Shrimp & Grits

I’m sure like many of you reading this; you grew up on grits as a regular part of your family’s weekly diet and thinking nothing of it. That is until Joe Pesci’s unforgettable performance in “My Cousin Vinny” when he tries grits for the first time. Now it’s nearly impossible to make, cook or think about grits without hearing Joe Pesci in the back of my mind asking, “what IS a grit?” Here is one of our personal grit favorites…and if you really want to top is off, garnish with crawfish tails prior to serving.

Shrimp & Grits 

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients: 
1 pound medium-size fresh shrimp, peeled (and deveined, if desired)
6 slices of bacon

Peanut oil
2 cups sliced fresh white mushrooms
1 cup slices scallions (green onions)
1 large clove garlic, crush through a garlic press
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Dash of Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 recipe of hot, Cheese Grits. (There is a recipe on page 23 of this book if you do not have a cheese grits recipe).

Directions: 
1. Rinse the shrimp and pat dry on paper towels. Set Aside.
2. Dice the bacon and fry lightly in a large skillet until browned at the edges but not too crisp. Drain the bacon on paper towels and set aside.
3. Add enough oil to the fat in the skillet to make a thin layer. Heat over medium-high heat until the fat is quite hot. Add the shrimp and cook until they begin to color. Add the mushrooms and sauté, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with scallions and bacon, then add garlic. Season with lemon juice, Tabasco, parsley, salt, and pepper.
4. Divide the grits among four warm plates. Spoon the shrimp mixture over top and serve immediately.

Source: Good Old Grits Cookbook by Bill Neal & David Perry

###

Boiled Crawfish

There ain’t a Cajun alive that can’t tell you how to boil crawfish! Exact vegetable contents, boiling methods, seasoning amount and steam time will vary per family/farm, but it all starts the same with ‘as many (crawfish) as you can get!”

Boiled Crawfish

Serving Size: 2 – 4 pounds per person. 5 – 8 pounds per Cajun.

Ingredients: 
Live Crawfish (as many as you can get)
Louisiana Fish Fry’s Crawfish, Crab & Shrimp Boil “pour & boil” & “liquid boil”
Seasoning to taste. Tony Chachere’s or Slap ya’ Mama
Garlic to taste
Butter, two sticks per “drop”
Lemons, five per “drop”
Red Potato’s, one - two per person
Onions, one per person
Corn, one full stock per 2 pounds of crawfish

Other desired ingredients can be added. Sausage, shrimp, crab, radish, asparagus and okra are all common additions. Make sure you add a balance amount to your other ingredients and DO NOT over-fill your boiling pot.



Directions: 
In your boiling pot, fill with water ¾ of the way up basket (not the pot itself). Turn heat on and just before the water starts to boil, add liquid and granular seasoning to taste, butter, garlic and five lemons cut in half and squeezed into the water. When water boils add potatoes and peeled onions. Once potatoes start to soften add the crawfish and corn and bring back to a boil. (Never fill the basket more than ¾ full). Kill the gas and allow to soak for a few moments. Remove the basket and pour all contents into an ice chest, cover in granular seasoning, close lid, shake well and allow to steam for up to 20 minutes before serving. Repeat each “drop” until all the crawfish are gone.

Source: Any coonass you ask!

###

Crawfish Trapping Report - Rim Lakes

This week's crawfish trapping report is a little different and holds a little more significance than usual. Generally we highlight one specific location and the trapping time is generally in the range of six - eight hours...but that's recreational trapping. The trapping this week is for the 2013 Arizona Crawfish Festival at Bison Ranch on Saturday August 10th and lots of folks are counting on a taste of these crawfish! They are free to festival attendees on a "first come, first served" basis in an effort to education Arizona outdoor conservationists on the destructive damage these critters can have to our natural waterways. If you're of the Cajun decent, or a crawfish connoisseur, and you would like a little more than a "taste" at the festival, you can pre-purchase festival tickets to reserve a minimum of 3 pounds of boiled crawfish through Thursday, August 8th online at ArizonaCrawfishCompany.com/events.

It's the belief of Arizona Crawfish Company that with a little education on the culinary delight of crawfish and a little help getting set up to trap in Arizona, lake goers, fisherman and people just looking for a little family fun, we can put a significant reduction on the population of crawfish in Arizona!

