Christmas Day Gumbo

photography by jim bathie

I MOVED TO SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA FROM New Orleans in 1983 after marrying the love of my life, Buzzy. Immediately, my father instructed me to get busy and learn to make a gumbo. Southwest Louisiana Cajun gumbo is very different from New Orleans Creole gumbo. So, I got busy. Christmas Day is extremely busy at the Leithead house, and early on, I came to the realization that the traditional turkey and dressing Christmas dinner was virtually impossible for our growing family. We actually had a Christmas brunch mid-morning. As the children got older, their friends would come visit in the afternoon on Christmas Day. The boys’ friends, in particular, were hungry, and dinner was nonexistent! That’s when the Christmas Day gumbo began. Lots of our local hunters were more than happy to…

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Louisiana Cookin' (Digital) - 1 Issue, November/December 2022

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