Crawfish Etouffee

This is one of my favorite Louisiana foods and it is so easy to make.  

1 lb. crawfish peeled and deveined (get them pre-prepared at your seafood market)

1 onion (medium)

1 bell pepper (medium)

2 stalks of celery

1 stick real butter

4 tbs. of flour

two cans or one box of chicken stock

water as needed to thin

creole seasoning

pepper and salt to taste

Melt butter in a heavy bottomed 6 quart sauce pan.  Add chopped vegetables and sautee until soft - about 8 - 10 minutes on medium heat.

Add crawfish tails with all the fat and juice.  Cook until the tails feel a little firmer.  Add flour and stir.  Let flour mixture cook for a few minutes to get the raw flour flavor out

Add chicken stock. Stir vigorously to get the roux to break up.  Bring to a boil and then simmer.  Add seasonings as desired.  For additional flavor you can use a tablespoon of chicken base or chicken bullion  cubes (3 - 4) instead of salt.  

Serve over rice or put it in a pie shell with rice to make a crawfish pie!

Tomato Gravy

My mom made this many Sunday nights to put over her homemade biscuits   Nothing better This gravy is one reason to can you own tomatoes   

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 to 3/4 cup plain flour

One quart home canned tomatoes or one large can of quality diced tomatoes

Make roux with oil and flour.  Stir constantly on medium fire till the color is  brown like the color of a brown paper sack. Do not let it burn. 

Add tomatoes and stir.  Add water to your desired consistency.  Cook until tomatoes are mostly broken up.  Season with pepper and salt as needed.

King Cake

This is a really easy and delicious King cake recipe compliments of my favorite lawyer was and Renaissance man Michael Wyatt. King cake is a Lousiana tradition eaten from Twelfth Night on January 6 through Mardi Gras. After making it, a small plastic baby is inserted in the cake.  The person who finds the baby throws the next King cake party

Mix:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. dry milk
1 package rapid rise yeast

Add: 1 cup hot water & stir


Add: 1 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 c. oil

Add: 1 to 1 1/4 cup flour. Knead until spongy. Let rise 25 minutes.

Separate the dough into two and roll them out until they're long and about 4 inches wide
Mix: ½ stick melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 T flour
Roll up – pinch – seal well
Braid the two rolls together
Let rise 15 minutes.


Bake at 350º, 17 min.

To decorate the cake, mix up a simple frosting with a lot of powdered sugar and a little milk (I also add vanilla extract). Add the frosting while the cake is still hot and sprinkle purple, gold, and green sugar on top. You can find the sugar at most craft stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby.

As for king cake babies, you can buy them online, or if you're lucky, you can find them in some party stores with the stuff for baby showers.

Abel's Jambalaya

There are many types of jambalaya recipes -- brown to red in color -- chicken and sausage -- seafood. They are all delicious.  The recipe I am sharing with you is the one that my father, Billy Abel, used to make at our family sporting goods store, the Land of Sports.  We often fed many customers and friends at lunch time.  The meat in the jambalaya depended greatly on what was in season and what people brought us from their hunts.  Rabbit, Squirrel, and even alligator tail meat make excellent protein for this dish.  However, the go-to meat for this jambalaya is chicken and smoked sausage, which is what this recipe calls for.

This is the easiest and cheapest one-pot meal you can make.

2-3 lbs chicken meat -- I recommend boneless chicken thighs and breasts for ease (though my dad always made his with bone-in chicken)
2 lbs of smoked sausage -- I like Manda's -  cut in half rounds about 1/2 inch thick
3 cups of rice (parboiled - like Uncle Ben's converted) -- this is important for the novice -- otherwise you may end up with the worst jambalaya ever -- both crunchy and mushy -- awful
6 cups chicken stock
1 large onion diced
1 large bell pepper diced
3 stalks celery diced
Oil to coat the bottom of a heavy bottomed 6- 8 quart pot
Creole Seasoning to taste.  You can use black pepper and salt instead if you prefer.

