Shrimp, Football and Memories

The phone rings.

“Bernie, stop what you’re doing and get down here right now.”
“OK, what’s up?”
“Trust me; get down here now. You know Brian Mitchell, don’t you?”
“I’ve never met him, but he’s a former Redskins player with his own show, right?”
“Yes. And he’s from Louisiana, like you, and he’s a gourmet cook and he brought some home-made shrimp etouffee to the office today. Better get down here quick!”
“Thanks, Mike, I’ll be right down.”

Ten minutes later, I’m standing in the producer area of the sports talk radio station that is part of the station group I work for. As I look at a cast-iron pot filled with this authentic-looking dish, Mike introduces me to Brian Mitchell.

“Nice to meet you.”

We chit-chat for a minute about his home town, Katrina, etc. Then I spoon some of his shrimp etouffee onto a plate. I’m still a bit skeptical. I know what really good shrimp etouffee tastes like and I’m finding it hard to believe a 38-year-old former pro football player with his own radio talk show can cook this like my Cajun relatives.

One bite.
Another bite. Oh my God.
A third bite.

“Man, this tastes exactly the way my Mother and her sisters made it. She was one of those Cajun-French Louisiana natives with an X at the end of her name.”

Brian laughed and thanked me. I kept eating.

This happened more than a week ago and I can still taste the shrimp etouffee. The color was perfect (a unique tan-brown color), the consistency just right (a little thicker than soup), and there was just the right amount of spice (enough cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce to dance on your tongue without making your eyes water).

And he used the same kind of old-school cast-iron cooking pot Mom used.

It is amazing how much of my Boomer youth flashed through my head as I ate a plate of food cooked by a guy younger than my Mom’s cast-iron pot … a memory trip kick-started by a delicate mixture of butter, flour, rice, spices and shrimp.