Gumbo And Other Traditional Gameday Goodies

Ok, maybe gumbo isn't a "traditional" Superbowl snack, but here's your chance to add it to the usual suspect list of tailgating foods.  Just hear me out on this - read on.

Superbowl Sunday is upon us which is the perfect time to crack open either the Ohio State Cookbook or University of Oklahoma Cookbook, and make some great watch party treats!  Don't have hardback copies of these books on hand?  No worries, you can download digital copies of them to your Kindle right now at these links:  OSU Kindle Edition - OU Kindle Edition.  

I personally will be making either my chicken quasadillas, Landrun Casserole (OU Cookbook p. 20) Field Goal Nachos, or Championship Chicken Wings (both in the OSU Cookbook pp. 4 & 10), or all of the above - I haven't decided yet.

But if you want something a little different that will feed a house full of rowdy guests and leave them feeling satisfied, I recommend gumbo.  Good, hearty gumbo will go a long way and it definitely warms you up on cold days - especially the ones this winter season has been doling out lately.

This recipe is a variation of the amazing gumbo recipe given to me by my friend Rachel.  I had never eaten gumbo before I had hers, and after one awesome party at her house with this dish served, I was hooked!  Gumbo is a great recipe for trying out new things.  You can play with the ingredients and add or take away whatever tickles your fancy.  So, I am going to give you my version of Rachel's recipe, then add your own variations.  Also, this is a one pan dish, so less cleanup (Hooray!).  Have fun and be creative! 

This is how this gumbo starts off - you know you want to try it!

Ingredients:

5 or 6 Tbls. of olive oil

1/4 c of flour

1 onion (chopped)

2 ribs of celery (chopped)

2 green bell peppers (chopped)

5 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 box of chicken broth

1 lg can of chopped tomatoes

1-10 oz pkg of frozen sliced okra

1 bay leaf

6 tsp. of Tabasco sauce

4 tsp. Cholula sauce

2 boneless, skinless, and cooked chicken breasts (chunked)

1 pkg frozen shrimp (shelled and deveined)

3-4 flounder fillets (chunked)

2 cups of cooked rice

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp basil

Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat 3 Tbls. of oil in a large cooking pot on med-high.  Add onions, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and sauté for about 5-7 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.  Add in the rest of the oil and the flour.  Stir until the mixture starts to thicken. Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly.  Add tomatoes, okra, bay leaf, Tobasco, Cholula sauce, and spices.  Bring the mixture to a boil then add the pre-cooked chicken. Cover and let it simmer for about 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the lid and add in the shrimp, fish, and rice.  Stir it all together and let it cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until the shrimp are heated through.  Serve with oyster crackers.  Don't forget, you can add a whole plethora of other ingredients like spicy sausage, crawdads, oysters, etc.  Just do what you like.

And this is how this gumbo looks when it's done - nomnom!

UPDATE:  For those of you following my Facebook page, you know that I decided to try my hand at making turnovers for the first time this morning.  Most of this comes from an array of pie and pastry recipes, plus theories in my head - this is what I came up with...

Cherry & Cream Cheese Turnovers

Ingredients:

14.5 oz. can pitted red tart cherries in water

1/4 c sugar

1-1/2 Tbsl cornstarch

1 tsp. vanilla extract (separated)

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 sheets puff pastry (17.3 oz. box of frozen)

1/2 block cream cheese (softened)

1 c powdered sugar

3-4 Tbls. water (for desired icing thickness)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Get the puff pastry out of the freezer, unwrap and set to thaw on lightly floured wax paper (for about 45 min.).  In a small sauce pan, drain the cherry juice from the can and set cherries to the side.  Add cornstarch and sugar to the cherry juice and heat on medium stirring continuously until mixture is thick and goopy (mmmm).  Remove from heat and add the cherries, 1/2 tsp. of vanilla, and cinnamon. Blend thoroughly and set to the side.

In a small bowl, add remaining 1/2 tsp. of vanilla to the cream cheese and stir until blended smooth. Set aside.

I made triangular traditional turnovers as well as turnover bites to try out some things.  For the triangles, roll out one sheet and cut into four equal pieces starting at one corner and slicing to the one opposite. Repeat.  For the bites, I just cut along the 2 lines left by the folds of the second pastry sheet - giving me 3 wide strips.  Each strip I then cut in half.

Ok, for the turnovers, I put a litte more filling in than it would hold, so it got messy, so after recalculating, I would say put about 1 Tbls. of cherry filling on one half of each triangle, then top the filling with about 1/2 Tbsl. of cream cheese mixture.  Wet the edges of the pastry with water. Take one corner and fold it over the mixture to meet the opposite corner, encasing the cherry mixture.  Use a fork around the edges to seal.  Do the same with the bites, only use about 1 tsp. of cherry filling and 1/2 tsp. of cream cheese.  Fold into a square instead of a triangle.

Transfer to parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes, then remove and let cool for about 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar and water until thick and smooth.  Transfer to a ziplock bag and snip off a tiny bit of corner of the bag.  Pipe the icing over the turnovers in a zig zag pattern and enjoy!