Pour enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot.  Put in cut chicken breasts and thighs  -- I usually quarter them unless the pieces are huge -- they will be large but you can break them up as you cook.  Season liberally with creole seasoning.  The meat will be juicier if you resist the urge to cut them into small, bite-sized chunks.  Brown the chicken well on medium-high  to high heat, stirring with a heavy spatula frequently.  A brown fond will form on the bottom of the pot.  This is what you want for the color and flavor.

Once the chicken is browned and your have used your spatula to cut it into smaller pieces, add your cut sausage and brown this also, add another lighter coat of seasoning.

When chicken and sausage have browned, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery - again add another light covering of seasoning.  Stir and cover to let soften.

Next, add rice.  Stir so that the rice is coated with the oil that is in the pot.

Next, add your chicken stock  Stir well and lower heat to medium.  Cover pot.  Stir every 5 minutes or so until all the moisture is taken up by the rice.  At this time, test the rice to make sure it is soft enough.  If you like it softer, you can add a half-cup more of stock (or water) and stir.  Turn off heat and let it sit for about 20 minutes before serving.

Serve with french bread and enjoy.

Really Easy Turkey Gumbo

I have a very lazy way of making turkey gumbo.  But it tastes delicioius.  Hope you can use this during the holidays.  It is always a hit.

1 lb sausage to your liking (I prefer andoille but smoked beef or pork will do)
1 onion diced
1 stalk celery diced (optional)
1 small bell pepper diced (optional)
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of flour for roux
4 cans of chicken stock
1 1lb. bag of frozen okra
2 - 3 cups of leftover turker or more if you want it meatier
Salt, pepper or Cajun spice to taste

Melt butter and cook sausage in butter.  Remove sausage when darkly browned.  Add onion, celery and bell pepper in drippings/butter from sausage.  Cook until tender -- about 5 minutes.  Add flour into the pot with drippings and veggies.  Cook until it for a couple of minutes.  It will be dark because of the fond left by the sausage.  When roux is dark, add chicken stock, okra, sausage, and turkey.  Stir until roux is well combined.  Simmer for 30 minutes and serve with rice.

Crockpot Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I made this at my sister Melanie's house this week. Very easy though not as good as the old fashioned way. But it is a great way to make Sunday lunch while at church.

3 or 4 chicken breasts or thighs ( I use boneless)
1 lb of smoke sausage link
1 lb frozen okra
1 can chopped tomatoes regular sized can
1 small onion diced
1 bell pepper diced
2 celery stalks sliced
1 - 2 teaspoons liquid crab boil
1 -2 tsp garlic salt
2 bay leaves
For roux
1/2 cup oil
1 cup plain flour

Chop chicken into large pieces while raw.  Also chop sausage ino rounds. Put meat in crockpot. Put all other ingredients except oil and flour in crock pot. Cover with water or chicken stock. Cook on high for four to six hours depending on your crockpot. Near end of cooking make roux in skillet by browning flour and oil mixture.  It should be the darkness you want your gumbo to be. Add finished roux a spoon at a time until desired thickness is achieved.  Save any extra roux in fridge for up to three weeks to use on another dish. Serve over rice.

Georgia's Red Beans and Rice

When I was a little boy, my mother worked at our family's sporting goods store with my father.  We children had a daytime nanny named Georgia.  She cooked red beans every Monday.  We loved them.   And we would often eat them everyday until the huge pot was empty. Below is a tribute recipe to Georgia.

2 lbs. Camellia Red Beans ( you can use other dried red beans but they won't be as good)
One onion cut in quarters
One smoked ham hock (I like to use one from a bone-in ham we have had for Sunday dinner)
Water
Salt and pepper to taste

Soak beans overnight in enough water to fill your large crockpot.  Drain water after soaking.  Put ham hock and onion in beans.  Cover with water and cook on low for six hours until falling apart somewhat.  Remove one cup of cooked beans and smash finely into a paste. Add back into mixture to cream the beans. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.  Add Louisiana hot sauce to your own bowl as you like.  We also like to fry smoked sausage links to eat with this.  Sometimes we cut up the sausage into slices and precook them to add into the completed beans.

