Fathers Day Appetizer, Easy Party Recipe: Creole Crawfish Dip

Advocate staff photo by PATRICK DENNIS

From Denny:  This is one of those dishes that depends upon the butter and the mustard to act as your sauce to hold the chunky ingredients like the crawfish, artichoke hearts and capers.  

Definitely not a low calorie dish but worth the tasting for the intense delicious flavor.  Health wise, mustard and horseradish are great digestives for rich food like butter.  Choose a large cracker of your choice to balance the weight and bulkiness of the seafood.

Of course, don't despair if you don't have crawfish available in your area:  try shrimp or a meaty flavorful fish you enjoy.  Experiment with different ideas to discover what pleases you, your family and friends.  Actually, if you were not in the mood for seafood you could use chopped up rotisserie chicken and add some bits of smokey bacon or pancetta and tone down the spices if your family finds it too hot.  That is always a winning combination.  This might even be good with a smokey firm tofu.  Usually what I do is try the recipe as written and then make it again with a different protein, experimenting with the spices.  

As I'm always preaching on my food blogs:  take the extra time to clarify your butter whenever possible.  You won't regret it as it gets rid of the unhealthy milk solids that clog your arteries.

Just use a simple wire mesh tea strainer (normally used for loose tea), press through just the oil and then dump out the browned milk solids onto a folded paper towel for disposal.  Folding a paper towel into long quarters makes it easier to just roll up the mess and toss it. If you have "select-a-size" paper towels then use three layered up to catch the oil.  Otherwise, you waste time cleaning the oily counter.  Why retake the same kitchen counter real estate twice?  I'd rather focus on the fun and creativity of the cooking instead of redoing over and over again a time-consuming cleaning process.

Clarifying out those milk solids can be taken to one more step by browning them over medium low to medium heat until they sink to the bottom of the pan.  Remember to stand back as the butter comes to a higher temperature because it begins to release the water from the fat and it can pop up really high and splatter you if you are not paying close attention.  The temptation is to turn up the heat to medium high to get it going and then turn it down to medium low heat.  But it's better to just wait it out on medium low heat.  Yes, I have walked away while trying to rush the process, distracted by something else, and lived to regret it when I returned. :)

That extra time gives the remaining clear oil a more rich nutty flavor and deeper golden color that is so appealing.  I always use unsalted butter so I can control how much salt (preferably sea salt) goes into any dish where I use the clarified butter.  If you don't have much time or inclination you can find clarified butter in jars at Trader Joe's grocery for a very reasonable price.  If you want to get that nutty flavor you will still have to heat the Trader Joe's clarified butter to take it to the browned milk solids level.  But hey! at least buying it in a jar saves you half the time!

Oh, and be sure to check out the ads for products in my Denny Lyon Gifts store at Cafe Press.  It's a bit of creative fun for me as an artist when I'm not writing.  I do a lot of humor, inspirations, family items, tech cases, pets, sports, some vintage too - lots of areas to choose.  

I send the profits to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.  The food bank feeds almost half of Louisiana. St. Jude's has been awesome to the sick children and their parents here with all the outrageous cancers resulting from the chemical plants all up and down the Gulf Coast, otherwise known as "Cancer Alley" regionally.  

The doctors have studied the cancer clusters here so much that when a child comes in for diagnosis they have been known to tell the parents exactly where they live within a block of their house.  Sad but true.  

I really like St. Jude's philosophy of never turning anyone away and also providing accommodations for the parents, including food.  Now that's awesome in my book!  And hey! if you don't see anything you want to purchase at the Denny Lyon Gifts store, then please consider a direct donation to St. Jude's.

Funny Outta Here Reusable Shopping Bag

Translated from "I am so outta here!" into Cajun Louisiana slang: "I am a Gone Pecan!" In your best French accent: Gawn Pee-cawn. What sea life better to represent "Gone Pecan" 

More products, phone cases, padfolios, handbags, baby items, t-shirts, mugs, bedding, pillows, more home decor and so much more available in this humorous design.

Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  Thanks for visiting!

