The perils of trashy reading: food cravings

[cupcake_goth]

For whatever reason, my brain decided I wanted to re-read Anne Rice's The Witching Hour. Look, I don't understand why, either, but I've been dawdling through it the past couple of evenings. It's just as much silly, overwrought fun as I remembered. Oooh, the bombast!

The only problem is, the book is making me crave gumbo. Really, REALLY crave gumbo. Which is so far beyond my cooking skills as to be laughable. And I have no idea where I would go in Seattle to find good gumbo.

Woe. Woe is me and my craving for gumbo. Oh well, back to reading the silly, oh-so-gawthic, novel.

Comments

[bittergourd.livejournal.com]

Hey hon, What's the name of the zombie war novel that you and Pete told me about?

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

World War Z by Max Brooks.

[bittergourd.livejournal.com]

Ah yes thank you. :)

And the predecessor to it was The Zombie Survival Guide, yes?

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

I think so, but I haven't read The Zombie Survival Guide yet.

[bittergourd.livejournal.com]

I think I'll tackle that first and then get World War Z. :)

[staxxy.livejournal.com]

I have WWZ on audio cd once you have read it, you may borrow it.

[bittergourd.livejournal.com]

*loves* Thank you :)


P.S. It made my weekend to see you, Spydr, Mal, Ein and November this weekend. :)

Chris misses you all lots. Sends her much loves. We want to see you soon.

[masie.livejournal.com]

KISS Cafe in Ballard, down by the Locks has an amazing Jambalaya, not gumbo but close. It will burn your lips off, it is so good.

[butterflywillow.livejournal.com]

They have some good gumbo.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/locations/king-creole-louisiana-gumbo-and-bbq-522218/

[oldhalloween.livejournal.com]

It must be a sign. Book signing in NOLA!

[marchwarden23.livejournal.com]

Oh...oh dear. I guess I best get to work on the zombie story with the Very Special Guest Stars so you can have massive lulz after the...well...massive lulz.

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

YES, WRITE THAT ZOMBIE STORY. I DEPEND UPON YOU FOR DISTRACTION!

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

"Gawthic" is gothic in the South?

[erischild.livejournal.com]

coastal kitchen + affiliates have gumbo if I recall

[ramonarjona.livejournal.com]

Crawfish King in the ID has good gumbo. There's a Louisiana place in Pike's Place Market too but I've never been.

[theblackdeer.livejournal.com]

There used to be a soul food place on Greenwood ave a few blocks down (away from downtown) from where I lived (greenwood and 89th I think, though memory is fading). It's a little hole in the wall place but the guy that owns it, if he's still there, grew up in New Orleans and the food was DAMNED good.

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

Hahaha I read that my junior year of high school (back in 1995). It was scandalous, I tell you. I'd read romance novels before, but nothing like that!

Now I'm tempted to reread it.

I've only ever had vegan gumbo, made by a woman who grew up in Louisiana. It was dang good.

[recalcitrant-lj.livejournal.com]

The best gumbo in Seattle is served in my house.

Gumbo is *easy* to make.

Gumbo with chicken, sausage, and oysters
1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts[1]
1 pound sausage (Andouille is preferred, any smoked sausage, like Kiabasa will work)
1 jar fresh small oysters, or 2 tins smoked oysters
4 quarts organic chicken broth
fresh thyme
4 bell peppers[2]
2 medium onions (red or yellow)
3 Tbls minced garlic (jarred is fine)

Cut up chicken into 1/5 inch cubes, set aside.
Cut sausage into 1 inch rounds, set aside.
Remove seeds from peppers, dice into 1/2 inch pieces, set aside.
Dice onions into 1/2 inch pieces, add to peppers, and set aside. Add garlic to pepper/onions.
In a large stockpot, bring stock up to a low boil.
In a heavy skillet (cast iron works best), add enough veggie oil to cover bottom of pan. Put chicken pieces in a paper bag, then add 2 cups flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. Shake chicken to cover evenly with flour. Fry chicken in batches, til browned. Put browned chicken into the hot stock. Add more oil if needed between batches.
When chicken is finished, adjust leftover oil in skillet so you have about 1/2 a cup. Add 1 cup of the seasoned flour you dusted the chicken with, and bring heat up to medium high. Stir, with a wire whisk, constantly, beign sure not to let it burn. Watch the color of the flour-oil mixture (roux): you are looking for a shade of brown between a paper bag color, and milk chocolate. If it seems to be cooking too fast, back the heat down a bit. When roux is dark brown, quickly add diced veggie mixture, being careful of splatter (roux = napalm), and stir to mic. This should stop the cooking of the roux, and coat the veggies with it.
Add the veggies to the hot stock, and stir vigoursly, to disolve the roux.
Add sausage to the stock pot, as well as 1/2 pkg fresh thyme, and a tablespoon cayenne pepper. Bring back to a low, slow boil. Let simmer for at least 2 hours, until chicken is fall-apart tender.
Add oysters, and let simmer 15 more minutes.
Serve over fresh white rice, with French bread.

[1] or a mix of breasts and thighs, as I think the thighs have more flavor, and a better texture, and hold up to the cooking a little better.

[2] I prefer mixing it up, 1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange, simply because it looks pretty (and I like the taste of the yellow.red.orange ones better than the green)

[3] The meats can be about anything. Feel free to mix an match chicken, sausage, oysters, shrimp, crab, rabbit, duck, turkey, scallops, etc. For a pure seafood based gumbo, I'd only cook the roux til light brown/peanut butter colored.

[4] Why, yes, I do need to have a gumbo gathering again soon.

[ozitonaranjo.livejournal.com]

Or come visit Portland and have Rory make you some gumbo. lol!

It's been a while since he made some I think it is time for him to make some more.

[sowilo.livejournal.com]

Oh, I remember that book. It's what made me swear off of Anne Rice. I wanted to take a red pen to every page. I hated reading it but liked the story, so I finished it, gnashing my teeth until the very last page.