Cheesy Crawfish Potatoes

Always a good way to use crawfish leftovers from a boil. A real crowd-pleaser

5 lbs small red potatoes, washed and sliced (peel on) into quarters -- boil in salted water until just done --  not mushy.

1 lb package of mexican velveeta

1lb sharp cheddar grated

8 oz mild cheddar grated (for topping)

1 pint half and half

1 package (usually a pound sometimes 12 oz) of frozen crawfish tails -- Louisiana are better but Chinese will work

Optional -- for more seafood flavor -- add a can of crab meat or package of frozen crab when you add the cheese in later.

1 stick of  butter

1/2 cup flour

1 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped or 1 tsp garlic powder of salt

In a large pan or pot -- melt butter -- sautee onions until translucent -- add garlic and sautee one minute more (or add garlic powder).  Add crawfish tails.  Sautee for a minute.  Add flour and mix until all crawfish are coated and the butter has been absorbed.  Pour in half and half -- use a wisk and mix it well.  This will form a somewhat thick sauce.  You may need to add milk to loosen it -- it should be the consistency of a thick gravy.  Next, add cubed velveeta - and stir until melted.  Add sharp cheese until melted.  Season with Tony Chachere's or season-all to taste.  Again, if the sauce is too thick, add milk to thin it to a thick gravy consistency.

Drain Potatoes and put in large baking dish.  Pour sauce over potatoes and top with cheese.  Baked until bubbling through and through and the cheese is somewhat browned.

Doris' Southern Biscuits

This is nothing fancy -- my mom made biscuits every week when we were growing up. The ingredients were simple. No Bisquick-- but she did take the help of self-rising flour. We would eat these with tomato gravy, molasses and sour cream, or homemade strawberry jam. When they were day-old, she would split them in half, butter them well, and bake them until crisp under the broiler in the oven. They were even better like that.   The "biscuit bowl" is important to the southern kitchen.  Use a tupperware with a lid and store your leftover flour for the next batch.  It is a perpetual bowl that you don't wash.

A bowl with at least 4 cups self-rising flour 

1/2 cup shortening 

2 tbs. sugar 

3/4 cup milk (whole or buttermilk is best) 

Combine the sugar and milk.  Put flour in big bowl.  Create a well in the center of the four. Put shortening in the well.  Pour in milk  in the well. Start by pulling flour from the sides into the well with your index finger as you mix with your had. You will only used about 2 1/2 cups of the flour -- the other will stay dry on the side  Don't overwork the flour. You do not want to activate the gluten as it will make the biscuits tough. The dough will be somewhat sticky but you can pull flour from the sides as you form the biscuits. Just pat them into the size you like. Put them on a baking sheet and punch a fork into them twice to make vent holes. Bake at 400 degree until light and golden.

Shrimp Mirliton

This is a special request by Michael Wyatt. It is an Abel family favorite. My mom used to grow mirliton's in our backyard. When they were ripe, we would harvest them and have this awesome dish. Another name for mirliton is chayote squash. It is available in many markets. It is also a traditional Christmas dish in Louisiana. 

6-8 mirlitons depending on size 

6 tbsp butter 

1 medium onion diced 

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced 

1 lb of shrimp, peeled and de-veined 

1 can chicken stock 

4 eggs 

1 -1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs 

 Boil mirlitons with skin on until tender (a knife should be able to be inserted easily). Cool mirlitons. Peel and seed -- cut in half and remove seed and stem. Dice and put aside. Next, saute onion and garlic in all the butter. When translucent, add shrimp. Cook until pink. Add chicken stock and diced mirliton. Beat eggs and temper them with liquid from the stock. Add tempered egg mixture. Add breadcrumbs until somewhat thick, like a loose dressing. Place mirliton dressing in a casserole dish. Top with more breadcrumbs or parmesan cheese. Bake until set, about 30 minutes on 375 degrees. We love to serve this with prime rib or grilled steak. Note: Be sure to boil the mirliton before you peel them. Mirliton are very acidic before boiled and will literally cause your skin to peel if you work with them in their raw state.

