I have NEVERhad a good bowl of gumbo at a restaurant. Never, not one, nada, zero, zip.
Most folks think that you can throw anything into a pot and call it gumbo. They are wrong. What they meant to say is that you can throw anything into a pot and call it slop. That's what I've gotten all around the world when I've ordered gumbo. Slop; made by amateurs who are conning you out of your money and a good dining experience.
What you will learn in this course is how to make PHENOMENAL homemade, genuine, authentic, Southern Louisiana, Cajun-approved, soul-fulfilling gumbo.
FIRST:AStory;
My grandmother died. She was a Cajun from Church Point, Louisiana. She was a great cook.
Sadly, she took with her, to her grave, the recipe for a chocolate cake that had pecans, and red and green cherries inside with a thick chocolate hard icing on top. She made that cake every summer of every year of my young life when I came to visit her.
I miss my grandmother, and, I miss that cake.
Because of that cake, I called my Aunt Mary and told her that I wanted to know how to make my grandmother's gumbo. I knew that Mary knew how to make it. I did not want that gumbo recipe to go to the grave with my aunt.
SHEREFUSEDTOTELLME!
"It's a family secret", she said.
"I'm in the family". I replied.
She thought about it, and said "OK".
She gave me a list of ingredients to buy, including a 4-gallon pot, and I picked her up on a Saturday morning and drove her back to my house (some hours away) to cook authentic made-at-home gumbo.
I also filmed her making the dish and sent out several dozen copies to friends and family on DVD, back when that was a thing.
Almost 20 years later, my Aunt Mary is gone, but her recipe lives on. In fact, I will occasionally get a random email from someone who got one of those DVDs saying that they just made a gumbo.
I'd just let you watch that film, but, my Aunt Mary and my mom spoke French (Cajun dialect) all the way through it, so, you'd be lost, most likely.
This is my secret family recipe that can be adapted to use whatever ingredients you wish to include. Add chicken, duck, moose sausage, alligator, shrimp, crawfish, whatever you have.
Want the family around the table for dinner? Serve GUMBO!
Nothing heals a strained relationship like a hot bowl of GUMBO!
Got your eye on somebody special? Invite them over to make GUMBO!
Looking for something fun, educational & exciting to do on a date? Cook GUMBO!
Family, friends, and strangers will show up when they know you are making GUMBO!
Want to raise your IQ? I can't help you there, but, you'll look smarter when you make GUMBO!
This 4-gallon recipe makes lots and lots of satisfying servings.
I figured the best way to honor my French-speaking Cajun grandmother was to make her secret recipe known to the public (once she passed on) so that you can have the same blessings in your home that she enjoyed.
This dish is always a hit and better than any gumbo served in any restaurant anywhere. I guarantee it.
Dan Harville
