Gumbo/Etouffee

I don't put roux in my étouffée. It is a stick of butter per lbs of shrimp/crawfish. Melt the butter and add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook until butter is clear and you see some brown on the bottom of the pan. At this point I'll sometimes throw in a heaping spoon or two of diced tomatoes or Rotel. Once the tomato cooks until it's darkened a little, I add the shrimp or crawfish. If I'm doing shrimp, I'll stir in a little corn starch in a small cup of water and add for thickening. If I'm using crawfish, I add a couple of full cups (one with a big spoonful of corn starch dissolved in it). It is seasoned throughout with salt, black pepper, and cayenne.

This is pretty much how my grandmother made it, and hers was some of the best around.