Jumbo Gumbo

Whoever thought it was a good idea to make gumbo for ten when only one person will be eating - is crazy. I'm starting to feel like Bubba... gumbo waffles, gumbo lasagna, gumbo quesadillas.... tha that's about it. 

Seriously.

This stuff is pretty dang good though. I was annoyed that I had to drive back to the grocery store just to get okra - because I kept reading that if there wasn't okra, it's not gumbo. If it's not gumbo, then I really didn't complete my challenge now did I?

Our May hostess, Denise of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need from creole spices, homemade stock and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.  *cough I used Paula Deen's recipe. *cough  If you want the real deal, here's a link to Denise's recipes.  I'm not trying to be snobby, I just didn't have the patients to use her recipes. I'm sorry!

Here's a link to Paula's recipe - it says it'll take 2 hours and 40 minutes, but just give yourself 3 1/2 hours. That way, you won't be disappointed when you're eating dinner at 9:00pm.

What did I do differently? You know me too well... I used some tasty chorizo instead of smoked sausage. It really gives a spice and pow that you're really not expecting. POW!

Second, I used skinless, boneless chicken strips - simply because I buy them by the bag, frozen. I didn't feel like buying anything extra special.

Now - watch how much grease your sausage leaves behind, because you may not want to add as much butter as what Paula recommends. Chorizo is pretty greasy, so I omitted the last 3 T of butter.

Nevermind the banana, strawberry chocolate egg and/or pickles...

The most relaxing part was chopping up all of the veggies. I'm trying really hard to improve my knife skills, so this was a great opportunity. I did however, buy pre-cut okra. That stuff is slimy and I didn't want to handle it. (I'm really starting to sound like a snob, I apologize!)

Another tip - when Paula says to let something cook for 10 minutes, she means it. I second guessed cooking the onions, etc for so long, but it's worth it.

Ok - enough blabbing - this stuff is really good. If you have a Saturday afternoon to make it for a group of ten people, it's excellent. Go out and buy some really good bread (or make your own!) to serve with it. I'm not sure if I'll ever make it again, but now I can say I tried.