Gumbo

One of Brett's favorite foods is gumbo or jambalaya. This is sort of his favorite Cajun meal. I never had this before I met him although I have lived in the South for some time. The first time I had gumbo was at Cheesecake factory. It was very good, but a little pricey, I thought. It is quite easy to make once I consulted with my Rachel Ray cook book :) I made it for the first time a year ago. The second time it tasted much better. [Brett's note:  Chummy thought the first one was too spicy but I freakin' loved it.  Besides, the first one turned out more like jambalaya and the second one a bit more like gumbo.  Both excellent; both would be welcomed again.]  I didn't follow the cook book line by line. I add and omit some stuff according to my preference. I love it much better this time :) It cost the same or less what we paid to eat a Cheesecake factory and still had a lot of leftovers.

I think the most important thing about this was the use of spices. It needs to be spicy and flavorful. I used onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, parsleys, cumin, red chili sauce, and of course lots of Creole seasoning :) I found that adding a half cup of milk really made the juice taste a little bit creamier and rich since I didn't use chicken broth earlier.

Also, we must have lots of shrimps and spicy sausage to make gumbo taste the way gumbo taste like in the South :) Maybe one day Brett and I get to go visit friends there and will eat the real stuff.