Every year when there's the first hint of a nip in the air, I love to pull out my copper stewpot and to get cooking. I'll confess to being a lazy weekday cook- relying way too often on Ina Garten's Weeknight Bolognese - but when it comes to fall dinner with friends around my kitchen table, I suddenly feel inspired. And there's nothing that gives me more pleasure in the kitchen than cooking up a delicious daube or stew to serve with garlic cheese grits and a fresh salad with lemony dressing.

My go-to recipe for the early fall, before it's really the season for boeuf bourgignon, is Emeril Lagasse's Chicken Sauce Piquante, a spicy, velvety stew that begins with the cajun trinity of green pepper, onion and celery, and is finished off with just enough cayenne to give it a kick. The key to the recipe is Emeril's famous Essence, a mixture of spices that combine to create the perfect cajun flavor.

The first time I tasted this sublime but humble dish was at a dove hunt lunch in the Mississippi Delta. It was late afternoon before the meal was served - a very long cocktail hour being a feature of any party in this particular part of the world - and our hostess placed a big stewpot directly on a farm table she'd set up outside the house. Ladled over hot cheese grits and accompanied by a salad of bibb lettuce, red onion, sliced avocado and wedges of pink grapefruit, this was a recipe I knew would become a fixture in my own fall entertaining playbook. 

Chicken Sauce Piquante (From New New Orleans Cooking by Emeril Lagasse)

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 (3 pound) fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I prefer to make it easy on myself and buy an equivalent amount of boneless chicken breasts and thighs, cut into 1.5 inch pieces.

• 1 teaspoon salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows

• 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions

• 3/4 cup chopped green bell peppers

• 3/4 cup chopped celery

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

• 4 bay leaves

• 4 cups seeded and chopped plum tomatoes

• 3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium canned chicken broth

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon Tabasco

• 1/2 cup chopped green onions (green and white parts)

• handful of chopped italian parsley

Emeril's Essence

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

 Directions

• Heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in large heavy nonstick pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon of the salt. In a bowl combine the Essence with 1/2 cup of the flour and stir to combine. Dredge the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour mixture and shake to remove any excess flour. Brown the pieces, in batches if necessary, until golden on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

• Stir in the onions, bell peppers, celery, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne, and bay leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of the flour and cook, stirring, to cook the flour without browning, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, Worcestershire, and pepper sauce.

• Return the chicken to the pot, increase the heat under the sauce to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fall-from the bone tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove and discard the bay leaves.

• Serve over garlic cheese grits and finish with the green onions and parsley.

Serves 4