cooking

[evilelfling]

I'm making a pot of gumbo right now. This for me is a little terrifying because my emaw and my dad used to make gumbo when I was a kid and it was one of my favorite things. My dad always refused to give me the recipe. I found out recently that it's more because he really doesn't have one; he just sort of flies by the seat of his pants. So I found a baseline recipe that seems pretty close to what my family used to use; I'm hoping that Bryan can find gumbo file at Whole Foods because that's to me a necessary condiment for gumbo. He was a little miffed when I made him get specifically Tabasco sauce instead of the generic version. But I have always built up the gumbo thing in my head. I'm sure it will be fine. I didn't burn the roux (this time) and I didn't burn myself making the roux (tricky), and just like my family did I cut up a whole chicken (which is a gross endeavor, by the by). I can make stock from the bones that are left over.

I've gotten much more confident in my cooking skills over the past couple of years. I've made roasts, and a ham, I've made different soups and stews from different ethnic traditions, I've even made some other traditional cajun recipes (not creole, there is a difference) and those have turned out pretty well. And my dad was nice enough to send me some andouille from Jacobs for my birthday, so here I am.

We'll see. If it turns out awful, I guess I'll just have to try again another time. But I'd really love to be able to call my dad and say "Hey, I made this killer gumbo this weekend."