The first one being, I didn't make it to round 3 of the Disney Parks Moms Panel search. While I am sad, my love for the main Mouse still lives on! I will be trying again for a spot on the 2015 panel. I have made some wonderful friends throughout the process and also realized how amazing the friends I already have are! Congrats to those of you that have moved on. I can't wait to follow your journey. I'll still be here....in my Mickey Jams!
Yesterday, I spent the afternoon going between Andrew's school and Ally's school for Thanksgiving lunches!
When I got to Andrew's school he had on a cute Indian shirt that his teacher made and an Indian hat that he made. (Which he told me to kiss before I left for some reason.)
I finally got to meet a couple of Ally's new friends. They were very nice and I am happy to say that she is adjusting well to her new school (after a very rough start).
Now onto the good stuff! The Food!! One my favorite Chef's is John Besh. His cookbooks are beautifully written and his food is delicious. I have to admit that I feel a bit of kinship to him (even though we haven't met yet). Maybe it's because we're both from the south....ok, ok, I'm not really from the Mississippi Gulf coast. Trust me when I tell you that no matter where you are from, if you move to the south, eventually you will feel like you've always lived here. Maybe my kinship stems from the fact that we both have 4 kids, or we both graduated from catholic school in the same state....or maybe it's just because we both like to make great food and his recipes help me achieve that!
Chef Besh's Crawfish Etouffee recipe is my go to. It's quick, easy, and delicious!
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons flour
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
half of a red bell pepper, diced (I used green because that's what I had though)
2cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs, fresh thyme (just leaves). I used about 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme but fresh is better
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon paprika
1 small tomato, peeled, seeded, diced
1 quart shellfish stock. (I used crawfish stock I had made before but I've also used fish stock)
3 tablespoons butter
1 lb crawfish tails
2 dashes Worcestershire
2 dashes tobacco
salt, pepper
3 cups cooked rice
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk flour in to hot oil. This will make your roux. Keep whisking until roux turns a dark brown color....Darker than this.
Then add onions and cook until the onions have carmelized (don't add the other vegetables yet because if you do, the water from them will cause the onions to not caramelize)
The onions will turn the roux shiny and dark. At this point, add the celery, bell pepper, garlic, thyme, cayenne, and paprika. Cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoe and stock, increase heat to high.
Once it has come to a boil, reduce heat to medium and let simmer 5-7 minutes, stirring often so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Reduce heat to low and all butter, crawfish, Worcestershire. Use salt, pepper, and tobacco to flavor.
I actually don't add tobacco but let Bradley add it to his own bowl. I do add some Tony Chachere's for flavor (because "everything tastes better with Tony's", right Mel? ha!)
Remove from heat and serve over rice.
Another tip: I do believe that Chef Besh makes his roux dark, almost black. I don't have patience for that so end up with a lighter etouffee. The darker the roux, the more flavor your etouffee will have, Don't be afraid of dark roux!
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