Creole Crawfish Treats!

                A few weeks back I wrote about a Southern Louisiana dinner with my wine group.  I not only filled in for the person designated to bring dessert, which resulted in my “Pumpkin Pie in a Glass.” I also brought a first course to complement the theme.

                I made a recipe I’ve been making since my long-ago days of living in New Orleans. If memory serves, it came from the local newspaper, The Times-Picayune, although I can’t find anything similar online.

In my recipe software files, it’s listed as “Crawfish Bella Luna.” Bella Luna was a beautiful restaurant in the French Market in New Orleans. It had a great river view and a very talented chef.  Unfortunately, it was badly damaged at the time of Hurricane Katrina and never re-opened.

                The recipe calls for a pound of crawfish tails. You can buy them frozen in many supermarkets, or ask the seafood department of your favorite market to order them for you. Due to current news items, I would avoid any from China. I got mine from Thomas’ Meat Market in Collierville. The ones they sell are from Spain, and I felt quite comfortable using them. 

                The recipe includes what is known in Creole cooking as “the trinity”: celery, onion and bell pepper. You could save a bit of prep by using a 12-ounce bag of frozen Creole mirepoix. It’s usually in pretty big pieces, just drop the frozen contents of the bag on your chopping board and run a sharp knife through it. It will take a bit longer to cook through, since you’ll have a good bit of moisture to cook off before the vegetables start to cook. But it has the advantage of saving a good bit of chopping time.

               This is one of those recipes that can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, making it good for a cooperative dinner, as our wine dinner group is.

                We served it as a seated first course. I put a handful of arugula with a light sherry vinaigrette on the side.  If you wanted to make it a lunch or brunch main course, just make the salad bigger and add grape tomatoes, slivered red onion and a sprinkle of feta or gorzonzola cheese. 

Crawfish Bella Luna

 3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup onion, very finely minced
1/3 cup celery, very finely minced
1/3 cup green bell pepper, finely minced
1/3 cup green onion, with some of the green top, finely minced
2 plump cloves garlic, minced
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Zatarain’s Creole (or other whole grained) musta
rd1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, minced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning, such as Tony Cachere’s
1 egg
1 pound frozen crawfish tails, defrosted in the bag
½ cup heavy creamSweet paprika for garnish

               Preheat the oven to 350^o. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the butter. When just starting to sizzle add the onion, celery, bell pepper, green onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are just starting to get tender, about 5 minutes.
               Remove from the heat and whisk in the mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Creole seasoning. Mix well, then whisk in the egg. Add the crawfish tails and all the juices from the bag and toss. Divide among 8 half-cup ramekins. Pour two tablespoons of heavy cream on the top and sprinkle with paprika. 
              Bake until browned and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Serve with crusty bread or baguette toasts.

A tasty brunch for any occasion...

I know I’ve mentioned before that I’m from Louisville, and that the high social season there revolves around the Kentucky Derby, held the first Saturday in May.

Of course when I lived there I had to have a party at some point. But the trick was to schedule it so I wouldn’t miss any of the other good ones. My solution: a brunch on Sunday after the Derby. Nobody else did that so I was assured a good turn-out. One constant of a Derby party is ham (it would be good country ham) and another would be something involving asparagus.

Tomorrow is Derby Day, and we’ll be watching. But in case you’re not a horse race fan, remember that Sunday is Mother’s Day, and I bet your mama, or your childrens’ mama, or somebody you know would love to have a nice brunch to honor her.

I used ham because I had Easter ham leftovers but diced roast chicken or turkey would work equally well. And I used purchased fresh salsa but there’s no rule that says you can’t make your own if you are so inclined..

HAM-ASPARAGUS ENCHILADA BAKE
2 cups ham, diced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
1 tbsp. Penzey’s salsa seasoning (or regular chile powder)
8 stalks asparagus
8 8-inch flour tortillas
6 eggs
1 tbsp. flour
1 cup half-and-half (or whole milk)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 tsp chipotle Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Salsa, for serving

Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Combine ham, Monterey jack, onions, green chiles and salsa or chile seasoning. Spoon about 1/3 cup of this in center of each tortilla. Top with an asparagus spear. Roll tightly and place in prepared dish. (This can be done a day ahead, covered and refrigerated.)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Combine eggs, half-and-half, flour, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Beat well. Pour evenly over tortillas. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until eggs are set. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top and bake an additional five minutes or so, until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let set for about 5 minutes. Serve with salsa.

Serves four to eight, depending on the guest list.

A great brunch, lunch,supper...whatever dish!