Date: August 5th - 6th, 2013
Location: Willow Spring Lake
Bait: Processed Crawfish Bait
Traps: Trap Type: Combination of fifty Promar 501 & Promar 502 traps.
Trap Depth: 8 - 15 foot average
Water Temperature: Unknown.
Average Time In Water: 9 hours between morning and evening pick up. 15 hours on overnight pick up.
Trapping Results: Estimated pounds per pick up: 1 - 3 per trap.
Lagniappe: Total number of beers consumed - All of them.

###

Fried Crawfish

Straight from the heart of Louisiana’s Crawfish Capitol and host of the annual, world famous Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival…some good ole fried crawfish. C’est Bon cher!

Fried Crawfish 

Serving Size: 2 – 4 pounds per person…5 – 8 pounds per Cajun.

Ingredients: 
1 pound of cleaned crawfish tails
Salt & red pepper to taste
2 eggs
2 cups of milk
salt & pepper
1 ½ cups of flour
Crisco shortening for frying

Directions:
 Preheat the oil 375 degrees. Season the crawfish tails with salt and red pepper to your taste, and set them aside. Beat the eggs well, add the milk, salt and pepper and beat the mixture together. Put the crawfish tails into the four which you have put into a large bowl, and coat them well. Then put the crawfish into the egg mixture. Take the crawfish out of the mixture one by one and put them into the flour again, and coat the crawfish well, with the flour. Drop the crawfish into the hot shortening one by one. Fry the crawfish until the outside is crisp, about 5 minutes. Serve at once.

Source: The La Meilleure cook book by Jude Theriot credits this recipe to: Roy & Thelma Pontiff of Thelma’s Restaurant in Breaux Bridge, La.

###

Crawfish Andouille Macaroni Salad

This week’s interesting crawfish recipe (that we have yet to try) comes from a surprisingly local source with a mix of Italian flavor. Not uncommon in many Cajun recipes, as it relates to seasoning and sausage...but Macaroni? That's a new one to us too. Chef Bryan Dooley of Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue shared this recipe recently with the Arizona Republic. If y’all try it out, let us know what you think! How Bryan ever came with this recipe we have yet to be learned, but it sure looks good "mais yeah!?" 

If you have not yet treated yourself to Bryan’s Barbecue, you owe it to yourself to do so next time you find yourself in Cave Creek, Az. Aside from being great food, Bryan is also an ideal local business owner who is heavily involved in the community. He supports local Bull Rider and friend of Arizona Crawfish Company, Wacey Barta and also locally owned Wickenburg radio station Real Country 96.3 KSWQ...which just happens to be the first music station preset in Arizona Crawfish Company's Ford Trucks. P.S. Make sure you check his website for hours; as owner operator he does shut down and take a well earned vacation in the summer.

...think we can fit any more shameless, unsponsored shout-outs in this blog post??? What can we say, we love supporting the locals...here's the recipe:

Crawfish & Andouille Macaroni Salad

with Whole-Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

Serving Size: 8

For Macaroni: 

Ingredients:

3 quarts water

6 bottles of beer (12 ounces each)

1 tablespoon salt

1 box (16 ounces) elbow macaroni

1 tablespoon or so of olive oil

Directions:

Bring water, beer  and salt to a boil. Add pasts and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked. Let cool. Once cooled, coat with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking.

For Vinaigrette:

Ingredients:

½ cup cider vinegar

5 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

4 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon clack pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cups canola oil

Directions:

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, salt and both peppers in a medium bowl. While still whisking slowly drizzle in oil.

For Salad:

Ingredients:

12 ounces crawfish meat

12 ounces andouille sausage, grilled and sliced

4 ounces red onion, diced

1 ounce chopped Italian parsley

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine crawfish meat, sausage, onions and parsley. Add cooled drained pasts with vinaigrette. Toss well and let chill before serving.

Source:. Publication: Wednesday July 3^rd addition of Arizona Republic, Food & Drink section. Chef: Bryan Dooley of Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue.

###

Crawfish Trapping Report - Black Canyon Lake

Bobby and Sabrina got out this weekend for a little crawfish scouting prior to the trapping contest August 7th. They had a very successful overnight trap at one of the few lakes on the rim that's south of highway 260, Black Canyon Lake. Below are the trapping details.




Date: July 20th & 21at, 2013

Bait: Processed Crawfish Bait
Traps: Eight Trap Type: Promar 501 & Promar 502
Trap Depth: 7-10 foot average
Water Temperature: Unknown.
Average Time In Water: Overnight / 4:00PM - 9:00AM
Trapping Results: Estimated pounds 10-12 pounds
Lagniappe. Total number of beers consumed: All of them.

