Karen's Seafood Gumbo

My friend Karen made this seafood gumbo for her "Louisiana" Christmas Party (along with Jambalaya, pralines, and chocolate bread pudding) and it was AWESOME! She willingly shared the recipe with me and said I could post it, so here it is. I haven't made it myself yet, but I plan to. Karen served this over steamed rice -- FABULOUS.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 12
• Yields: 12 1-cup servings

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons butter or 3  tablespoons margarine
• 1  large onion, diced
• 1  green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  stalks celery, minced
• 5  tablespoons  roux (*if not making your own, you can order pre-made from Savoie's or Kary's on-line)
• 3  quarts water
• 3  chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2  lbs  fresh cleaned shrimp
• 1 (13 ounce) can  crabmeat or 1  lb fresh crabmeat
• 1  lb crawfish (optional)
• 1  pint  oyster
•  salt
•  creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's recommended)
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped green onion
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium heat.
2. Add chopped vegetables and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add roux and mix well. Slowly add water, stirring well to break up any clumps. Add bouillon.
4. Bring to a slow boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes.
5. Season to taste. (Karen uses salt and Tony Chachere's seasoning).
6. Add tomatoes and all seafood and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Add green onions and parsley and cook 10 minutes more.
8. Served over cooked rice.
9. NOTE: Roux is a cooked mixture of wheat flour and fat, traditionally clarified butter. It is a thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of French cooking: sauce bechamel, sauce veloute and sauce espagnole. Butter, vegetable oils, or lard are commonly used fats. It is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups and stews and is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. A suggestion for making your own roux: use recipe#47651 (#47651).