Trice’s Okra Salad
Fresh ingredients make this unusual salad of chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, and fried okra the perfect summer side dish for a backyard barbecue.
Laure’s Shrimp Gumbo
My cousin Laure lives on the gulf coast. As my grandmother got older and less able to cook a Thanksgiving feast for the family, Laure started a new tradition. She would prepare seafood dishes like this one and take them to Grandma’s to serve the family. We now congregate at her house every year.
This stew of tomatoes, onion, celery, okra, and shrimp is thickened with a roux and seasoned with Old Bay, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic.
Red Snapper Stew
This is one of the first dishes that Guy and I made together. You coat the fish with a paste made from garlic, parsley, and spices. Sauté onion and bell peppers in butter, add diced tomatoes, and then the fish, shrimp, and okra. Simmer until done and serve with rice.
Mom’s Seafood Gumbo
This shrimp- and crab-based gumbo is worth every ounce of effort you put into it. Mom started making it when my family moved to the Gulf Coast, where I was born.
Grandma’s Fried Okra
This is one of the many vegetable dishes guarranteed to be on my Grandmother’s table whenever we came to visit. I’ve loved her fried okra ever since I can remember. Anyone else’s pales in comparison.
Super Bowl Sunday Soup
Okra thickens this soup of beef chunks, tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes, and corn.