###

Tomatoes Stuffed with Crabmeat

Tomatoes Stuffed with Crabmeat

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes

2 cups crabmeat

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

4 teaspoons chopped parsley

4 teaspoons snipped chives

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cayenne pepper

Directions:

Cut off the tops of the tomatoes, and using a small spoon, scoop out the pulp and seeds. Lightly salt the tomatoes and turn them upside-down on paper towels to drain for 30 minutes.

Combine the crabmeat, mayonnaise, parsley, chives and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt, black pepper and cayenne. Stuff the tomatoes with crabmeat, mounding the tops.

Source:. Louisiana Life Magazine, May/June 2013 addition.

And oh yeah…like always…crawfish tails will work just fine in place of the crabmeat!!!!

###

Crawfish Trapping Report - Whiteriver, Az.

Trace of Quality Fuel Propane, who is supplying all the propane for the crawfish boil at this years festival, took his son out to the woods this weekend for a little crawfish catching. They went old school with a cane pole and bacon, which is an entertaining learning experience for kids, and bagged about 30 crawfish in just about an hour. Crawfish, Bon Temps...and a Father Son day in the woods!!


Date: July 13th, 2013
Bait: Bacon
Traps: Cane Pole
Trap Type: NA
Trap Depth: 1-3 foot average
Average Time In Water: One hour
Trapping Results: Estimated pounds 1-2 pounds

###

Crawfish Broccoli

How do you make kids eat broccoli? Add crawfish and cheez whiz chere!

Crawfish Broccoli

Ingredients:

2 stalks celery

1 ½ cups cooked rice

2 boxes frozen chopped broccoli

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup chopped onion

3 tablespoon butter

1 soup can milk

1 small jar cheez whiz

1 pound crawfish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a cup of water to a boil and put broccoli in to thaw. Drain broccoli thoroughly when thawed out. Sauté onion and celery in butter. Add soup and milk, then cheez whiz. Simmer for a few minutes. Add broccoli, rice and crawfish. Season and put in baking dish. Bake 30 – 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Source: Cajun Spices for the Mind.

###

Crawfish Trapping Report - Goldwater Lake

Our buddy Franklin took only two of our favorite traps with our processed bait to Goldwater Lake today and trapped himself a good supper!! C'est Bon Franklin; best trap we've seen this year in Arizona!

Date: July 2nd, 2013

Bait: Processed Crawfish Bait

Traps: Two

Trap Type: Promar 501

Trap Depth: 7-10 foot average

Average Time In Water: Two hours / 9:00AM - 11:00AM

Trapping Results: Estimated pounds 3-5 pounds

###

Red Beans N’ Rice

Red Beans N’ Rice

Gotta' have a good red beans n' rice recipe in your cook book!

Ingredients:

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 pound lean, ground beef

2 tsp. salt

1 T. chili powder

1 large onion, chopped

¼ cup bell pepper, chopped

Dash of black pepper

1 can tomatoes

1 cup water

1 ½ cups raw rice

1 15 oz. can red kidney beans (without chili)

Directions:

Sauté meat in oil until slightly browned, stirring to keep from sticking. Add bell pepper and onion. Cook until transparent (just a few minutes), stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, water, salt, chili powder and black pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add raw rice and kidney beans.

Pour in buttered, shallow baking pan. Cover well with foil if pan has no lid. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Stir once lightly. Cover again and bake ½ hour longer.

Source: Poor Man’s Rice Cook Book

###

Crawfish Trapping Report - East Verde River

How do you judge a successful crawfish trapping trip? When you have a supper table that looks like the one pictured here! Below are the details from the Sharp Family's day of crawfish trapping.

Date: June 19th, 2013

Bait: Sardines & turkey bacon

Traps: Four

Trap Type: Promar 501

Trap Depth: 3-7 foot range.

Average Time In Water: Four hours / 240 minutes. 10:00AM - 2:00PM.

Trapping Results: Estimated pounds 12-15 pounds.

###

2013 Arizona Crawfish Trapping Contest

2013 Arizona Crawfish Trapping Contest

Official rules and regulations for the 2013 Arizona Crawfish Trapping Contest can be downloaded by clicking this link!

NOTE: Rules & Regulations are subject to change prior to the event as Arizona Game & Fish Department sees fit. Rest assured any changes that are made from this point forward, will only benefit the tapping teams and the conservation effort to remove 10,000 pounds from Arizona water ways.

