Gumbo, not made my me.

Captain America made me Gumbo.  It was a little late for Fat Tuesday, but I'll take it when I can get it.  I love it when he cooks and I don't even have to think about it.  I did help, though.  As in, I put rice in the rice cooker and brought him another beer.  We are definitely not Cajun connoisseurs (is Gumbo Cajun or Creole? Wikipedia says it can be either depending on the proteins.  Details...)   but I thought it turned out pretty darn good.   He used 2 recipes and did sort of a mash up.  This one from Emeril (because why wouldn't you trust Emeril for your Gumbo recipe?) and one from the Williams Sonoma Soup & Stew cookbook (I scoured the Internet for this recipe but can't find the exact one).  It is very similar to Emeril's except that it does not have celery in it (which CA used) and it does have a can of diced tomatoes in it (which CA also used).  CA was dedicated to that Gumbo - he stirred the Roux for an hour to get it nice and dark, no joke, one full hour.  He also burned the end of my wooden spoon in the process.  Booooo.  But the results were worth it.

Two of the stars of this show were Gumbo File and Tabasco... that is if you ignore the shrimp, andouille and okra - which you can't, because they're delicious.  I actually really like okra, regardless of his slimy reputation.  (BTW, file is supposed to have an accent over the "e" but I can't figure out how to do that on blogger, darn grammar)  Lately I've been totally into spicy so I added quite a bit of Tabasco to the finished product.  The Gumbo File was, frankly, a pain in the butt to find.  Can you believe they don't carry it at Whole Foods?  I get very grumpy when I have to go to multiple stores to find ingredients for a meal.  It happens less here in DC than when we've lived in smaller cities but it still winds me up.  Gumbo File is essentially Sassafras powder and is used as a thickener but also has a nice flavor.  Since I found it, I was determined to use it so I sprinkled a little extra into my bowl.

By the way, I must disclose that I am in LOVE with my Williams Sonoma cookbooks.  They're pretty much my go-to for classic recipes.  It's a set they released years ago and don't sell anymore but I have 30 of them and have rarely been let down by the recipes.  My favorite pie dough, french toast, royal icing and gingerbread men are in there.  Oh and roasted asparagus too.

Back to baking.
Julie