Just last week I was telling a good friend that I had plans to make Shrimp and Okra Gumbo for the weekend. Without hesitation, she asked, “Cajun gumbo or Creole gumbo?” Oh, here I go again. After a 10-minute explanation, I could see my friend regretted even asking the question. But, it is a difficult…
Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo
It’s Fat Monday, ya’ll! Lundi Gras (French for Fat Monday) ramps up the Mardi Gras holiday with a full schedule of parades, balls, and of course, the Courir de Mardi Gras—the rural Cajun celebration before the beginning of Lent. Break out your capuchon (a cone-shaped ceremonial hat), don a colorful mask, tank up with your…
Guinea Gumbo
From the pages of my latest cookbook Fresh From Louisiana: The Soul of Cajun and Creole Home Cooking, this Guinea Gumbo recipe is an old-school Cajun classic. Steeped in tradition and infused with rich gumbo flavors, every spoonful defines the art of Cajun cooking. I remember it like it was yesterday: the day, over 30…
Cajun Seafood Gumbo
The very first spoonful of this soul-satisfying brew is the essence of the fall season in Cajun country. With bold flavors of Louisiana seafood (oysters, shrimp, and crab) harvested from nearby Gulf waters and crawfish from inland ponds, it is further intensified with dark roux, smoked sausage, and Cajun spice. It’s gumbo time! One sign…
Chicken Leg and Sausage Gumbo
It’s fall gumbo season, and time to break out the black iron pot and the rice cooker. The knob of juicy dark meat at the end of a chicken drumstick is my favorite cut of the bird, and when soaked for two hours in a rich roux-infused gumbo, these legs have me running to the…
Rox’s Roux
Making a dark Cajun roux from scratch is a dying art. Not too many years ago, there wasn’t a Cajun or Creole household in South Louisiana that didn’t have the unmistakably intense aroma of a dark roux, in all its glory, wafting through the kitchen. Home cooks were taught basic roux-making skills early on, and…