Chef Recipe: Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Crawfish, Pepper Jack and Shrimp-Tomato Bisque Soup: April Is National Grilled Cheese Month

Source: Loews Hotel

From Denny:  Now this is an exotic version of the humble comfort food:  the American grilled cheese sandwich.  

You have no idea how hard it was when visiting Austria a few years ago when I attempted to explain how to make a simple grilled cheese sandwich to a local chef.  It was a seriously foreign concept to them.  They didn't have a clue.  Lots of delicious local cheeses yet no Austrian version of a grilled cheese sandwich!  Imagine that.

This Louisiana version comes from executive chef Carl Schaubhut of Café Adelaide in New Orleans.  Of course, as seafood, this rich sandwich is considered Lenten season friendly.  Serve by pairing it with the shrimp-tomato bisque soup. Here in Louisiana we always look for an excuse to enjoy our bountiful seafood so why not go meat free on Fridays even when it isn't Lent?  (You know, that special time that arrives after Mardi Gras and before Easter.)  Our restaurants enjoy creating Lenten season menus, always topping themselves from the year previous!

Whenever I run across a chef recipe, especially from a hotel, I like to put up some information and links to the hotel site in case any of you might enjoy dining or stay with the hotel when you travel.  After this long hard winter we are all ready for some vacation time!

World's Awesome Mom Watch

Remember Mother's Day - Check out who is top cat in this family tree: Mom!

Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  

Chef Recipe: Crawfish Creole and Pepper-Jack Cheese Grits

Singing Crawfish. Costumed revelers by the Mississippi River front, Mardi Gras Day, New Orleans. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Food video included. From Denny:  This Mardi Gras photo of a woman costumed as a singing and accordion playing crawfish was too funny to pass up!  Food photos of cheese grits and crawfish creole are a dime a dozen but this carnival season photo was priceless and sure gave me a grin.

I started this blog as a way to preserve local recipes sent in by readers of the Baton Rouge newspaper.  Why?  Three reasons:  1) five years later and the newspaper still has a really crappy search engine that makes it too difficult to find what you want.  2) the paper starting charging fees for any recipes over a month old - and they don't even own the copyright to those recipes!  3) for years, as the economy went up and down - our house was moving in and out of Louisiana and we sure missed the style of cooking.  It's amazing how when you move out of an area you start to forget the little things like technique or where to shop for that special ingredient that make a recipe taste good.

This food blog was for personal use initially but then decided to open it up for the public too.  It's a lot more popular than I ever expected!  Thank you for your continued support all these years!  

You can print up any of these recipes for personal use.  Just remember that the creator of the recipe owns the copyright so you will have to contact them for publishing in a book.  As a journalist the posts and my writing are copyrighted so not available for reposting without links and permission and/or compensation. (contact my public email: warriorspearl@gmail.com)

Oh, yeah, and on to the chef recipe...  This a WBRZ Chef of the Month recipe from the Le Creole restaurant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Before I visit any area I like to go online and check out the local restaurant menus.  I even do it here locally!  Here's the dinner menu and the lunch menu.  

Gives you some serious inspiration for your own home cooking, doesn't it? Now check out this easy to make recipe of Crawfish Creole and Pepper-Jack Cheese Grits.  You can always substitute shrimp or even a tasty firm fish if you cannot get crawfish in your area or the budget does not allow for crawfish.  

This recipe might be nice with calamari if you can get it fresh and already cleaned.  Read a news story a few months ago about how off the coast of California they were inundated with schools of calamari.  Sure makes you think about moving out that way for some good eating! 

Oh, and here's an online Louisiana crawfish supplier from Branch, Louisiana, where you can purchase already cooked or uncooked crawfish - along with other Louisiana products:  CajunCrawfish.

Louisiana Seafood Reusable Shopping Bag - t-shirts for men, women, kids available too!  Check out awesome Louisiana eating: oysters, shrimp, crawfish, gumbo, jambalaya

* * *  Support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new! 

