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Cookbook: The Shadows on the Teche Cookbook

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“The Shadows on the Teche Cookbook” Cuisine of the Cajun Country

And, before I forget it. I know New Iberia is famous for peppers and hot sauce, but I recall that H. H. McIlhenny, the second in command of the U.S.S. Nantucket under Commander George L. Morton either went to New Iberia or had family there. This might have been after 1898.

Shadows-on-the-Teche is a historic plantation home and garden located in New Iberia, Louisiana. Built in 1834, the house is a National Historic Landmark and is situated on the banks of the Bayou Teche.

Here are some key facts about Shadows-on-the-Teche:

  • History: The house was built for a wealthy sugar planter named David Weeks and his wife, Mary. It remained in the Weeks family for four generations. As a former plantation, the site’s history is deeply connected to the lives of the hundreds of enslaved men, women, and children who lived and labored there.
  • Architecture: The two-and-a-half-story house is an example of Greek Revival architecture, with its prominent columns and classic design.
  • Preservation: After its last family owner, Weeks Hall, an artist and socialite, died in 1958, he donated the property to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The preservation of the site is also credited to the “Dixie Bohemian” movement, a group of artists and preservationists.
  • Tours and Exhibits: Tours of the home and gardens provide a balanced look at the lives of both the Weeks family and the enslaved people who were vital to the plantation’s operation. The tours use information from thousands of family letters and other artifacts to tell a nuanced story.
  • Location: It is located at 320 East Main Street in New Iberia, Louisiana.

The hot sauce is “Tabasco” and the McIlhennys are the long-time family owners of the company. Small world, in that another cookbook I bought at the same library book sale “Crème de Cookbook Colorado” (and despite how it is written, I think it should be written, ‘Crème de Colorado Cookbook‘ because that is what they meant.), had a Community Cookbook Awards gold seal from the Tabasco Company.