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grandfather’s day, his family, who helped to settle Louisiana’s River Parishes, put squirrel, smoked raccoon and rabbit in their gumbos — whatever they could catch.” Turkey neck gumbo has a specifically loyal following. The supple, rich flavor benefits specifically from the low-and-slow, all-day simmer of the gumbo pot.

It’s impossible to talk about the evolution of gumbo from regional dish to national sensation without mentioning the late, great Cajun chef and Louisiana icon Paul Prudhomme, who is a foundational example of how a cook can go from celebrated to full blown celebrity — and bring a dish rocketing to fame right alongside. The mastermind behind longtime French Quarter restaurant K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, author of dozens of books, creator of an expansive seasoning line, and star of five PBS programs spanning two decades, Prudhomme introduced Louisiana cuisine to the masses, with gumbo leaving the strongest impression out of all the classic Cajun dishes. And while the gumbo made by a family in Wichita based on one of Prudhomme’s old recipes might be a little tamer than many along the Gulf Coast, the dish brings the same spirit of delicious inclusivity wherever it goes.

There are certain types of cookware that inspire an almost religious devotion among home cooks: cast iron, copper and ceramic, to name a few. But the most loyal fans have pledged their allegiance to the shiny sturdiness of Magnalite pots and pans — particularly for gumbo-making in South Louisiana. Made of a unique, durable aluminum and magnesium alloy, these gleaming silver kitchen tools have a denser base and thinner sides than most of their cookware counterparts, allowing the pots to heat more evenly and distribute heat faster during the cooking process. Magnalite cookware can go from stovetop to oven — and refrigerator to stovetop — without missing a beat, with an ability to sear meat to perfection while helping ingredients and flavors naturally mingle. Perhaps the most iconic of all the Magnalite pieces is the oval shaped roaster, a pot that resembles a very stout rocket ship or chunky UFO. If you see your grand-mère pull this famed vessel out of the cabinet, the odds are high that gumbo is what's for dinner.

TEAM ROUX

O IS FOR OKRA As a thickener and a vegetable, Okra’s gumbo role shines, If only some people Could get over the slime.

“Everything about okra is slime this and slime that until we get to gumbo. As soon as the topic of gumbo comes up, there is a switch in terminology and suddenly we’re praising okra’s magical thickening effect,” writes Chris Smith in his 2019 book, The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration . In the centuries-long disagreement over what thickens gumbo more effectively, the green, finger-like vegetable is historically critical to the dish. Okra draws a direct line between gumbo and its West African roots (the words "okra" and "gumbo" even share an etymological origin) with records of okra soup being prepared and eaten by enslaved Africans in New Orleans appearing from as far back as the mid-1700s — years before the arrival of Acadians to Louisiana. “Multiple early references to gumbo as both a thickened soup and a plant (okra) make me think that gumbo is more clearly linked to okra than [filé],” Smith writes. “Perhaps [filé] was first used as a winter alternative or developed as an individual stew that later melded with the okra preparation and assumed the same name.”

L IS FOR LIQUOR Sipping a beer with your gumbo Is as classic as it comes, But some mix it up With scotch, sherry or rum.

N IS FOR NECKS Turkey neck gumbo

Has a cult that’s devoted, One bite — they say — And your current version’s demoted.

Beer and gumbo go together like football and tailgating, but what about all the other drink pairings? For a seafood gumbo, many people prefer to pair it with an off-dry Riesling, while earthier, sausage-heavy versions can mesh comfortably with an Albariño. Cocktails are another story; I’ve always been partial to a La Louisiane with mine, which stirs up rye, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, absinthe and Peychaud’s Bitters. Still, you can’t go wrong with a light Pilsner — or whatever happens to be in the cooler.

Those who have been in the gumbo business for some time know that when it comes to different varieties of meat in a gumbo, there really are no hard-and-fast rules. Dried shrimp? Gizzards? Oysters? Toss it all in a pot and see how it tastes! “I discovered in my travels and in scores of interviews that there is widespread ignorance — mine included — about what other people put in their gumbo. I learned from older gumbo cooks in particular that the protein that went into the dish in previous decades could be far more eclectic and exotic than today’s repertoire of chicken, duck, sausage and shellfish,” writes Ken Wells in Gumbo Life , noting that a hairdresser once told him her maw-maw put skinned snake meat into a gumbo. “[John] Folse told me that back in his

The plot — and gumbo — thickens.

M IS FOR MAGNALITE Magnalite is old-fashioned, To put it quite bluntly, But it’s still the favorite cookware In all of Cajun country.

P IS FOR POTATO SALAD

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