Chef Recipe: Louisiana Crawfish or Shrimp Chowder Great For Holidays

From Denny:  Looking for an elegant soup you can pull together quickly but tastes like you worked at it for hours?  This recipe utilizes a couple of canned soups - mushroom and potato - to help speed up the process.  Be sure to purchase the best version of these canned soups that you can find.  A low sodium version would be a good idea as seafood already contains a fair amount of natural sodium.

What also makes this a rich and delectable soup is the cream cheese, butter and half & half cream.  Oh, yeah, this is easily a calorie buster so it's best to serve by the cup as an appetizer.  But hey, if you are feeling lucky try it as a main dish.

I'm no fan of canned mushrooms, especially when you can find them already sliced fresh at the grocery store, packaged up and ready to go.  I prefer to slice whole mushrooms but if you are pressed for time the sliced fresh mushrooms are a great alternative.  If they are available in your area then choose the more flavorful Cremini (baby Portabellos) mushrooms over the white button mushrooms.

If you cannot purchase crawfish in your area then consider adding more shrimp or a local fish you enjoy.  This recipe would be great with a little bit of smoked salmon and plenty of fresh salmon, a little bit of smoked trout and plenty of fresh trout.  If you choose to use a fresh mild fish - and don't want to add a smoked fish - then consider adding some chopped and crisped up bacon to help flavor the soup.

The Creole seasoning used here is to your personal taste, generally about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon for the entire recipe.  Do not double the Creole seasoning if you double the recipe as it can get too hot and overpowering for most people.

Another seasoning option is to include a mixture of rosemary, thyme and lavender - a traditional French seasoning used to your personal taste.  Start with 1/2 teaspoon, let the soup base cook a few minutes and then taste.  You may like a 1/4 teaspoon more or just keep the previous level.  Experiment with what you like and enjoy!

Paint Dots Brights iPhone 5 Case

Paint Dots Brights lets out your inner artist! by Louisiana artist Denny Lyon

Louisiana Creole BBQ Shrimp

From Denny:   Looking for a super simple hot appetizer for your next party or holiday gathering?  Louisiana BBQ Shrimp is the perfect fit.  A novice cook can pull off this one to rave reviews!  

Here in Louisiana - when you want to double or triple the recipe, we place it all in a roasting pan and stick it in the oven under broil with the oven door open slightly.  You really have to watch it so nothing burns but it is a time saver. 
 

However, you could also make this recipe in several batches on top of the stove as the recipe instructs.  Either way this recipe is always a big crowd pleaser!

Fair warning:  once your guests start eating they won't stop at just an appetizer portion so you may want to plan for doubling this recipe for 12 appetizer servings.  It's been my experience that when you bring out shrimp in Louisiana most people make a meal of it!

Funny Serious Coffee Quote Greeting Cards Pk of 10

"I make serious coffee so strong it wakes up the neighbors!" - more products available in this fun design; come see!

New Orleans Chef Recipe: Crabmeat-Shrimp Fritters, Creole Tomato Dressing

From Denny:  Like to make easy fritters for the family for a quick meal?  I sure remember those yummy clam or corn fritters my mother used to make on Saturdays when I was a kid.  Apple fritters are equally tasty, especially when dusted with some cinnamon and sugar.  So, when I run across yet another variation to The Fritter Family then I'm game to try it.

This new fritter recipe comes from New Orleans Chef John Besh and Zatarain's.  Claw crabmeat, corn and small shrimp are featured in this recipe along with its own special tomato creole dressing.  Pull out your food processor to make this easy tasty dressing of Creole seasoning, garlic, Creole mustard (like stone ground mustard) and tomato.  Chill for an hour and then you are off to the dinner races!

In Louisiana we often prefer heavy iron skillets in which to deep fry for dishes like fritters.  If you have a special electric deep fat fryer then feel free to use that as well.  Around small children it would prove safer anyway.  Iron skillets are more a romantic historical sentiment that reminds us of our grandmothers - than necessary technology. :)

These fritters are made with the flour mixture that is a hush puppy mix from Zatarain's which saves time so you don't have to stop and measure flour, corn meal and spices.  Any products that save time in the hectic world of working people, especially parents, are welcome!

