Cajun Chicken Pasta that probably really isn’t cajun at all

Let me just say this about the oil spill that our friends in Louisiana are currently dealing with: it makes me very, very angry. I think it’s pretty outrageous that this has basically destroyed ecosystems and possibly the way of life and work of the people who live on the Gulf Coast. It’s just. . . bad. And wrong. And frustrating.

So, yesterday, sort of in honor of our friends to the South, I thought it would be fun to make Cajun Chicken Pasta. But things didn’t go as planned. (Is it wrong to admit on your own blog where you often detail cooking that your recipe didn’t turn out quite right?) Because it didn’t. And here’s why: you shouldn’t wait to the last minute to decide what you’re going to blog about on your cooking blog, then decide to fly solo and make up the recipe as you go along, because really, that’s just not a recipe for cooking success. And that’s exactly what I did.

I’ve had Cajun Chicken Pasta in various restaurants. I saw a recipe for it on the Tasty Kitchen blog. And I decided I knew what I was doing and could handle it on my own. Now, my attempt wasn’t unedible. The sauce was just really runny. So today, I’ll feature some pics and detail what I did, but I’ll change the quantities on the sauce ingredients so that your sauce doesn’t turn out quite as thin as mine. OK?And if all else fails, use this recipe.

1. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and toss with a generous sprinkling of Cajun spice. I used Tony Catchere’s because that’s what I had. I also seasoned the chicken with a little black pepper. Season to your taste and if you’re like me, layer on enough Tony’s to make your nose run.

2. Cook the chicken in a heavy skillet with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and a little butter. When the chicken is cooked through and browned, remove it with a slotted spoon and let it cool on a plate.

3. Add your peppers, onions, and garlic. I used 1/2 of a red bell pepper, 1/2 of a yellow pepper, about 1/2 of a red onion (chopped) and 4 cloves of garlic (minced) to the pan. You may need to turn down the heat a little and/or add some more olive oil to the pan. Sprinkle with some more Cajun spice and let the veggies cook away. You want everything to get soft and the flavors to start to meld together. In the recipe I suggested above, the cook says to let the veggies get as black as possible—I didn’t go quite that far.

4. The recipe I advised you to use above also says to add tomatoes to the pan at this point. (I didn’t; I added my tomatoes in at a different point. My advice: add your tomatoes with the veggies. It will end better.) So, add tomatoes to the pan. The recipe I referred you to uses 4 whole Roma tomatoes, chopped. I used two Romas and a bunch of tiny heirloom tomatoes I had on hand. Cook the tomatoes and veggies for tiny bit more (like 30 seconds), then remove from the pan with your old friend, the slotted spoon.

5. Add 1/2 cup white cooking wine to the pan (I used 1 cup. . . just don’t.) Also pour in two cups of chicken broth. If you’d rather use white wine or skip even the cooking wine, that’s fine, too. Cook on high for about 3-4 minutes scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan. This pulls up all the yummy stuff that’s stuck to your pan but will taste awesome in the sauce. Reduce your heat to low after the 3-4 minutes and pour in 1/2 cup heavy cream, whisking constantly. If you’re crazy like me, sprinkle in even MORE Cajun spice. Cook on medium-low for a few minutes until the sauce starts to thicken a little. (Which of course mine did not because I forged my own way and it wasn’t really the best way. . .)

6. After the sauce has thickened, add your chicken and veggies back to the skillet and let it all cook together for a few minutes, until it’s all bubbly and yummy. You want your chicken and veggies to have drained a little and don’t add the juices into the sauce. This too will make it runny. After the sauce is bubbly, toss it with the prepared pasta of your choice. I used spaghetti noodles because I had them. The recipe suggests linguine noodles. Whatever floats your boat!

And even though my sauce was a wee bit thin, I ate a whole LOT of this. I also added three chopped green onions and  little parmesan and freshly grated mozarella to the sauce right at the end. Because I like cheese and green onions.

Ingredients: 2-3 chicken breasts, cut into pieces Cajun spice 1/2 red bell pepper 1/2 yellow bell pepper tomatoes, enough to equal about a cup when chopped Heavy cream White cooking wine Chicken stock green onions Parmesan and mozarella cheese Prepared pasta