This is my family's creole recipe—from southeast Texas/southern Louisiana.

–Alisan Sweet, Director of Finance, PBS

FIRST: Create the seafood stock

1. Fill a Dutch kettle with water about three inches from the top.

2. Add the seafood stock ingredients listed and boil for up to four hours. As time goes on, water should be added in order to keep the water level a couple of inches above the seafood stock vegetables. About one quart of the stock will be needed in the mixture of the creole ingredients for the creole to cook. Stir often to mix the flavors. If gray foam forms just skim it off and throw it away. When needed, strain the stock from the shells and vegetables and add only the liquid to the creole vegetables.

NEXT: Create the creole

3. Start cooking the long grain white rice.

4. In a large pot, or a gumbo pot, heat the oil then sauté ½ cup of onions until golden. Add the remaining onions, green bell pepper, celery and garlic. Sauté until the vegetables are limp, which is usually around 5 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, stock, seasonings, Tabasco sauce and lemon juice.

6. Bring to a boil, stir well, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

7. Just before serving, add the shrimp and ¾ cup green onions and cook just until the shrimp are opaque, pink, and tightly curled—about 5-7 minutes.

8. Serve with extra sauce and the veggies over the long grain white rice. Add 1 teaspoon of green onions to each bowl for garnish, if desired.

Seafood Stock Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of shrimp shells and heads or just the shells

• 2 onions, cut into chunks

• 2 celery stalks, leaves included, all sliced into 2-inch pieces

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 carrots, unpeeled, cut into chunks

• 2 sprigs of fresh parsley

• 10 whole peppercorns

Creole Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 chopped medium white onion, divide in half

• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper

• ¾ cup chopped celery

• 3 cloves of garlic minced

• 2 ½ cups fresh tomatoes, seeded & chopped (or 2 large cans diced tomatoes/ or, 3 cans stewed tomatoes)

• 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

• 2 cups seafood stock

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil

• 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme

• ½ teaspoon black pepper

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne

• A few drops of Tabasco sauce (or more depending on desired spiciness)

• 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

• 2 pounds of medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

• 1 cup chopped green onion, set aside ¼ c for garnish

• 3 cups of cooked long grain white rice to serve with the shrimp creole