Crawfish Etouffe

Makes 8 servings

Seasoning Mix:
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried sweet basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/4 cup of each of the following: chopped onions, celery, and green bell peppers (this is called the trinity in Creole cooking)
7 tbs vegetable oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup clam juice + 1/2 cup water or chicken broth
1 stick butter
2 lbs peeled crawfish tails or medium shrimp
1 cup very finely chopped green onions
4 cups hot basic cooked rice

The buttas were extremely excited to be back together and to be cooking such a delicious meal!  Here is a shot of the ingredients and the buttas preparing:

Thoroughly combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine the onions, celery and bell peppers (The Trinity).

The first step is to make a roux, this recipe calls for a medium to dark roux vs a blond roux.  In a large heavy skillet, heat the oil over high heat until it begins to smoke, about 4 minutes.  With a long-handled metal whisk, gradually mix in the flour, stirring until smooth.

Continue cooking, whisking constantly until roux is dark red-brown.

Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vegetables and 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix with a wooden spoon; continue stirring until cooled, about 5 minutes.

Heat stock in a separate saucepan.  Gradually add the stock to the roux and whisk until thoroughly dissolved.

Reduce heat to low and cook until flour taste is gone, about 2 minutes whisking almost constantly.  remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate saucepan, melt 1/2 stick of butter over medium heat.  

Stir in the crawfish (or shrimp), the green onions, and seasoning mix and saute about 1 minute stirring almost constantly.

Add the crawfish mixture to the stock mixture, stirring well.  Add 1/2 stick butter to enrich sauce and cook about 5 more minutes.  Serve immediately over rice, or barley for a healthier option.

Then it was time to enjoy our delicious meal and each other's company.  It was a wonderful evening and so fun to catch up.  Look forward to many great recipes to come!  Next week's menu is Black Bass with Asparagus and Roasted Potatoes, YUM!

Tipful Tuesday: The Trinity

Mama Butta gives us many tips that are so helpful to beginners in the kitchen. Lots of blogs do themed days - so I figured why not let Mama Butta's helpful tips be a weekly piece of advice to you

so.... introducing TIPFUL TUESDAY!!



The Creole Trinity - onions, green bell pepper and celery


This is a basic combination used for many creole dishes. It is always a good idea to always have the trinity on hand. The possibility for this triplet is truly endless. Try our red beans and rice or gumbo! The French also have a 3 ingredient staple they call mirepoix - carrots, celery and onions. This is used in many French stews and soups.

Tip when cutting celery - glide your knife down the middle of the stalk lengthwise. Cut those pieces in half stack them and chop! Easy dicing!


Mama B has a great way to easily chop an onion. Maybe we will make a video of that for you!!

Check out the red beans and rice recipe we posted earlier today. Hope you will benefit from tipful Tuesday!!

Red Beans & Rice

Red Beans and Rice with Ham & Andouille Sausage

1 pound dry red kidney beans

Water to cover the beans

1 ham bone (Honey Baked or Heavenly Ham)

2 1/2 cups finely chopped celery

2 cups finely chopped

2 cups finely chopped green bell peppers

2-3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced

2-3 bay leaves

2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Hot sauce to taste

1 pound andouille sausage, sliced

Hot steamed rice

Cover the beans with water 2 inches above the beans. Let stand overnight. Drain just before using. ** This step is optional. If you don't soak the beans, they will just take longer to cook and require more water**

Place the beans, ham bone, 10 cups of water, celery, onions, bell peppers, garlic, bay leaves and seasonings in a large Dutch oven; stir well. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until meat is falling off the bone, about an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove bone, chop meat into bite sized pieces removing excess fat as you go, then put the ham back into the beans. Add sliced andouille sausage (brown first if you wish), add more water if required, them simmer until beans are soft and creamy!

Serve over mound of rice!

(This recipe is a meaty one - when we made this dish we doubled the beans and the spices but I think next time I make it on my own I'll make it this way!)

Here are pictures and helpful tips when making this dish!

Everything is added and starting to boil.



This is our sausage that we used - we sliced it into thin coins. Slice it, chunk it do whatever you would like, bite sized pieces are easier to eat!