Download the entry form here!

What happens to all the crawfish trapped you ask? We're going to eat EVERY LAST ONE at the Arizona Crawfish Festival!!! Tickets now available online! (Tickets not required for trapping team members).


Send all comments, questions and concerns to arizonacrawfishco@gmail.com or call Romey (602)885-1078 and Bobby (480)299-7866.

Crawfish & Bon Temps Chere!

###

Crawfish Breakfast Burritos

For those of you wondering, crawfish is an approved meat to any wholesome breakfast! In fact...we are pretty sure it's better than any of that processed cereal, processed bacon or other frozen heart attack crap they sell in the frozen food section that some are even know to call 'food.' 

Crawfish Breakfast Burritos

Serving Size: 12

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

4 eggs, beaten

1 10oz. can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained

1 10oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 5oz. can chunk white chicken, drained

1 ½ cups cooked rice; white long grain

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

12 flour tortillas

Sauce:

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2/3 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 7x11 inch dishes. Melt butter in medium heat skillet. Add eggs; cook over medium heat until eggs are firm but moist, stirring occasionally. Transfer to large bowl. Stir in tomatoes, soup, chicken, rice and 1 cup cheese; mix well. Spoon onto center of each tortilla. Once folded place seam side down in prepared pans.

In medium bowl, combine all sauce ingredients; blend well. Pour over burritos; cook. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through. If desired, garnish with sliced pimento or chopped red bell pepper.

Source:. The Riceland Collection.

And oh yeah…like always…don’t forget a mess of crawfish tails!!!!

###

Crawfish Trapping Report-Goldwater Lake

The water level at Goldwater Lake is lower than we have ever seen, which is interested because the near by Granite Basin Lake is completely full. Our local resource attributes this low level to seepage between the concrete damn and where it's tied into the rock cliffs. Regardless of the low water level and our favorite trapping at the lake currently dried up (pictured below), Goldwater Lake is still as much of a honey hole for crawfish as it's ever been! 

The following are Monday's trapping results...

 

Date: June 17th, 2013

Bait: Processed Crawfish Bait

Traps: Seven

Trap Type: Four Pillow, Two Promar Collapsible, One Trapper Arne.

Trap Depth: Ten foot average.

Average Time In Water: Two hours / 120 minutes. 

Trapping Results: Average of ten crawfish per trap resulting in 70 crawfish or 4.5 pounds of crawfish.

 ###

Coonass Productions

Introducing "Coonass Productions"!!!  The production company for the Arizona Crawfish Company's videos! Through Coonass Productions you will have access to "priceless" information into the Arizona Crawfish community. Learn what lakes are hot, what traps are catching, what bait they are biting on and most importantly...insight to the 2013 Crawfish Trapping Contest!! ...oh, and we almost forgot, how to secure a video camera to a tripod when the attachment is missing...

Subscribe and Follow.

"I got this" ~Boudreaux.

###

Crawfish Maquechow

Boudreaux's maquechox is the best dere is, everybody that ever tried it will tell you dat! Well, we think it may just get a little better next time when we take this technique and add...you guessed it! CRAWFISH TALES!

Crawfish Maque Choux

Ingredients:

12 fresh ears of corn cut
1 onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 pods of garlic, minced
1 cup onion tops, chopped
1 cup parsley leaves, chopped
1 can Rotel tomatoes, diced
2 lbs. Crawfish tails
1/2 cup salad oil
1 stick butter

salt and pepper

 

Directions:

Shuck corn away from cob (cut corn away) and have ready.

To cook Corn: In a cast aluminum pot, heat salad oil then add corn and smother-cook until tender.

Smother bell pepper, onions, garlic, celery, parsley and onion tops until tender but NOT brown. Add corn and a small amount of water. Cook covered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all ingredients are cooked.

In another aluminum pot, melt butter. Add the crawfish, Rotel tomatoes and the juice. Cook until crawfish are red, about 10-15 minutes. Add corn mixture to this. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes for flavors to mix well. Serve hot over rice.

Cajun Crawfish credits this recipe to Marilyn Vidrine from Church Point, Louisiana.

###

Crawfish Festival Press Release

2013 Arizona Crawfish Festival

For immediate release:

Who:              Arizona Crawfish Company

What:             2013 Arizona Crawfish Festival

When:            August 10^th, 2013 Noon -9:00PM

Where:           Bison Ranch. Overgaard, Arizona

Why:              Raise awareness of Crawfish in Arizona and educate wildlife enthusiasts on personal harvest and consumption of Crawfish.

