Instructions: The first year I attended Mardi Gras, some of my behavior was potentially illegal, some of it teetered on the brink of morality and some of it bordered on gluttony. During my second Mardi Gras, having become a bit more mature, I packed my friends off to watch parades while I attended cooking classes.

I learned about the holy trinity of Cajun and Creole cooking: celery, bell pepper and onions. I learned that in a savory dish, if water is good, stock is better. I learned that almost every dish can benefit from just a little mo pepper. And I learned how to make bread pudding that caused an elegant, Southern-born octogenarian to comment, Honey, I havent tasted bread pudding like that since my mama used to make it.

But most important, I learned how to make gumbo, that elixir of the gods that is essential to any good Mardi Gras party. Even if youre not one of the 5 million revelers planning to be in New Orleans by Feb. 12 for one of the worlds biggest annual bacchanals, you can still have great gumbo.

The origin of the name gumbo is much-debated. Two traditional ingredients, okra and file powder, both used as thickening agents, are the most likely namesakes. The African word for okra is gombo, and the Choctaw Indian word for file powder, made from dried sassafras leaves, is kombo. Pick one.

By my third Mardi Gras, just a few years ago, my goal was clear: Search every restaurant, cafe, bodega and house party for the best gumbo. Analyze and replicate. We hobnobbed and lowbrowed, from antebellum mansions in the Garden District to cafes straight out of an Anne Rice novel to celebrated restaurants such as Antoines and Commanders Palace. We found the elements we liked and noted ingredients to mix and match back home.

While there are more recipes for gumbo than there are cooks that make them, truly glorious gumbos share elemental ingredients and a unique cooking process that set them apart.

Gumbo starts with a roux, a combination of hot fat and flour that is cooked while being stirred constantly. I am not talking about a polite little blond roux with a Parisian accent. I am talking a serious, odoriferous, red-brown to almost black roux that would make a French chef blush with shame.

Cajun roux is a culinary high-wire act with flaming batons. The trick is to come perilously close to burning the roux without having to reach for a fire extinguisher. With proper preparation and timing, its easy.

Preparation is key. First, chop all the vegetables, thereby avoiding a dangerous flurry of activity when you get to the part that says, Immediately add chopped vegetables to stop the cooking process. I learned that the hard way.

Next, make sure to use a tall, heavy stockpot. A roux is not polite. It pops and spits. Stir with a long-handled spoon. I prefer wood. In New Orleans, long wooden paddles are traditionally used. A long oven mitt on your stirring arm is a good idea, as is an apron.

Over medium-high heat, a roux will change from pale to golden, to caramel-colored, on through red, and into reddish-brown in about 10 minutes.

Some cooks stop there. But the smoky, sultry allure of the gumbos I love best requires a leap of faith. Keep stirring and cooking until the roux achieves a deep chocolate brown color and begins to smell nutty. Then add your chopped vegetables and turn down the heat.

At this point, most gumbo recipes now have you add the roux to hot stock or broth, but I reverse the process and add my stock to the hot roux. This allows me to control the thickness of the gumbo. I prefer my gumbo a tad thinner than stew and a touch thicker than soup. Add stock or broth according to your tastes.

Cook your rice while the gumbo simmers. Put a zydeco CD on and dance the Mardi Gras Mambo around the kitchen. (Go ahead and make up the steps. Everyone else does.) I dare say this is really one of those things that tastes better the next day, so plan accordingly. Make gumbo on Sunday or Monday, refrigerate and savor it on Fat Tuesday!

Contact Betsy Jones at BetsyJns@netscape.net.

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