Sausage & Shrimp Gumbo

We were young. We were in love. We had no idea how to prepare meals.

Six years ago, two of my best friends and I had met the men we were going to marry, and we were all just months of being engaged. All three of us still lived at home with our respective parents, and it dawned on us that if we were to become wives, we should learn to make a good dinner.

One of us hatched the plan to prepare a meal together, with our mutual moral support, in my mom's kitchen, for our dashing, sweet, and hungry men. So one sunny afternoon in the fall, the three of us pored over cookbooks, searching for the perfect recipes, making a comprehensive grocery list, and doing our best to prepare a delicious meal. One that would win their hearts, straight through their stomachs.

Our dinner party was a success: we learned quite a lot, we made a dear memory, and we were all married within a year.

Looking back, I'm not sure why we chose to make two soups: Minestrone and Gumbo. But our beloved men didn't complain. They even ate seconds. And they sopped up every drop with Beer Bread. While listening to a CD of Nora Jones. They were such good sports.

This is the gumbo recipe. It is taken from The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. My variation is simpler. I use smoked sausage instead of Anduille sausage. I use frozen "gumbo mix" vegetables instead of chopping fresh. I used cooked shrimp, because that is what was in my freezer.

Last week I made this for the first time solo, and I took pictures. This is my first recipe with a photo tutorial!

Sausage & Shrimp Gumbo

• 1 pound sausage (smoked sausage, or Italian sausage, or Cajun sausage)
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 16-ounce package frozen gumbo mix vegetables (or 2 stalks celery, 1 green pepper, and 1 medium onion, all chopped, and later add 1 10-ounce package frozen okra)
• 1 14-ounce can or 1-3/4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 4 cups cooked hot rice, prepared according to package directions
  

Heat a 5 quart dutch oven over medium heat.
When it is hot, add the sausage.
I sliced the sausage. If you use an Italian or Cajun sausage that have casings, be sure to prick the skin with a fork so they don't explode.

Let them get browned, about 5-10 minutes, then remove them with a slotted spoon. (If you are using a different kind of sausage, let them cool enough to handle, and slice them into 3-4 pieces each.)
Leave only about one Tablespoon of the grease in the dutch oven.
Add 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil.

Next, add the flour to make a roux. You want about equal parts oil and flour. Stir constantly, and do not let it burn. Cook until it gets a light brown, and thickens. You don't want to taste raw flour in the finished product.

Here it is getting a little more golden.

Here you see it is thickening enough to leave a path when I scrape the bottom.

Next, add the vegetables.
My mix had onions, celery, corn, peppers, and okra.
I felt like it needed more celery than what came in the frozen package, so I sliced a stalk.

I separated the okra, and added it at the end, so it would not be as slimy.

Add the vegetables to the roux, and cook until they are tender, about 7-10 minutes for fresh, about 5 minutes for frozen.

Then add the sausage back to the dutch oven.

Gradually stir in the broth, water, and frozen okra.

Add your spices.

Heat to boiling over high heat, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the shrimp, and cook until they are pink and opaque throughout (if using raw), or heated through (if using cooked).

Remove bay leaf before serving in bowls over rice.
Makes about 6 main-dish servings.


I'm linking to Alicia's Try New Adventures Thursday (because it revisits an adventure from the past, and it was an adventure to try it again, and try a photo recipe, to boot!)