GRITSGirl

RECIPES FROM THE SOUL

Crawfish Etoufee

Ingredients

½ stick Butter
1 cup Diced Celery
2 cups Diced Onion
1 cup Diced Green Pepper
1 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
1 Tbsp Paprika
½ Tsp Black pepper
½ Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Quart Chicken Stock
4 Tbsp Cornstarch
2 Tbsp Flour
½ cup Water
1 pound of Louisiana crawfish tails, with fat or shrimp
1 Tsp Louisiana Hot Sauce
Hot, cooked rice

Directions

Place large pot on medium high heat and melt butter. Sweat celery, onion and green pepper in butter until soft. 6-8 minutes.
Add all dry seasonings and cook together for another minute.
Add chicken stock, mix well and bring to boil.
While stock is heating, mix the cornstarch, flour and water together in a small container. Mix well to make sure there are no clumps.
Once a boil has been reached, mix in flour cornstarch water mixture with a whisk and blend in thoroughly.
Turn down to simmer and add hot sauce then cook on low for an additional 10 minutes.
If using with shrimp or crawfish, sauté first then add sauce directly on top of protein in pan then pour over rice.

Lobster Mac-n-Cheese Bites

Ingredients

1 lb. elbow macaroni or small shell pasta
2 lobster tails
Salt
Ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half, plus 2 tablespoons for egg wash
1 lb. Cheddar, grated
1/2 lb. smoked gouda, grated
1/2 lb. gruyere, grated
2 large eggs
3 cups seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon of Slap Ya’ Mama seasoning
Canola oil, for frying

Directions

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a large bowl.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add the lobster tails. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the tails from the water and cool. Gently remove the meat and chop into small chunks. Add the meat to a small bowl and lightly season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, add the butter. Sprinkle the flour into the butter and stir it with a whisk. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the 2 cups of half- and-half into the flour mixture, working out any lumps. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the cheeses, and stir until melted and smooth; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently mix in chopped lobster meat. Fold the lobster-cheese sauce into the macaroni.
Pour the macaroni and cheese into a pan and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours. Shape the cold macaroni and cheese into individual size balls and arrange them on a parchment paper-lined tray. Freeze the balls at least another 2 hours. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs and 2 tablespoons half-and-half together to form an egg wash.
Put the breadcrumbs into another shallow bowl add Slap Ya’ Mama and mix together.
Remove the macaroni and cheese balls from the freezer. Dip the frozen balls into the egg wash, then into the bread crumbs. Put the balls back into the freezer until you are ready to fry.
In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat enough canola oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 350 degrees F.
Fry the macaroni and cheese balls, in batches, until they are golden brown and center is hot and cheesy, about 5 minutes. Remove the balls to a paper towel lined plate to drain

Crab Stuffed Grouper

Ingredients:

4 Grouper filets (approx. 2 ½ lbs.)
1 stick of butter
1 medium bell peppers - chopped
1 large onions - chopped
2 stalks celery - chopped
Salt to taste
1 tsp. Old Bay
1 cup bread crumbs (unseasoned)
1 egg
1 handful chopped parsley
8 oz. lump crabmeat - (Pick all of the shells out.)
Slap Ya Mama or creole/Cajun seasoning

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F; coat a 9x13-inch baking dish w/ non stick cooking spray.

Melt butter

Saute' vegetables (bell peppers, onions, and celery) on medium heat until translucent - approximately 15 minutes.

Season with salt and cayenne pepper.

Mix all ingredients except crabmeat.

Add vegetable mixture you've already cooked.

Mix well. Fold in crabmeat.

Cut a deep pocket in the side of each grouper fillet. Stuff pockets with
crab mixture

Freeze any remaining stuffing for crab cakes

Bake for 20 -25 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients

1lb of Italian style turkey sausage (removed from casing)
1 lb of ground turkey
½ cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp of Golden Mushroom Soup (reserve the remaining amount)
¼ cup of water

Directions

Heat the oven to 350°F. Thoroughly mix the ground turkey, bread crumbs and egg in a large bowl. Place the beef mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and shape firmly into an 8 x 4-inch loaf.
Bake for 30 minutes. Spread 1/2 can soup over the meatloaf.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the meatloaf is cooked through. Let the meatloaf stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
Heat 2 tablespoons pan drippings, remaining soup and water in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Serve the gravy with the meatloaf!

Bacon Wrapped

Spicy Sticky Shrimp

Ingredients
14 slices center-cut bacon, cut in half (do not use thick-cut bacon)
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground red pepper
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
16 Jumbo shrimp

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 °.
2. Arrange bacon in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375° until partially cooked, but still flexible, about 7 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes or until cool enough to handle.
4. While bacon cooks, combine sugar, red pepper, paprika, and salt in a shallow dish with, stirring with a fork until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
5. Wrap each shrimp in 1 half slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

SEARED SEA SCALLOPS

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

1 lb. sea scallops
2 Tablespoon oil or butter
Cooking spray salt and pepper (white pepper preferably)

Dry the scallops with paper towels.
Salt and pepper both sides.
Heat a large regular (not non-stick) pan for 2-3 minutes so it is quite hot. Add the oil or butter, and then the scallops. Don't let them touch each other. If your pan isn't big enough to do them all at once, keep the first batch under a piece of foil and do two batches.
Cook the scallops about 1½ minutes each side. They should have a golden crust on both ends, and the center should still look translucent. Turn with tongs.

