A certain spicy stew is a cooking staple in south Louisiana.  Sauce piquante was introduced to Louisiana by the Spanish.  It has been embraced by Cajun chefs and has evolved into nearly as many differing recipes as there are cooks.

The dish begins with a roux, combined with the sauce and almost any meat you can think of.  In Louisiana, there is chicken, pork, wild duck, turtle and even alligator sauce piquante.  Here is a recipe for chicken sauce piquante submitted by Mrs. S.J. Ardoin and included in the 1977 cookbook Hot off the Press – Good Cooking from the Pages of the States Time-Morning Advocate.

Chicken Sauce Piquante

1          chicken, cut up                         ¼         cup chopped shallots

½         cup cooking oil                         2          (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce

½         cup flour                                   1          cup water

2          large onions, chopped               1          cup Burgundy

4          garlic cloves, chopped              ¼         cup chopped parsley

1          medium bell pepper                              salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste

Make roux with cooking oil and flour, stirring constantly until medium brown.  Add onions, garlic, bell pepper and shallots.  Sauté until onions are clear.  Add chicken, tomato sauce, water, Burgundy, parsley and seasoning.  Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally) or until sauce begins to thicken.  Serve over rice.  Serves six.

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For those of you that have spent time in the Old Absinthe Bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, here is a very interesting article.

Absinthe's Mind-Altering Mystery Solved - Yahoo! News.

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