Gumbo!
I'd just seen a food show that touched on gumbo, so, of course, it made me want to make my own variation immediately. But I knew this wouldn't be at all traditional. I'd be using hot Italian sausage, for heaven's sake!!!
So, I sautéed about 3/4 of a pound of Teitel Brothers' finest, saved the oil, sautéed a bit of chicken breast, and saved the oil again. Then I sautéed a bit of the trinity (chopped bell pepper, scallions, and celery) in EVOO... saved that oil to add to the rendered sausage fat... and made a roux by cooking an equal amount of flour and the various saved fats for about 4 minutes.
To this roux, I added warm homemade chicken broth, brought it to the boil, and thinned it with more broth until it was a consistency I liked (about the viscosity of heavy cream... I don't like it thicker than that, but it's up to you).
Remember: a roux-thickened sauce needs to come to the boil before you know what the texture will be. Don't be too quick to decide it's too thick or too thin!
I combined the meats, the sauce and the sautéed trinity, tossed in some cayenne and a good pinch of my smoked salt...
Served it over white rice and garnished with reserved scallion tops...
I think someone from Louisiana would recognize it... even with Italian sausage... and boy, was it good!!!