We owe Ann Cuiellette’s new cookbook, Classic Creole, a Celebration of Food and Family, to Hurricane Katrina. Cuiellette is the twelfth of 13 children from a New Orleans family that traces descent to the legendary voodoo queen, Marie Laveau. Like so many families in the Crescent City, they lost a lot in the storm. “I had family members who lost their homes, and my oldest sister, Jennifer Henry, lost a lot of family heirlooms,” Cuiellette told The American last Friday, while she was home for a visit. Though her family lost no people, the loss of heirlooms did make Cuiellette reflect on what you can and can’t hold onto. “I began to think about those things you just can’t replace,” she said. “Don’t focus on materialistic things. I started thinking about family things I want to keep in my family.” As a daughter of New Orleans, it should be no surprise that two important sets of family things she wants to keep fall under the categories of food and stories.
“My family likes to cook. I’ve cooked all my life. I have a lot of family recipes I don’t want to see also disappear,” she said. “So I started documenting and started writing. It took two years. I wrote down all the recipes. When you’re a cook, you don’t always measure everything out, so I had to go back and think about measurements. And for each, I wrote reminiscences about experiences with the dish.” Cuiellette is better known in St. Louis as Ann Marr, vice president of human resources for World Wide Technology. She published the book under her family name, she said, for the “New Orleans flavor.” WWT founder and Chairman David Steward fully supports her efforts as author – and cook. “Dave loves my bread pudding,” she said with a laugh. Below are free samples from the book, one recipe with the accompanying story. For more information, visit http://www6.semo.edu/universitypress/books/Creole.htm.
Shrimp Creole
Growing up in New Orleans, there were always entrepreneurs around willing to sell you something. Since seafood was plentiful, we could count on a guy in a truck riding through the neighborhood with a cooler full of fresh shrimp. When he would pull up in front of our house, my mother would promptly inspect the catch then order ten pounds of shrimp. The driver would reach in his truck, quickly pull out a scale to weigh the order, wrap the shrimp in newspaper, count his cash then he was one his way. My sisters and I then had the tasks of peeling and de-veining all those shrimp until it felt like our fingers were raw, but it was worth the effort. – Ann Cuiellette
2 pounds shrimp (peeled and deveined)
(season raw shrimp with salt and pepper)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 large bay leaves
2 (15 oz. cans) tomato sauce (4 cups)
1/3 cup water (or seafood stock)*
2 tablespoons Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon Thyme
1/3 cup vegetable oil
¼ cup plain flour
4 stalks chopped green onions (for finishing)
2 cups cooked white rice
Using a 12 inch skillet, sauté onions, green peppers, celery and garlic in vegetable oil on medium-high heat for about 10-12 minutes (mixture should be soft and wilted). Add flour and stir frequently for about 5 minutes (until flour is fully incorporated). Add tomato sauce, water, bay leaves, Creole seasoning, pepper and thyme. Stir until mixture is fully incorporated. Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes (stir occasionally to make sure nothing sticks). Add Shrimp and cover for another 15-20 minutes. Serve over white rice (garnish with green onions). Serves 4-6 people.
* To make seafood stock: After pealing shrimp, boil shells in a pot with 2 cups of water for about 15-20 minutes. Or use chicken stock.
From Classic Creole, a Celebration of Food and Family by Ann Cuiellette (University Press).