Baby Back Ribs Quick and Easy

I used to hate fooling with ribs. I was brought up that you had to boil them first to get them tender. Then you had finish them on the grill and put the sauce on. It was too much trouble to do very often. I read a couple of alternative ways of making ribs and came up with a hybrid of all those recipes. These taste as good as my family's favorite ribs from Zea's Restaurant in New Orleans (of course it doesn't hurt that we use Zea's Tai sauce on them sometimes!) So here's how I do it. 

 First I make a rub -- 

1 cup brown sugar, packed 

1/4 cup Tony Chachere's or other Cajun seasoning (McCormick's Season-All would work also) 

1 Tbsp. garlic powder 

1 Tbsp. onion powder

 Mix dry ingredients together 

Next, use two to three full racks of baby back ribs -- leaner is better. Cut into four slabs each. Coat each slab with dry rub and layer in your crock pot. You can fill it up to the top. You should use all the dry rub in the above recipe for full flavor on three racks. If you do only two, you would use about 2/3 of rub, etc. 

Once you have all the ribs in the crock pot, pour a Coca-Cola over the ribs for moisture (you can substitute Dr. Pepper if you like). Cook on high for about four hours. 

 The ribs will be tender and delicious -- but there is one more step for perfection. To finish them off, remove the ribs from the crock pot and place them on two baking trays. Put your favorite barbeque sauce on top and then broil them on high for about 4 -5 minutes until the sauce is set and somewhat browned. 

Most people who eat these think you slaved forever. But, you won't even have to pull out the grill. (You can grill to set the sauce instead of using the broiler, if you prefer) Good Luck!

Easy Strawberry Shortcake

Yes, we live right by the Strawberry Capital of the World -- Ponchatoula, LA. Strawberries are really cheap now -- about $10 a flat (which is 12 pints of berries). We love strawberry shortcake this time of year. However, we do not make it the traditional way -- which is a sweet biscuit. No, my family always made our shortcake with a plain old Betty Crocker yellow cake mix. It really is the best way. So, here is our process. 

 1 yellow cake mix (any brand), eggs, oil and water 

2 pints strawberries 

1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar whipped topping 

 Mix the yellow cake mix according to box directions and bake in a 9X12 pan. Prepare strawberries about an hour or two before serving. After cleaning and stemming the berries, cut them into slices. About two pints will be plenty for this size cake. Mix sliced berries with sugar. Allow strawberries to stand with sugar mixture for about an hour or so until they macerate (release their liquids). Cut cake into serving sized pieces. Top with berry mixture and whipped topping. It is delicious and easy.

Fried Catfish

The key to good fried catfish (or any other type of fish) is to get fresh, thin-sliced fish. Another key is to use Zatarain's Seasoned Fish Fri (available at https://www.mccormick.com/zatarains). Finally, you should fry in peanut oil if possible. 

 The process is really simple. First, use a cast iron dutch oven or other heavy pot. Put about 2 - 3 inches of peanut oil in the pot. On high heat, bring the oil up to about 375 degrees. If it is the right temperature, a little fish fri put in the pan will sizzle 

 Prepare the fish so that the fillets are thin - no thicker than 1/4 - 1/2 inch. 

Make sure that the fish is moist but not overly wet. Then dredge fish in fish fri. We usually do this by putting about 3 or 4 pieces in a tupperware container filled with fish fri. Shake the container. 

 Place the fish in the hot oil - do not crowd. Let the fish brown to a light color (about 2 - 3 minutes at most) and turn to brown other side. The fish will float as it gets done. Do not overcook as this will cause the fish to be tough and rubbery.

   

We also fry shrimp the same way. Shrimp should be large 20 - 30 count per pound. Cooking times are shorter on shrimp so remove when light tan or brown.