Funny Friday Weekend iPhone 5 Case

Tell the world how you really feel about coming back to work

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Jumbo Lump Crab Stuffed Casserole

A Dungeness Crab sits in a bin after being offloaded from a fishing vessel on November 17, 2010 in San Francisco, California. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

From Denny:  Love seafood as much as we do in Louisiana?  We also love easy to make casseroles.  They are easy to make ahead and easy to take to gatherings.  You will be a huge hit with this simple and tasty recipe.

If you want to make a soup, stew, casserole taste good then load it up with seasoning vegetables like celery, onion (a mild one for seafood) and parsley. Of course, what also goes well with seafood is lemon juice and worchestershire sauce with a bit of mustard.

Then it's time for the spice goodies.  I usually combine my own spices to make up a version of Cajun seasoning with a lot less salt and more garlic and paprika, adding cumin.  Just go easy on the Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning as it tends to have a lot of salt, even the lower salt version.  Using a light hand this brand is delightful. 

I also like to clarify my butter to either skim off the milk solids that create clogs in your arteries for a light oil or brown those milk solids for a darker browned butter that tastes toasted.  It is a heavy oil so you may wish to cut it with a lighter oil like canola for about 40 percent canola to 60 percent clarified butter.

Our local newspaper often prints recipes from readers.  We are also not above printing our grandmothers' recipes either as we respect tradition and our culinary foundation and culture.  One of the food writers included her grandmother's crab casserole.  Check it out.

Louisiana Seafood Beach Tote

Check out awesome Louisiana eating: oysters, shrimp, crawfish, gumbo, jambalaya

* * *  Support Warriors Pearl Foundation - helping homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  - see what's new!

New Orleans The Bombay Club Pasta: Oyster and Tasso Fettuccini

The Bombay Club in New Orleans in the French Quarter

From Denny:  The Bombay Club in New Orleans is a hot spot in the French Quarter, near Bourbon Street, well known and revered by the locals as well as tourists.  It features Nouveau Creole cuisine, receiving many accolades in the food world.

Be sure to check out the incredible martini menu too!  It's a bit decadent with that air of secret romance that carries you worlds away from stress.  Musical entertainment is offered so be sure to check their events schedule on the website before you decide to visit.

Chef Recipe: Crab Calas with Remoulade Sauce

From Denny:  Chef Poppy Tooker is a New Orleans icon, much loved and respected as she is interesting.  She is like a walking trivia foodie encyclopedia and she sure does relish telling the tall tales of Louisiana food and history.

Check out some of her latest trivia offerings and appearances to tantalize your mind as much as your tastebuds:

* Louisiana's Crystal Hot Sauce was used in WWI Army field rations. I'm a bigger fan of Louisiana Hot Sauce.  It's milder than Tabasco and less vinegar.  Goes great on eggs in the morning.

* Camellia red beans are the finest grade of red beans.  Camellia buys up all the Hayward (finest top grade) beans, leaving grades A and B for the rest of the country.  Hayward grade beans are named for the family that founded Camellia in New Orleans back in 1923.  They still own it today.

Can we ever imagine the Monday wash day without Camellia red beans?  Life might never have been the same in New Orleans.  Even Louis Armstrong might not have been known for his endearing signature statement, "Red beans and ricely yours."

* Her radio show is "Louisiana Eats"
* Hosted Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin
* Hosted Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame
* Celebrates the food of many religions like the feast day of Purim, a Jewish festival to Saint Joseph's Day and Saint Patrick's Day for the Catholics.
* Got UNESCO to recognize New Orleans as an International City of Gastronomy


Poppy Tooker is energetic, upbeat, enthusiastic and forever entertaining as she teaches you a new dish to cook.  Sure works for me! :)  Check out her latest offering.

Crab Calas with Remoulade Sauce

From: New Orleans Chef Poppy Tooker

Yields 18 calas

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice
6 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 lb. claw crabmeat
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. hot sauce
2 eggs
Oil for frying

Directions: Mix the rice and dry ingredients together thoroughly. Add the crabmeat and green onions. Add the eggs and hot sauce. Mix thoroughly into a tight batter. Drop by tablespoonfuls into hot oil (360 degrees) and fry until brown. Drain on paper towel. Serve hot with remoulade sauce for dipping.

