Comfort Food From Louisiana: Chef Recipe: Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Crawfish, Pepper Jack and Shrimp-Tomato Bisque Soup: April Is National Grilled Cheese Month

Comfort Food From Louisiana: Chef Recipe: Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Crawfish, Pepper Jack and Shrimp-Tomato Bisque Soup: April Is National Grilled Cheese Month: From Denny:  Now this is an exotic version of the humble comfort food:  the American grilled cheese sandwich.

You have no idea how hard it was when visiting Austria a few years ago when I attempted to explain how to make a simple grilled cheese sandwich to a local chef.  It was a seriously foreign concept to them.  They didn't have a clue.  Lots of delicious local cheeses yet no Austrian version of a grilled cheese sandwich!  Imagine that.

This Louisiana version comes from executive chef Carl Schaubhut of Café Adelaide in New Orleans.  Of course, as seafood, this rich sandwich is considered Lenten season friendly.  Serve by pairing it with the shrimp-tomato bisque soup. Here in Louisiana we always look for an excuse to enjoy our bountiful seafood so why not go meat free on Fridays even when it isn't Lent?  (You know, that special time that arrives after Mardi Gras and before Easter.)  Our restaurants enjoy creating Lenten season menus, always topping themselves from the year previous!...

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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.

Recipe: Cream of Crawfish Soup

Cream of Crawfish Soup

Serves 6 to 8. Voted one of Baton Rouge, Louisiana newspaper's: The Advocate’s Best of the Best recipes in 2004.

From: “Roux to Do” cookbook, published by Covington, Louisiana Junior League


Ingredients:


1 lb. crawfish tails with fat

½ cup chopped green onions

1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

2 cups chicken broth, heated

½ stick butter

1 onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

½ cup flour

2 cups whipping cream, warmed

2 cups milk, warmed

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

2 teaspoons cracked black pepper, or to taste

2 teaspoons Creole seasoning, or to taste

2 teaspoons garlic powder

Paprika for garnish


Directions:

Process the crawfish tails, green onions and mushrooms in a food processor until ground but not mushy, adding 1 cup of the chicken broth, if needed.

Melt butter in heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour with a whisk. Cook 1 or 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add remaining chicken broth and stir until well blended. Add the ground crawfish mixture and mix well. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the whipping cream and milk. Season to taste with salt, pepper, Creole seasoning and garlic powder. Mix very well.

Bring to boil then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Ladle into soup bowls. Garnish each lightly with a pinch of paprika.


Note: For other recipes visit my other fun blog –
Romancing The Chocolate

Recipe: Crawfish & Artichoke Bisque

Crawfish & Artichoke Bisque

From: "Recipes From a Chef" by Patrick Mould

Serves 6

Ingredients:


1 stick butter

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 (14 oz.) cans quartered artichoke hearts, drained

1/2 cup flour

2 cups chicken broth

3 cups half-and-half

1 lb. Louisiana crawfish tails

1 teaspoon hot sauce

salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley


Directions:

Heat butter in a large saucepot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, bell peppers, garlic, thyme and bay leaves, cook for 5 minuts.

Check artichoke hearts and remove any tough outer leaves. Add artichoke hearts to vegetable mixture and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add flour and stir until incorporated.

Stir in chicken broth and cook for 2 minutes until chicken broth starts to thicken. Stir in half-and-half and simmer for 2 minutes until bisque is smooth and creamy.

Add crawfish tails and hot sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.

Taste for seasoning and add salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste.

Stir in green onions and parsley. Serve and enjoy!

Note: For other recipes visit my other fun blog –
Romancing The Chocolate

Recipe: Seafood Stuffed Bell Peppers

Here's another typical Louisiana favorite comfort food dish. This recipe comes from the famous restaurant of Mike Anderson's in Baton Rouge.

Seafood-Stuffed Bell Peppers

Serves 6 - 8.


Ingredients:

3 - 4 green bell peppers, whole

3/4 cup chopped yellow onions

1/4 cup chopped celery

2 Tablespoons minced fresh garlic

2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon butter/margarine

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 pound crawfish tails, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup cooked white rice

2 1/2 Tablespoons chopped green onions

Paprika

Grated Parmesan cheese



Directions:


Cut bell peppers in half, removing seeds.

Boil until slightly tender. Drain and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, slowly saute yellow onions, celery and garlic in butter.

Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes over low heat. Stir frequently.

Add salt and pepper. Stir.

Add mushroom soup and crawfish tails.

Cook 8 minutes or until creamy.

Add rice and green onions. Stir well.

Fill each pepper half with stuffing.

Sprinkle paprika and Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake 20 minutes at 450 degree F., serving hot! Enjoy!

Note: If you are in a part of America or another country where crawfish tails cannot be easily found, maybe too expensive, just substitute small shrimp - equally tasty!


Photo by turtlemom4bacon @ flickr of a stuffed bell pepper with ground meat

Note: For other recipes visit my other fun blog –
Romancing The Chocolate