Living in a Foreign Language

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Make Tiramisu

Tomorrow night we are having a dinner party...I've gone with an easy menu...kind of an Italian theme, more or less. So, when I asked Mr. Ken what he would like for dessert his first response was "the raspberry brownie from Panera".  His second response was "Tiramisu"?  His third response was " ...I don't know, fresh fruit with cream or something"?   Which means he went from what he really wanted, to something else he really wanted, to what he knows I usually do since I don't like to make dessert.  I said "Tiramisu it is".

Have I ever made it? No.  But I thought it would be one of those super easy recipes you just throw together and refrigerate until ready for consumption.

As it turns out I was right!  It is super easy...as long as you have lady fingers and espresso and marscapone cheese.  I found pound cake instead of the lady fingers (which Giada assures will work just as well), everything else good to go and so I figured it would be easy to just stop by Starbucks and get a giant espresso to go.

Okay.  I admit I don't really drink much coffee, don't really like it. If I were on a game show and the million dollar question was "what is the difference between espresso and any other coffee"?  My answer would be they serve espresso in a tiny little cup.  Truth is I have no freaking clue except the one and only time I drank it I was kept awake until four in the morning with my heart pounding and I drank it at four in the afternoon.  For the longest time, I didn't know there was any difference in a cappuccino and an espresso except for the size of the cup... and the foam on top...which apparently you could get on an espresso if you really wanted it but that is just even more confusing to this coffee novice.

But I digress, I left the store with ingredients in hand and swung by Starbucks on my way out.  I very confidently sauntered up to the counter and said " I need an espresso for take away in one of the Venti size cups please".  The very nice young Asian man behind the counter said "....um, are you sure ma'am that would be like five shots of espresso".  I said "no, no, no shots" (thinking he meant some kind of those extra things people are always adding...a caramel mochiato with a shot of raspberry ... or something) I continued..."just the espresso please but I need a lot of it, 3/4 of a cup to be exact".  He said "oh, I understand, 3/4 of this"?  He held up one of those thimble sized espresso cups.  "No, no," I said, and picked up what I thought to be a Venti cup, "this".  Now, I will just go back to the million $  ? Above but ask instead for a million dollars "name what Starbucks calls these size cups"...I have never understood the whole tall, grande, Venti, what have you scenario and am super glad I order iced tea which is small or large.   

But back to the espresso.  At this point my erstwhile barista  (is it baristo if male?) asked a fellow barista (a female) to come help me.  So I repeated my request and added to the end of it "I'm making tiramisu".   "Oh" says the male barist(o)a as if that explained everything!  I further went on to explain "yes, and the recipe calls for 3/4 of a cup of espresso, so I was going to take this (holding aloft the Venti cup) and let it cool, then dip the lady fingers in it" (making dipping motions with the invisible lady fingers knowing I was really lying because I couldn't get lady fingers, just pound cake, but at that point it seemed like admitting this would just confuse the issue further).    

So, now the first male barist(o)a, the new female barista both shake their heads as if totally understanding this dessert making scenario and start making me espresso...all the while speaking to yet a third barist(o)a in Bahasa what it is I'm trying to do.  So, now everyone seems to be on the same page.  Everyone is mumuring "tiramisu..." and shaking their heads yes.  So, while I'm waiting the first barist(o)a says to me " Tiramisu, huh"?   I brightly, but inanely, say "yes, Giada's recipe".  He says " I don't know Giada's but I like tiramisu!". I admit I came very close to explaining Giada but thankfully for him and for me thought better of it.

While I continued to wait on my FIVE shots of espresso the lady barista motioned for me to come back...to the super secret Starbucks pantry.  I was a little confused but I followed her.  Here she hands me some small miniature packets of coffee and says "next time you want espresso for a recipe use these, I give them to you as a gift - you just bought 35 Ringott of espresso"!   By the look on her face I could tell this was a ridiculous amount of espresso to have purchased...a whole $11.50 worth.  Nonetheless, I thanked her profusely and said "if the tiramisu turns out good I will bring you a piece".  She smiled and said "okay, it's a deal".  Then my first barist(o)a said "me too".  

