Mama Mia's Kitchen: How To Make Creole Stew for Christmas

There's No Limit to Mia X's skills in the kitchen.

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Welcome back to my kitchen, baby! This time I'm serving up a family favorite: Creole Stew. If you love okra, corn, shrimp, and meat then this will be a real treat for you. Creole stew is a traditional dish in my New Orleans 7th Ward neighborhood. It's perfect for the holidays, and it's an easy alternative to making gumbo.  Plus this recipe is one of my grandma’s originals. "Any woman can spread and f*@k him good,” Mamaw used to say while showing me how to handle the pots. “He can flip through names and numbers for that, but put some delicious food in front of him and you'll see a satisfied man."

Good food is all about love, passion, family, friends, and conversation—and Christmas is the perfect holiday for all of that. So get ready to "geaux make groceries" as we say in New Orleans. You're about to wow your dinner guests this Christmas.

But first make sure you check out my music link below. You know its a must that we JAM while we cook. This song is perfect for times like these when we're all feeling good.

Okay then, wash your hands and let's get it crackin'.

What you'll need:

1 lb of cut fresh or frozen okra

2 cans or 1 bag of whole kernel corn

2 cans of stewed tomatoes

1 lb of you favorite smoked sausage, cut

1 lb of peeled and deviened shrimp

1 lb of andouille sausage, cut

1/2 lb pattons hot sausage links taken out of the skin and rolled into mini meatballs (optional but they’re Bomb!)

2 Bay leaves

1 yellow onion, chopped fine

3 garlic cloves, chopped fine

1/4 cup of fresh or dry parsley

1 tablespoon of Zatarain's creole seasoning

1/2 celery stalk chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon of old bay seasoning

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar

1 cup of water

2 tablespoons of butter or butter substitute

salt and pepper to taste

large pan

large pot

baking sheet

wax paper

 

Hook It Up:

Preheat oven to 350. Place a sheet of wax paper on your baking sheet and lay okra on it. Bake for 15 minutes—this will help to dry out some of the slime that you okra naturally makes. If you're gonna add the Pattons hot sausage to your stew, brown you mini meatballs in the oven for 15 minutes on a fresh sheet of wax paper on your baking sheet.

Cook shrimp in your pan of melted butter four to five minutes. In your pot cook your sausages. I like to sort of burn mine. Then add in onion, garlic, celery, and cook until the seasonings tender. Add in okra, corn, bay leaves stewed tomatoes, mini meatballs, your spoons of spices, sugar and pinches of cayenne pepper. Cook for ten minutes over a medium heat before add the shrimp. Once everything is combined add water salt and pepper to taste and cook an additional ten minutes. Let you stew settle about five minutes before serving over rice. This stew is great served with garlic bread. Joyes Fetes et laissez les bon temps roule bebe! (Happy holidays and let the good times roll baby!)

Make sure to follow @TheRealMiaX on twitter and join #TeamWhipDemPots

I have beaucoup tasty recipes and life lessons from my grandma’s kitchen in my cookbook/memoir Things My Grandma Told Me, Things My Grandma Showed Me. You're gonna laugh, cry, converse, and most of all... cook!

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