Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Prep the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and jalapeno. Set them someplace where you can easily reach them.

Start the roux: In a cast iron skillet, combine the flour and 1 cup of oil and heat over high heat, stirring with a whisk to break up the flour. Continue cooking and whisking constantly until the roux is a rich peanut butter color, about 12 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking and stirring until roux is a milk chocolate color, another 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking until roux is a dark chocolate color, another 5 to 10 minutes. At this point, the color should be verging on molasses color. When it hits the molasses zone, you’re in roux heaven. Dump in all of the vegetables to keep the roux from burning, and stir everything together until the vegetables are quite soft, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the roux and vegetables to an 8-quart stockpot. Add the stock, thyme, oregano and bay leaves, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer partially covered for about 20 minutes, while you get the chicken and sausage ready.

Wipe out the cast iron skillet. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil in the skillet over medium-high heat, then add the sausage in batches and cook until well-browned on both sides. As each batch is browned, transfer to the gumbo pot with a slotted spoon, reserving the oil in the skillet.

Add the chicken to the skillet in small batches, seasoning each batch with Creole seasoning as you add it to the pan. Sear until well-browned on all sides. As each batch is browned, transfer to the gumbo pot with a slotted spoon.

Simmer the gumbo with the sausage and chicken for about 15 minutes, then add the sliced okra. Simmer for another 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. From time to time, skim the excess oil from the top. It will look like glass floating on top of the liquid. There’s a cup of oil in the roux, so you’ll end up with about a cup of skimmed oil to discard.

Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, cayenne, Worcestershire and/or Tabasco as you see fit. If you seasoned each batch of chicken with the Creole seasoning, you might not need any extra seasoning. Pat yourself on the back at this point.

Serve in shallow bowls with a scoop of hot rice and parsley and green onions scattered over the top. Invite your friends.