Experimental Station is Making Traditions with Sit Down Meals and Conversation

Experimental Station is making traditions this month over sit-down meals and conversations.

Experimental Station Big Room

Veronica DeFillo in the green shirt and at the head of the table.

I got this email invitation from Matthew Searle (he/him), Assistant Director, Experimental Station.

"Hi Alpha, it happens to be a magnificent week for eating here at the building. Please look at these special opportunities to connect over food and let me know what you can join. Note that these are all sit-down meals rather than chances to take food on the go." Matthew Searle

So, after reading the list, I RSVP for Thursday's lunch with Veronica DeLillo.  Thursday at 12PM (11/21) - meet a wonderful neighbor, Veronica Defillo, who lives across the street on Dorchester. 

Veronica came to our soup dinner a few weeks ago, and I found out she makes incredible Gumbo in our ensuing conversations. She is making a giant pot of this Gumbo and has invited more neighbors and community stakeholders to come and share this meal in the Big Room.

Veronica is originally from Arkansas. Before migrating to Chicago, her formal education, courtship, and married life were in NOLA. There she learned the culture of cooking Gumbo. It was a family affair where all her in-laws, aunties, cousins came together to make the stew.

The Gumbo was the star of the table.

She recalled it as a festive time, cleaning the seafood, cutting and dicing the vegetables: onions, garlic, celery, bell pepper, parsley, and okra. Each family contributed meats like ham hocks, pork shank, hotlinks, cracked chicken wings, shrimp, and crabs. She didn't share her secret to the Roux with me, but she said she put the okra in last so it would be firm.  Roux (pronounced "roo") is the foundation for many Cajun and Creole recipes, from gravies to sauces and soups to gumbos. Though simple in nature, Roux brings incredible flavor to so many recipes. Roux is a cooked mixture of flour and fat (oil, butter, or lard) used as a thickening agent.

Veronica says she loves to play cards, so making Gumbo was filled with trash-talking, "Bid Whist," "Spades," and lots of whooping and hollering, and some good old family partying and toasting, waiting on the Gumbo to be ready.

Assistant Director, Experimental Station
6100 S. Blackstone Ave., Chicago, IL 60637 USA
office: 773.241.6044; alt: 773.270.2502
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I like a medium to dark brown Roux; I avoid putting tomatoes in my gumbo or anything that looks like a paste. The trick is the timing.
Medium Brown Roux: If you cook the roux for 20 minutes, you will get a medium brown roux that should be the color of a copper pot.
Dark Brown (Chocolate) Roux: When you cook the roux for 25+ minutes, you will end up with a dark brown roux the color of dark chocolate. Alpha Bruton

How to Make a Louisiana Roux: This is the traditional method for making a roux using equal parts of oil and flour.

• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup flour

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat oil over medium heat until hot in a heavy skillet (Cast-Iron Skillet).
2. Add flour gradually, stirring or whisking, to combine with the oil.
3. 
   
4. After adding all the flour, reduce the heat to low and cook, frequently stirring. About 45 to 60 minutes or until Roux ranges from a peanut butter color to a dark brown (red-brown or the color of milk chocolate, and has a nut-like odor (it will be very thick and pasty).
5. 
   
   This process takes some time, depending on how high the heat on your stove is. The slower, the better, but be ready to remove the skillet from the heat and stir more rapidly if the Roux is too hot.
   If you stop stirring – the flour will burn. So never walk away from the Roux. The secret to getting a perfect roux is to take your time and go constantly.
6. 
   
7. When done to your liking, immediately remove from heat and set aside.
8. Carefully transfer it into your stockpot and start making Gumbo or other recipes.