Publisher's Synopsis
Gumbo is the essence of Creole and Cajun cooking, the mandatory dish on every restaurant menu and the heart of home cooking.
Ingredients ranging from shellfish to poultry to wild game create the type and taste of the gumbo. Seasonings such as cayenne pepper, thyme, and bay leaf alter the flavor of the dish to please the cook, and the gumbo is served in bowls over rice. The most distinctive styles of gumbo are Creole (New Orleans) and Cajun (southwestern Louisiana). Creole uses tomatoes, and Cajun does not. Therefore, one is brown and the other is a reddish brown. Creole gumbo tends to have a thinner base, while a Cajun gumbo is heartier, darker and sometimes thicker, and is more apt to use game such as wild ducks.
In south Louisiana, gumbos are served on all tables, rich or poor, and in most restaurants, upscale or otherwise.
