This dish is for reals.  Last night, I dove into one of my newest cookbooks–Tupelo Honey Cafe: Spirited Recipes from Asheville’s New South Kitchen.  Scott and I have eaten some of the most delicious pancakes of my life at the Tupelo Honey Cafe.  As it turns out, they also know how to make delicious non-brunch food.  This stir fry is chock full of flavor–sweet orange juice with a jalapeño punch (a mild punch).  Double meat.  Lots of bell peppers.  It’s really good.

If you haven’t been to Asheville, NC, I’ll try to set the scene for you.  When you make this food, pretend you’re in a ridiculously artsy and mountain town.  The mountains are friendly and green, and it’s sunny with a cool breeze (because it’s my scene, and it can be whatever weather I want).

Now you can cook.

Chicken Andouille Stir-Fry with Orange Jalapeno Glaze

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-2-inch pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 lb Andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
• 3 bell peppers, color of your choice (we always go green because it’s cheaper, but yellow and red would be pretty mixed in), seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 ribs chopped celery
• 2 chopped Vidalia onions (or other sweet onion)
• 1 1/2 cups orange juice
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons green jalapeno sauce (we used a red hot sauce because it’s what we had… I suggest you use what you already have, too)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How To

Heat the canola oil over medium-high heat in a large saute pan or skillet.

*My note: this is where the recipe went slightly sideways for us.  We suspect that “large saute pan or skillet” means a giant restaurant wok or something like that.  We used our largest pan, and it wasn’t even close to adequate.  We ended up using our largest pan AND our cast-iron skillet.  Then we finally got some brown on the chicken and some of that much-needed browned flavor.  So maybe you should try your own professional-sized wok or two skillets.  Or just start with two skillets.  Or cook it in two batches in the same skillet.  Other than this snafu, the recipe was delightful.  Now you know.

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and add to the oil.  Cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes, until the chicken begins to brown.  Add the sausage, bell peppers, celery, and onion and cook for 12-14 minutes longer, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.  In a bowl, combine the orange juice, cornstarch, hot sauce, and black pepper until the cornstarch is dissolved (a whisk did the trick for me).  Add the orange juice mixture to the skillet(s) and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken.

Eat up!

Why should you try this?  Well, the steps are pretty darn simple, so it’s a good weeknight option.  But it also feels fancy enough to feed friends, if you so desire.  And if you want to prep at one point in the day (chop chicken and sausage, veggies, and set aside for later), that would work really well.

Why should you really try this?  Because of the taste.