      I’ve been going through a stack of cooking magazines lately, trying to cull out the ones I want to keep and those that can be discarded. It’s a really big stack, and I keep getting distracted by recipes and articles I can’t wait to make.
      One that had lots of things I liked the looks and sound of was a two-year-old Cuisine et Vins de France. It had an article with lots of quiche and tart recipes. All sounded delicious but I had everything it took to make one of them…so I did.
      I made the crust from scratch, following their instructions to replace half the ice water with balsamic vinegar and it was delicious. But the filling was so tasty that you could easily use a pre-made crust from the supermarket dairy case, as I usually do. I had made too much filling for the tart pan I used, so I did just that and made another one to take to work the next day. It reheated well, and it disappeared in a hurry.
     It could be served in small servings as an appetizer, or in larger servings with a nice salad for a brunch or supper main course. Either way, I think you’ll enjoy this as much as everyone at work apparently did.

CARAMELIZED ONION QUICHE WITH GINGER

1 pie crust, either from your favorite recipe, or pre-made
3 tbsp unsalted butter
4 large onions, sliced thinly
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp sugar
½ cup dry red wine
5 eggs
½ cup half-and-half
Generous pinch of ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley, for garnish

      Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Fit the pie crust into a buttered tart pan*. Prick all over with a fork and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
      In a wide skillet, melt the butter over very low heat. Add the ginger and stir a couple of times. Add the onions, stir well and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until soft. Sprinkle with the sugar and stir. Raise the heat to medium. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently until all the liquid has evaporated and the onions are nicely caramelized, about 15 minutes.
     Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the cream and the nutmeg and whisk until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread the onions over the bottom of the tart crust and pour the egg mixture evenly over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the filling is set and the crust is golden brown. Let set a few minutes before cutting.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving.

Makes 12 appetizer servings, or 4 to 6 main course servings.

*For the pan, I prefer one with a removable bottom but a 10-inch pie pan would work as well.

Italian Chestnut Stuffed Onions

 

You may know that my husband and I recently made a wonderful trip to Italy. A week of the trip was spent with a car, motoring around the Chianti district of Tuscany. We saw all the sights but we also indulged in an awful lot of great food and wine. Several seasonal ingredients were on most menus: cinghiale (wild boar), chestnuts and zucca (which refers to most any of the winter squashes).

One evening we dined at a small country restaurant with a fixed menu. The only antipasto offered was a chestnut-stuffed onion. It was served with a small salad and both of us just lapped it up. I knew I wanted to try it. Then I got several emails from readers asking if I planned on giving my annual fall chestnuts-in-anything-but-dressing recipe. I knew it was time.
I had a group of friends coming for dinner and served this as an antipasto, as we'd had it, with a salad on the side.

It would also make a great side dish with your Thanksgiving turkey, or grilled meats or poultry. In fact, it's filling enough to serve as a light lunch, brunch or supper entree with a bigger salad.

You might see fresh chestnuts in local markets, but I'd go with jarred cooked chestnuts. They're available at Fresh Market and Whole Foods, and at some local supermarkets.

You can prepare the onions for the final baking a couple of hours before dinner and bake when you're ready for them. Or you could do the first baking, add the chestnut stuffing, cover and chill up to a day ahead. Let them come to room temperature and then add the cheese and butter right before baking.

I didn't have any leftovers but if I had I would have chopped it all together and mixed it with sliced potatoes and then continued with my basic scalloped potato recipe. Doesn't that sound yummy?

CIPOLLE RIPIENE ALLE CASTAGNE
Chestnut Stuffed Onions

4 large yellow onions
2 tbsp. minced parsley
1 tbsp minced fresh sage
1 tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves
1 large pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Extra virgin olive oil
8 oz cooked chestnuts
2 tbsp sweet Marsala wine
1 more pinch nutmeg
8 slices pancetta
4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
Cold butter
1/2 cup dry white wine (or chicken stock)
Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375o. Cut a thin slice off the stem and root ends so the onion will set level in the baking pan. Peel the onions and cut them in half crosswise. Place in a well oiled baking dish just large enough to hold them all in one layer. Sprinkle with the parsley, sage, thyme and nutmeg, and salt and pepper lightly. Sprinkle with olive oil. Cover the dish tightly (with lid or foil) and bake for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely chop the chestnuts and mix with the wine and nutmeg. Raise the oven temperature to 400o. Place a slice of pancetta over each onion half. Divide the stuffing among the onions and mound on top of the pancetta. Sprinkle with the grated cheese. Using a vegetable peeler, make a shavings of butter and place one on each onion half. Pour the wine into the pan around the onions.

Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until onion is tender and topping is lightly browned. Place on a serving platter (or individual dishes) and garnish with fresh thyme sprigs. Serves 8.

Vegetable Shepherd's Pie?

 I was at a business networking luncheon not long ago. In the post-meeting mingling, a friend mentioned that her daughter had recently become a vegetarian and she just didn’t know how to cook for her.

That seems to be pretty popular among young folks nowadays, who don’t always consider the necessity of planning healthy balanced meals. A vegetarian diet can be a healthy one, but I had one young employee who thought a lot of salads and the occasional cheese pizza would sustain her. She wound up one sick little lady.

If you are a regular reader of my columns, you know I’m definitely not a vegetarian, but I thought it was an interesting challenge.

There’s a dish in France called “hachis parmentier.” It’s sort of the equivalent of shepherd’s pie: seasoned chopped meat topped with mashed potatoes and baked. In France anything “parmentier” involves potatoes. You may remember the salmon parmentier we did a few months back (and wasn’t that a yummy dish!).

That seemed to be a good starting place. I sautéed some vegetables, and added quinoa. It’s an ancient grain that is very nourishing and adapts to a lot of different cuisines. As a bonus it has a nice little mouth crunch.

So I tossed the vegetable-quinoa mixture into a casserole and topped it with seasoned mashed potatoes. It looks like a long recipe, but it goes very quickly. It was totally an experiment, and with a tossed salad with some feta cheese and toasted pine nuts included, made a lovely meal.

Not one of the Monday night tasting group asked “Where’s the meat?!?!”

PARMENTIER AUX LEGUMES

For the bottom layer:
1/2 cup quinoa
2 medium carrots, peeled and very thinly sliced
1/4 cup good fruity olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cups cabbage, finely shredded
2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 bunch fresh kale or spinach, stalks removed, shredded
1 can diced tomatoes, with Italian seasoning

For the top layer:
2 lbs russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and shredded or finely chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream, crème fraîche or sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup fine dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan, asiago or gruyère cheese
2 tablespoons minced parsley

In a medium saucepan, simmer the quinoa in 1 cup lightly salted water until tender. This will take 15-20 minutes. It should absorb pretty much all the liquid. Add the sliced carrot after about 10 minutes. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic, stir a couple of times, then add the onion, celery, bell pepper and cabbage. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until just barely tender, about 10 minutes. Add the zucchini and kale and continue to cook, stirring frequently, another five minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the quinoa-carrot mixture and turn into a casserole greased with olive oil. Scatter the tomatoes and their liquid over the top.

Meanwhile, in a large pan of well-salted boiling water, cook the potatoes and carrot until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well and mash together. Add the cream, and season to taste.

Spread on top of the vegetable mixture, making sure to completely cover all the way to the edges. Mix together the crumbs, cheese and parsley and sprinkle evenly over the top.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until heated through and the top is golden, about 30 minutes. If you want a crispier top crust, you could run it under the broiler for a few minutes. Serves 6 to 8.

NOTES: 1) You can make this ahead and leave out, covered, for an hour or two. Or do it up to a day ahead and chill, but bring out of the fridge at least an hour before baking.

2) If you would rather not buy a whole cabbage and shred it, you could use bagged cole slaw mix from the produce section. That’s what I did.

3) I think I would love this with diced roasted butternut squash in place of the zucchini. Or beets.

Asparagus for brunch!

 Asparagus is still pretty much a bargain at the markets, and I couldn't be happier! I love it just about anyway you make it. My favorite way of cooking it as a vegetable is sprinkled with sea salt and olive oil and roasted at 400o F for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness. And it's a perfect match for ham.

I was blessed recently to have friends bring me a smoked ham from Coursey's in Arkansas. It was one of the best hams I have ever tasted, just smoky enough, lean and tender.

I found a sandwich recipe on the website of the American Egg Board (www.aeb.org) and adapted it a bit to suit my tastes, using roasted asparagus and that wonderful ham.

It's easy and quick to make, but you could make it ahead of time, refrigerate it, and reheat it gently at serving time.

If brunch is on your mind, I think this would be marvelous over toasted English muffins as well. However you enjoy it, I know you'll love it!

HOT ASPARAGUS EGG SALAD

4 crusty sandwich rolls
2 tbsp butter
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 package Hollandaise sauce mix (I used Knorr)
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Juice and grated zest of one lemon
1/2 pound asparagus, roasted or steamed until just crisp, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup baked ham, chopped
4 hard-cooked eggs, sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Open the rolls and place cut side up on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until lightly browned and crisp, 6-8 minutes. Set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Sauté the mushrooms until tender, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.

