Super Secret Seafood Gumbo

Ingredients:

1 pound gulf shrimp, shells on, head on (frozen if you must)
1 pound other seafood: crab, mussels, clams, oysters, etc.
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 large onion
1 rib celery
2 tsp cayenne pepper (add slowly to attain preferred spice level)
5–6 cloves garlic
1½ cups okra (frozen fine, but fresh is best)
½ can whole tomatoes, hand crushed
3 bay leaves
12 oz andouille sausage (substitutions can be made, or sausage omitted and replaced with more seafood)
more seafood!

For the roux:

3 sticks butter
1 cup flour

Rice

Hot sauce

Instructions:

Remove shells and head from shrimp. Throw the shells in a pot with one to two quarts of water. Boil for 30 minutes, then strain the liquid and reserve. You will use the shrimp stock later.

Melt butter in a large pot, a Dutch oven is great. This is where everything will eventually congregate. Then slowly whisk in the flour. Allow butter to cook with flour, stirring often until the butter begins to slightly brown. It will smell nutty. Do not burn the roux! It will be the color of peanut butter. Keep warm.

In a separate sauté pan (cast iron preferred) on high heat, add some butter or oil. Add chopped onion, pepper, and celery. Allow it to slightly brown, then sauté until tender and stir. Throw it in the pot with the butter roux. In the empty sauté pan, add andouille sausage and brown. Then add sausage to roux pot.

Turn the pot onto medium heat, slowly add about 1½ quarts of shrimp stock. You want to make sure you add the proper amount of stock so it is slightly thick, so eye it as you pour. Then add ½ can of hand crushed whole tomatoes (more if you like that acidity), bay leaves, salt and pepper, and cayenne to taste. Then on low heat, cook for an hour or so until everything (except seafood) really gets to know each other in that pot.

Take a pause and say an hour long prayer to the sea and to New Orleans for granting you this delicious meal. (Also say a prayer that all our jobs will soon return and people still buy art.)

Finally, throw in the seafood, cook until cooked through. At this point, we recommend you turn off the heat, let it sit for an hour. (Time to enjoy a delicious HURRICANE.) Then reheat when ready to eat. Serve with rice and that delicious Louisiana hot sauce.