This step is optional since the sausage is pre-cooked, but it gives it a great smokey flavor when you sear the sausage. If you chose to do this step, after you add the sausage to the pot - take some of the broth and put it into the empty hot sausage pan. Take a rubber spatula and scrape all of the leftover greasy goodness off the pan and add it back into the bean pot. This will kick up the sausage flavor!



Take the ham bone when the meat is tender and beginning to fall off - use tongs because it will be HOT! Since Mama Butta made a batch of beans for us to eat and we cooked our own for later, we let the ham bone cool down while we ate before we picked the meat off. Just leave it for a little while until it stops steaming. Pick off the meat to add back into the pot and feel free to sample!


Finished product! As you can see the beans become very creamy!


Put over rice & enjoy!!

Last night's meal - Creole Chicken 2

We had fab time at cooking class night. Our menu consisted of a salad (complete with strawberries, feta, toasted walnuts, chicken and a homemade dressing), sour cream drop biscuits, and bread pudding.

We will have pictures and recipes very soon!

Also - we have one change that we need to make to the creole chicken recipe. We forgot to add 2 -16 oz cans of tomato sauce to the recipe! So just tweek that recipe if you have already saved it!

here is a little teaser for the creole chicken!


More picture of will also be coming soon!
We have lots of exciting posts which is great because we aren't cooking next week.

Enjoy!

Creole Pecan Praline Bars

A few weeks ago we enjoyed a great Southern meal ribs & fried green tomatoes.

To top off this great meal we made Creole Pecan Praline Bars.
Ok there are some lessons in this recipe.

Lesson 1: First we will start with the word "creole". To the buttas, they associated creole with spicy foods. Mama Butta stated that creole is simply a culture - not a location, we asked - but a way that group of people lives/lived and their style. Another, example would be the Gullah culture. Creole type foods typically are spicy, but this was a creole dessert - did I lose anyone or confuse you yet?

This is what freedictionary.com had to say:
1. A person of European descent born in the West Indies or Spanish America.
2.
a. A person descended from or culturally related to the original French settlers of the southern United States, especially Louisiana.
b. The French dialect spoken by these people.
3. A person descended from or culturally related to the Spanish and Portuguese settlers of the Gulf States.
4. often creole A person of mixed Black and European ancestry who speaks a creolized language, especially one based on French or Spanish.
5. A Black slave born in the Americas as opposed to one brought from Africa.

Lesson 2: How to pronounce creole pecan praline bars.

Pecan: pee-can or pa-con.

Praline: praw-lean or pray-lean

It was a mix in our group how to pronounce it - to each their own I guess! Any thoughts on how you say it?


Ok enough lessons and time for the recipe and the pictures!

This recipe can be a little time consuming so grab a buddy, a glass of wine or both!
After the crust is formed line up the pecans in rows.


We had 3 set of hands lining these babies up!


Be careful - this topping is hot, hot, hot! No one wants a hot sugar burn!





Ready for the oven!


Either place into the fridge after baking like the recipe states or simply let it cool on the counter while you eat, drink and chat with the girls!

When cool, use a very sharp knife to cut it into pieces - we did 2 to 3 pecans per square. Mama B shows a great way to do it!



After we had tasted our squares, our lovely supper guest for the evening, Mrs. Mary Keenan, said "We certainly didn't spare on the butta!" The bars are very, very sweet. Mary had the great idea of adding kosher salt to the bars and it made it even more amazing!!


Hope you enjoy the bars! Here is the recipe:

Creole Pecan Praline Bars

4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1 packed cup light brown sugar
2 cups sifted unbleached flour
9 oz. (2 1/2 cups) large pecan halves

Adjust a rack to the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan as follows: cut a piece of foil large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Turn pan upside down. Center the foil over the pan, shiny side down, with your hands press down on sides and corners to shape the foil. Remove foil. Run some tap water into the pan to wet it all over. Pour out all but a tablespoon of the water (the wet pan will keep the foil in place) Place the foil in the pan and press it against the bottom and sides - DO NOT BUTTER!

In a mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add the salt and sugar and continue to beat. Next add flour. Beat until the tiny crumbs are formed that will hold together to make the crust.

