I’ll go ahead and lead with the song; you knew it was coming. I love songs about (buildings and) food, and this one is iconic.
I previously diaried my Super Bowl party appetizers; here they are presented on my table.
Both the buffalo chicken dip and the bacon jam appetizers got eaten up. The bacon jam recipe makes a LOT. I’m going to be eating that for months if it doesn’t spoil.
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I think the first time I ever made gumbo was for my Super Bowl party in 2010, so far the only time the New Orleans Saints appeared (and won). It was an immediate hit and is now one of my favorite things to cook for a party. Make it the day before and reheat.
In another blog I read, someone was asked about a gumbo recipe and replied “well, you got your roux, and you got your trinity.” That sums it up. That’s the essential foundation that you build on with pretty much any available meat, poultry, game, seafood, fish and vegetables. At its best, it’s like this:
Best gumbo I ever ate was at either Port Sulphur or Buras – cannot remember – at a place where the fishing boats backed up to the restaurant. The waitress brought out what appeared to be a bowl of mud, full of invertebrate “stuff.” It was magnificent, one of the two or three best meals I ever enjoyed.
A lot of people say you need either okra or filé to thicken the soup, OTOH Joy of Cooking doesn’t use either, I use both. I’m confident that pretty much whatever you do, somewhere in Louisiana someone makes gumbo that way and calls it authentic.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
based on Joy of Cooking — serves 10 to 12
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced bell pepper
2 teaspoons ground red pepper
1-½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
½ cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
8 cups chicken stock
2 pounds frozen cut okra (optional)
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
12 ounces andouille sausage, sliced or diced
2 tablespoons filé powder (optional)
½ cup chopped scallions (plus more to taste)
Crystal hot sauce
Have the diced onion, celery, and bell pepper ready in a bowl.
You’ll see from the picture below that I’m a heretic; most chefs would say the Creole Trinity includes specifically green bell pepper. My friend Joan, who I often cook for, can’t stand the flavor of green bell pepper, so I use red, or might even leave out the bell pepper. Recipes that IMO do require green bell pepper, like pork chile verde, I don’t cook for her.
Combine red pepper, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder in a paper or plastic bag. Add the chicken pieces and shake until completely covered. Add ½ cup flour and shake again.
Heat 2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add ½ cup vegetable oil to the skillet, scraping up the browned bits. Whisk in ½ cup flour. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the roux is reddish-brown, 5 or 6 minutes. Stir gently and carefully with a long wooden spoon; the roux is very hot and will stick to skin for a bad burn! Professionals will cook this a lot darker than “reddish-brown”, but you do NOT want to burn it. If black specks appear, the roux is burned, start over in a clean pan. In Emeril’s picture at top the finished product is almost this dark, so his roux must have been a dark chocolate brown. My finished gumbo will be golden brown.
Remove the skillet from the heat, add the diced onion, celery, and bell pepper, and stir until the roux stops bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully add the roux and “trinity” mixture to a soup pot. Whisk in the chicken stock and bring to a boil, whisking. Add the chicken and okra (if using), reduce heat, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the chicken.
When the chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove the skin and bones and discard, and shred the meat.
Stir the filé powder (if using), sausage and minced garlic into the soup pot. Simmer until the sausage is heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken meat and ½ cup scallions, and salt to taste.
Serve garnished with more scallion greens, and add hot sauce to taste. Crystal is a Louisiana brand, medium hot with nice pepper flavor. I usually serve this with rice.
What’s for dinner at your place? Maybe you could write about it? Message ninkasi23.