BACK TO THE MEAT GRINDER, and some GUMBO

To demonstrate where my heart lies:  Several months ago, seduced by the gorgeous, re-planted Williams-Sonoma up on 21st, I swapped out my Nordstroms Visa for a W-S visa.  Now, instead of the little $20.00 coupon from you-know-who, useful only for purchasing something else from Nordstrom, I amass points which I can convert to a W-S coupon or use to pay down my bill.  Or give as a gift.  (It could happen!)
Got busy and put my gym membership on my new card.  Use it to support my Eileen Fisher addiction.
Groceries.  And by January, I was able to trade in my points for a hundred-dollar coupon.
Which  brings us to the meat grinder.  I wanted to return the unsatisfactory KitchenAid grinder for a shiny, stainless steel model from W-S, using my coupon.
But I had done my due diligence, and found that every model available on the Web was strongly disliked by folks who take the time to write a review on these things.  Couldn't find the W-S model on line, but learned at the store that it is manufactured in Italy.  Called TRE Spade.  Aus rostfreiem stahl!  (stainless steel).
A thing of beauty, heavy, serious, serious tool.  Yes, pretty expensive . . . but I had the coupon . . .

Now the question is, will this be another toy or will I really use it?  First attempt, I ground some cooked ham to make a sandwich spread with cheese and sweet pickle.  In the processor, neither the cheese nor the meat is evenly ground, which isn't a huge problem, really, but my new Spade was perfect.  Good.
Now what?  What with one thing and another, I haven't gotten it down again.  But I have plans!

I suspect we all have our recipes for gumbo, won't bother sending you another.  So this is just a story.  We were at Black Butte, enjoying the mountains, the sunshine, the snow.  Wake up to Three Fingered Jack turning pink, slight cloud cap on Washington, and you feel that in this new day you will be the person you have always been meaning to be.
Larry wanted to cook, and gumbo seemed just right.  The recipe we were using called for chicken thighs and andouille for the meat component.  He chose to use chicken breast plus the sausage instead, and sauteed the chunks in oil before adding them to the stew.  It was so delicious that it didn't really matter that he'd caught the pot holders (yes, both of them) on fire.  See, by now we're so accustomed to our induction stove top that we forget that electric burners stay hot.  Must remember to buy replacement pot holders.  At Williams-Sonoma.