Blackened Catfish

I love Cajun-style blackened fish - it is so good! So I was really excited to get to make it myself. We used the recipe for blackened redfish from the Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook, except we used catfish fillets instead.

It turned out really tasty, and I'm looking forward to making it again.  

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 4 8-10 oz. catfish fillets
• Seasoning Mix:
• 1 tbsp. paprika
• 2 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 3/4 tsp. white pepper
• 3/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves 

Yield: 4 servings

Melt the butter in a skillet.

Pour 2 tbsp. of melted butter into 4 small cups. Set aside and keep warm.  Reserve the remaining butter in its skillet. 

Thoroughly combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl. 

Dip each fillet in the reserved melted butter so that both sides are well coated.

Sprinkle the seasoning mix generously and evenly on both sides of the fillets, patting it in by hand.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over very high heat until it is beyond the smoking stage and you can see white ash in the skillet bottom (the skillet cannot be too hot), at least 10 minutes. We did this outside on the grill - it can get a lot hotter than our stove and that way we wouldn't have to deal with the smoke in the house. 

Place the fillet in the hot skillet and pour 1 tsp. melted butter on top of each fillet. Be careful since the butter will probably flame up.

Cook, uncovered, over the same high heat until the underside looks charred, about 2 minutes (the time can vary depending on the heat of the skillet and the fillet's thickness).

Turn the fish over, and again pour 1 tsp. melted butter on top and cook until the fish is done (about 2 minutes more).  

Pour the 2 tbsp. of melted butter your set aside in the small cups earlier over the fillets and serve while hot!

Enjoy!

Seafood Dirty Rice

For Mardi Gras this year, we made seafood dirty rice for dinner and King Cake for dessert.  It was my first time making the King Cake by myself and I was really happy with how it turned out.  My mom and I made the seafood dirty rice together - we used the recipe from the Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook.  It was really good!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound shrimp (with shells)
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp. peanut oil
• 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp. very finely chopped onions
• 2 1/2 tbsp. very finely chopped bell pepper
• 2 tbsp. very finely chopped celery
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. white pepper
• 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shrimp stock
• use the shrimp shells to make the stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 1/2 cups cooked rice
• 3/4 cup very finely chopped green onions
• 1 cup (about 1/2 pound) lump crabmeat

Yield: 4 servings

Peel the shrimp and use the shells to make the shrimp stock.

Melt the butter with the oil in a large skillet.

Add the tomato sauce, onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, salt, white pepper, thyme, and cayenne.  Sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the stock and continue cooking over high heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the cream.

Simmer for about 4 minutes.

Add the shrimp and simmer for 3 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the rice, green onions, and crabmeat, keeping the lumps of crabmeat as intact as possible.

Heat through and serve immediately.

This recipe is so good - I highly recommend trying it if you like cajun food.

Boiled Shrimp and Red Sauce

One of my favorite meals is boiled shrimp and red sauce. We almost aways have it on New Year's Eve, and often for other occasions as well. Today I'm sharing our recipe - the red sauce recipe was created by my grandpa and it is a lot tastier than your normal cocktail sauce.  I like the red sauce so much that I usually wind up eating the leftovers with Ritz crackers.

Ingredients

• peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning 
• paprika
• Rick's Red Sauce
• 16 oz Heinz ketchup (I prefer using Simply Heinz - no corn syrup!)
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. A.1. steak sauce
• 1 tbsp. Heinz 57 sauce
• 4-5 splashes Tabasco

Bring water to a boil and add Old Bay seasoning. Add peeled and deveined shrimp.  Bring water back to a boil and boil for about 5 minutes. Add a sprinkle of paprika to the water. Drain the shrimp and rinse with cold water. Dunk in ice or put in the refrigerator to chill.

To make the red sauce, stir the ketchup, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, A.1. steak sauce, Heinz 57 sauce, and tabasco together.  Refrigerate.

Serve the shrimp with a side of red sauce and enjoy!

This is a really easy meal to make and great for parties, since you can make as much as you need.  

