I suggest that you and Tommy cook it while I ingest beers and dodge the iguana.

I sent you some tips on making it--check your e-mail!

However, I forgot the Most Important Ingredient: Gumbo File! Pronounced "fee-lay", it's to gumbo what cumin and chile powder is to chile.

Damn, you got me wanting to make a batch of my own, too...maybe I can talk Hubby into getting the necessaries. Now I just can't let this week finish without some gumbo, dammit!

--TwoDragons

I think it's an either/or thing -- gumbo either has file or okra. Other than that, throw in everything you've got. Always use the "holy trinity" vegetables -- onion, celery and green pepper -- and my trick is to use black, white, and cayenne pepper. That makes the flavor "roll."

Here's a challenge for you: deep fry a COW. That would be impressive.

There are as many recipes for gumbo as there are for chili. Try them all and improvise to what you really like. I make several kinds. Chicken/okra; seafood, and and mixture of all of the above. First you make a roux, a thick, dark roux. Then you add the holy trinity, onions, pepper, celery, or not, if not add chopped onions and garlic. If using chicken stock add it slowly. Always, no matter what kind you are making add endouli, the best sausage for a gumbo.
Cook it up, then add your seasonings, red pepper, salt, etc. The cookbooks always say add the file only when finished cooking. I didn't do it that way. I cook with it and also add it later. If it's chicken it should have been simmering in the pot all along, with the okra if that's your choice. If it's seafood add the seafood shortly before serving, you don't want to cook that very long, just enough. Shrimp will get tough, so will oysters. Crab meat won't get tough if it's already broken up, but the claws will. Don't use okra with seafood gumbo, but there are good recipes with crab gumbo that have okra. Have rice on hand to eat with it and if you want a real treat have baked sweet potatoes on hand, peel and eat with the gumbo. My Cajun in-laws family always has potato salad with it. Potato salad made by mixing boiled egg and cubed potatoes with vinegar, salt and black pepper and only that mix.
And can you tell I just had leftovers for lunch?

In honor of John Ché-rry, and some interest mentioned on May 8 by Steve, I think you should work on a cooked goose.

In honor of John Ché-rry, and some interest mentioned on May 8 by Steve, I think you should work on a cooked goose.

I think you'll find this new post of mine a source of inspiration.

We usually leave file on the table and let the people who want to use it have at it. As a rule, I don't put it in the gumbo while cookin' it.

We had gumbo as our Christmas meal this year...and cook it anytime our extended family gets together. I'll email you my simple recipe.

--s

Brisket! C'mon you need to do a brisket. A serious challenge for any backyard cooking afficionado.