"First, you make a roux." It's such a common opening line in recipes from south Louisiana that it's become a catchphrase. You find the words emblazoned on kitchen towels, sweatshirts, and even ...

Making roux on the stovetop takes at least 45 minutes of continuous cooking and stirring, and my arm gets tired. Every year, I make turkey gumbo with my leftover Thanksgiving bird, and every year I ...

A few years ago, I figured out that I have cooked more than 10,000 pots of soup, chowder, stew, gumbo or chili. As a dish, soup is very economical, versatile and easy to make. There are three things ...

After eating a mess of gumbos – 13 bowls to be exact – I was curious about what the keys were to making a good one. “It’s the roux; you have to move it, move it, move it,” said Mary Rivers, who ...

While roux might sound like a fancy cooking term, it's actually a simple mixture of fat and flour used to thicken sauces, gravies, and, yes, gumbo. While roux is used in classic French cuisine, it ...

Editors’ note: This is the fifth installment in a series detailing important techniques you need to know to be an accomplished cook. A roux is the traditional way to thicken and enrich gravies, sauces ...

I am really, really bad at making roux. Or at least I used to be. My first experience with roux was as a child. My mom used dark roux, the oily, flavorless crap that comes from a jar, occasionally ...

This may be considered sacrilege to some people, but this helpful hint is a shortcut to roux for making a stew. Place all of your “holy trinity” (veggies) and your meat for the stew in the pot, and ...

Creamy pasta sauces may seem a bit intimidating at first, but they are actually quite simple to make. Homemade sauces also taste a whole lot better than the stuff you buy in a jar. Plus, it's pretty ...