Warm & Hearty {Texas Mama's Seafood Gumbo}

Based upon the frequency of my posts of late, you could say that I'm somewhat of a crock pot of writing. Low and Slow. The past month has seen whirlwind of activity here at the TGKHQ; a 12th birthday celebration for the daughter, a series of rehearsals and performances for said daughter, as well; the arrival of Grandma Selma, my mother-in-law; the menu decisions, the preparations, and finally, the big feast itself. Add to that the usual daily schedule of insanity (Scouts and Karate for son, the aforementioned dance and other middle school stuff for daughter, various and sundry meetings for me, El Syd's over-the-top November schedule) and you've got a jam-packed month. 

Thanksgiving was wonderful. While I've got the basic menu down pat, I do make some tweaks here and there every year just to keep it fresh. This year, I did a Bourbon-glazed Turkey (a keeper with more details planned for a future post) and I switched up the desserts a bit. Pie Bars - a solution for the "which pie should I have?" dilemma as it is simple to have a tiny square of each. After a few days of leftovers followed by a week of cleansing the systems, it was time to get cooking again. 

We're currently in the midst of some of our coldest weather. A Siberian cold-front, which is probably gripping your neck of the woods as well, has our temps hovering at just below or just slightly above freezing. Weather like that calls for a warm, hearty dish. Soups, chili or stews are what immediately come to mind. I wanted something a bit different and a recipe from my dear Mama came to the forefront.She calls it Seafood Gumbo, and I suppose it is a gumbo of sorts since it does start with a roux and does have okra in it. But, I think of it more as a Mixed Seafood Stew. It is a super simple recipe that starts with cooking the base and adding the seafood only when you're about ready to eat. I love that you can add whatever seafood your family prefers and change up the combination for a variety of flavor sensations. Served around an island of steamed rice, it is a perfect dish for one of these icy cold days.

Texas Mama's Seafood Gumbo

• 1/4 C butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced (discard seeds, ribs and stem)
• 1-26 oz can chopped tomatoes (or tomato puree - whatever you prefer)
• 2.5 C fresh okra cut into 1/2 in rounds (sub frozen okra cuts when okra is not in season)
• 1-6 oz can tomato paste
• 3 Cups beef broth
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 Tsp chili powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1.5 - 2 lbs of mixed seafood (raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, shucked oysters, gumbo crabs or cleaned crab meat, firm white fish fillets cut into bite-sized pieces, your choice)
• 3 Cups cooked white rice
• Chopped parsley for garnish

1. As early in the day as you like (even the day before): in a large heavy dutch oven, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook over low heat until it reaches a nice nutty brown. Add garlic, onions, pepper and cook slowly until vegetables are tender.
2. Add tomatoes and rest of ingredients except seafood, rice and parsley. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. (At this point, you can add seafood if you're ready to eat or cool and refrigerate until you're ready to use.)
3. To finish dish/serve: If base is cold, heat over medium flame until just bubbling. Add seafood, simmer covered for about 5 minutes until shrimp is pink and tender and the rest of the seafood is cooked. Serve gumbo in individual shallow dishes with an "island"of rice in the center of each plate. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Be sure to have some bottles of Louisiana Hot sauces on the table for folks to add a little spice and vinegar to the mix. We love Crystal and I also love Trappey's Hot Peppers in vinegar to shake on top. Tabasco or any other similar sauce is a great addition to this warm, tomato-based, seafood stew.

Happy Cooking!

sld

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