So, I paid my 35 Ringott, tipped a considerable amount and took my incredibly hot, full cup of espresso and went on my way.  All the while wondering to myself how I possibly just agreed to bring dessert to the waitstaff at my favorite Starbucks?!  I know, I don't drink coffee but I have a favorite Starbucks...they make a great iced tea, with a little coaching...

Back to the dinner party - the menu:

Romaine lettuce with an avocado, green onion, lemon and olive oil dressing (I refer to this as an upside down salad because you mix all the dressing components on the bottom of your salad bowl, put the cut up romaine on top, refrigerate for several hours, then toss.  It is sublimely good, tart, creamy yet crunchy).

Real Meatballs and Spaghetti by the Contessa herself, here is the link:   http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/real-meatballs-and-spaghetti-recipe/index.html

(If this still isn't showing as a link you can click on, my apologies, I'm STILL learning this laptop.)

Garlic bread

And The soon to be Famous - Tiramisu

I did a very casual, little bit rustic, little bit elegant,table scape:

Buon appetito!  Arrivederci!  

Amore, spajunkie

Delicious Dinner

While worrying and waiting for Mr. Ken to get home from Vietnam I busied myself with making dinner...I created the following and it turned out SO yummy! I was wanting something comforting, light, fresh but very tasty and with good crunch! This fit the bill! I regret I was in creative mode and I didn't know how good they would turn out, I didn't take any pictures...anyway...they turned out as pretty as they were good! The other thing is if you did use store bought tostado or chalupa shells this meal is on the table in less than an hour! Additionally, I made everything in advance and put it all together once he got home. It works out very well for thinking ahead meals. You could even use leftover or store bought rotisserie chicken to save even more time but I did love the marinade on the chicken. Chicken Chalupas with Guacamole (this was made for two people, adjust accordingly for more) Ingredients: 1 large chicken breast (I used with skin and bones, you can certainly do without) 1/2 cup fresh lime juice 1 heaping teaspoon chili powder 2 large avocados 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (I juiced two large lemons) 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 cup shredded green cabbage 1/2 cup shredded red cabbage 1/2 cup shredded romaine lettuce (I did all three in long thin strips) 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved 3 or 4 radishes julienned 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (you could use cilantro, I didn't have any) 10 soft corn tortillas (you could substitute pre-made tostada or chalupa chips - I can't get those here, but I loved the homemade version and might always do that!) 1/3 cup Canola oil Lemon Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Course black pepper, Crazy Janes Salt, Garlic Salt, Sea Salt (all to taste, below) 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used white cheddar, use whatever you've got) Preheat over to 180 C or 350 F. Put chicken breast in smallest oven proof baking dish, with lid, it will fit in (I pulled back the skin some and put the breast in upside down so the most meat was in the marinade). The point of the small dish is to maximize the marinade surrounding the chicken and make the chicken really tender and moist...more pan surface, less marinade on your chicken meat. Mix the lime juice and chili powder, pour over the chicken. Put the lid on and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, leave in dish with lid on until ready to dice. While the chicken cooks... Guacamole I've tried numerous versions of making this. I've added tomatoes, cilantro, onions, jalapeños, mixed and matched all of those. Our favorite way to eat it is super simple this: Mash two avocados in a bowl. Add about two teaspoons of fresh lemon juice. Season to your personal taste with lemon pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic salt, and Crazy Janes salt. We like ours pretty well seasoned especially with the pepper. Remember when adjusting your seasoning that your chips are salty also! Store in the refrigerator with the seed of one avocado in it until ready to serve. Serve with tortilla chips (or with warm tostada chips below). Assemble your salad by mixing the cabbages, lettuce, radishes, tomatoes and parsley together in a small bowl. Dress the salad as follows: In small bowl whisk the remainder of the lemon juice, olive oil, and I add some Crazy Jane and some cracked black pepper to taste. I prefer the dressing more lemony than oil, if you prefer the opposite whisk in more olive oil. You should be able to tell by the smell - more lemony or more oil to your taste! Toss with the salad and reserve in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the tostadas. Heat the canola oil in a shallow skillet large enough to hold a tortilla. Drop a tortilla in the oil, turning a couple times. Let them just brown and crisp up a bit. Remove to paper towels to drain. Repeat until all are crispy and golden brown. Sprinkle a little salt on them while hot to season. To assemble: Remove your chicken from the dish, remove bones and or skin, dice the chicken in small bite sized pieces. Remove your salad, cheese and dip from the fridge. Take the avocado seed out of your dip for serving, and give your salad another toss to make sure all ingredients are mixed well. Take a tostada, layer on chicken, cheese (I don't actually do the cheese but Mr. Ken prefers it), salad and a dollop of guacamole. I made two per person. I broke up the rest of the tostada chips and served alongside the remainder of the guacamole. Fresh, easy, delish...Enjoy guys!

