crawfish ravioli

this use to be one of my favorites at a restaurant in new orleans, so i tried to recreate it. it didn't come out perfect, and there are adjustments i would make doing it next time which i will include in the recipe but i certainly ate it all up!

Crawfish Ravioli

1 package of pre made cheese ravioli (preferably ricotta if you can find it)
2 eggs
2/3 cup shrimp fry
1/3 cup italian bread crumbs
vegetable oil

1/2 stick of butter ... okay maybe I used 3/4 of a stick, I try to use as little as possible but make sure I have enough that my veggies and crawfish don't start to stick to the pan.
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 small shallots finely chopped
4 green onions chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
1 pound peeled crawfish tails
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/8 teaspoon oregano
salt
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
12 ounces half and half
cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (it's always better if you grate it yourself! no shortcuts here friends!)

mix the shrimp fry and italian bread crumbs together. then drop your raviolis a couple at a time in the egg wash, then in the breading and place on a platter to wait to fry. turn your oil on to heat when you start cooking the sauce, this should give it enough time to heat up.

place butter in a large pan, preferably with high sides. once the butter melts add your shallots, red bell pepper and garlic. cook until tender but not browned, maybe 3 minutes. add your green onions, crawfish tails, thyme, rosemary, oregano, and a dash of cayenne and a dash of salt. cook until crawfish are warm and tender. add in flour making a well mixed paste, then start adding your half and half. i like to use half and half because it is much nicer to your tummy than heavy whipping cream. stir frequently and adjust the heat so the sauce just simmers. cook until the sauce gets thick and creamy ... this can take about 10 - 15 minutes. add cayenne to taste. a good trick is that the sauce is thickening is it will start to stick to the sides of the pan.

while your sauce is cooking those 10 - 15 minutes, start dropping the raviolis in the oil to fry. once the raviolis are golden, take them out and place them on some paper towels to cool.

this really should be a 2 person job ... one person manning the frying and one the sauce.

once the sauce has thickened, turn the heat off and add slow stir in 1 cup of parmesan cheese. place a couple raviolis on a plate, pour a generous amount of sauce over the raviolis, top with a little parmesan cheese and fresh parsley if you like and enjoy!

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!!

mardi gras 2012 - part 1

my favorite parade the krewe of muses, a crawfish boil for my 25th birthday, hanging out in the french quarter with my family on lundi gras ... it was a wonderful trip home.