Growing up, I had only seen gumbo done one way: whole hog. It had everything – blue crabs, shrimp, oysters (sometimes), sausage, ham, chicken…EVERYTHING. But when I left New Orleans to attend LSU in Baton Rouge, I came across Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.

Gumbo with only two ingredients? This had to be the work of philistines.

Turns out, it was pretty darned good and I eventually grew to like it. With a little dexterity and concentration it can be accomplished in a little over an hour, which is not so bad on a weekday. And everyone will love you for it. Score!

What follows is not a recipe, but it shows a few of the steps along the way. A quick gumbo is totally doable on a weeknight after work.