1. Roux
A roux is used for thickening sauces. It is usually equal parts of oil or butter
and all purpose flour. Sometimes less flour is used if you want a thinner
sauce, stew or soup.
How much oil and flour used depends on how much you are cooking. A
good starting point is 2-3 tablespoons of oil and the same for flour. This is
good for 4-6 servings for whatever you are making.
How long you cook the roux depends on what you're using it for. A
béchamel sauce (white sauce) calls for a white roux, and you use milk with
it, so you'll only want to cook it for a few minutes, until the raw flour taste is
gone but the roux is still a pale yellow.
A peanut or caramel roux needs to be a bit darker, so it's cooked longer.
A brown roux, used in gumbos, is the darkest roux, and it's cooked for the
longest amount of time. For that reason, you should cook it over a lower
heat so that you don't burn it.
Creole Boiled Rice
Boil white rice using
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt