Louisiana's Oldest Dishes " Shrimp and Crab Gumbo"

Hello there to all you foodie friends out there in web land.  Its nice to see you all again.  For your FYI I tried to blog this and I got almost finished with it and I bent over too the key broad and my girls hit the key board and the rest is history. I decided to start again this morning let's hope they make it though this. Has that ever happened to you? Well its raining here in our state of South Carolina.  It's a much needed rain.  Its the end of the summer for the year 2011 and what a year for me.  We traveled from Texas to Minnesota this summer and caught Speckled Trout in the Texas bay and caught Bass in the Mississippi River in Minnesota and may I say we met alot of nice people from one end of the USA to to the other.  The food was amazing.  Each state has something different to offer your palettes.   Today we are going to talk about that great Louisiana Cajun dish called Gumbo.  It is one of the oldest dishes that they have to offer.  It can be made in a variety of ways.  You can make it with chicken, fish, or sausage.  It can be made with File (dried and ground Sassafras leaves) or Okra, which is a natural thickener.  It is a dish that is well liked in the great state of Louisiana and has been around recorded from about the 1800's.  I just happen to be making this dish with Okra as my roux.  You may use canned Crab meat instead of cooking it with fresh crabs if you wish.  If I make it with
fresh crabs, I season the crab boil and cook the crabs and remove the meat.  Some people like it thick and some people like it thin.  You have to serve this with Rice, of course.  This should serve 8 to 10 servings, I'll use serving instead of people.

Shrimp And Crab Gumbo

Roux:

1/2 pound Bacon, diced
1/2 stick Butter
1 Onion, Diced
1 Bell Pepper, diced
5 Cloves Garlic Pods, minced
1 pound Okra, cut in rings
 Salt and Pepper to taste
3 T. Flour
3 Ribs Celery, diced

 Place bacon and butter into a pan and cook till bacon is brown,   To that add the onion, celery, and garlic, cook till clear.  Then add the okra tossed with flour into mixture.  Cook and turn till a nice brown color.  Add too Roux:  Salt and pepper to taste.

2 Cartons Chicken Broth, 32 ozs.
3 Bay Leaves
2 Chicken Bouillons
1 T. Onion Powder
1 T. Garlic Powder
1 T. Mrs Dashes'
1 T. Basil
1 T. Oregano
1 tsp. Thyme
1.5 T. File (Optional)
5-6 dashes Hot Sauce
1 T. Worcestershire Sauce
1 large can of Diced Tomatoes
1 pound Shrimp, peeled
2 Cans Crab Meat


Pour ingredients into pot except for the shrimp and simmer for about 45 minutes.  Stir while simmering.  Add shrimp about 3 minutes before serving.  Serve with your favorite rice.

OK looks like the girls made it though this blog, thanks.  Please visit my fan page on FB at https://www.facebook.com/pages/CoverClicks-Media-Inc/255889881112909?sk=wall#!/CookingwithMadjon and view the TV show.  Write me at madjon51@aol.com and try this recipe.  It will fit your palettes. Happy trails to you and yours until we meet again.