Details:          Due to popular demand, the original Arizona Crawfish Festival is BACK!

In spring of 2002 the festival was birthed by Louisianan born radio host Rosie Romero upon hearing crawfish were over populating our waterways. After two years on the shoreline of Willow Springs Lake, the attendance and popularity was growing so rapidly a site with basic facilities and services was required. The festival then merged with a similar event and held on the lawn of Camp Verde’s historic Fort Verde. After a few years Rosie pulled his affiliation with the festival and Camp Verde held it’s last crawfish festival in 2010.

It was during this eight year run of annual crawfish boils that Arizona Crawfish Company’s founders Bobby Avery and Romey Romero met when they faced off for the eating contest in 2004.

Like the original festival at Willow Springs Lake, this year’s crawfish will be from Arizona’s waterways. Trapping teams are being assembled and assigned to lakes, rivers and streams along the Mogollon Rim for maximum extraction. In the past this had always been a challenge because of the transportation regulations on crawfish in Arizona set and enforced by the Arizona Game & Fish Department, in order to prevent further infestation. However, special permitting has been granted for this event. The goal is to remove 10,000 pounds of crawfish in the week long trapping contest leading up to the festival.

All trapped crawfish will legally be transported under Game & Fish supervision to Bison Ranch for the August 10^th Festival where they will be boiled and served to festival attendees Cajun style with corn, potatoes and onions! For a complete list of Rules, Regulations and participation details, visit Arizona Crawfish Trapping Contest.html.

There will be a crawfish eating contest, Cajun food vendors, frozen daiquiris, Abita Beer, live music, the performance of Arizona’s own Taylor Family Circus and more! For the kids there will be inflatable bounce house & slide, train rides, horseback rides and face painting to name a few!

The festival will be held Saturday from Noon to 9:00PM in the lawn courtyard at Bison Ranch in Heber/Overgaard, Arizona. There will be a $5 parking fee benefiting the local lions club and a $15 admission fee per person/$25 per family ($3 per kid 12 years of age and older, under 12 free) to cover staff, entertainment and facility use. Pre-Purchase tickets by August 7th to ensure you receive at least three pounds of crawfish at the festival!

$2 of every ticket sale will be donated to Jared Allen’sHomes for Wounded Warriors Project.

Stay up to date with new developments by following this blog and/or joining the facebook event page.

An event this size takes community involvement to make it a fun, safe, success family event. We extend our sincere gratitude to the people and sponsors involved.

·      Sanderson TomCar 

·      Rosie On The House 

·      Arizona Game & Fish Dept.

·      Bison Ranch

·      Lone Eagle Outdoors

·      Wild Woman Saloon

·      Abita Beer Co.

SPONSOR VIDEO

For event details, call
Bobby Avery at (480)299-7866 or
Romey Romero at (602)885-1078
or send an email request to arizonacrawfishco@gmail.com.

###

Cajun Rice

Good, easy, fast (depending on how fast you can chop) rice recipe...they just forgot to add crawfish in the ingredients...

Cajun Rice 

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

¼ cup bacon drippings or vegetable oil

1 ½ cups raw rice

1 lb. lean, ground beef (1/4 pork, if desired)

1 large onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

3 pieces celery, chopped

¼ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. powdered thymr

¼ cup parsley, chopped

¼ cup green onion and tops, chopped

3 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. red pepper

1 bay leaf

1 can whole tomatoes (14 ½ oz. can)

1 can Italian tomato paste (6 oz. can)

1 cup water

Directions:

Cook meat in beacon drippings until lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add onion, celery and bell pepper. Use medium heat and cook a few minutes until onions are transparent. If seasoning is browned it will taste burned, so stir while cooking. Add raw rice and cook 4 minutes, still stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add all other ingredients, and bake at 350 degrees in shallow roasting pan, tightly covered, for 45 minutes or 1 hour until rice is tender. Remove bay leaf and serve. Those large roasting pans, 2 ½ inchs deep, 9x13 inch with slide on top are perfect for this recipe.

Source:. Poor Man’s Rice Cook Book.

And oh yeah…don’t forget a mess of crawfish tails tossed in!!!!

###

Crawfish Report-Bartlett Lake

This picture was sent via text to Bobby's lovely wife, Sabrina, from some friends who spent the weekend at Bartlett Lake's SB Cove camp ground.