Creole Gumbo

Ingredients

1 whole cut up chicken
1 lb. of andouille sausage, sliced about 1/4" thick on the bias
2 lbs. of shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Blue crabs, cleaned, broken in half and claws pulled off (or you can use 1-1/2 pounds lump white crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage)
1 lb. pounds okra, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch green onions with tops, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
3 Ribs celery, chopped
several cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
Creole seasoning ( I prefer Tony Chachere)
Salt to taste
Few dashes of Louisiana hot sauce, or to taste.
Hot white rice

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with Creole seasoning and brown in the oven. Slice the sausage and brown, pouring off all the fat (especially if you're using fresh Creole hot sausage).
Sauté the onions, green onions, bell pepper and celery if you have not already added them to the roux and add to the stock. Add the chicken and sausage(s). Add the bay leaves and Creole seasoning (or ground peppers) to taste and stir. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer; let simmer for about 45 minutes. Keep tasting and adjusting seasonings as needed.
Add the okra and cook another 30 minutes. Cook for another 15 minutes, then add the shrimp (and if you have omitted the hard-shell crabs, add the lump crabmeat now). Give it another 6-8 minutes or so, until the shrimp are just done, turning pink.
Serve 1/2 cup of hot rice

FOR THE ROUX:

1 cups flour
¾ cup oil
Blend thoroughly in a Dutch oven and cook over medium-high to high heat, stirring continuously (be sure not to burn). If black specks appear in the roux; you will need to start again. Continue to stir until the roux looks like peanut butter (you can make a darker roux if you prefer).
Add your onions to the roux as it's near the end of cooking to arrest the cooking process and to soften and caramelize the onions (this is the way I like to do it). KEEP STIRRING. Once the roux is at the color you want add the bell peppers and celery and continue to stir until the roux is relatively cool. Add the roux to the stock.

Seadfood Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1 to 2 pounds of medium shrimp (peeled and cleaned)
A couple of tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
House Seasoning (See below)
12-ounce package of Tri-color rotini
One cucumber chopped into small pieces (optional)
8-10 cherry tomatoes halved
Zesty and House Italian dressing
½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
1 1/2 cups imitation crabmeat (shredded)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt the butter over medium heat
2. Add garlic and a couple of dashes of hot sauce
3. Add shrimp and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
4. Remove from the skillet when the shrimp turn light pink. Do not overcook them. Place in refrigerator to cool.

5. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. Place in refrigerator to cool.

6. When pasta is cool, stir in crab, shrimp, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

7. For dressing, combining dressing ingredients; pour over salad and gently toss to coat.

8. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

9. When serving if salad seems a tad dry add a little more Italian Salad Dressing.
10. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

House Seasonings:

Ingredients

1 cup salt
1/4 cup garlic powder
¼ cup onion powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp white pepper

Directions
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Mama's Cabbage & Collard Greens

Ingredients

½ -pound bacon, chopped

½ large onion, Sliced

7 leaves collard greens - rinsed, trimmed and chopped

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1/3 cup of water or chicken stock

1 head cabbage, chopped

1 teaspoon house seasoning, divided

1 pinch white sugar

2-3 Sliced jalapenos

Directions:

1. Fry the bacon with the onion in a large skillet over medium heat until the bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped collard greens, sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of the greens seasoning; cook and stir for 5 minutes.

2. Add in the darker chopped cabbage leaves, and cook and stir until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining cabbage; season with salt, black pepper, sugar, and the remaining greens seasoning. Stir well; cover and cook until tender, stirring occasionally so that the greens do not scorch, about 10 minutes.

House Seasoning Blend:

Ingredients
1. 1 cup salt.

2. ¼ cup black pepper.

3. ¼ cup garlic powder.

4. ¼ cup onion powder

5. 1tbsp red pepper flakes

Directions
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Boiled Peanuts

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours
Yield: 6-8 or more servings

Ingredients

3-4 lbs. of Raw Peanuts, in the shell.

¼ cup of Sea Salt, or similar.
¼ cup of Old Bay Seasoning
1-2 Smoked Neckbones

Instructions

1. Place the raw peanuts in a sink of water and rinse (2-3 times)
2. Place in a colander, rinse again and let drain.
3. Fill a large stockpot about 3/4's full of water.
4. Add Smoked Neckbones and cook for 20 minutes
5. Add the washed raw peanuts.
6. Add salt and Old Bay Seasoning
7. Place stockpot on stove and turn the heat to Medium-High, let come to a rolling boil.
8. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to Medium and let boil for about 3 hours.
9. Taste the peanuts about every 30 minutes from here on until cooked to desired doneness.
10. Remove from heat and let cool.