What Was the First Creole Dish You Ate?

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This weekend, I’ve been feeling quite nostalgic because I’m missing both of my grandmas and probably because the Thanksgiving holiday is a few weeks away.   

I grew up in northern Louisiana, the product of two parents who were born and raised in New Orleans.  During my childhood, my south Louisiana relatives visited us a few times per year and my brother and I spent many summers in New Orleans.

Growing up, I was really blessed to learn to make certain dishes from both of grandmas who were both lived in New Orleans. My maternal grandmother Marion was a skilled cook that could make anything taste good including your fingers, SMILE.  However, my paternal grandmother Lu(cille) was not a great cook, but she did make two dishes very well, Cornbread Dressing and Shrimp Stew.

My first Creole dish that I remember eatin as a 5-year old child was my Grandma Lu’s Shrimp Stew.  She always called her dish "Shrimp Stew” which I realized later was really Shrimp Creole. 

What’s the difference between Shrimp Stew and Shrimp Creole?  Well, Shrimp Stew typically has a roux (flour and oil) base and is typically a medium brown color.  Stewed dishes have a brown gravy, if you will.  Shrimp Creole, however, is made from a tomato base (either sauce or paste). 

There was something so tasty to me about the marriage of shrimp, tomato sauce, onions, bell peppers, garlic and other dried seasonings over long-grain rice.  Most importantly, I remember the pride and the love that Grandma Lu displayed when she fed her children, grandchildren and extended family this dish.  I think she knew that we really enjoyed her “Shrimp Stew” and always asked for seconds.  Sometimes I wish I could sit down at her old kitchen table and feed her my own version of Shrimp Creole that I learned from her.

How many of you remember the first Louisiana Creole dish that you ate and what was it?

Published by Adina T. Collins, 2019

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