Easter Dinner

...on Thursday evening. 

There are some Cameron peeps in from the US and UK this week and they have been traveling for a couple of weeks, and prior more like a couple months so we invited them for dinner on today.  Since they won't be at home to celebrate Easter with their families I thought I would do an Easter dinner.  Here is the cast of recipes, with links to the originals.  I really stuck mainly to the recipes because they are flawless (sort of!).  Where I could and thought about it there are photos.  Did anyone know you can save recipes on http://www.myrecipes.com?  Wow.  I don't know how I missed that train but I've definitely made up for lost time this week!  You can even save your own recipes...I'm not as inclined to do this as you need to enter ingredients and amounts and well, I'm just not that patient yet.  I did save some from other sites that I copied and pasted but I just put them in the notes section...lazy that way.  I do however, LOVE that if you save a recipe from the site itself you can also send it to a grocery list and it will hold the ingredients for you in list form.  I can't tell you how much time and effort this saved me!  I just printed that sucker off, crossed through what I already had on hand and voila` grocery list you could add to!  Brilliant.  I seriously have no idea how I've missed this for so long.  I will continue to play with and tweak this and get back to you on how well it works.

First Course:

Marinated Lemon Shrimp and Artichokes in Martini glasses (along with some good quality breadsticks bought at the store and some nuts  ~ just for some salt with before dinner drinks) http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/marinated-lemon-shrimp-artichokes-10000001831989/  this was delish!  The one and only picture I did capture because once everything starts flowing I am so LAME at taking photos!!!

Second Course

Butter Lettuce Salad with Parmesan Tuiles and Almonds http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/butter-lettuce-salad-with-parmesan-tuiles-almonds-10000001598618/  Also Delish!

Third Course

Classic Baked Hame with Maple Mustard Glaze http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/classic-baked-ham-with-maple-mustard-glaze-10000001598619/ Yummy, second time I've made this recipe, it always delivers!

Southern-Style Potato Salad  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/southern-style-potato-salad-10000000686261/  Very tasty

Marinated Asparagus  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/marinated-asparagus-10000000364630/ I don't know, maybe not so much.

Refrigerator Yeast Rolls  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/refrigerator-yeast-rolls-10000000520467/   http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/easy-three-seed-pan-rolls-10000001723324/)okay, so, NO!  They come out like little, well, I called them savory cookies!  So flat, so NOT a roll.  So, very, very NOT a yeast roll.  Now, could be a lot to do with our climate, the yeast I bought, lots of things go into dough rising or not.  I don't want to judge.  What I WILL say is even though flat and asthetically not pleasing, they tasted really good!

Fourth Course

Irish Chocolates (directly from Ireland, thank you Sandra!) and berries - straw, rasp and black!

The really good thing about this menu is ... enough for an entire complete dinner from the leftovers on Sunday with no preparation! 