New Orleans Chef Sclafani Silver Medal Winner: Seared Scallops, Truffled Corn Pudding

Another scallop recipe by ulterior epicure via Flickr

From Denny: President Obama is a huge fan of scallops, often ordering them when he dines out.  Yeah, me too, as long as they are those huge honking ocean scallops!  The beauty of scallops is they cook up quickly and are a light food for the summer heat.

This is one of the winning recipes from last week's New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (NOWFE), one of the top food and wine shows in America. The five-day event entertained a hungry and discriminating crowd in the Crescent City.

Baton Rouge Ruffino's Italian Restaurant's new chef and co-owner, Peter Sclafani from New Orleans, won two Fleur de lis Culinary Awards Medals at the prestigious event: one gold and one silver for his tasty creations. He competed against dozens of great New Orleans chefs. He won the gold medal for his recipe of "48 Hour Pork Belly with Candied Bacon Jam and Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding."

While there still exists the friendly rivalry between New Orleans and Baton Rouge chefs, the two cities are beginning to blend more into one mega-city mindset. New Orleans has discovered there is cooking talent in Baton Rouge since so many moved here after Hurricane Katrina five years ago.

How To Make Good Gumbo With Chef John Besh and James Carville

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

From Denny:  The Big Easy - New Orleans - is where anything can happen because we "Let The Good Times Roll!"  (French: Laissez les bons temps rouler!) Seafood gumbo is the most associated dish with Louisiana and also the easiest to make as demonstrated here by celebrity Chef Besh.

Check out how Chef Besh shows us how to start the all important roux (oil and flour mixed, cooked over medium high heat, constantly stirred until dark brown but not burned).  Then you start cooking the vegetables, starting with the onions first until soft.  Add some celery.  Then you add the crab on their backs along with some stock.

After the roux has had a chance to cook, about 30 minutes or more, to cook out the flour taste, right before you want to serve, then add the raw shrimp and raw oysters.  Those two only take a few minutes to cook and you don't want to over cook them as the shrimp can disintegrate into mush and the oysters will get a rubbery tough consistency.

Posts Roundup This Week at Dennys Blogs - 18 Apr 2010

From Denny: This Spring weather and the new warm breezes have me outside gardening. Read that as digging up weeds by the armful. :)

Have you ever noticed that the weeds never die during the winter? They always pop back up in early Spring when they know you will find it too cold to go out there and pull them out of the ground.

It's like weeds have some national coalition where they plot and scheme their special strategy each Spring just to get ahead of the gardener. They always grow at triple the rate of your regular shrubs, trees and plants.

Their exuberance is amusing - until it comes time to remove the pesky interlopers from the flower beds. Come to think of it, weeds are a lot like political parties - always a nuisance, always doing something somewhere they should not be doing it and laughing at you the entire time.

I did manage to find some time to write this week. Included here are also some of the previous week that proved to be quite popular that maybe you didn't get a chance to check out.

The new photo post of stellar Spring photos took four hours to research and another two hours to upload and link for the post. Photo posts remind me of a good meal: it can take an hour or more to make and only twenty minutes to devour. :)






The Social Poets:


Whats Happening in America This Week - Political Cartoons 17 Apr 2010

Pollen Storms poem - Libations Friday 9 April 2010 - I just got around to posting last week's poem this week. To keep your sense of humor during the pollen onslaught this season, read on... :)

Top 15 Bestsellers of What America is Reading: 15 Apr 2010


Funny Tax Quotes - Cheeky Quote Day 14 Apr 2010 - Laugh at funny tax quotes and tax cartoons, find out about the Fair Tax idea versus how we collect our taxes now and look at a news clip that breaks down how our tax dollars are used by the federal government.

* Rich bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others. - Oscar Wilde


Roundup of Late Night Comedy 13 Apr 2010

Funny Tax Man Cartoons

Weekly Posts Roundup at Dennys Blogs - 11 Apr 2010

The Social Poets listed: 100 Great Web Sites for Poetry Lovers - This was a happy find to be included on such a great list of company!







