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

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!!!!

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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.

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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

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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!!!!

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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.

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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!!!!

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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.

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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.

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Baked Possum

Folks in the south don't mess around! If it swings, slithers, crawls, walks, runs or flies it can be fixed up for supper! What is the most exotic (AKA unusual or otherwise in modern day discarded as proper food) animal you have eaten? Here is a simple recipe for possum if you ever have the mind to try one...

Baked Possum

  

Serving Size: 2

Ingredients:

1 possum

2 quarts water

2 tablespoons salt

4 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Put possum in a pot with water, salt, garlic and onion. Simmer for 1 hour. Remove possum from pot, cut up and sprinkle with black pepper. Place in a baking dish and bake in oven at 350 degreed until slightly browned.

Source: Camouflage Cuisine Cookbook

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Honey Pecan Fried Chicken

They say you can't judge a book by it's cover...I hope that ain't true for recipe titles because this one have my taste buds savoring! 

Honey Pecan Fried Chicken

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

1 medium fryer, cut into frying parts

1 pint of milk

2 eggs

1 cup of honey

3 ounces of pecan pieces

flour

salt & pepper

Directions:

Salt and pepper the fryer parts to taste. Whip the mil and eggs together. Dip the chicken into the milk-egg wash and then flour it well. Deep fry the chicken until it is golden brown. Mix 1 cup of honey and the pecan pices together. When the chicken is done, pour the honey-pecan mixture over it just before serving. Serve Hot.

Source:

The La Meilleure cook book by Jude Theriot credits this recipe to:

Chef Henry Tate of The Normant Room at The Chateau Motor Hotel.

Shreveport, Louisiana

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Oyster and Artichoke Bisque by John D Folse

Anything with artichoke or oysters I'm already a sucker for...but together in a bisque? BRILLIANT!!

Oyster & Artichoke Bisque

Serving Size: 12

Ingredients:

6 dozen shucked oyster

1 quart oyster liquid

8 artichoke bottoms, sliced and uncooked

1 cup butter

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped bell peppers

¼ cup diced garlic

1 cup flour

1½ quarts chicken stock

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 cup sliced green onions

1 cup chopped parsley

salt & white pepper to taste

Directions:

In a 2-gallon stockpot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic and artichoke bottoms. Sauté 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are wilted and artichokes are tender. Place vegetable mixture into a food processor. Process on high speed approximately 1 minute or until mixture is pureed. Return to stockpot and bring back to a simmer. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until white roux is achieved. Add chicken stock and oyster liquid, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. Bring to a low boil, reduce to simmer and cook 30 minutes. Stir in heavy whipping cream, oysters, green onions and parsley. Return to a boil and cook until edges of oysters begin to curl. Season to taste using salt and white pepper. NOTE: It is absolutely necessary to use oyster liquid in this recipe. Give your seafood supplier ample time to reserve 1 quart.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine by Chef John D. Folse, CEC, AAC

www.jfolse.com/encyclopedia

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