Here is the super cute tablescape for the occasion, tweaked mildly from its original form:

I so love to entertain!  It just makes me happy.  A bed and breakfast or a catering business, this is what I think I need full time!

Anyway, a fun time was had by all!  And,now, spajunkie, must go to bed!  I wish all of you a wonderful Easter, time with your family, and a remembrance of what Easter really means! 

 

Who is your Favorite?

I've spent my entire morning planning menus and making grocery lists for this week, a dinner party Friday and my upcoming house guest next week. If I have the time, and frankly why wouldn't I? I usually spend a couple hours at this each week because I peruse the internet looking for new recipes. Which led me to some random thoughts (there's a surprise!)…

Which food network stars do you really like the most ~ to watch on TV, to say "oh, that sounds good" but never make it, or whose recipes do you actually use the most? Here's my list.

The incomparable Emeril Legasse. Well, he started my love of watching cooking shows and to this day he is one of my go to chefs for recipes. I've probably made more of his recipes over the years than all the others combined. I love the Portuguese influences that run-through many of his recipes. Even now I will stop flipping channels if I find him on. I never tire of watching him or trying his recipes.

Well, I already mentioned a few days back that Barefoot Contessa, the fabulous Ina Garten, is my absolute favorite. I love her shows, I love her style, I love her recipes and I think her food is very accessible and elegant without being fussy. Simple ingredients cooked to perfection. And her tables are just to die for! What I wouldn't give to have her garden at my disposal for both cooking and decorating. She was the first person I ever saw use only one color flower (not necessarily one type of flower but one color) to a vase and from that moment on I was hooked on single color arrangements... (If you have not tried this, it seriously changes the whole look of a bunch of flowers - from pretty and fun to elegant in a few seconds. Try separating out your colors in your next bouquet and make smaller vases of same color flowers. Beauty!)

Tyler Florence. Not only is he super duper cute and I could just watch him all day long but I love his recipes. Frequently French inspired, much like Ina, they are beautiful and elegant. Every recipe I have tried of his has turned out amazing...and they are not particularly difficult either for the meal they produce. In fact he is on right now as I am writing this! 

I'm starting to really believe I need to just bite the bullet and find a French cooking school and take lessons! It seems to be the baseline for where I head with my favorites. Not to mention all the cooking basics start here. On with the list:

Giada. If there is a perkier or happier human on the planet I've certainly never seen them! She is Mr. Ken's favorite and I'm sure I don't have to mention why. She is just a bit too happy for me. That notwithstanding, I love her recipes. She has some of the best, quickest, tastiest recipes ever. I also love her style of decorating a table. If you haven't guessed by now tables enter very big in my life...and they always have. Even when I worked full time and volunteered and whatever all I did, I always set a beautiful table.

Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. I love, love, love her blog. It is one of the first things I check each morning. She has some good recipes I've enjoyed also.  I had the chance to watch some of the shows while in Texas (thank you Angela!) but I think my jury is still out on that...I would have to watch more. But, what I love most about her is she is such an incredibly talented woman, mother, writer, photographer...the list goes on. She is a power house!

Those are my favorites – how about you?  Who gets your vote and why? 

Impromptu Dinner for a Friend

That really kind of says it all! I had a friend call yesterday evening and one thing led to another and I found myself looking for something yummy to feed us. She had offered to go out to dinner but I knew she had been having a particularly stressful couple of weeks so I thought it would be nice to just make dinner for her. Because after all if there is one person on Food Network I admire (and love her easy style and elegant but classic meals) it is Barefoot Contessa...and isn't she always making dinner for friends?  She is my favorite, hands down! 

The first thing I always do for any type of dinner is set my table.  A lovely set table can make people think you've prepared a gourmet meal when, in fact, you have not!  I grabbed an old, but oh so pretty, set of placemats and napkins with big happy yellow sunflowers on them along with some big yellow sunflower napkin rings.  I set us up in the "breakfast room" overlooking the pond with the lights for nighttime...it makes a really tranquil backdrop.  Is this pretty or what?