Billy's Hushpuppies

I am posting a lot of recipes my dad made. But, they come to me in a batch of memories and I can't separate them. These hushpuppies were always a hit at any fish fry. My parents didn't need much of an excuse to invite 20 or so people over for fried fish, hushpuppies, and coleslaw. They loved people and loved to feed them. I guess it is genetic    

1 cup yellow corn meal 

1 cup flour 

2 tsp. baking powder 

3/4 cup sugar 

1 egg 

1 can of corn (creamed or whole)

1/4 cup milk  (may need more or less depending on humidity) 

1/2 medium onion grated 

1/t tsp. Louisiana hot sauce (optional) 

1/2 cup green onion tops chopped. (optional)

Mix corn meal, flour, baking powder, and sugar and make into a well. Add egg, corn, milk, onion and hot sauce. You may need more or less milk. The mix needs to be thicker than pancake batter but not as thick as cookie dough batter) Fry spoonfuls in hot oil - we always fry them before the fish so that they will stay clean.

Billy's Coleslaw for Fish

This coleslaw is so different from what you get at the supermarket and in restaurants. My dad always made this to eat with fried fish (bass, catfish, etc.) But, it is great with lots of things. 

1 medium head of cabbage grated small -- use your box grater with largest holes 

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1 tsp prepared horseradish 

1/2 medium onion grated 

1/2 cup sugar 

1 - 2 tbs. of milk to make creamy depending on how loose you like your slaw 

1/2 tsp. salt (less or more to taste) 

Grate cabbage. in a large bowl, mix mayonnaise, horseradish, onion, sugar, salt, and milk to make a creamy dressing. Mix in grated cabbage and chill for an hour. Serve with fish, red beans, fried chicken, or any other good southern dish

Billy Abel's Seafood Gumbo

We make this in Louisiana alot, especially at Christmas when it is cold. I learned how to make this gumbo from my father, Billy, when I was a teenager. Yes, I liked to cook even then. It is not too difficult and it really is good. Serve over rice with some good crackers or crusty bread and you will need nothing else for a meal. This is the Billy Abel family recipe -- in Louisiana, almost everyone has their own way of making gumbo -- some people make it with chicken and sausage or turkey, others add oysters and crawfish, etc. While they are all usually good, I like ours the best.

2 lbs. shrimp tails with shells on (if your shrimp have heads attached, use 4 lbs.)
4 - 5 gumbo crabs
1 tin canned crab meat (lump, white, or claw)
1 large can of diced tomatoes
2 ribs of celery
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper (I leave this out for my family because they don't like peppers)
1 cup oil
1 1/2 - 2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 gallons water
1 lbs of chopped okra (frozen works well)
2 bay leaves
1 tbs. gumbo file' (optional if you are not able to get it - it is dried, ground sassafras leaves)
1 1/2 tbs. liquid crab boil
2 tbs. salt
(Note -- you can use 3 tbs. of powdered crab boil instead of salt and liquid crab boil)

In a 10 - 12 quart stock pot, put in water and crab boil/salt. Bring to a boil. Add defrosted shrimp and gumbo crabs - bring the water back to a boil. Turn water off as soon as it boils again. Cover pot and let shrimp and crabs sit for 5 minutes. Remove shrimp and crabs from the seafood stock you just made and let them cool -- do not discard the liquid from the boil -- this is the critical element in your gumbo! Bring the stock up to a simmering boil

While the shrimp/crab is cooking/cooling, rough chop onion, bell pepper, and celery. In a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron), saute' the onion, pepper, and celery in 1 tbs. of oil. When the veggies are soft, add to the stock pot of simmering liquid. Also, add the canned chopped tomatoes, the canned crab meat, and bay leaves. Do not clean the skillet -- you will use it later to make your roux.

Peel the shrimp as soon as you get the chance. Large tails can be cut into smaller pieces if you desire. Do not add to the stock until the last minute.

With the stock cooking away with the veggies, you will now make a roux to thicken the stock. Using the cast iron or other heavy skillet, put in one cup of oil and enough flour to make a thick paste (1 1/2 to 2 cups). Using a metal spatula, cook the roux until it is a dark color - about the color of a dark paper bag. Darkness of roux is an individual thing. You can make it darker for a stronger tasting gumbo. Do not let the roux burn or you will have to start over.

