Crawfish Etoufee

I have made this so many times with both crawfish and rock shrimp. Both work great!!
You should definitely make it!
Here is the recipe:

Crawfish Etoufee
Serves 4

1 stick of butter
2 cups of chopped onions
1 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of chopped green bell peppers
1 pound of peeled crawfish tails, or rock shrimp
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of flour
1 cup of water
1 teaspoon of salt
Pinch of cayenne
2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons of chopped scallions

In a large saute pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and sauté until the vegetables are wilted, about 10-12 minutes. Add the crawfish, for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dissolve the flour in the water. Add it to the crawfish mixture. Season with salt and cayenne. Stir until the mixture thickens, about 4 minutes. Stir in the parsley, and green onions and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Serve over steamed rice. Top with extra parsley.

Steaming plate of hot etoufee. 

It warms my heart ;)

Cobb Wedge Salad

I was so mad while I was making this salad, I was supposed to grill the lettuce, but it was raining! So, I just used  lettuce without grilling it, it still turned out great though. Here is the recipe:

Cobb Wedge Salad
Serves 2

6 slices of thick cut bacon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Olive oil, for drizzling
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 leaves of fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 small garlic clove, minced
Kosher salt and pepper
1 head of romaine or iceberg lettuce
1 teaspoon of paprika, (preferably smoked)
1 avocado, halved, peeled, pitted, peeled, and cut into wedges
2 small radishes, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
Red wine vinegar, for drizzling
1/3 cup of crumbled blue cheese

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 15 minutes. Drain on paper towels and cut it in half, set it aside.
Soft boil the eggs: Bring a saucepan of water to a boil over medium high heat. Lower the eggs into the water and cook for exactly 6 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with ice water. Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs from the boiling water, and lower them into the ice water. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then peel.
Combine the olive oil, tomatoes, basil, and garlic in a small bowl, pour over the tomatoes.
To assemble the salad, put a few pieces of lettuce on a plate, cut the eggs in half, and put them on top. Sprinkle with blue cheese, arrange the tomatoes, avocado, bacon, radishes, and onion on the salad. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Top with herbs (optional) Season with pepper.

Always poke the bottom of the egg with a sharp object before boiling!

Tempura Green Beans

This is a great way to get anybody to eat vegetables, lightly frying, thats how Americans work!…
Here is the recipe:

Heat 1 1/2 inches of peanut oil to 365 degrees in a medium pot over medium high heat.
Whisk 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of cornstarch, 3/4 cup of seltzer, and 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt. Toss with 1 pound of green beans. Remove from the batter, and fry in batches. stirring until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with soy sauce mixed with garlic, scallions, and mirin. Enjoy!

Chicken Paprikash with Spaetzal

This has to be one of my families favorite recipes! It is great for the fall, spring, and especially the Winter. It is absolutely delicious and I hope you try it!
Here is the recipe:

For the Spaetzal:
1 tablespoon of melted butter
2 tablespoons of water
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
Dash of salt
Two eggs
1 1/2 cups of flour
Dash of nutmeg


For the Chicken Paprikash:
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons of paprika (the good kind)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tomato, peeled and chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup of chicken stock
1 (3 pound) chicken, cut into pieces
1/4 cup of flour
1/4 cup of half and half
1/2 cup of sour cream

For the paprikash:
In a Le Creuset heat the butter, and add the onions and garlic and sauté until light brown. Add the paprika, salt, tomato, green pepper, and stock. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.
Add the chicken, cover and cook for 1 hour.
Remove the skin from the chicken, and put it back in the pot, add more chicken stock if necessary.
Cook as long as possible (2 hours or more, or until the meat falls of the bone)
Add the flour to the half and half, and add a little bit of hot sauce, and add it to the paprikash. Stir it around. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, or until not thickened.
Add the sour cream and cook until it is heated through. Serve over spaetzal (recipe is below)

For the spaetzal:
Whisk the butter, water, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and eggs together. Add the flour, and stir briskly with a fork. Batter should be very sticky and elastic. Boil a large pot of salted water, and spray the spaetzal maker with vegetable spray. Put it over the boiling water. Pour the batter into the spaetzal maker, and drop the spaetzal into the boiling water. When they float to the top, leave them there for another minute, then remove them with a slotted spoon and put them in a bowl. Toss them with butter, and salt. Serve on the bottom of the chicken paprikash.

ENJOY!!!!!!!

 

Puff Pastry Heirloom Tomato Tart

I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while… I've been soooooooo busy. But here is a great recipe that I made a few weeks ago. Here is the recipe:

Puff Pastry Heirloom Tomato Tart
Serves 5

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry (half of a 17 ounce package), thawed
All purpose flour, for dusting
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup of sour cream
1/2 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives, plus more for topping
12 ounces assorted small heirloom tomatoes, halved

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Unfold the puff pastry onto a floured piece of parchment paper and roll it out into a 9 by 11 inch rectangle. Score it 1/2 inch in from the edge, all the way around, using a paring knife. Slide the the pastry on the parchment onto a baking sheet. Poke the middle of the pastry all over with a fork, then bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let it cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Beat it with a mixer until smooth. Spread it evenly over the cooled crust. Arrange the tomatoes on top Season with pepper, and salt if needed, and top with more chives. Cut into squares and serve.