as promised, we are making more gumbo for the super bowl.
Michael is in charge of the rue…. he says it’s the most important part and I tend to agree. He mixes equal parts flour and oil in a pan…. sometimes using the same pot we add everything to and simmer in, sometimes a separate frying pan. He uses about a quarter cup of each but may add a bit more flour if it seems too oily.
He stirs and stirs, consistently for about 20 minutes to half an hour. He says that he’s seeking a chocolatey look and a nutty smell.
Meanwhile, I’ve made the dough for chocolate pecan cookies from http://mamasgottabake.wordpress.com/ blog…. can’t wait! Dough is fridging now and we’ll bake this afternoon.
I’ve made dogfood and have some chicken for kristin’s chicken nuggets and I’ll pressure cook some basmati rice about 40 minutes before we’re ready to eat. So we’ll be all set to settle in for the night and be ready for Monday when it rolls in.
So, back to the gumbo… Michael is still stirring the rue and I’ve chopped up one large and 2 small onions and one and a half large red bell peppers, 1 inch piece of jalapeno and a couple cups of okra.
ok. I have to be honest. At this point, I really don’t know what was happening in the kitchen. I DO know that we had bone-in chicken thighs (removed the skin) and cooked sweet italian sausage (Michael prefers an andoui but compromises to the italian because I prefer it). Other than that, I really wasn’t involved in the remainder of the preparation (except the rice in the pressure cooker) because “Bolt” came on TV and I’d never seen it. Although I was very unhappy with the opening premise and the poor dog who was being kept in a trailer and duped into thinking he had a family and amazing super powers, I persevered, determined to see my happy ending.
Back to the gumbo. The last time we made it, Michael cooked the rue in a frying pan while I browned the chicken (cut up breasts) in oil in a pot, removed from pot and put in the onion, red and jalapeno peppers and cooked til soft. To that, we added the okra, then rue, then broth and simmered for a couple hours.
I believe that this afternoon, Michael browned the chicken thighs but first, cooked the vegetables in the rue while adding broth, finally adding the browned chicken and cooked sausage then, simmered that for a couple hours.
Not sure if one was better than the other although we prefer dark meat. It could’ve been a bit spicier but that’s one of the great things about gumbo; you can add whatever extra hot or spicy you want to your own bowl and everyone can be happy.
The game is on now and I’m blogging while Michael watches because I really don’t like football, just the prep and food and commercial-watching (especially the clydesdales).
oh, the beer is Great Lakes’ Edmund Fitzgerald – highly recommended.
Pondereality 