crawfish etouffée

while in new orleans for my sister's college graduation, a friend brought my dad some freshly boiled crawfish. so my mom peeled the crawfish and we made crawfish etouffée. although we usually use frozen crawfish tails because it is so difficult to do fresh crawfish, as it goes with anything, fresh is always better.

Crawfish Étouffée

2 sticks of butter
1 cup finely chopped white onion
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon mined garlic
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon dry thyme
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons flour
3 cups of chicken stock
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1 pinch of cayenne
1 - 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

cooked white rice

melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter, add in onions and celery. once tender, add in garlic. cook for another minute, then add in spices (minus cayenne) and crawfish. cook for another minute or two then add in tomatoes. blend in flour, then whisk in chicken stock. add Worcestershire sauce, green onions, and cayenne. cook for 20 minutes. fold in parsley and 1/2 stick of butter and you are done.

serve over cooked white rice and with french bread.

PS: one of our "secret" ingredients is hidden in one of the pictures but not listed ... see if you can find it!!