Gumbo - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 chicken or guinea hen, without giblets, cut up
1 to 1-1/2 pounds andouillesausage, sliced about 1/4\" thick on the bias (you may substitute hot or mild smoked sausage if good andouille isn't available) and/or fresh Creole hot sausage, browned
4 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 blue crabs, cleaned, broken in half and claws pulled off (or for a more elegant looking gumbo, omit and instead add 1-1/2 pounds lump white crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage)
3 pounds okra, sliced (leave out if you don't like okra, but be sure to add file at the end if you leave out the okra)
2 onions, chopped
1 bunch green onions with tops, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
5 ribs celery, chopped
several cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
Creole seasoning to taste, OR
black, white and cayenne peppers, to taste
Salt to taste
Few dashes Tabasco, or to taste.
1 - 2 tablespoons file powder (ONLY IF YOU DON'T USE OKRA!)
Steaming hot Louisiana long-grain rice

Preparation

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with Creole seasoning and brown in the oven. Slice the sausage and brown, pouring off all the fat (especially if you're using fresh Creole hot sausage).
Saute the onions, green onions, bell pepper and celery if you haven't already added them to the roux, and add to the stock. Add the chicken and sausage(s). Add the bay leaves and Creole seasoning (or ground peppers) to taste and stir. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer; let simmer for about 45 minutes. Keep tasting and adjusting seasonings as needed.

Add the okra and cook another 30 minutes or so. Make sure that the \"ropiness\" or \"stringiness\" from the okra is gone, add the parsley, crab halves and claws (if you're using them). Cook for another 15 minutes, then add the shrimp (and if you've omitted the hard-shell crabs, add the lump crabmeat now). Give it another 6-8 minutes or so, until the shrimp are just done, turning pink. Be very careful not to overcook the shrimp; adding the shrimp should be the very last step.

If there is any fat on the surface of the gumbo, try to skim off as much of it as possible.

Serve generous amounts in bowls over about 1/2 cup of hot rice -- claws, shells, bones and all (if you've made the original \"rustic\" version). Remember that the rice goes in the bowl first, and it is not an optional step, despite the trend among some New Orleans restaurants to serve a riceless gumbo.

You may, if you like, sprinkle a small amount of gumbo file in your individual serving for a little more flavor; just remember that if you're making a file gumbo, it should be added to the pot off the fire for its proper thickening action.