(Updates: A heartfelt welcome to new Followers, and a hug for old Followers for hanging in there with me. Yep, I've fallen behind a bit and hope to catch up today.
A major thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for giving a shout-out to the Wounded Warrior Foundation and my efforts to donate commissions from "Remy Broussard's Christmas" to the Foundation. The novella's 99 cents for a limited time. The Foundation's amputee sport program needs loot to continue to give warriors opportunity to re-focus lives. Sorry to be a pest, but besides this being a military family, my right leg was in a cast once and drove me nuts with impatience to get outta that thing, so don't like to think of worse . . . but there is. We're up to six books sold. Please click the title above if you'd like to shake the piggy bank. Hub and I will add to revenues and donate $500.00 to the Foundation so awareness of the Foundation is a big factor here. Thank you, thank you!
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Want to see friends and neighbors make Olympic dives into the bushes? kids actually clean up their rooms? Well, ask for volunteers to help stir a roux (roo). A properly made roux takes time, from 45 minutes to an hour of constant stirring, regardless of whether you're making seafood, chicken or whatever gumbo. (You toss in the good stuff later.) If you burn the roux or don't achieve the right consistency, throw it out and start over. Nothing added later can alter the mistake without the taste buds catching the problem.
A roux consists of simple ingredients: Flour, butter or oil, and water. Just as a roux is the foundation for béchamel, veloute, and espagnole classical French sauces, it's gumbo's soul. Always use a HEAVY pot and add HOT water to a roux (as it expands).
Once you've got the roux where you want it, you're going to add chopped up seasonings. Make sure you're prepared ahead of time because there's no stopping for chopping. A roux sounds easy to make, but it's like a slow moving train that picks up speed and roars to the finish line.
There are probably as many debates as there are cooks about whether to use butter or oil. I'm not going there, except to say 'thank you' for the delicious gumbo you made.
Thanks to Wikipedia, here's a succession of photos as a dark roux evolves:
K-Paul's Restaurant in New Orleans makes an absolutely delicious roux, almost as good as what my mother made. My taste buds tripped down Memory Lane when we dined there this past Christmas. However, when I'm in a hurry, I cheat and use a roux starter that doesn't require as much stirring. I don't mean this to be a product endorsement, but Savoie's products are popular among many South Louisiana cooks in a hurry. And, there's always Kitchen Bouquet for faster help. A couple of drops will darken a roux (or gravy or anything). The tasteless miracle-worker is found in most supermarkets.
A major thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for giving a shout-out to the Wounded Warrior Foundation and my efforts to donate commissions from "Remy Broussard's Christmas" to the Foundation. The novella's 99 cents for a limited time. The Foundation's amputee sport program needs loot to continue to give warriors opportunity to re-focus lives. Sorry to be a pest, but besides this being a military family, my right leg was in a cast once and drove me nuts with impatience to get outta that thing, so don't like to think of worse . . . but there is. We're up to six books sold. Please click the title above if you'd like to shake the piggy bank. Hub and I will add to revenues and donate $500.00 to the Foundation so awareness of the Foundation is a big factor here. Thank you, thank you!
* * * * *
Want to see friends and neighbors make Olympic dives into the bushes? kids actually clean up their rooms? Well, ask for volunteers to help stir a roux (roo). A properly made roux takes time, from 45 minutes to an hour of constant stirring, regardless of whether you're making seafood, chicken or whatever gumbo. (You toss in the good stuff later.) If you burn the roux or don't achieve the right consistency, throw it out and start over. Nothing added later can alter the mistake without the taste buds catching the problem.
A roux consists of simple ingredients: Flour, butter or oil, and water. Just as a roux is the foundation for béchamel, veloute, and espagnole classical French sauces, it's gumbo's soul. Always use a HEAVY pot and add HOT water to a roux (as it expands).
Once you've got the roux where you want it, you're going to add chopped up seasonings. Make sure you're prepared ahead of time because there's no stopping for chopping. A roux sounds easy to make, but it's like a slow moving train that picks up speed and roars to the finish line.
There are probably as many debates as there are cooks about whether to use butter or oil. I'm not going there, except to say 'thank you' for the delicious gumbo you made.
Thanks to Wikipedia, here's a succession of photos as a dark roux evolves:
K-Paul's Restaurant in New Orleans makes an absolutely delicious roux, almost as good as what my mother made. My taste buds tripped down Memory Lane when we dined there this past Christmas. However, when I'm in a hurry, I cheat and use a roux starter that doesn't require as much stirring. I don't mean this to be a product endorsement, but Savoie's products are popular among many South Louisiana cooks in a hurry. And, there's always Kitchen Bouquet for faster help. A couple of drops will darken a roux (or gravy or anything). The tasteless miracle-worker is found in most supermarkets.
3 comments:
I've heard of the tasteless miracle-worker used to color gravy and roux. I like cooking and have really gotten into it this year so I'm happy to say I know what a roux is. If you'd asked me last year, I would have given you a blank look. Hee!
I want to try roux! There's a lot of food I'm ashamed to say I haven't tried...
Oh yum.. i've gotta try it! And I saw Alex's post and super excited for your charity! Best of luck with it all!!
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