Gumbo, the way my Granny used to make it

Ingredients

• 4 chicken leg quarters
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 celery bunch, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded & chopped
• green onion stalks, chopped (for garnish)
• Tabasco sauce
• roux (1/2 cup of Crisco, 1/2 cup of flour)
• 2 qts water
• 4 cups cooked white rice

Making your own roux

• in a small cast iron skillet, melt Crisco
• set heat between medium & medium low
• add flour, stirring constantly (DO NOT LET IT BURN)
• stir until roux is the color of a copper penny (the older the penny, the darker the roux, the stronger the taste)
• turn off heat, set roux aside
• if any oil rises to the top, get rid of oil

Making your gumbo

• in a dutch oven or other large pot, cover bottom with 1/4 inch of vegetable oil or melted Crisco
• when hot, add chicken with the skins on
• salt & pepper the chicken
• lightly brown chicken on all sides, then remove chicken and set aside
• add celery, onion, & bell pepper to oil, stirring occasionally, cook until onions are translucent
• return chicken to pot, pour in water, heat to rolling boil
• add dash of Tabasco sauce
• add roux
• reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until chicken is done (falling off the bone done)
• if you have to add water, do it just a little bit at a time; you don't want the gumbo TOO soupy
• remove chicken bones and skins
• at this point, salt & pepper to taste
• cook until it's the consistency you want (some people like it thicker than others)
• At the very last, garnish with chopped green onion stalks
• Serve over rice

Extras

• Some people like to add things like tomatoes & okra to their gumbo; that's Creole cooking used in Mississippi and other places, but not real Cajun gumbo
• Some people also like to use different meats--like sausage or seafood.  Some people use all three.
• Some people like to serve it with something called gumbo file ("FEElay"), which is sassafras root and is used as a thickener at the table.

Enjoy, cher!  If this doesn't work, I'll show you how next time.