Made my first gumbo this evening, chicken and sausage to be exact. Made the roux from scratch and it turned out just fine. Even the guests really liked it.
That is something to be proud of. In my opinion, roux makes or breaks a gumbo, and when you master the roux you can make an impressive gumbo.
The roux is by far the most difficult part. The timing between perfectly cooked roux and burned roux can be very short. Fortunately, nowadays, you can generally buy the pre-made roux's and they are for the most part very good. Good for you - gumbo is always a bit of an experiment - just make sure you capture the good changes that come from each batch. I would also recommend getting some good andouille if you have the means.
It's an interesting dichotomy to me, that after offering my hospitality to someone, I might later need to ask their "forgiveness".
Lol, for the record these "guests" are always guinea pigs and they love it. They're damn near family. One time I did f up something, but we ordered chinese, not pizza! Also, on the Andouille, I bought it fresh from the new cajun meat market "Stuff'd" by my house. It was VERY good.
Oh, and for seasoning I used a seasoning called "Slap Ya Mama", about 6-8 chopped cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper. I also bought a deboned chicked (whole) but added some young hen thighs too because I agree the "oiliness" is an awesome addition to anything they're in.
