Gumbo

Okay so this is the result of my gumbo attempt, using the roux I made in advance. I'd have to say that after letting the roux sit for a day or two, the flavor/aroma took on more semblance of the gumbo from Lucille's, as opposed to just smelling like oil. I based this gumbo off a recipe that used bay leaves, cayenne pepper, thyme, black pepper, garlic, with the main players being chicken (I cut up boneless skinless thighs since they were on sale), and this smoked apple chardonnay sausage. I left out the shrimp since didn't have it on hand and not a huge fan of it anyway. I also used the "holy trinity" of Cajun and Creole cooking (i.e. bell peppers, onions, and celery).

So I started this at 10p, and with 4 hours being the fastest setting on the slow cooker, I pretty much waited until almost 2am before deciding to pull the plug and just eat it. It smelled like it, and it looked like it, especially with my mound of white rice sprinkled with thyme... And initially it tasted like it, but this was overly spicy!! This is what I get for not trying out the cayenne pepper beforehand and assuming it was just like paprika, and taking some guy's word for it that the cayenne pepper isn't spicy but almost sweet. I basically dumped this stuff in rather than sprinkled, and I paid for it with this extreme spiciness. This was so spicy I didn't even attempt to give Kevin any, and it was so spicy I had to take breaks, and also it was so spicy I decided to eat the leftovers straight from the fridge in hopes that the cold temperature would help!

Anyway I was happy with the way the roux turned out and how this in general turned out, except for the excessive use of cayenne pepper. Next time, I'll know not to dump it in, but there may not be a next time since that roux took way too long to make. One thing is for sure, I'm pretty tired of gumbo, even though I liked this, and I probably will not be going to Lucille's anytime soon...