patti

I don't recall, exactly, but will ask my husband about it and get back to you. Alas, we are not good fixers, and perhaps it could've been repaired. My husband's two brothers are both extremely handy, but my husband missed out on that particular gene. I can't fault him, as I don't have it, either. I am, however, very good at calling 'the man' when something is in dire need of repair. "Time to call the man!"

Our first Weber was a wedding gift, 28 years ago. It lasted through the first fifteen years of our marriage, and we've been through TWO in the thirteen years since. We love our Webers, but I guess they weren't getting frequent enough repeat business when the old ones lasted so long. In between the second and third Webers, we tried a fancy schmancy expensive pit, but the taste just wasn't the same, and we are happily back to the old black kettle pit.

I tend to prefer dark gumbos and have made big pots of it for years. Most of the gumbos have been very tasty, although a few were subpar, but what're you gonna do? The method is different with the roux from a jar, which I add to a pot of boiling water, so yes, there will be a little bit of taste difference, as the chopped vegetable meet the heat in a different way. I add them into the simmering pot after the roux has been on the fire for about thirty minutes. I have no doubt that your way is absolutely delicious. After all, that's the original way of gumbo making. The only thing to do would be a taste comparison, but since every pot of gumbo is a little different because of so many variables, how could it be done objectively? Maybe some day I'll make two pots of gumbo at the same time, using homemade roux in one pot, and roux from a jar in the other. (But probably not.)

Thank you for the welcome, Susan. I have to agree with Mayhaw Man, your duck gumbo looks awesome! If it tasted as good as the picture, it must've been wonderful. The 'bam' photo is too funny. :) That cornbread also looks scrumptious, but it doesn't look ordinary. Care to share info about it?

Oh, yeah! I remember one of the things I wanted to say! I wanted to ask your opinions about store bought roux. Early in my marriage (a lonnnng time ago), I tried making my own roux, and it just didn't come out right. I saved the day with some Savoie's dark roux, and have been using it ever since. Even my mother and grandmother were eventually won over by the convenience of having roux on hand at all times, without the time consuming and tedious effort of making a roux. Granted, my kitchen doesn't smell as good as Mom's did when she was standing over that black iron skillet, stirring and stirring and stirring, but the end result is still delicious gumbo. What do y'all think? Is it a sacrilege to use roux that is not homemade?

Hi, all. I'm a Cajun in Lafayette, Louisiana. I've made a few posts in the Louisiana section of eGullet, but am still very new to the boards, slowly exploring other areas. As it happens, I'm making my first pot of Gumbo Z'herbes as we speak. I started off with Emeril's recipe (because it required less work than some of the others ones I found), immediately screwed part of it up, but am soldiering on. In my experience, an early screw up does not mean you won't end up with a good pot of gumbo! We shall see. In an earlier part of the thread, someone said: My mom used to slip raw eggs into a simmering pot of leftover gumbo, using the poached eggs to make up for the fact that her hungry family had scarfed up a good bit of the chicken or seafood or meat when the gumbo was served the first time.. The poached eggs were delicious, but always considered an 'extender' for the leftovers, if you know what I mean. Damn, there were other comments that I'd planned on responding to, but my memory just ain't what it used to be. I'll post again when I can remember what I wanted to say.

It isn't? My Texas grandma always baked hers in an iron skillet (pre-heated in the oven w/ bacon grease) and now I do the same. What makes it *not* cornbread to you?

I usually use Richard's andouille, but have also had good success with Savoie's and Poche's. I couldn't find an online vendor for Richard's, but you can get Savoie's and Poche's at the following sites, respectively: http://www.cajungrocer.com/ekart/catalog.a...ategory&cid=136 http://www.pochesmarket.com/poche_prod/andouille.htm). Happy cooking! ETA: I did find the Richard's Cajun Foods website, but the products page shows up empty when I try to load it. Their phone number is listed, though, so I'd give them a call if you're interested in their products. Good stuff. http://www.richardscajunfoods.com/index.html

Davebr's recipe reminded me of my father's favorite way of eating leftover boudin. He'd have it as an accompaniment with scrambled eggs for breakfast, along with a little puddle of Steen's Cane Syrup for dipping. I'd totally forgotten about that, so thanks for the little jolt of nostalgia, dave. (And it had to be Steen's, no other syrup would do!)

I had some Gumbo Z'Herbes (Zab) to go from Lagniappe Too today. You guys were so right! It is absolutely delicious and spiced with just the right bite. I ordered it sans rice (low carbing, doncha know) and I didn't miss it one bit. Very, very tasty. Thanks for posting about it as it's not on the menu and I otherwise wouldn't have known to ask. Yum!

Well, except for that time 20 years ago when a Texaco drilling rig punctured the top of the salt dome (and Diamond Salt Mine) and sucked down a lake, a barge or two, a 5 million dollar oil platform, a few trucks and other miscellany, in just a few hours time. Luckily, all of the saltminers were evacuated in time and the few fisherman in the lake were able to escape, unharmed. http://members.tripod.com/~earthdude1/texaco/texaco.html Other than that, yeah, it's environmentally friendly. :)

I'm very new to eGullet and have spent time reading through some of the Louisiana threads (haven't branched out much, yet). This particular thread, though, has been my favorite, so far. The pictures and commentary are wonderful. But damn hard on a Cajun who is trying to low carb it. The picture of the oyster poboy almost made me cry. <sniff> Thanks for the exquisite food/travelogue.