Louisiana Culture: Sicilian Tradition of St. Joseph's Altar

Louisiana Culture: Sicilian Tradition of St. Joseph's Altar: "This is a lesson from hundreds of years ago, still celebrated today, of what it is to give to others even when you are in your time of need. The act of gratitude has been with us for generations. 9 recipes."

By Denny Lyon

From Denny: I started out writing this for the blog to give out the recipes and before I knew it I was researching a centuries old tradition of gratitude that turned into a full blown article!

Cool link to a virtual St. Joseph's Altar where you can give virtual food offerings, read a blog, offer prayers for loved ones, learn the history of the tradition and much more.

It's a good story about how even when we think we don't have much it's important to remember others who have less. Louisiana has always been about sharing food generously with others and creating recipes to share too.

Recipe: Crawfish Fettuccine

In Louisiana the French and Italian cuisines are often married. This recipe for Crawfish Fettuccine is a typical example of local seafood substituted for the usual meat in a pasta dish.

Seafood dishes get quite creative during Lenten season since the majority of south Louisiana is Catholic even though Catholicism no longer requires this kind of fasting from meat. People still choose to fast from meat for health reasons these days with a nod to past religious tradition that has mellowed into a cultural tradition.

Louisiana men are known for their friendships developed from cooking or grilling what they often hunted and fished. Men tend to be the best cooks here. They also are the ones who tend to cook for large gatherings. This recipe comes from three friends who cook often for gatherings in their Catholic community.


Crawfish Fettuccine

From: James “B” Didier, Kenneth “Bobby” Barbier and Cliff McDaniel, All are close friends who enjoy cooking together for large gatherings - Holy Family Catholic Church, Port Allen, Louisiana

Yield: 50 servings - great for wedding rehearsal dinner!

Crawfish Fettuccine


Ingredients:

2 ½ pounds margarine

12 yellow onions, finely chopped

6 bunches green onions, finely chopped

6 bell peppers, finely chopped

10 garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ cup finely chopped parsley

4 pounds Velveeta jalapeño cheese
(Velveeta is basically a combination of Swiss and Cheddar cheese that melts easily with added hot Mexican hot peppers you can find in a jar.)

12 pounds crawfish tails

4 pounds fettuccine

Grated Parmesan cheese


Directions: Sauté in the margarine the onions, green onions, bell peppers, garlic and parsley until soft.

Add jalapeño cheese and cook until melted and combined well. Add crawfish.

Boil fettuccine until done, drain well. Add to crawfish mixture. Remove from heat. Pour into large casserole. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

To serve, bake at 350 degrees until thoroughly heated.

Serves 50.