"I just returned from five days of eating my way through New Orleans, and found myself craving more. I made this exactly as written, down to making the stock - it's not difficult, and I had a big bag of shrimp shells I've been saving up in the freezer for just such a purpose. I can't say whether it's authentic - I only tried etouffee once during my trip - but it's certainly delicious; now that I've made it by the book, I'll probably play around with the spices a bit; I prefer more heat and less salt, generally. But the overall balance of flavors is just excellent, and I have enough leftovers to feed on for a week