Turn the mixture into the prepared pan. With fingertips, spread the mixture to form a level layer. Press down firmly to compact.

Place the pecan halves touching each other, flat sides down - in all the same direction to cover bottom layer.

Topping:

2 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/3 packed light brown sugar

In sauce pan place butter and sugar. Stir over high heat until mixture comes to a hard boil. Once boiling, keep stiring for about 30 seconds or so. Pour mixture over the pecans, trying to coat the entire surface.
Bake for 22 minutes. Refrigerate for an hour or more. Turn out, peel off foil and cut with a very sharp knife.

Serve at room temp.

Also - we thought these would be great dipped in chocolate!!

Lou Anna's Creole Chicken!

Here is the recipe for class tonight! Enjoy - pictures soon to follow :)

Lou Anna’s Creole Chicken


Seasoning mix:

2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried sweet basil leaves

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter in all
1 cup finely chopped onions
3 teaspoons minced garlic
3 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce to taste
2-16 ounce cans of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons sugar, optional
2 cups finely chopped green onions, in all

Chicken seasoning mix:

1 1/2 Tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried sweet basil leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 pounds boneless chicken, but into 1/2 inch cubes

1 pound spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

Combine seasoning mixes and set aside. In a large Dutch oven, melt 3/4 stick butter and saute the onions over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and the 1st seasoning mix; continue cooking until onions are dark brown but not burned, about 8-10 minutes, stirring often. Add the chicken stock, Worcestershire and Tabasco then bring to a fast simmer and cook about 8 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Then stir in the sugar and 1 cup of the green onions and simmer uncovered about 40 minutes.

Combine chicken and seasoning mix in a bowl and mix well. In a large skillet, melt the rest of the butter over medium heat. Add the remaining green onions and saute for a few minutes. Add the chicken and continue cooking for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Add the chicken mixture to the tomato sauce mixture and heat through.

Serve over spaghetti.

Serves 6-8

New Orleans Gumbo Night

Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou!


Seasoning mix: 2 whole bay leaves, 2 teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
¾ cup finely chopped celery
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup vegetable oil
7 cups chicken stock
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into ¼ inch cubes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Fresh or frozen okra, optional*
Tabasco sauce to taste
Chopped parsley & green onions to garnish

Mix together dry seasonings, prep the vegetables.

Heat stock in a medium saucepan.


The "trinity" of Louisiana cooking consists of bell pepper, onion and celery. When making this dish or any other gumbo there is a lot of chopping!
Please take note of the baby butta hats. They are representing the New Orleans theme!!



In a Dutch oven, make the roux: Heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Add the flour, whisking constantly until roux turns dark red-brown-darker than peanut butter (very hot, be CAREFUL!!!)
For this dish we made a dark roux. They baby buttas had lots of questions because they had made a roux before with their mac & cheese but this roux was dark! For macaroni and cheese they made a blond roux which is made from butter and flour. A dark roux is made with oil and flour. Which a dark roux you have to constantly stir so the oil doesn't burn. Also, a roux can be a thick as you would like as you can see ours had the consistency of peanut butter.

When the roux is just the right color, turn off heat and add onions, bell pepper, celery and seasoning mix--continue stirring until mixture cools a bit. Add garlic after a few minutes (you don’t want it to burn). Don't taste test during this phase: they are heavily seasoned vegetables - Lauren learned this the hard way!



Gradually add the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Add the sausage, then bring to a simmer. Cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add deboned chicken and adjust seasoning.


Remove bay leaves and serve immediately over rice. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and green onions.


*If you choose to use okra, coat it lightly with a little vegetable oil and bake on a half-sheet pan in a 400 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes, turning occasionally until it loses its slimy texture. Add to gumbo when you add the sausage.

Some of our baby buttas are new to certain vegetables and okra was no exception! After we baked the okra and added what we needed to the gumbo pot, we put the remaining okra back in the oven and let it get a little more crisp! It was a yummy snack until the gumbo was finished!! Our picky eater LOVED THE OKRA - yay Blanche!!
Mama Butta is headed to New Orleans for the Jazz Fest next week , maybe she will take us one day for a field trip!!

Stay tuned for next week's class!!!