Roberta wrote:

> anyone have a tried and true recipe? I am leaning toward a non-seafood
> one since I have every type of meat except that in the house. I have
> rice and okra....

I posted this a few years ago but i'll save you the trouble of
searching-

I think I have some thing that will work for you. I socialize with a
fair number of people from S.W.Louisiana and I do get enjoy their great
music and food. Their gumbos generally go something like this.

Creole chicken and sausage gumbo

2 young chickens (fryers)
4 quarts water
1 yellow onion
1 stick celery
3 bay leaves
pinch of thyme

Cut the chickens into pieces. Reserve the legs, thighs, wings, and
breasts. Take the backs, necks and giblets and other ingredients
and simmer in the water for 1 hour. Strain the stock, let the
chicken cool and then pick off the edible meat.

2 tbsp. fat or oil
1 to 2 lb. sausage of the smoked, cured semi-dry type. [The main
flavors are usually smoke and garlic. Polish types often substitute
well for Louisiana sausages.] Slice into bite size pieces.
the reserved chicken
2 yellow onions, chopped
2 bell (sweet green) peppers, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
garlic to taste
1 cup Brown roux
reserved chicken stock
picked chicken meat
Cayenne pepper (or any hot dry chile) to taste
salt and pepper

Prepare roux ahead of time. I find it convenient to make large batches
and keep it in the refrigerator. (Bring to room temp. before using)
Anyway, to make roux use equal volumes of fat/oil. Heat the fat to
about 300 F. then stir in the flour using a whisk. Continue to stir
and cook until flour is a cocoa brown. Take off heat and continue to
stir a bit as it cools.

Back to the gumbo. Brown the chicken and sausage in the fat. Remove.
Soften the vegetables in the fat. Add the chicken stock and the
chicken. When the liquid is up to boiling add the roux and stir until
it is well mixed. Add s/p and cayenne to taste. The gumbo should
just have a bit of a tang to it; it should not be really "hot".
simmer for 1/2 hour. Add sausage. Simmer for 1/2 hour more and
you are ready to eat. Serve in soup bowls over 1 cup steamed white
rice.

D.M.