Scotty B Cooks! Recipes, Italian, Asian, Grilling, Steaks & More: Crawfish Cornbread and Crawfish Etouffee

New Orleans Crawfish & Shrimp Etouffee

OK here we go with the kick off to Cajun week! I want to thank my friend Brenda for the inspiration for Cajun week and the Cajun Crawfish Cornbread. Trust me, she is 100 carat coon-ass so she knows creole cooking! Cajun cuisine is an attitude. It's spicy, saucy and full of flavor.

Anytime that we have friends that come down from the North or Eastern parts of the United States, they can't wait to get their taste buds on some down home creole Cajun cooking. But they have to ease into it. You can't just jump right into a spicy, rich bowl of gumbo. You have to give your body time to work it's way up to something like that. Cajun Crawfish Cornbread is a great place to start and I think it's the perfect dish to start Scotty B's Cajun Week! We'll throw in some Crawfish Etouffee just for the fun of it.

Now, either one of these can be a full dinner but you really need to blow it out and have a Crawfish party. Invite some friends and family over because your going to have plenty available.

This version of Scotty B's Crawfish Cornbread uses some of the cooked Etouffee so it's its important to prepare the Etouffee first. Feel free to take liberties on the recipe below to fit your style of cooking or your tastes. The recipe is great as it is or it can be used as a base for your own Etouffee creation. You can use shrimp as a substitute if you prefer.

Consider this fine cookbook from Paul Prudhomme as an addition to your cooking library!

Scotty B's Cajun Crawfish Etouffee:

1 and 1/2 sticks of butter

1/2 can tomato sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

3 or more cloves of garlic or 1/2 tbl spn minced garlic from jar

1/2 tbl spn cayenne pepper

Louisiana Hot Sauce (or Tabasco)

dash of salt - or to taste

1 tbl spn of your favorite Cajun seasoning. I use Adams Reserve Cajun Seasoning

1/4 Cup All Purpose Flower

3/4 Cup Water

1 pound cooked crawfish tails

Rice:

2 Cups water

1 Cup Rice

Tbl Spn butter and dash of salt.

Boil water, lower heat and cover until rice is cooked through. Come on, it's rice!

In a large skillet over medium heat melt the butter. Then add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. I like to add a dash of salt and pepper to the onions as they cook.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the flour and continue to cook for about two minutes. Add the tomato sauce and stir for about 1 minute.

Slowly add the water and continue to stir until sauce thickens, about 2 or 3 minutes. Add salt, cayenne pepper, hot sauce and Cajun seasoning. Stir continuously. Take a small spoon and taste it for seasoning and adjust accordingly.