Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
(recipe from Chuck Taggart, The Gumbo Pages?)

A gumbo is thick, spicy Cajun soup or stew, always served with rice. Gumbo is thickened either with okra, a roux, or file' powder (ground sassafrass leaves).

"We have the whole enchilada here, a roux and the ‘trinity'. The ‘trinity' is no big deal, it consists of onion, celery and bell pepper, usually in the same amount. These are the vegetables found in almost all Louisiana cookery. A roux is simply oil and flour cooked together. The ingredients are simple but the technique can be intimidating. In this recipe I will walk you through how I do it. Fear not."

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (or shrimp)
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning
1/2 cup peanut oil (peanut is best, you can use other vegetable oil but never olive oil)
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 pound Andouille or kielbasa sausage cut into ½-inch pieces
4 cans (14.5 oz.) chicken broth (use shrimp or clam broth if using shrimp instead of chicken)
2 bay leaves
1 bunch chopped green onion, for garnish
Cooked white rice, for serving

Season the chicken with the Creole Seasoning. Saute in the butter and set aside.

Now for the roux. Heat the oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. This MUST be done in a pan with a heavy bottom, and never in a non-stick pan. I like to do this in my Le Creuset Dutch Oven, enameled cast-iron. Remove the pan from the heat and using a wooden or metal spatula (you need to get in the corners of the pan) stir in the flour. Grab a beer, it will be your timer. Return the pan to the heat and continue stirring until the roux is the color of a new penny, about the time it takes to drink that beer. Ok, 20-30 minutes.

Add the trinity (onion, celery and bell pepper), now we're cooking Louisiana-style, and the garlic and cook for 5 minutes longer. Now add the chicken, sausage and chicken broth, stir well. Add the bay leaves and simmer for about an hour.

Taste and season with salt, remove the bay leaves. Add the green onions and heat for 5 more minutes. Place a mound of cooked rice in a bowl and ladle the Gumbo over it. You did it, the ‘trinity' and the roux thing, congratulations!

Serve with French bread for sopping up the juices.