I make a killer etouffee.

and that's why I'm not joining!

the color of a hershey bar. Add chopped onions, bell pepper, garlic, celery when you get the color you want. Adding the vegetables stops the browning. Lighter color for chicken stew. Just keep stirring, and low and slow. Easy peasy. Just a bit time consuming but well worth it!

But I admit that I'm always afraid of burning my roux, so I don't think I ever let it brown far enough. I use it as the base for gravy, so it usually doesn't matter so much how dark it is.

A few years ago, I watched an Alton Brown episode about making a roux. Of course it was silly. Brown kept pretending to burn his roux, and the "Cajun chef" would make fun of him. But it did make me nervous about burning my own.

You say adding the vegetables stops the browning? I will have to remember that. Now the other thing is that I was told to turn up the heat to high when browning. Never did it cross my mind to turn the heat down low and just take my time. Duh!

I think I'll make a little bit of gravy this afternoon to go with some leftover dressing.

I always make a mess. Milk everywhere! I have it at the ready, cap off, ready to splash into the pan the instant I think the roux has turned brown enough. Of course half the milk splashes out of the pan, and some gets boiled over the sides.

This newfangled low heat idea might be a vast improvement!

Enjoy your gravy and dressing!