I’ve made gumbo several times in my lifetime, but not the real Cajun type with a roux. There is just something intimidating just in the word roux. Not very many people know how to pronounce it and then not very many know what the meaning is. The term is in my high school textbook that I use with my class. It is hilarious to hear students pronounce it. Recently after Katrina we have many students from New Orleans. You should see the looks they give the Southerners from Georgia. Don’t you know anything? A roux? Well, I fall into that category. I have never made a real roux. Yeah, one for macaroni and cheese sauce or for a rich brown gravy, but for a gumbo? NO! My mother never once made gumbo that I can remember. She could make a mean red-eyed gravy and macaroni and cheese to die for, but no New Orleans style roux. I love gumbo and when I recently found a meat market that sells the best Andouille sausage I had to try my hand at it. I must say that a roux is quite easy.
I’m in love with my Kitchenaid ice cream attachment! It is so easy to make the best homemade ice cream and just the right amount. GI Joe’s all time favorite ice cream is pralines and cream. This is so decadent and so good. I made 
Pain Au Chocolat is one of my favorite things to eat. Melted chocolate in a buttery croissant is just plain sinful. I love them calories and all. I don’t make them from scratch and it’s not often that I get them from a French bakery. Here is a great substitute that you can make in less than thirty minutes. It’s not the same rich, flaky, and buttery croissant as you might find in a French bakery, but it is a close second. You will get no complaints when these pop out of the oven!
I love pickles and spicy food. So after making one gallon of these hot and sweet pickles I am in pickle heaven. Thanks to my dear friend Marilyn she shared this recipe with me and now I am sharing it with you. She gave me the recipe awhile back and after the shock of seeing 9 cups of sugar I chose not to make them. But, when I ate the entire bowl at our last book club meeting I decided that I should make them and have them at every meal if I so desired. They would make a great gift Christmas, so keep that in mind. They are so easy.
I’ve not always shopped at Publix. In fact here in our suburb of Atlanta we have not always had a Publix. When vacationing in Daytona Beach , Fla. we fell in love with Publix. I cannot say it was because of the pristine clean environment or the wonderful produce, it was the bakery. For the record it was their apple turnovers with the sugar on top. We were in heaven! We now have a Publix and guess what we stopped buying the turnovers. Not because they were bad, but we did not want to buy a new wardrobe. Publix is my friend. I really like the fact that they give you a new recipe every week that is fast to fix and all the ingredients are right there for you to pick up. Psychologically they really know what to do that will make you just automatically buy the right stuff! They time it perfectly. You go in the store starving! The aroma of good food just hits you in the face. Then you buy whatever they want you to buy. I am just saying that their marketing department should be paid big bucks because they know how to work it. Some of their recipes are fabulous! This is one of them.
The Teacher Cooks 