It's all about the roux (and I just added the Gumbo recipe!)

It's Mardis Gras time

here in the southern United States.

For the rest of the country, it's a great excuse for a party. For the church community, it is the time of big celebration immediately preceeding the fasting and penitence following Shrove Tuesday that lasts until Good Friday, just before Easter.

For New Orleans, it is the equivilent of every holiday wrapped up into one and it all settles around food, excess and fun! I joke that I wasn't raised in the South, but I got here as fast as I could. And while there are those (including myself) who assert that Texas and 'South' are not the same things - my grad school years at the University of South Carolina in Columbia give me must enough 'street cred' to have some knowledge about the 'True South'.

New Orleans is one seriously special place!

In truth, it's a city that should not be - it is literally below sea level. Katrina tried hard to take it out, but the Queen persevered! New Orleans is part history, part party, part architectural dream, part foodie mecca, part voodoo, and part down-right mean. Home of Jazz, Bourbon Street, beautiful plantations where very ugly things happened, and Jackson Square sitting on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi River.

Me? I am rather partial to the foodie side. Emeril Legasse, John Besh, Paul Prudhome... absolute masters. If you have a bad meal is New Orleans, y'all are just not going to the right place!!

Jambalaya, et toufee, gumbo.... mmmmmm..... And every chef will tell you that these great dishes start with the roux. Roux (prounced roo) is simply an equal combination of fat - usually butter - and flour that is cooked. You've probably had it lots of times as it is the basis of several sauces - bechamel, voloute, in chowders and cream soups, your grandama's mac & cheese.

What makes the difference between the three

types of rouxs (is that a word?) The length of time that the roux is cooked.

A white roux becomes the basis for bechamel. It's cooked from 2 - 5 minutes, just long enough to cook the flour so you don't taste raw flour.

Blonde roux is cooked for 10 minutes and makes voloute', one of the 'mother sauces'.

Brown roux is the 'mac daddy' of roux; cooked for a luxurious 30 minutes until the flour and butter turn a lucious, flavorful, maple-brown color. Brown roux requires constant attention to keep the roux from burning.

And there isn't a gumbo worth eating that doesn't have an amazing deep, rich, dark brown roux behind it!

So, now you know what a ridiculous chef geek I am!!! But there's a point ... and even a WA angle! Our sites...just like our WA adventure just keeps getting better with age. Each stage of cooking the roux has incredible value and use. It is all seriously yummy.

But it takes time, attention, and a bit of knowledge

to pull the greatest depth of flavor in a brown roux.

And it takes time, attention, and a bit of knowledge to maximize the potential in our sites.

We read the recipe. We do the lessons. We practice.

We screw it up a bit on occasion.

We burn the butter.

We scorch the flour.

And after some time and practice, we come up with amazing sites that can generate incredible returns for us.

That doesn't mean that the younger site doesn't have value. It sure does! And you can get returns from a newer site. It just won't be at the level as a much more seasoned site.

But it is so worth the time and attention to help it get there!

So take the time to cook your roux to a full body brown to make the best gumbo.

And take the time to work on your site, let it grow, let it bloom. Let it age and develop.

"Laissez les bon temps rouler!" (Let the good times roll!)

Christine

And, because I was asked, this is the gumbo recipe I make most. It is Emiril's Country Gumbo - and yes you can find it on line. I've used this for a long time. The only things I change,

1. I use butter instead of vegetable oil to make the roux.
2. I stick with chicken stock
3. I use Kiolbassa smoked sausage instead of Andouille
4. When I can get it, I add gator meat. It adds a whole different level of wonderful flavor!

Enjoy and let me know how it turns out for you!!!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
• 4 quarts shrimp, crab or chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Pinch of cayenne
• Dash of hot sauce
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 2 or 3 gumbo crabs, cracked
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 3 links andouille sausage, sliced in 1/4-inch thick rounds, browned and drained on paper towels
• 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1 pound cooked chicken, shredded in pieces
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
• File powder, for serving, optional (available in specialty food stores)

DIRECTIONS

• Make a dark roux: Heat oil in a large soup pot over high heat. When oil begins to smoke, whisk in flour. Continue to whisk constantly until mixture is a rich brown color. Be careful not to produce specs of black. Roux must remain an even color throughout process. If specks appear you must start over. When roux is mahogany colored, add onions, celery and bell pepper.
• Stir mixture until the vegetables are softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the stock along with the Worcestershire, hot sauce, and cayenne. Season lightly with salt and pepper and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the gumbo crabs, bay leaves and thyme and simmer until the flavors begin to come together, about 45 minutes.
• Add the sausage and continue to cook until the gumbo reaches the desired thickness and is rich and flavorful, about 1 hour longer.
• Stir in the shrimp, chicken, green onions, and parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Cook until the shrimp are cooked through and the onions and parsley have softened, 15 to 20 minutes longer.

  Serve over hot white rice and allow guests to add filé powder to their bowls if desired.

• Bon appetite!!!