When the roux is almost as dark as you want it, it is time to add the okra to the stock. Finish the roux to the desired darkness. Then, spoonful by spoonful, add the hot roux to the hot stock. This will thicken the gumbo. Add as much as desired. If you don't use it all, you will have a thinner gumbo. This is how some people like it.

Finally, after the thickness is how you like it, add the shrimp and the gumbo crabs back to the pot. Sprinkle with the gumbo file' as you serve it over rice.

Crawfish (or Shrimp) Pasta

This is a really easy pasta dish that is sure to please. 

1 lb. crawfish tails (or shrimp, peeled and deveined) 

1 lb. Velveeta Cheese 

1 can Rotel tomatoes, diced 

1 can cream of chicken soup 

1 small onion 

3 cloves garlic 

2 tbs. butter 

1 lb. rotini pasta (I like the multi-colored pasta) cooked 

 Saute onion and garlic in butter until soft. Add crawfish tails (or shrimp) and cook for two minutes. Add tomatoes, soup, and cubed Velveeta. Stir until smooth and cheese is melted. Stir in pasta. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top with a crispy french bread and salad.

Beignets (French Market Doughnuts)

These are a little work, but worth the efforts. For an easier way, you can use the Cafe Du Monde mix but the results are not as good You can order mix at http://shop.cafedumonde.com/originals.html.

1 tbsp yeast ( 1pkg.) 

3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees) 

1/2 cup sugar 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 beaten egg 

3 1/2 all purpose flour 

 vegetable oil for frying powdered sugar

Combine the yeast, water, and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (You could also make this in a food processor, or the old fashioned way, by hand). Let this sit until frothy, about 5 minutes, then add the salt and egg. Mix on low speed, then add half of the flour until it starts to come together. Start adding the remaining flour, a little at a time until most of it is incorporated. Knead the dough adding just enough flour as necessary to make a non-sticky, smooth silky dough. 

Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, loosely cover and let rise to double in size. Punch it down and turn it onto a floured surface and roll out into a rectangle that is about 1/2″ thick. With a very sharp knife working at a diagonal to the rectangle, cut into 2″ wide strips. Now cut into diamond shapes by making diagonal cuts in the opposite direction. Let the cut beignets rise for 20 minutes. 

Fry the risen beignets in 2-3 inches of oil at 350 degrees until golden brown. Drop fried beignets into a paper bag with powdered sugar. Shake and put on a plate.

Mini Muffalettas

These were introduced at BethFest 2000 (Beth's annual birthday bash). We took the ingredients in muffalettas and put them on small rolls and heated them in the oven. This is a party favorite. Who doesn't like a hot sandwich?

1 lb. black forest ham sliced deli thin
1 lb. genoa salami sliced thin
1 lb. provolone cheese sliced
olive salad mix http://www.cajungrocer.com/boscoli-italian-olive-salad-mix-p-506.html
1 dozen pistolettes or other french-type roll

Cut rolls leaving one side attached. Put bread open-faced on a cookie sheet. Brush bread with olive oil from the olive salad mix. Put on a slice of ham, salami, and provolone cheese. Top with olive salad mix (or leave off if you like-- I usually do half with and half without for the uninitiated). Bake at 425 degrees until crispy and cheese is melted. Close sandwiches and put on a platter to serve.

Muffaletta Pasta Bake

This is a dish I adapted from the famous sandwich from New Orleans. I simply replaced Muffalatta bread with pasta.

1 lb. penne pasta

1 lb. grated mozarella cheese

1 lb. smoked ham (black forest is best) cut thick

1/2 lb. genoa salami cut thick

1/2 - 1 cup (depending on your preference) olive salad mix (http://www.cajungrocer.com/boscoli-italian-olive-salad-mix-p-506.html to order)

toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Cool. Mix in cheese, ham and salami cut in inch squares, olive salad mix, and half of cheese. Put in a casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and sesame seeds. Bake until cheese is melted and center is hot.