Romey's only trapped below the Mogollon Rim twice. Once in Canyon Lake once back in 1998 and again at Alamo Lake in 2011. Between the two trips, one catfish and one crawfish was all that was yielded and again why we stick to the high country for crawfish trapping.

The report we received with this photo stated "there were so many (crawfish) the kids wouldn't go in the water!" Now we've come to learn over the years our definition of "a lot of crawfish" compared to anyone who has never been to a Louisiana Crawfish Pond or Boil are completely different. However, judging by the size of this crawfish and the word that bass are biting, may just be enough for us to try a third trip to a desert lake...

Where are you seeing crawfish? Email us at arizonacrawfishco@gmail.com and we'll share your report!

###

Weekly Cajun Humor - A Round For Everybody

A Round For Everybody

My friend Thibodeaux, and I were sitting in the local bar enjoying a beer and joking around.

            In walks our buddy, Boudreaux. He walks up to the bar and tells the bartender in a loud voice: “Bartender, a round of drinks for everyone and get you one, too.”

            The bartender fixed everyone in the house a drink and also on for himself.

            Before long, Boudreaux shouted again, “Bartender, get everybody a drink and get you one, too!”

            The bartender got busy fixing everyone a drink, including himself. After he finished, he walked up to Boudreaux and said, “Boudreaux, that will be $62.50.”

            “Huh?” Boudreaux said. “I ain’t got no money.”

            “No money? What are you doing ordering rounds of drinks for everybody when you can’t pay for it?”

            “I was just being nice,” replied Boudreaux.

            The bartender let Boudreaux have a left hook right in the nose. When Boudreaux came to, he slowly stood up, dusted himself off and leaned on the bar.

            “Bartender,” he hollered, “Get everybody a drink! And you…you can’t have one. You’re too mean when you drink.”

Source: Cajun Spices for the Mind by Larry Leger & Murray Conque

###

Crawfish Pot Pie

Jambalaya, a-crawfish pie and-a file gumbo;
Cause tonight Im gonna see my machez a mio;

Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-oh;
Son of a gun, well have big fun on the da bayou.

~Hank Williams.

Hope his crawfish pie was this good!!!

Individual Crawfish Pot Pie

Serving Size: 4 individual pies

Crust Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons cold butter

3-4 tablespoons ice-cold water

            Directions: In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour and salt to combine. Cut the butter into small pieces, and add it to the bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing it in with a fork, until dough forms. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface, and shape it into a disc. Divide the dough into four discs, and wrap each in wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Filling Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1medium bell pepper, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 cup chicken stock or broth

1 tablespoon dry roux

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 pound cooked and peeled crawfish tails, with fat

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

Creole seasoning to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions: Melt the butter in a heavy pot; add the onion, bell pepper and celery; and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a small pot, and whisk in the roux to dissolve. Add the stock to the vegetable mixture. Add the tomato paste, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the crawfish and green peas, and season with Creole seasoning and black pepper. Divide the mixture among four 8-ounce baking dishes, leaving a space at the top of each for expansion. The recipe may be prepared to this point a day in advance and refrigerated. If refrigerated, allow baking dish and contents to come to room temperature before proceeding. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Assemble the pie:

On a floured surface, roll out disc of dough so that it is at least an inch larger than the baking dish. Place the dough on the baking dish, and press edges to seal. Leave about a half-inch overhang, and trim any excess. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the dishes on a heavy baking sheet.

Using a pastry brush, coat each crust with an egg wash. Cut vents in each crust. Place the baking sheet in preheated oven, and bake until the crust are browned, about 30 minutes.

Source:. March/April addition of Louisiana Life Magazine.

###

Smother Okra and Crawfish

We love the way some recipes are written. Take for example the last sentence in this recipe: "serve over rice if desired." Louisiana Life Magazine does realize this is a Cajun recipe...right? Some things just go without saying...right???

Smothered Okra and Crawfish

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

¼ cup vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pound okra, trimmed and sliced

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice

1 cup chicken stock or broth

1 pound peeled and cooked crawfish tails, with fat

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper and hot sauce to taste

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven or heavy casserole, cook the onions, garlic and okra in oil on medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened, about 10-15 minutes. Add the tomatoes with juice and the chicken stock. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the okra is tender, about 30-40 minutes, Add the crawfish; season with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Simmer for 10-20 minutes. Serve over rice, if desired.

Source: March/April addition of Louisiana Life Magazine.

###