Author Topic: other cooking (gumbo)  (Read 24263 times)

a non-amos

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other cooking (gumbo)
« on: July 09, 2009, 03:15:26 PM »
Hi, everyone.

Previous threads indicate that males are relegated to only grilling, BBQ, chili, etc.

I just dragged a really good pot of gumbo into our local Irish pub, and it went over rather well.  Not all males are restricted to BBQ, etc.

I really don't know if anyone else is interested in this topic, but gumbo can be a really great thing.

By the way . . . At a tender young age my mamma told me that if I like eating, I had better learn how to cook.

Cheers!

- A :-H
Carpe digitus.
(Roughly translated, this is possibly the world's oldest "pull my finger" joke)

birdy

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #1 on: July 09, 2009, 10:57:55 PM »
And believe me, a non-amos, not all women are handy in the kitchen.  Thank goodness I live on a street with a lot of restaurants.  I'm not sure I've ever had gumbo, though I've had okra at my local Greek restaurant.

cariboo

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2009, 02:11:43 AM »
Ah, mmmm, gumbo! Not a Canadian treat, but I have southern roots.

I've tried, but I can't make a roux without burning it. Will you share your secret?

cariboo

a non-amos

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2009, 03:07:08 AM »
Gumbo is a soup made from andouille and chicken, along with onion, green pepper, and celery (the trinity) and garlic (the pope) It may also have okra and other assorted ingredients.  It is usually served with rice.

A good gumbo needs a good brown roux.  A brown roux needs grease that does not burn easily, such as vegetable shortening, lard, or bacon grease.  My favorite is to cook a pound of bacon, remove the bacon, cook the chicken and sausage in the bacon grease, filter the grease, and make the roux using bacon grease that has been flavored by the andouille and the chicken.  If I don't have enough bacon grease, I add a little shortening.  Don't use butter.

If you have problems with roux burning, either you are using the wrong grease (butter will burn quite easily), or you need to filter the grease (any food particles left in the grease will burn), or you need to stir it more frequently.  When finished, the roux should be about this color.

Carpe digitus.
(Roughly translated, this is possibly the world's oldest "pull my finger" joke)

cariboo

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2009, 08:33:28 AM »
Ah, thanks a-amos,

I shall stop feeding the ravens bacon fat and render it for my roux.

Thanks for the tip--now, to find a source of andouille. (I live in a small town in central British Columbia--lots of range fed beef and river salmon, but not a lot of deli meats.)

cariboo

a non-amos

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #5 on: July 10, 2009, 10:25:01 AM »
Be sure to filter it, either with a coffee filter or with a paper towel or similar.

I was pleasantly surprised to find three different brands of andouille in my local Kroger store.  Do you have Kroger's in BC?
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cariboo

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #6 on: July 10, 2009, 11:24:11 AM »
Will filter well thoroughly. We don't have Krogers, but we have a Safeway here that will sometimes order in. I'll check. It's not something I look for very often, so they may have some in regular stock, who knows?

Thanks again.

cariboo

technomc

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #7 on: July 10, 2009, 07:32:45 PM »
You are the exception that proves the rule A non...

a non-amos

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2009, 01:05:01 AM »
Another helpful hint:

In most gumbo recipes, the first thing you do is cook the chicken and andouille in the grease, then pick the meat off of the chicken bones.  One of the last things you do is add enough chicken stock to make it into a soup.

One of the things I tried on Wednesday: I simmered the chicken bones (and skin, etc.) in the chicken stock while everything else was cooking.  It turned out pretty good.
Carpe digitus.
(Roughly translated, this is possibly the world's oldest "pull my finger" joke)

technomc

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #9 on: July 11, 2009, 10:26:08 AM »
What an excellent Jewish mother you would make...

a non-amos

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #10 on: July 11, 2009, 02:30:53 PM »
Waste not, want not.  In my case: waste not, waist more.

I just returned from the pub, which had more Katrina refugees than is normal.  They heard about this gumbo, and felt a bit homesick.  They had no gumbo tonight, only the stories of gumbo past.

They also had some conversation with the gumbo's cook, and also talked with at least one NOLA refugee who swore upon the gumbo.

One of them asked me why I would do such a thing, and what drew me to NOLA.  I told her about the NOLA benefit I had organized, and what we accomplished.  The next time I had some time off from work with no other obligations, we were there.

We fell in love with the French quarter, not surprisingly.  The first time we went, the cooking school was closed.  That only meant we should try again at some later date.  Our continued efforts were well rewarded, hence the gumbo and various other creole recipes.  More info on that, but only if requested.

The other question was why I would drag free food into the pub.  I do have ulteriour motives.  I am planning a Mardi Gras party the likes of which Roanoke has never seen.  I need to get the food right, so I need opinions.  It is traditional to start this planning on Ash Wednesday, so I am behind schedule.  The gumbo is good, so I should move on to either the jambalaya or the pralines.

Cheers!

- A
Carpe digitus.
(Roughly translated, this is possibly the world's oldest "pull my finger" joke)

Tom44

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #11 on: July 11, 2009, 02:55:17 PM »
And don't forget the King cake with the baby.
Stevens Point, WI

Toni

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #12 on: July 11, 2009, 06:13:28 PM »
Wow a non-amos, that sounds good.  I"m with your mum on the cooking scene.  All my boys can cook, Patrick if he has to, but Tim and John are really good.

I gather andouille is a sausage.  I'm fairly sure I won't get it here.  What is it similar to?

I would love to hear more interesting food ideas and recipes.  Why don't we have this thread as a cooking one?  I should think there are several of us who like to cook (and eat!!).

Tonight I am pot-roasting warthog.  I discovered a shop that has quite a variety of game on sale.  You'd think we'd have lots available but, although you can almost always get Springbok, one seldom sees other stuff.  I found a recipe on the net and Joan is going to be the guinea pig.

pat

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #13 on: July 11, 2009, 09:29:53 PM »
Hope you're not cooking guinea pig then, Toni.

birdy

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Re: other cooking (gumbo)
« Reply #14 on: July 12, 2009, 12:11:58 AM »
That would have to be a South American recipe, Pat.  Guinea pigs are domestic animals down there.  Though I'm not sure if that is still true.