Posted on 10/12/2023 8:02:08 AM PDT by Red Badger
NATIONAL GUMBO DAY | OCTOBER 12
On October 12th, the menu spotlights National Gumbo Day for food holidays. This heavily seasoned, stew-like dish fills us up on chilly fall days.
#NationalGumboDay
Originating in southern Louisiana during the 18th century, Gumbo typically consists of strongly-flavored stock with meat or shellfish, a thickener, and seasoned vegetables. The seasoned vegetables may include celery, bell peppers, and onions. In Cajun cuisine, the trio is known as the "holy trinity." Most people serve Gumbo over rice. Gumbo also falls into different categories based on the following types of thickener used:
African vegetable okra
Choctaw spice filé powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves)
Roux (the French base made of flour and fat)
Gumbo arose from a West African word for okra. Many believe this word association is how the soup and the ingredient became intertwined. Gumbo is thought to have been first documented in 1802 and was listed in various cookbooks in the latter 19th century. It gained widespread popularity in the 1970s when the United States Senate cafeteria added Gumbo to the menu in honor of Louisiana Senator Allen Ellender. Gumbo is also the official cuisine of the state of Louisiana. Since 1989, New Iberia, Louisiana hosts The World Championship Gumbo Cook-Off.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL GUMBO DAY
Of course, you're going to serve up your favorite gumbo dish. This terrific dish will also help you use up the last of the garden vegetables. Serve up a piping hot plate of it on a cool fall evening. Make enough to share, too. If you don't have one, we've got you covered! Share recipes that keep your family coming back for more.
Chicken and Okra Gumbo
Seafood Okra Gumbo
Use #NationalGumboDay to post on social media.
Jumbo Gumbo Pingo!...................
When I go to Fishbone’s I usually just order a bowl of their gumbo ya-ya. It’s not expensive and quite filling.
Oh, gumboooo. Nevermind.
GMTA
Gumbo yup! But, Mrs rktman made some shrimp/crawfish bisque the other night......OMG! WOW! Was it freakin’ awesome. I limited myself to two serving and saved some in the freezer.
🙏🇮🇱👍
How about going out for gumbo with Gumby?
When I was a kid, I thought Gumby and Pokey were the stupidest cartoons on TV.............
Make your own roux and do not overcook the seafood.
Make is spicy but not burning hot.
Cook a pot, leave it on the stove, refrigerate for a night and serve the next day.
Wish I could eat seafood again. That sounds delicious.
We sometimes dine at a certain restaurant in Destin called Louisiana Lagniappe, and they have a seafood gumbo that is awesome!.........................
We use a slow cooker..................
Hey!
Now you’re ready for lobster bisque!
Chef’s Tips
If you’re a big fan of lobster, use more than recipe calls for. Fresh lobster meat is best, and we absolutely recommend it over anything else, but frozen or canned can be used. It won’t taste quite the same as fresh lobster, but it’ll work. If you use frozen tails, make sure to thaw them first!
Want even more flavor? Try sautéing your lobster before adding it to your bisque. Melt butter and sauté garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Season your lobster with salt and pepper (and a little cayenne or Tony Chachere’s if you like things spicy) and sauté it just long enough to warm it through. Add the sautéed lobster to your bisque, stir everything together, then enjoy!
If you can swing it, use cold-water lobster tails instead of warm-water ones. Cold-water tails are more expensive, but they’re also a little sweeter (as opposed to fishier warm-water lobsters) and have a nicer texture. BMix it up! Use crab, shrimp, or crawfish in place of (or along with) the lobster meat for extra flavors and proteins.
Ingredients / Makes 4 servings
3 small lobster tails (or 2 large)
1 onion (sliced)
1 large celery stalk (sliced)
1 small carrot (sliced)
1 head garlic (cut in half crosswise)
1 tomato (sliced)
2 sprigs fresh tarragon (optional)
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups bottled clam juice
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup sherry
Water (to boil)
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
Instructions-—Bring large pot of water to boil. Add lobster tails to water, and boil until cooked through and bright red, approximately 5 min. Using tongs, transfer lobsters to large bowl. Reserve 2 cups cooking liquid, saving as much loose lobster meat with the liquid as possible. Cool lobster tails by running under cool water. Crack tails and remove meat using the method of your choice – see Notes. Coarsely chop lobster meat, then cover and chill. Coarsely chop lobster shells and transfer to medium bowl. Reserve juices from lobster in a bowl.
In large pot of medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add lobster shells and sauté until shells darken, approximately 5 minutes. Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, tomato, tarragon, thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Stir in brandy and sherry, then boil until almost all liquid has evaporated, approximately 5 minutes. Lobster shells, onion, garlic, and vegetables in a large pot. Add clam juice, reserved liquid from boiling lobster, and reserved lobster juices.
Cook at strong simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Strain soup through sieve set over large saucepan, pressing firmly on solids. Whisk tomato paste into soup. Simmer until soup is reduced to 3 cups, approximately 15 minutes. If making bisque ahead of time, stop here. Cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.
Add whipping cream to soup and simmer 5 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water. Add to soup. Boil until slightly thickened, approximately 2 minutes. S/p. Mix lobster meat into soup and stir until heated through.
Lobster Bisque
I was thinking about breaking my fast today. Mmmm. 😋
Mrs rktman’s was a white sauce. I will print out your lobstuh recipe. Now to save up for lobster. 😂
🙏🇮🇱👍
Way to go.
White Sauce? Sounds good.
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