Crawfish Enchiladas

Hi!  I know I haven't posted much recently, but this month has been pretty crazy. But I have been making some tasty things and I can't wait to share them with you and get back to posting. 

One of the yummy things we made recently was crawfish enchiladas. This is another one of our favorite recipes from Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen. They taste so good!

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
• 2 chopped jalapeños (about 1/3 cup)
• the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of chopped green chilis, but we prefer the taste and heat of jalapeños
• 3/8 cup finely chopped bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 pound peeled crawfish tails
• 1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 10 corn tortillas
• Seasoning Mix 1
• 5/8 tsp salt
• 3/8 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/8 tsp oregano
• 1 minced garlic clove
• Seasoning Mix 2
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp oregano

In a large skillet, melt 1/2 stick of the butter. Add the onions, jalapeños, bell peppers and Seasoning Mix 1. Sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the heavy cream and bring mixture to a rapid boil; then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the sour cream and stir continuously until the cream is dissolved, about 2 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the cheese and stir until melted.

In a 4-quart saucepan, melt the remaining 1/2 stick butter. Add the crawfish, green onions, and Seasoning Mix 2. Sauté over medium heat for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the cheese sauce to the crawfish mixture and stir well. Simmer until the flavors are well-blended, about 6-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small saucepan, heat the oil to about 325º. Hold the tortillas one at a time with metal tongs and dip each in hot oil just long enough to soften, about 30 seconds.

Drain on paper towels.

Spread a thin layer of the crawfish sauce on an ovenproof baking dish.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of the crawfish sauce and a small amount of cheese on each tortilla and roll the tortilla around the filling.

Pour the remainder of the crawfish sauce on the enchiladas.

Cover the tortillas with the remaining cheese.

Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 350º for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

Serve immediately.

These are really good - they're one of my family's favorite meals!

Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict

I hope everyone had a good Easter! We did. At our house, we don't do a big Easter dinner, instead we do a brunch and relax for the rest of the day. This year, we made one of our family's go-to favorites - crab cakes eggs benedict. They are basically just like regular eggs benedict - but with a crab cake in place of the Canadian bacon. We borrowed the idea when we first had them at Hyde Park Bar and Grill in Austin. If you're ever in Austin, you should definitely check them out - their food is delicious!

Ingredients:

• Crab Cakes
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp. Dijon or Cajun mustard
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp. hot sauce
• 1 lb. fresh lump crabmeat, drained
• 1 cup (about 20 crackers) crushed saltines/Ritz crackers
• 1 qt. peanut oil
• 8 eggs
• 4 English muffins
• Hollandaise sauce
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• Dash of Tabasco
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Salt and pepper to taste

Yield: 4 servings

The recipe for the crab cakes comes from Southern Living.  To make them, stir together the first 5 ingredients, then fold in the crabmeat and crushed crackers.  Let stand for 3 minutes.

Shape the mixture into 8 patties and place on wax paper.  Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.  We've found that the crab cakes hold up much better if you chill them overnight.

Fry the crab cakes in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden.

Drain on paper towels.

Break the English muffins in half and lightly toast each half.  Poach the eggs in simmering water on medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until cooked.  I prefer using poach pods lightly coated with cooking spray.

To make the Hollandaise sauce, I used the blender method in James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking.

Combine the egg yolks, salt, Tabasco, and lemon juice in a blender and blend on the high setting, just enough to blend the mixture.  

Heat the butter until it is bubbling, but not to the point it is browned. Remove the insert from the lid of the blender, turn the blender on high and pour the hot butter in a thin, continuous stream. When the butter is absorbed and the sauce thick, turn off the blender. If you need to thin the hollandaise, add 1 tablespoon hot water into the sauce while the blender is running.

Assemble the Eggs Benedict by putting one crab cake on an English muffin half, then put the poached egg on top of the crab cake. If you used poach pods to poach the eggs, turn the poach pod upside down over the crab cake and gently push on the bottom - the egg should slide right out. Pour the hollandaise over the eggs and salt and pepper the eggs to taste.

These are always a big hit at my house - they make a delicious brunch for a special occasion.

Did you make anything special for Easter?