I have to admit I really do lead a charmed life. I mean… How many people have a container of homemade gumbo given to them at work? Count me as being the one!

One of the fun things about my job is that I talk about food all day long. And bein’ that I’ve now been there over 13 years, I’ve gotten to know some pretty fun people. I’ve seen people meet, get married, have kids, and send the kids off to school. Back in my little corner of the store, it’s like a mini-version of Cheers.

What’s fun are the folks I get to see on a regular basis. We catch up on the basics and talk inevitably falls back to what we’ve been cooking, lately.

One such conversation led to turkeys and turkey gumbo.

First time I ever had gumbo was in Uncle Sam’s Yacht Club. It was pretty amazing that the US Navy could come up with a damned good gumbo that fed 5000 people. The secret, of course, was the Louisiana cooks on the boat weren’t following an Armed Forced Recipe Card.

But fast-forward past gumbos made with my old roommate and former brother-in-law Tim Beech and bastardized versions made with so much filé powder that they couldn’t be scraped from the pot, to Saturday afternoon…

In walk two of my more favorite customers – sans kids, but with a tupperware container of turkey gumbo they had made – along with a bottle of Sauce Boss Liquid Summer hot sauce!!

I was psyched! Really psyched!

We all know I love food. I especially love food that folks make from scratch – that they love making. And sharing! We had talked about the gumbo, and here it was – in my own little hands!

Sunday I baked a loaf of bread, and Sunday night, I cooked up some rice, heated the gumbo, and feasted! It was great. Every single drop.  Even Nonna licked her plate clean! It was rich, flavorful, lots of different flavors and textures… It made my Yankee heart smile.

And the hot sauce is really good, as well. it’s made by a Guitar-playin’ Gumbo-maker named Bill Wharton – The Sauce Boss. Heat, but with flavor. Unusual in a hot sauce. I can see a few different uses for this.

I don’t have the recipe to share, but suffice to say, it was excellent.

Thanks for a great meal!