drizzle over the entrée before eating.
This Quick Cajun Chicken Tchoupitoulas with Ham and Andouille Sausage brings back so many memories of dining out with friends, enjoying conversation along with popovers, relish trays, crunchy crusted rolls and cocktails. So, whoever you enjoy this meal with, “Bake your own Memories!”