Gumbo, at Last

I tried my hand at gumbo last night for the first time in years.

I had learned how to make gumbo about 10 years ago, long before going gluten-free, from a friend who was a New Orleans native. I'd gone to Mardi Gras a couple times with her and a group of our friends. While we did consume our share of Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's, we did Mardi Gras the way the locals do, with a circuit of parties and parades, and I fell in love with the food and culture of the Big Easy. I soon learned how to make fried okra and crawfish etouffee, gumbo and pralines, and so on. (I took a pass on grits -- biscuits were more to my liking.)

Fast forward several years, and I find myself in love with a Southern boy, who originally hails from Mobile, Al. Mobile has its own respected (and actually some older) Mardi Gras traditions, one of which is Joe Cain Day, a celebration that falls the Sunday before Fat Tuesday. So, in honor of Joe Cain Day and Mardi Gras, even though we are in the snow-laden North, I decided it was high time to resurrect some of those dishes and make them gluten-free. And, quite frankly, I have been hungry for gumbo with some good andouille sausage; we finally found one I could have.

I had roasted a chicken the night before, so we conserved the remaining meat and shredded it to put into the gumbo. (As an aside, I strongly believe in good pantry management, particularly when allergen-free groceries can be so cost-prohibitive. Thinking ahead and effective menu-planning really can help manage costs and cut down on waste.) B. had picked up some Wellshire Farms' andouille sausage, which is gluten-, dairy- and soy-free, and available at Whole Foods. He chopped up the sausage and the veggies Saturday night, so come Sunday afternoon, all I need to do was assemble the ingredients and make the roux.

The roux is what put me off to making gumbo for so long. It's the base of flavor and color for gumbo, and I mistakenly believed for a long time that I couldn't make a good one that was gluten-free. But I did some research, and all it takes is oil, rice flour and, as with any roux, patient attention. It couldn't be easier. The roux ready, into the pot went the veggies, then the chicken, andouille and stock, all which simmered away while I prepared the rice and cornbread.

I've had a taste for cornbread for weeks, and I thought it would make a nice accompaniment to the gumbo. I found a couple non-gluten-free recipes that looked good and modified them to my needs. I was pleased with the results. The cornbread came out flavorful with a nice consistency and good texture. Not too bad for the first try. And I have been informed in no uncertain terms that both the gumbo and cornbread recipes need to be repeated with no modifications to them; I'll take that as a success.

Here's hoping that the red beans and rice I'll be making later this week turn out as well. Now if I could just figure out how to do beignets like they do at Cafe Du Monde.