In the same pan, combine the Hollandaise sauce mix and the cornstarch. Slowly whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the lemon juice and zest. Remove from the heat and stir in the asparagus, ham and reserved mushrooms. Gently fold in the eggs.

Place the roll bottoms on serving plates and divide the egg mixture among them. Place the tops on and serve immediately. Serves four.

NOTE: Ham information: Coursey's, Inc, St. Joe, AR Phone: (870)439-2503

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Weekend Brunch for a Bunch

  I grew up in Louisville, where there are two holiday seasons: the month of December and the couple of weeks leading to Derby Day, the first Saturday in May. Both are a whirl of parties and entertaining. The trick for both was to plan your party so you would have the most people come, and your wouldn’t miss a really good one given by someone else.

As a young bride, I found a solution that worked best for me. I tended to be a bit more moderate in my fun-having than some. So my traditional party was a brunch, the Sunday after Derby Day in May, and on New Year’s Day in January. Everyone came, since I was the only one entertaining on those days, and all appreciated not having to cope with getting breakfast together themselves.

The trick to this is to have dishes that can be mostly prepared in advance. Recently a group of friends got together for a leisurely brunch. We set out a platter of assorted cheeses and crackers to start. The main event was a made-ahead mushroom-cheddar sauce with hard-cooked eggs and Canadian bacon on toasted English muffins and served with a salad. For a sweet, we had an easy lemon coffeecake from a recipe I’ve had for a while. It probably came off the back of a Bisquick box.



The last minute work on this is minimal. The day before, make your sauce, cook your eggs and make your cake. Then for the brunch. all you have to do is reheat the sauce and add the eggs, warm the Canadian bacon and toast the muffins. Toss a bag of spring greens with a small can of Mandarin oranges (drained), sliced strawberries and purchased poppy seed dressing. Make a big pot of coffee. Set out pitchers of orange and tomato juices with bottles of vodka and sparkling wine if that’s your inclination.

We made a sort of Kir Royal with champagne and pomegranate juice (available in the produce section of most supermarkets). It was an experiment and a felicitous one, since it wasn’t too sweet.

Why don’t you start your own New Year’s Day tradition? Invite your friends, feed them and then let them put their feet up to watch the football games, work the crossword puzzle or just nap a bit. They’ll be so grateful!

Mushroom-Cheddar Brunch Muffins

1 lb white mushrooms, divided
8 tbsp unsalted butter (one stick), divided
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup half-and-half
1 tsp each dry mustard and sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1/2 small onion
1 cup sliced black olives
1 jar (12-ounce) roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
24 slices Canadian bacon
12 English muffins
12 eggs, hard cooked, peeled
Sweet paprika, for garnish

Slice about half the mushrooms. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and sauté the sliced mushrooms over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the remaining butter to the pan. When it starts to foam, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for a couple of minutes. Whisk in the stock until smooth, then whisk in the cream. Add the mustard, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and sherry. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Meanwhile in a food processor, combine the remaining mushrooms and the onion and pulse to make fine “crumbs.” When the sauce is smooth and thick, add this mixture and continue to simmer for about five minutes, stirring often. Add the reserved sautéed mushrooms, the olives and the roasted peppers. Stir in the cheese until melted. At this point you can cover, cool and refrigerate until ready to use, up to three days.

When ready to serve, peel and slice the eggs. Warm the sauce and gently stir in the eggs. Split the muffins and place on a baking sheet. Put the slices on Canadian bacon on another sheet. Preheat the broiler. Place the Canadian bacon on a lower shelf with the muffins above. Toast the muffins, watching carefully (they go from toasted to charred very quickly!). On dinner plates, place two muffin halves, top each with a warmed Canadian bacon slice, then the sauce. Sprinkle with paprika and serve immediately.

You can also put the sauce in a chafing dish, set out the muffins and Canadian bacon, and let folks serve themselves as they wander in. Serves 12.



Bisquick Lemon Coffee Cake

2-1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 lemon (peel and all) warmed, seeded and cubed
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 tbsp milk
1 cup powdered sugar
5 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350o. Stir together Bisquick, sugar and poppy seeds. In a blender or food processor blend lemon pieces until finely chopped. Add eggs and butter and blend well. Pour into dry ingredients. Add milk and stir until just moistened. Pour into a greased 9-inch cake pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool about 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over the cake. To store, let glaze set, then wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Makes 12 modest sized servings.