Tar Heel Tailgating: New Gumbo, Carolina Wines

~Doc Lawrence

Chef Lara Lyn Carter

An ancient campus with an advanced lifestyle, thriving in an academic atmosphere where sports, restaurants, bars, students and locals mingle comfortably. Sounds like a place that takes to tailgating with ease. Welcome to Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina and one of the ACC’s most prestigious institutions.

North Carolina is diverse in geography and food preferences. But, barbecue seems to be consistent from the Outer Banks along the Atlantic to Western North Carolina’s Great Smokies. It’s smoke-flavored meat and chicken, slow-cooked and served with a vinegar-based sauce with cole slaw. 

The Yadkin Valley, North Carolina’s acclaimed wine producing region is home to many of the South’s best known wineries. On this beautiful Carolina day, I selected one of my favorite wineries, RagApple Lassie for wines we would enjoy with Chef Lara Lyn Carter’s dishes. A Viognier, with origins in France’s Rhone Valley and a Syrah, also a French grape transplant paired perfectly with our Emmy winner’s delightful Gumbo, Crab Dip and more.

Laura Lyn’s Red Wine Gumbo

Serves 6-8

New Gumbo

1 tbsp. butter

1 large sweet onion

1 bell pepper

1 cup celery

1 clove garlic chopped

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

6 oz. tomato paste

14 oz. diced tomatoes

8 oz. tomato sauce

6 cups seafood stock

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. dried rosemary

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 bay leaf

12 oz. Andouille sausage

1 lb. large shrimp - peeled and deveined

12 oz. lump crab meat - flaked

1 cup Pinot Noir

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Chop the onion, pepper, celery and garlic; add it to the skillet cooking it over medium heat until tender. Remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside while you make the roux.

 Roux

4 tbsp. flour

1/2 cup olive oil

1 stick butter

Melt butter in large stock pot over medium heat. Add the oil to the butter and whisk the flour into the butter and oil. Whisk constantly 10 to 15 minutes until the roux becomes a dark blond color.

Add the vegetables and garlic to the roux and then begin adding the Worcestershire, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and stock. With the heat still on medium, add the herbs and cayenne pepper. Cover the pot and allow the gumbo to simmer for 45 minutes.

While the gumbo simmers, chop the sausage into bit size pieces. Add the sausage, shrimp, crab and wine to the pot and stir well. Allow it to simmer another 15 minutes.

Ladle this rich and meaty gumbo over basmati rice. The sweetness of the rice is delicious with the spiciness of the gumbo. This gumbo is even better the next day. 

Sweet Onion Crab Dip

2 cups sweet onion, preferably Vidalia if available, chopped

½ cup red pepper chopped

½ cup green pepper chopped

2 cups of grated Swiss cheese

2 cups of mayonnaise

1 lb. lump crabmeat from Outer Banks

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. fresh dill chopped finely

Mix all of the ingredients together and pour into a buttered baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

I use Vidalia onions when they are available for this recipe. However, you may use any sweet onion available.

This is a rich and delicious appetizer however; it is hearty enough to serve as a main dish.  Serve it alongside toast points or crackers.

Tune in Marilyn Ball’s wonderful show, Speaking of Travel for Tailgating Down South reports each weekend on www.speakingoftravel.net and on iHeartRadio.

The Great American Tailgating Party, a wonderful poster print is a perfect holiday gift for the accomplished tailgater. Contact BigO Studio: bigoart1@yahoo.com. A bargain at $28.00.