Roux A roux is used for thickening sauces. It is usually equal parts of oil or butter and all purpose flour. Sometimes less flour is used if you want a thinner sauce, stew or soup. How much oil and flour used depends on how much you are cooking. A good starting point is 2-3 tablespoons of oil and the same for flour. This is good for 4-6 servings for whatever you are making.

How long you cook the roux depends on what you're using it for. A béchamel sauce (white sauce) calls for a white roux, and you use milk with it, so you'll only want to cook it for a few minutes, until the raw flour taste is gone but the roux is still a pale yellow. A peanut or caramel roux needs to be a bit darker, so it's cooked longer. A brown roux, used in gumbos, is the darkest roux, and it's cooked for the longest amount of time. For that reason, you should cook it over a lower heat so that you don't burn it.

Creole Boiled Rice Boil white rice using 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon butter 1 teaspoon salt