Tag-Archive for » Seafood «
11
Jan 2013
Jan 2013
One of the best ways for me to brighten up a dreary winter’s day is to grab hold of a juicy Louisiana satsuma, push my thumb through its forgiving skin, separate the skin from the flesh and plop the seedless segments into my mouth one by one. As I bite down on each section, my mouth swells with tangy sweetness and all is right with the world! At least for a little while! Citrus has that weird mood-enhancing effect on me. Even my kids recognize it! Whenever I’m grumpy, they tell me to go “cut a lime.” While that sounds [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Fish, Salad, Seafood, Shrimp
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood One Comment
03
Aug 2012
Aug 2012
Are you hungry for something rich and luscious and seafoody? Good. Because that’s exactly what I’m cooking up for today’s Happy Hour! I’m making crawfish pies which consist of sweet crawfish meat smothered in a creamy, roux-based sauce with the perfect amount of Cajun Country kick. Throughout the backroads of South Louisiana, you’ll typically find these savory pies prepared as you would a large dessert pie. The pie is sliced and served along with a green salad or some sort of stewed vegetable. But they can also be made into individual portions using mini pastry shells like these.
For years, I [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Crawfish, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood
Tags: Appetizers, crawfish, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood 16 Comments
06
Jul 2012
Jul 2012
Do you ever notice how some of your best kitchen creations are made on the fly? Pulled together spontaneously with whatever’s lurking in the fridge or lingering in the pantry? That’s the story behind this finger food. Because I hate to waste, especially real food … good food, I was stressed out about using up some leftover boiled shrimp and ripe and ready avocados I had on hand. My initial thought was to simply toss them in a salad with greens and a lemon vinaigrette. But as I was cleaning the greens, I remembered that I had a fresh loaf [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood, Vegetables
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28
Jun 2012
Jun 2012
Have I ever introduced you to Child No. 3? Oh, I’m sure I have if only briefly. Blair. My beautiful, bright-eyed third of three. Still considered my baby, even as she approaches double digits. Highly inquisitive. Funny. Mother hen. Accomplished grazer. Nicknamed “junior” by the hubby because she’s so much like her momma–especially when it comes to sleeping (gets a solid 10 each night) and eating (lover of mass quantities of all things edible).
On the eating front, her habits are so closely aligned with mine they’re downright frightening! Take this tuna salad for instance. She eats it one of three [ ... ]
22
Jun 2012
Jun 2012
Marinating crabs is a time-honored way to breathe new life into and extend the enjoyment of leftover boiled crabs. My grandmother’s dear friend Josie, who was like an aunt to us, began making this glorious finger food for my family decades ago. It’s a happy mess of highly seasoned boiled crabs drenched in what is best described as a chunky olive oil-based vinaigrette and eaten in the same manner as boiled crabs–with your hands. Most of us will jump at the chance to host a backyard crab boil just so we can set aside a dozen or so crabs for [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Crab, Finger Food Fridays, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Seafood
Tags: Appetizers, crab, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood Comments off
01
Jun 2012
Jun 2012
In Louisiana, we define the four seasons by Crawfish, Shrimp, Crab and Oyster. It’s a unique and appetizing way to get through the year. As one delicious season ends, another much-anticipated one begins. Currently, crawfish season is winding down and shrimp season is gearing up. Plump, juicy, sweet Louisiana shrimp. There’s nothing like them! And this season, however young, is already proving to be grand. I know because I had the good fortune of receiving a pound of wild jumbo Louisiana shrimp straight from the deck of the Anna Marie (a South Louisiana fishing vessel) through the efforts of the [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood, Shrimp
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood, Shrimp Recipes 2 Comments
24
May 2012
May 2012
Are you looking for a new crawfish recipe to add to your repetoire? If so, this Savory Cajun Crawfish Cheesecake with Roasted Red Pepper Hollandaise is sure to please. It’s a recipe I recently developed for my friends over at Cajun Crawfish–head on over to their blog and check it out. You’re gonna love it! You’re also gonna love the fact that you can order the crawfish tails you need for this recipe while you’re there! You see, Cajun Crawfish is one of the largest crawfish farmers and shippers in Louisiana. They’re also a [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Crawfish, Main Dishes, Seafood, Side Dishes
Tags: Appetizers, crawfish, Seafood 2 Comments
06
Apr 2012
Apr 2012
Back in November, I shared with you my Blackened Shrimp recipe which included a quick inside blackening process using an electric griddle or grill pan. While that technique is fine for cooking small batches of shrimp, I don’t recommend it for blackening big fillets of fish. In order to cook blackened fish properly, it needs to be done outside in a cast-iron skillet over very high heat. Cooking the fish indoors under these conditions could cause a fire hazard (the melted butter meets blazing hot skillet equation) or severe “spice inhalation” (the inability to breathe due to mass quantities of [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Fish, Main Dishes, Sauces, Seafood
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21
Mar 2012
Mar 2012
So you’re probably looking at my picture wondering why the heck I calls these things Codfish Balls when they’re actually more like cakes or patties. Well, to be honest, I’m not sure. All I know is my family and many other New Orleans families refer to them the same way. It is what it is, and I’m not about to shake up the family dynamic by changing the name to fit some textbook or cookbook definition.
Codfish Balls have always been my favorite Lenten meal. Unfortunately, many years ago the canned codfish people (Beaver and maybe Gorton) [ ... ]
14
Feb 2012
Feb 2012
I’m sharing a special love letter with you on this Valentine’s Day. This is not your typical mushy, make-you-blush kind of letter. No, the love letter I’m posting for all the world to see is actually my great-grandmother’s recipe for Turtle Soup as written by her son, my grandfather. I cherish this piece of paper like I would a love letter because it captures not only a special family recipe but a part of my Grandma Kirn who, more than anything, loved to feed us. It’s also the only item I have in my possession with [ ... ]
Category: Christmas, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Roux, Seafood, Soups, Stock
Tags: New Orleans Classics, Seafood, Seafood Stock Comments off
