A Recipe and a Poem: ‘Chicken and Andouille Gumbo’ and Other Poetry by Mary Gardner

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Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Try my gumbo recipe
From the land of andouille:

½ cup unsalted butter; ½ cup all-purpose flour

Melt the butter, whisk in flour,
Cook and stir a quarter-hour
Till it’s peanut-butter hue.
Set aside. This is the roux.

1 Tbsp canola oil, ½ cup each chopped red pepper and onion, ¼ cup each chopped celery and carrot

In a 5- or 6-quart pot
Heat the oil to good-and-hot,
Celery, onions, carrots soften
With the pepper, stirring often.

½ lb andouille sausage, chopped; roux (see above); 3 cups chicken broth

Add the andouille and brown,
Add the roux and mix around,
Chicken broth incorporate,
Bring it to the boiling-state.

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, 1 Tbsp or less Creole seasoning, 2 tsps filé powder

Put the shredded chicken in
(Sans the bones and sans the skin),
Creole seasoning – not too much,
Filé for the thickening touch.

This is best if it is held
One day, so the flavors meld.
Ladle gumbo over rice,
Serve with buttered baguette-slice.

Recipe’s enough for four,
So it says, but they’ll want more.

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Andouille (an-DOO-ē): a spicy Louisiana smoked pork sausage.
Roux (roo): a mixture of fat and flour, cooked; used in making sauces.
Filé (FEE-lay): pounded or powdered sassafras leaves used to flavor and thicken gumbo.
Baguette (bag-ĖT): a long, narrow loaf of French bread

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Spies

The Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC), was a World
War II and post-war agency within the U.S. Army.

Great-Grand-Pops relates to me
Of his work in CIC.

Those were scary times, uncertain,
Evil Empire’s Iron Curtain.

Cold War with the Sickle-Hammer
Had its fearsomeness and glamour.

He took part in years of strife,
Fighting for our way of life.

When we’re grown we’ll too be spies,
Gumshoes, tecs, or private eyes,

FBI or CIA,
We’ll wear suits and ties by day;

Nighttime, we’ll wear camouflage,
Masters of espionage.

State militia, Special Forces,
Sheriff’s posse, riding horses,

Infiltrating, you and I;
Drug bust at the junior high,

Break up cells of terrorists,
Fight with judo, guns, and fists.

We shall feel such grand excitement
When they’re handed an indictment!

We, good patriots and pure,
Selfless sacrifice endure.

All will praise our fealty –
We shall keep our Nation free.

Save the world through Special Ops
Worthy of our Great-Grand-Pops.

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Mary Gardner is a poet living in Florida.