THE CHEF FROM HELL

Back in the day, Loretta and I would always have our staff hand out trinkets to the folks when they were done with their dinners in our restaurants.  One of our favorite doo-dads to hand out were little plastic skeletons.  I remember one night I saw some guy, who had just finished a big ol' bowl of gumbo, pick up two of those skeletons and dance them around his tabletop.  When asked what he was doing, he simply smiled and said, "I love gumbo!"

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh lump crabmeat

3 TBS Peanut Oil

2 TBS unsalted Butter

1 large Spanish Onions, peeled & chopped coarse

2 stalks Celery, chopped coarse

1 large Green Bell Pepper; stem removed, cored & chopped coarse

1/4 cup freshly grated peeled Horseradish Root

1/4 cup Chianti wine (use the cheap stuff)

2 TBS Dijon Mustard

1 lb Andouille Sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 medium sized Sweet Potato, peeled & chopped small

2 large Habanero Peppers, stems removed & diced

1 can Crushed Tomatoes, 16 oz

1 lb fresh catfish filler, chopped coarse

1/2 lb Crawfish Tails, chopped coarse

1 gallon Chicken Stock or Broth

Note:  For my recipe, go to Homestyle Chicken Stock

2 TBS Tabasco sauce

1 cup Cajun Roux

Note:  For my recipe, go to How To Make Cajun Roux

1 lb large Shimp; peeled, deveined & chopped coarse

Rice

Sherry

Dry Spice Mix:

1 TBS Kosher Salt

1 TBS Cayenne Red Pepper

1 TBS Basil

1 TBS Gumbo File Powder

1 TBS Crushed Red Pepper

1 tsp Thyme

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Coleman's Dry English Mustard

Cooking Procedure:

Rinse the crawfish tails with cold water & let them drain in a colander

Set this aside

Place the crabmeat in a small bowl

Pick through the crabmeat, discarding any bits of shell you find

Set this aside

Combine all of the ingredients for the dry spice mix in a small bowl

Mix well & set aside

In a large pot, heat the oil & butter over medium heat

Add the onions, celery, green pepper & horseradish root

Stir well & cook this down until the onions have softened & turned clear

Add the wine

Stir well & let this cook down for 2 minutes

Add the dry spice mix, dijon mustard, andouille sausage, sweet potatoes & habanero peppers

Cook this down for three minutes

Stir well

Add the crushed tomatoes, crawfish tails & chopped catfish fillet

Stir well

Cook for 5 minutes more & then add the stock & Tabasco sauce

Bring this to a boil

Stir & scrape the bottom of the pot

Reduce heat to low

Let this simmer for 15 minutes then gradually add the cajun roux by tablespoons

Stir the gumbo well after each addition of roux

After all of the roux has been incorporated, stir the gumbo once more & let the gumbo simmer away for 2 to 3 hours

In the last 1/2 hour of cooking time, add the chopped shrimp to the gumbo

When ready to serve:  Place portions of rice into individual bowls & ladle the gumbo over the rice.  Garnish each serving of gumbo with a couple of drops of sherry & ring the dinner bell!