You might be saying to yourself this doesn't look at all like an evening setting and you would be correct!  I recreated this setting this morning just to take the photo.  If you are a blogger you will totally get this...if you aren't...well, don't judge me! 

Back to dinner...what to make?? Obviously it had to come straight from the pantry, fridge or freezer on such short notice. So, here we go:

Leftover best roast chicken ever! Here is my super complicated recipe to roast a chicken:

Wash and dry one whole chicken
Stuff with one and one half lemons cut into quarters and a handful of fresh thyme. Sprinkle the outside with lemon pepper seasoning. Put in the crock pot with nothing else! Cook for 8 hours on low, 4-5 on high. She is not pretty when she comes out but man so moist and delicious, and did I mention easy?

Leftover chicken was made into chicken salad: (I make lots of versions of chicken salad but this is by far my personal favorite.)

About 1 cup or so of roasted chicken (you can always use a rotisserie chicken from the store!)
A handful of chopped celery including leaves
A handful of chopped red bell pepper for color
A handful of chopped chives, or green onion (I only had chives on hand)
About 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 1/4 cup sour cream (I happened to be running low on both so used both, you could use just mayo if no sour cream on hand). Mainly you want the consistency to be very held together but not at all too wet.
About 1/8 tsp of curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix it all together

I served a spoonful of this on Ritz crackers and garnished with some fresh dill. Tasty and lovely on the plate! Plus right now I'm eating a chicken salad sandwich for lunch!  (I just LOL because chicken salad on Ritz crackers - could I be any more southern, honestly?)

Second course (believe me if I'd known it would all come out so tasty I would have photographed along the way!)

Big green salad with homemade dressing

I used romaine, arugula, purple cabbage, red bell pepper, carrot and cherry tomatoes all tossed together.

Dressing - about 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 2 Tblsp of Dijon mustard, olive oil whisked in until you like the consistency and taste. I like it very vinegary as does my friend, you might want more oil than me. I also add a bit of dried oregano, salt and pepper and then shake, shake, shake! If you don't have a mason jar and lid set aside just to shake up dressing like this and then take direct to the table for serving, well, get one! (Yet another LOL - how southern is a mason jar used for just about anything?  BTW - anyone seen those mason jar wine glasses at my new favorite place - Buc-ee's?  Kiss my Grits but they are cute!)

Sweet onion tartlet

If I had a pizza crust on hand I would have used it, I did not. My friend, Angela, uses naan bread and I would have done that as well but instead I used an all purpose Pre packaged phyllo dough square. I preheated it a bit just to get the baking started, follow the directions, no need for oil or anything they have their own. I baked to barely light brown then removed from oven.

While cooking this I sliced one large sweet yellow onion, if in Texas I would have used a vidalia but when in...I used a plain old yellow onion. Heat a tsp or so of olive oil in a skillet, add the onion. Add some salt and pepper. Sauté this until the onion is translucent then hit with a nice amount of balsamic vinegar. No measuring necessary because now you will cook this until all the liquid is gone and has been absorbed by the onion. Yum! Top your crust with this onion and just a little mozzarella and Parmesan, or really whatever you have on hand. I've used goat cheese before and it was divine! I actually err on the side of not too much cheese because it gets greasy and soggy but do what you like! Bake in the oven on 300 until just bubbly. Top with chopped fresh chives. (Word to wise, I don't actually chop my chives, I snip them with kitchen scissors, so much nicer and prettier.)

All served with a beautiful crisp Australian Chardonnay. 

Guys, it was a lovely dinner all made from things I had hanging around! Normally I serve the onion tartlet as an appetizer for larger dinner parties but it worked fine as a main course.

Third course

Big bowl of fresh strawberries and raspberries, with some After Eight chocolate mints on the side.

Beauty! Dinner just doesn't have to be all that complicated! I've heard lots and lots of things about what you should always have on hand and most of it I agree on but my main big things to never be without are fresh vegetables and fruits! My personal always want in my fridge are:

Fresh herbs - my favorites are chives, dill and basil (I also try to grow these but right now they are in a period of regrowth after being cut back).

Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, purple cabbage, onions, potatoes, carrots, celery and red bell pepper. And berries, always berries, they are the best and easiest dessert around!

Anyway kids that is my offering for today! Have a great weekend! Love, spajunkie

The Pond - Round 5 and a Recipe or 2

 ...and not for fried Koi fish or turtle soup!   Hahahaha...

I hope everyone enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend, I know we did!  Mr. Ken finally got home and we enjoyed  a manicure, pedicure, massage, a nap or two and some really delicious home cooked meals.  Just what the doctor ordered, relaxing time at home!  Please note all of my puppy loving friends - no Luke.  He has been adopted.  Sad for us; hopefully happy for him and his new family.

I’m currently sitting in the Diva room watching food network and planning menus.  The first menu is for a dinner party on March 16^th.  I’m going with a St. Patrick’s Day theme.  Here is my cute little Irish table I did last week:

The menu thus far:

Smoked Salmon with herb butter on homemade Irish soda bread (as breads go this one is super easy.) http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/ballymaloe-white-soda-bread-recipe/index.html

Roast Pork Loin with Braised Red Cabbage http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/roast-pork-loin-with-braised-red-cabbage-recipe2/index.html

Oven Irish Roasted Potatoes:  Four lbs of peeled potatoes.  Boil for five minutes in salted water.  Dry completely.  Lightly coat with vegetable oil then salt heavily with sea salt.  Bake in 350 oven until crispy and brown on the outside, creamy on the inside.

Ballymaloe Almond Tart with Raspberries  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/almond-tart-with-raspberries-recipe/index.html

I’m also planning our weekly menu which as it turns out will only be our weekend/into next week menu as Mr. Ken leaves again tomorrow, back on Friday.  I don’t tend to eat dinner when he is gone, and if I do it is something really easy, like I don’t know, celery and carrot sticks or popcorn!  I’m not a big fan of cooking for one.  

Friday Night – lasagna served with salad and garlic bread  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/extra-easy-lasagna-10000000258144/

Saturday Night – mustard roasted fish served with sour cream chive new potatoes and buttered carrots  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mustard-roasted-fish-recipe/index.html

Sunday Brunch – eggs scrambled with dill and parmesan, bacon, and biscuits served with fruit salad

Sunday Dinner – chicken enchiladas served with black bean, corn and pepper salad

Monday – chicken scaloppine served with pasta aioli and broccoli rabe  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-scaloppine-over-broccoli-rabe-10000000686181/

On to the pond....after all of the overwhelming internet research on turtles, fish, and ponds; I came to these conclusions. 

1. Turtles are going to eat pond plants.
2. Fish are going to eat pond plants.
3. I am not having a pond without pond plants.
4. I am stubborn like that.
5. Turtles are destructive.
6. Fish are destructive.
7. I am not having a pond without pond plants.
8. I am stubborn like that.
9. I decided the only way to satisfy all of these items would be to inundate them with plants!  I mean after all they can’t destroy them all at once.  I rationalized this by reviewing my expenditures on the turtles, fish and pond and comparing them to my expenditures on the bi-annual refresh landscaping at our home in Houston.  So far I am way under budget!  This allows me to sleep at night and to get more plants! 
10. The real theory is that they will concentrate on all the floating plants because they float by and their roots hang in the water thus keeping them off the potted (more expensive) plants.  Then when they eat/destroy the floating plants, you just buy more because they cost about $0.10 a piece!  That’s the theory anyway.  Too bad I don’t speak turtle or Koi to be sure they understand the theory.  The pond, round 5:

I think Scooter and Scout are definitely enjoying it and really, that is all that counts! They might not be puppies you can cuddle with but you got to admit they are super cute together!

From turtle nirvana, I bid you good day!  Love, spajunkie

Gumbo Ya-Ya

Gumbo:

Okra, esp. the gelatinous pods used in cooking.

