CHERIE CLAIRE

In addition to writing novels, I work as a food and travel writer. Tough life, I know. And like most writers, I have specific interests. So, as I travel and eat my way throughout the South — my particular region of expertise — I look for great ghost stories and odd and unusual places, people and things. Then, I blog about them. If you're interested...here are my blogs: Weird, Wacky and Wild South. The South is one of the craziest places on earth. We eat well, pass a good time

Gumbo doesn't have to be difficult — or time consuming. Here's an easy recipe for a delicious chicken and sausage gumbo.

In each of The Cajun Embassy books, I include a gumbo recipe. The following recipe is by Martin Taylor, the hero of “A Ticket to Paradise,” and it utilizes seafood. I’m from New Orleans where we include a lot of seafood in our gumbos and the roux is usually lighter. In Cajun Country where I now live, chicken and andouille sausage with a darker roux is more prevalent. But here's a secret because time is never something I routinely lack. Cajun Power sells a gumbo starter for se