Dennys Global Politics:


Clinton Addresses Wingnuts, Wall Street Cries Foul, Radioactive Obama Nominee, Airplanes and Volcanos - News Headlines 16 Apr 2010

Icelands Volcano Stops Air Traffic, Poland Grieves, Utah Earthquake, Obama OKs Gay Hospital Visits, Healthy Chocolate - News Headlines 15 Apr 2010

Thinking Persons Funny Quotes 4 Tax Season

Both Obamas Charm the World, Vatican Squirms, Wall Street Howls Against Reform, Tibet Earthquake - News Headlines 14 Apr 2010

Worlds Nuke Security, Attacking Glenn Beck, Unsafe Meats, More Nuke Plants in America, Boy Scouts Penalized 4 Abuse - News Headlines 13 Apr 2010

Slapping Iran, Toyota Bobs and Weaves, NYC Terrorist Patrol, Pakistans Nukes in Peril, Supreme Court Choices - News Headlines 12 Apr 2010







Beautiful Illustrated Quotations and The Healing Waters:


What Spiritual Tests Develop Good Character And Our Talents? - with over 12,700 views the first day that sure was a happy surprise. Thank You!

Your Dreams: 5 Common Characteristics



Icelands Volcanic Ash: Hurting Us And Our Planet?

Take the Test: Whats Your Sex IQ?

Good News: American Soldier Cheers Others with Magic

How to Survive Allergy and Pollen Season







Humor Blogs:


Those Funny Racy RNC Republicans

More Funny Tax Cartoons to Keep You Laughing

Funny Odd Couples: Cats and Their Weirdo Friends

Outrageously Dumb Criminals: Robbers Called Bank For Money To Go

Funny Surfing Peruvian Alpaca






Food Blogs:


2 Crowd Pleasing Easy Casseroles: Mexican Lasagna, Turkey Tetrazzini

Cooking 4 Men, Teaching Men to Cook 2

Awesome Cajun Barbecued Shrimp — New Orleans Style

Yummy Homemade Coconut Cream Pie

Awesome Sauces 4 Louisiana Seafood

New Orleans Recipes: Crawfish Etouffee, Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, Jambalaya, Sazerac Cocktail



Kid Friendly Recipes: Chocolate Quesadillas, Very Best Fudge

Spring Into Grill Season: Mouthwatering Steaks

Chef Rocco Dispiritos Cheap Yet Healthy Comfort Food



Forget the Birds: Awesome Recipes 4 Stale Bread

Flourless Passover Chocolate Cake

Kid Chefs Offer Tasty Recipes 4 Sandwiches Adults Will Like






Visual Insights - photo blog:


Dennys Photo Gallery: How to Know Its Spring

Dennys Photo Gallery: Spectacular Sunrises






The Soul Calendar - science blog:

Air Jets and Volcanic Ash Dont Mix

Iceland Volcano Stops the World From Travel

Moon Water: Order Up Your Cocktail Today

What Do All the Recent Global Earthquakes Mean?

Come to Iceland: Experience Living With a Volcano in Your Back Yard

New Astronomy Photos: Cosmic Rosebud, Winds of Change Black Hole, Orion Nebula



*** Coffee Photo by marfis75 @ flickr


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Recipe: Hush Puppies for Seafood

Image via Wikipedia

Trust me; these won't last long! Often they are served as appetizers here in Louisiana at casual or seafood restaurants. People love them! Simple to make.


Hush Puppies for Seafood

(Cornmeal Fritters for the uninitiated)

From: Louisiana’s Original Creole Seafood Recipes


Ingredients:

1 cup flour

2 cups corn meal

2 Tablespoons baking powder

1 egg

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon onions, finely chopped

Milk


Directions: Mix all ingredients with enough milk to make a thick dough. Wet fingers and roll into balls and fry in deep fat like peanut oil. Remove when browned on both sides.

Recipe: Crawfish Fettuccine

In Louisiana the French and Italian cuisines are often married. This recipe for Crawfish Fettuccine is a typical example of local seafood substituted for the usual meat in a pasta dish.