(in Cajun cooking) A spicy chicken or seafood soup thickened typically with okra or rice.

This is my personal version of gumbo...it is really okra and tomatoes with shrimp kicked up a notch! Everyone has their own favorite gumbo. I completely respect all the opinions on roux, no roux, dark roux, etc...but...

I'm a no roux kind of girl. Hey! Don't knock it until you try it! So, when I was trying to come up with a homemade gumbo I experimented around with a lot of different recipes and the one I liked most was this one. It is very close to this recipe by the king himself, Emeril, but has been tweaked based on personal preferences.  http://www.emerils.com/recipe/2812/Shrimp-and-Okra-Gumbo
(The pictures.  Well, I tried to take some...my camera is acting up...then Mr. Ken picks it up and it acts nice.  Sorry, I'm still posting a few because I spent such a long time putting the recipe together!)

Ingredients

4 lbs shrimp (yielding about 3 lbs once peeled and deveined)
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1 1/2 cups diced bell peppers (red, green, yellow, whatever you like but green will give the most peppery flavor, and is my preference)
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced fresh okra (if you can't get fresh frozen is just fine, about a box will do you)
3 cups diced fresh tomatoes (or you can used canned diced tomatoes, one large can or two small should be fine. I use fresh Roma tomatoes, about six or seven diced.)
4 cups shrimp broth (other broths are fine as well, and I will give you a super quick throw down broth option below)
Cayenne pepper
2-3 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
3 Tblsp butter
3 Tblsp Asian fish sauce (optional)

Throw down broth option

The best way to do shrimp broth is to leave the heads and shells on and boil along with seasoning (I use zatarains shrimp and crab boil, it is handy because you can remove the bag and it doesn't leave too much seasoning in your broth which can overwhelm your gumbo.)

However, if you are like me and really don't like peeling and deveining, I just go ahead and boil my peeled and deveined shrimp the same way! I have a secret ingredient at the end that totally makes up for this laziness!

At any rate, boil your shrimp per the instructions and when you drain them retain about 4 cups of the broth. Set the separated shrimp and broth to the side.  (Many people cook their shrimp right in the gumbo at the end - you can totally do this!  I just like to have the shrimp broth for more flavor and no, I'm not organized enough to have it on hand in the freezer.)

Now, melt your butter in a big soup pot. Add your okra. Add a little salt and pepper and if you have some a little Emeril Essence (which I make a bunch of it, then store for future use, click here for the recipe).  http://www.emerils.com/recipe/14/Emerils-Essence-Creole-Seasoning  You want to sauté your okra until most of the slime is gone. Don't let okra scare you! The slime does go away! Once it is a beautiful bright green color add your celery, bell pepper, and onion. Add a little more salt, pepper, and or Essence. I try to do this at each layer so everything gets a little seasoning plus the salt helps your veggies to weep. Continue to sauté and stir until your veggies are translucent and or tender. Next you will add your tomatoes and your bay leaf. Season again! They cook down so that what you've got now is very tender, bright, beautiful veggies! About 20 minutes or so...
 Beauty!

Next add in your shrimp, your broth, more seasoning, and if you like, some cayenne pepper. I like spicy, a lot. I'm prone to over spicing my gumbo so I suggest you take it slow and continue tasting rather than add a great amount of cayenne (ESPECIALLY if you use Essence). Start with about an 1/16 of a teaspoon and let the gumbo cook for a good hour before testing the spice.

Now for the secret ingredient:

Asian fish sauce. At the time you check the spice heat factor, add about three Tblsp of the fish sauce. You can find this in the Asian section of any grocery store. It adds a saltiness along with just an ocean flavor that you can't get unless you've boiled those shrimp with heads and shells! I love and I swear by it!

Let your gumbo stew and simmer lightly for a couple hours, stirring occasionally. If you feel it needs more liquid you can add any type of broth or even some water.

Serve the gumbo over white rice, with some fresh sourdough bread.

Yum!