Mom's Shrimp Creole, Charleston, South Carolina

"I come from Charleston, South Carolina--a city that's rich with tradition and history. My mom was an excellent cook, sort of home-style cook, good Southern style. She did not believe in using recipes, and whenever I tried to get her to show me how to cook some of her best recipes, it was very frustrating because I'd say 'how many cups?', 'how many tablespoons?', and she'd say, 'well, you just put in enough til it looks right or it feels right,' and that was crazy making for me.

But, my mom was excellent at making shrimp creole, and one story about that is . . . you know, shrimp are expensive, so when she didn't have quite enough shrimp for all the people who were at the table, she would just compensate for that by adding lots and lots of hot pepper or hot sauce, and when I was courting my husband, he came and loved shrimp creole, but she made it so hot, that it would just bring tears to his eyes. He said it was so good though that he would put with the hot so it was so, so delicious. My mom made great biscuits; she made so many good things that were homestyle, and I miss her and wish I could cook half as well as she did."

Asset ID #7114