Seafood dishes get quite creative during Lenten season since the majority of south Louisiana is Catholic even though Catholicism no longer requires this kind of fasting from meat. People still choose to fast from meat for health reasons these days with a nod to past religious tradition that has mellowed into a cultural tradition.

Louisiana men are known for their friendships developed from cooking or grilling what they often hunted and fished. Men tend to be the best cooks here. They also are the ones who tend to cook for large gatherings. This recipe comes from three friends who cook often for gatherings in their Catholic community.


Crawfish Fettuccine

From: James “B” Didier, Kenneth “Bobby” Barbier and Cliff McDaniel, All are close friends who enjoy cooking together for large gatherings - Holy Family Catholic Church, Port Allen, Louisiana

Yield: 50 servings - great for wedding rehearsal dinner!

Crawfish Fettuccine


Ingredients:

2 ½ pounds margarine

12 yellow onions, finely chopped

6 bunches green onions, finely chopped

6 bell peppers, finely chopped

10 garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ cup finely chopped parsley

4 pounds Velveeta jalapeño cheese
(Velveeta is basically a combination of Swiss and Cheddar cheese that melts easily with added hot Mexican hot peppers you can find in a jar.)

12 pounds crawfish tails

4 pounds fettuccine

Grated Parmesan cheese


Directions: Sauté in the margarine the onions, green onions, bell peppers, garlic and parsley until soft.

Add jalapeño cheese and cook until melted and combined well. Add crawfish.

Boil fettuccine until done, drain well. Add to crawfish mixture. Remove from heat. Pour into large casserole. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

To serve, bake at 350 degrees until thoroughly heated.

Serves 50.

Recipes: Crab Fingers, Doorstop Pork Chops, Hazed Ribs

Louisiana’s Abita Brewing Company is a bit hit!

This is the place where Louisiana’s Abita Brewing Company began. Since 1994 it has moved to a larger location, growing to more than a local and then regional beer; it now has national presence. Examples of Abita beer: Winter Warmer, a delicate spice taste; Amber Light; Wheat, a summer brew; English Bitter, which has a bite to it; Cask Condition Double Bock, a non-filtered, self-carbonated, hand-pumped, English-style bock; Purple Haze; Turbo Dog and many others. The names as are colorful as the Louisiana people. They also make some great non-alcoholic root beer.

This full service 100 table restaurant in Abita Springs, Louisiana (near Baton Rouge) still retains the original brewing equipment of the brewery’s humble beginnings. Abita Beer can be viewed by diners making special small batch brews for the restaurant.

Martin and Vula Essaied have owned the Abita Brew Pub since 1998. Vula is a native of Greece and Martin is from Tunisia. They met while working in a restaurant in Canada. They say they use beer in 75% of their recipes at the pub.

It didn’t take long for this couple new to Louisiana to start giving Louisianans what they love: seafood and meat dripping in sauces and marinades. They chose to promote locally brewed Louisiana Abita beer. Here are three of their most popular dishes. When you visit south Louisiana, make sure to come by this Abita Brew Pub (985 - 892 – 5837) and the Abita Brewing Company’s site nearby for an enjoyable visit!

***

Brewers’ Crab Fingers


Yield: Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer

From: Martin and Vula Eaasied, Abita Brew Pub, Abita Springs, Louisiana

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 ounces Worcestershire sauce

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

3 cloves garlic, chopped

Salt, black pepper, Creole seasoning, Tabasco sauce to taste

1 pound crab fingers

8 ounces Abita Amber beer


Directions: Combine all ingredients except the crab fingers and the beer.

Heat sauté pan and add butter mixture. Saute crab fingers in butter.

Add beer and let simmer no more than 4 minutes. Serve with hot French bread.


***

Doorstop Pork Chops


Ingredients:


Cornbread (1 pan of your favorite cornbread recipe)

4 to 6 double-cut (thick) pork chops

Salt, black pepper, Creole seasoning, oregano, thyme to taste

2 green bell peppers, diced

1 large onion, diced

4 stalks celery, diced

½ pound andouille sausage, diced

6 Tablespoons butter or oil

Root Beer Glaze (recipe follows)


Directions: Prepare a pan of your favorite cornbread recipe. Break up cornbread into small pieces.

