Gumbo, as I mentioned in my last post, was served for dinner on Christmas Day in the Moss household, but it’s a very nice dish to have in your repertoire for entertaining people on non-feast days as well. First, it’s pretty much a one-pot meal. It’s traditionally served with rice, and you can add a salad if you’re feeling some post-holiday-indulgence guilt or something, but that’s optional, really. You can also make it a couple of days in advance and just park it in your refrigerator until you need it; if anything, this improves the flavors. It’s a little time consuming, but none of the steps involved is difficult, and since it actually benefits from being made in advance, you can prepare it whenever you have time. You can even spread the prep over several days if you wish. You can make it with meat, with seafood, or with just vegetables, or all of the above.
