Emeril LaGothy..!
Yep, the recent cold weather has brought your favorite Goth Chef out of the coffin with another recipe from the depths of the scullery at Stately Sad Old Goth Manor! It's soup time! Here's one of my favorites, loaded with good stuff to ward off the cold without and within!
Chicken and Andouille Sausage Almost Gumbo Soup
* 5 tbs vegetable oil
* about a pound of Andouille Sausage, chopped into bite size pieces (1/2 inch or so)
* about a pound and a half of boneless chicken breast
* 1 1/2 quarts low fat chicken broth
* 1/3 cup all purpose flour
* one medium yellow onion, diced
* three stalks of celery, diced
* one medium green pepper, diced
* two carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
* three cloves of garlic, minced
* 1 tsp ground thyme
* 2 tsp Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce (according to taste)
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
* three scallions, chopped
* 1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley

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Ok, this is going to take a while, so pour yourself a glass of wine and let's go:

Heat about 2 tbs of vegetable oil in a large, cast iron dutch oven over medium heat; add the sausage and cook until browned (about ten minutes, stir occasionally); when it's done, remove it with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
Add the chicken breasts to the hot oil and cook until it's well browned, turning occasionally. When it's browned all over, add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the chicken is tender, about twenty minutes. When it's done, remove the chicken and set it aside to cool off a bit, then, using a fork, shred it into bite size pieces. Hold it aside for now. Remove the dutch oven from the heat for now.
In a large sauce pan, combine 3 tsb of vegetable oil and the flour and cook it over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is dark brown. This takes about twenty minutes or so. When it's ready, add the onions, celery, pepper, carrots and garlic and cook about ten minutes, or until the peppers are tender. (I added about a half cup water, as it was getting a bit thick to manage while it cooked, I probably added a bit too much flour; use your own judgment).
Add this mix to the chicken stock in the dutch oven, along with the thyme, hot sauce, salt and pepper; Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for about 45 minutes, then add the sausage and chicken and simmer for another 15 minutes; add the parsley and scallions and remove it from the heat; let it sit about 15 minutes before serving.
I'm going to serve it by placing a mound of hot dirty rice in the center of a bowl, then ladle the soup around it, with some fresh cornbread muffins and lots of cold beer.
I call this almost gumbo, because there's no okra or file in the recipe, but the roux made with the flour and oil makes it just as thick as a traditional gumbo.
The whole thing takes about two and a half hours from start to finish, but it's worth the effort.
Enjoy!

what say you..?