Classic Cajun Food on Foodie Friday

Many, many thanks to Gollum at Designs by Gollum for sponsoring this great food event each and every Friday.  You will find all the participates on her blog.

 

I love to cook Cajun food.  I remember standing over the stove for at least an hour making roux when I was younger.  Now the roux in a jar is great.   Roy loves gumbo and I cook a lot of it, we keep  at least 20 + pounds of shrimp in our freezer all the time plus crab meat and crawfish.  Most people only cook gumbo in the winter, we eat it all year long.

You usually can buy crawfish frozen in the grocery store, just be sure you wash it and wash it, there is usually lot of fat in the packages. 
I think the secret to Cajun food is the seasoning..and what we call the “holy trinity” onions,  bell pepper and celery.  Most Cajun food is not real hot, it is seasoned and there is a difference. So I hope if you are not familiar with Cajun food, you will try something.

 

 

Crawfish Cornbread

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix

1 pound crawfish tails

1/2 tsp. soda

1 stick butter

1 cup grated cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup green onion

1/2cup onion

Melt butter and sauté onions: add crawfish.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Mix with cornbread, egg, soda, green onion, and cheese.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.  Pour into 12x12 pan; cook in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

 

 

  

Crawfish Etouffee

1 cup onions, chopped

1 cup green peppers, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup butter

1 pound peeled cooked crawfish tails

1 (10 1/4 oz.) can condensed cream of celery soup

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce

1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. ground red pepper

3 cups cooked rice

Condensed cream of mushroom soup may be substituted for celery soup.

Cook onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic in butter in large skillet until tender crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Stir in remaining ingredients except rice; simmer uncovered 10 to 15 minutes.  Serve over hot rice.  Makes 6 servings.  You can also use shrimp in place of crawfish.

Real Cajun etouffee is made with the fat of the crawfish, but I like using the soup better.

Bon Appétit  and Happy Foodie Friday!

Barbara