In a medium saucepan (use a pan with a handle that can go into the oven safely), melt butter, add one half cup of onions and sauté until clear. Add rice, 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then remove from stove and place in a 450F degree oven for five to seven minutes. Remove from the oven and hold. Rice should be approximately half (par) cooked.

In a heavy pot, cook and render fat out of the sausage. Remove sausage from the pot and sauté chicken in the rendered fat. Sauté the rest of the onions with celery, green peppers, garlic and seasonings (thyme, basil, oregano, white pepper, cayenne pepper) in the same pot. Dust with flour (sprinkle about 1-1/2 tbsp. on top of vegetables to thicken and flavor) and cook for five minutes. Add remaining cup of chicken stock, cook two minutes, add sausage and chicken, par-cooked rice, Creole tomato sauce, green onions and 2 bay leaves. Simmer for 30 minutes or less or until done, but not too dry (add a little more Creole tomato sauce if necessary).

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Set a pot of water on the stove and bring to a gentle boil.

Using a sharp paring knife, score a large “X” across the bottom of the tomato (the opposite side from the stem end). One by one, insert a fork into the stem and plunge the whole tomato into boiling water. Remove from the water once the skin starts to peel off easily (15-30 seconds). Cool (an ice bath will speed this) until safe to handle, then remove the rest of the skin.

Cut tomatoes in half, remove seeds and dice (you should end up with roughly seven cups). Heat olive oil in medium saucepan, add shallots and cook for two minutes. Add garlic, thyme, oregano, basil and white pepper. Sauté shallots until clear. Add diced tomatoes, bring mixture to a boil, add red wine and sugar. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour---until tomatoes begin to break up.

Salt and pepper to taste; puree in a blender or food processor.