Combine salt, black pepper, Creole seasoning, oregano and thyme and rub on pork chops. Grill chops and set aside.

Dice peppers, onion, celery and sausage. Sauté in butter or oil until soft.

Combine vegetable sausage mixture with cornbread pieces.

Place a mound of cornbread mixture on plate; top with a grilled pork chop and spoon Root Beer Glaze over chop. Serves 4 to 6.


Root Beer Glaze


3 cups Abita Root Beer

A few sprigs rosemary

Directions: Place root beer and rosemary sprigs in saucepan on simmer. Reduce until you have a thick glaze. It’s ready when it coats a spoon.


***

Hazed Ribs

Yield: Serves 6.


Ingredients:


3 racks baby-back ribs

1 ounce whole black peppercorns

¼ cup Zatarain’s Crab Boil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Abita Purple Haze beer, enough to cover ribs

16 ounces Brewmaster’s BBQ Sauce or your own favorite barbecue sauce recipe

6 ounces Abita Golden Beer

1 bell pepper, diced

½ onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

Vegetable oil


Directions:

Combine ribs, peppercorns, crab boil, salt and pepper in a baking pan. Add ribs and enough Abita Purple Haze Beer to cover ribs. Bake in a 350° F. oven for 2 hours or until tender.

Meanwhile, sauté diced vegetables in enough vegetable oil to coat bottom of pan (about 2 tablespoons) until tender. Add barbecue sauce and Abita Golden Beer. Let simmer until mixture thickens.

Grill baked ribs, basting with vegetable-barbecue sauce mixture, until warmed through. Fall-off-the-bone good! Serves 6.


Note: For other recipes visit my other fun blog -
Romancing The Chocolate

Recipe: Shrimp-Stuffed Eggplant

Shrimp-Stuffed Eggplant

Serves 4. Bake at 400° F. for 20 minutes.

From: Corinne Cook of The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.


Another popular vegetable in Louisiana is eggplant. Could be from the influence of the Sicilian immigrants 100 years ago. Whatever the reason, it is a beloved dish when it is stuffed with seafood as a particular favorite.

Here the eggplant is halved lengthwise and partially cooked. The flesh is scooped out and then cooked together with onions, bell peppers, shrimp and garlic for the stuffing that is placed back into the shell and baked. Don’t worry if the eggplant shell tends to collapse or flatten from the weight of the stuffing. You are still able to pile quite a bit of the stuffing above the shell’s edge. Anything else left over can be placed in a casserole dish and baked as the stuffing dish it is!

Make sure you purchase small to medium-sized eggplants and they have smooth, shiny, blemish-free skins.


Ingredients:

2 small to medium eggplants

1 ½ lbs. shrimp

¼ cup vegetable/canola oil

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

4 slices day-old bread

1 Tablespoon butter

Salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper to taste

2 eggs, slightly beaten

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup Parmesan cheese for topping


Directions:


Cut eggplant in half length-wise. Do not peel. Drop halves in boiling water and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes or until they are just tender. Drain.

Peel and devein shrimp. Cook shrimp in a little water or sauté in a little oil until just done. Do not overcook – usually 30 seconds per side or less.

Using a knife or grapefruit spoon, remove the eggplant pulp. Leave some of the pulp around the edges to form a shell. Don’t worry if the shells don’t stand upright. You can still put the stuffing over the flat shell. Put shells in greased baking dish. Chop eggplant pulp into small pieces; reserve.

Sauté onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic in oil until soft. Add chopped pulp.

Wet the slices of bread under running water and squeeze out most of the water.

Add the bread, butter and the salt and pepper to the eggplant mixture. Stir until bread is mixed with the eggplant and seasonings. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the beaten eggs. Blend well. Add cooked shrimp and fresh parsley.

Spoon stuffing into eggplant shells. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake in 400-degree oven until heated through, about 20 minutes.


Note: For other recipes visit my other fun blog -
Romancing The Chocolate