Gumbo

Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved to sit and watch my grandmother make gumbo. When she was finished the smell that would permeate the house was intoxicating. But, the problem with her gumbo was that it contained shrimp and crab--two things I can not handle. When my family would get together and have gumbo, I was relegated to bowl of rice with a little bit of juice and few pieces of okra that had been carefully dipped from the pot to avoid all of the seafood.
Later in my life, on a trip to New Orleans, I discover chicken and sausage gumbo. I became totally obsessed! I had to learn to make it. So, with a little help from my mom, I learn to make it. Just like most dishes in the south, the ingredients stay the same, but there is no exact recipe and it's just the tiniest bit different every time.
Ingredient List:
oil (peanut, vegetable, NOT olive)
all purpose flour
chicken--I rarely feel like boiling a chicken, so I get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store
cajun conecuh sausage or andouille sausage
sweet onion
bell pepper
garlic
worcestershire sauce
chicken stock
cajun seasoning
cayenne pepper
chicken stock
okra
celery
tomato
Step 1: Make roux. Roux is the secret to gumbo. You make or break your gumbo with you skill at making roux. I've decided that the secrets are 1. having a nice big cast iron vessel to cook your roux 2. the ability to stir with either hand 3. having seemingly limitless patience.
To make the roux, combine flour and oil--less oil than flour (about 1 cup of flour to 3/4 cup oil). Whisk together till the mixture is smooth while the cooking vessel of your choice comes up to about medium temperature. Then stir. Sounds simple, but you have to watch it and stir it constantly. I like my roux to be about the color of chocolate, some prefer it to be lighter--like peanut butter. I think the darker roux has a better, deeper flavor.
My favorite little tip is to cook your sausage first and use the drippings to make roux--it's already horrible for you, so why not??
Step 2: Combine all of the remaining ingredients in whatever proportion strikes your fancy. If you did not cook your roux in the pot you will be making the rest of your gumbo it, very, very carefully-but very quickly, add your roux to rest of your mixed ingredients. If you made your roux in the pot you will be using for your gumbo, be extremely careful when adding your remaining ingredients.
Step 3: Taste and taste again. Gumbo is a personal thing. To me there is no right or wrong way to do it.

Gumbo is a dish that is best learned from another cook and then adjusted to meet each person's own preference for level of spice, deepness of the roux, type of thickener (okra or file powder or both), amount of juice to meats and veggies.
The most important thing to remember is that gumbo takes time.

Happy cooking and happier eating!