Big Fat Tuesday

Our church has a big Mardi Gras party every Fat Tuesday and it's lots of fun. I've got a big pot of crawfish etoufee on the stove now and we're making praline brownies to go with it.

If I were nice, I would take some down to the voting polls and be all festive... I'll see how realistic that will be after the boys wake up. Here's how it turned out:


nom nom nommmmm

Crawfish Etouffee
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2003

1 stick unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 1/2 cups shrimp stock or water
1 pound crawfish tails
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
Cooked long grain white rice, accompaniment
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, to make a light roux. Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the sherry and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and crawfish tails and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice.

Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat.
Adjust the seasoning, to taste. Serve over rice, garnished with additional parsley.


In other news, the winds of change are a-blowin here at Hotwheel Hacienda. I'm not quite at liberty to say just yet for fear it may or may not happen, but I look forward to posting about it in the next few weeks.
And no, I'm not pregnant... (YAY Mirena!!!)