A couple of months back my dad and brother took a little trip down to New Orleans for a big football game. The game was originally supposed to be held in Texas but due to inclement weather, it had to be relocated at the last minute. My dad and brother’s tickets had to be changed, new flights had to be booked, new hotels had to be reserved, and it seemed like the whole event was going to be stressful and miserable for them. Turns out they had an even better time than they’d ever hoped for because in their words “New Orleans is everything it’s ever been cracked up to be”. They did a lot of fun things while they were there, but what they raved the most about was the food. No surprise! Southern food is notorious for being crazy delicious and it did not disappoint. One dish my brother could not stop talking about was a seafood gumbo he’d tried while on the trip. He went on and on and ON about it. All that talk about gumbo got me in the mood, big time, and I realized that even though I’ve had gumbo before – and LOVED it – I didn’t have my own recipe for it! Shame shame shame. I took care of that real quick though. This recipe is very straight-forward with simple ingredients and easy-to-follow steps. It starts with a roux, which is a creamy soup base made from oil and flour. Once your roux is bubbling in the bottom of the pot, you add alllllll the stuff. The shrimp, sausage, veggies, seasonings, and mix it all together. Put the lid on the pot, let it simmer for 10-15 minutes or so, and that’s it my friends. It’s ready to serve, ready to garnish, ready to be devoured. As you know, I love my food real spicy, but I toned down the spice in this recipe for those who don’t dig the heat quite as much as I do, and made it really easy to amp it back up if you are a fellow heat lover. I love to garnish my shrimp and sausage gumbo with a whole lot of cracked black pepper and freshly chopped thyme or parsley, and serve it alongside some French bread. This comforting, flavor-boasting soup will warm your belly all season long!
