Crawfish Thermidor

This was what we had for Mother's Day, with New York strip steak and some zucchini and yellow squash. Matt's Mom brought some delicious pie, and his Dad brought ingredients for making mint juleps.

Submitted By: Kathleen Burton Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 25 Minutes Ready In: 45 Minutes Servings: 4 "Individual servings of crawfish braised with fresh mushrooms in butter and white wine, then spiced with red pepper flakes. Great for an appetizer or as a side dish." INGREDIENTS: 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms 1/2 cup white wine 1 pound peeled crawfish 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 cups milk paprika, for garnish DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 small to medium sized ramekins. 2. In a skillet, melt the butter and add mushrooms and white wine; simmer for about 8 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and simmer for another 5 minutes. 3. Gradually blend in flour, salt, and red pepper flakes. Slowly drizzle in the milk, stirring constantly and cook until mixture thickens. 4. Pour mixture into the prepared ramekins. Sprinkle the top of each with a pinch of paprika. 5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 5/10/2011

Potatoes Au Gratin

This was a recipe from tonight: I had a hankerin' for potatoes with cheese- and we'd not made this

for a long time.

Potatoes au Gratin

Recipe Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

Prep Time:

25 min

Inactive Prep Time:

hr min

Cook Time:

15 min

Level:

Serves:

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk
Salt and white pepper
1 1/2 pounds new red potatoes, cooked and sliced 1/2-inch thick
3 ounces grated Cheddar cheese
3 ounces grated Monterey cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8 cup rectangular baking dish with
1 tablespoon butter. In a nonreactive saucepan, over medium heat, melt the remaining butter. Stir in the flour
and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook until the liquid is slightly thick and coats the back of a
spoon, about 4 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. In a mixing bowl, toss the
sliced new potatoes with salt and pepper. Fold in the cream sauce and pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the
top of the potatoes with the grated cheese. Place the pan in the oven and bake until golden brown and bubbly,

about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

Potato Leek Soup

We made this recipe from Treehugger tonight:

2 large leeks
2 pound yukon gold potatoes, cubed
5 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon minced fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup whipping cream (optional)

1. Remove the leeks' root and tough outer; halve lengthwise.

2. Soak in 10 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar for 30 minutes.

3. Rinse well and chop.

4. Melt butter in a large stock pot over a medium-high heat.

5. Add chopped leeks, cook till softened.

6. Add the remaining ingredients.

7. Simmer over a medium-low heat until the potatoes fall apart (about 1 hour).

8. Remove from heat.

9. Using an immersion blender, puree to desired thickness.

Changes: We used 3.5c Veg stock and 1.5 cup Chicken stock (since we ran out of veg stock and had to replace the remaining portion). We used dry dill, same quantity (so it imbued more flavor). We used whipping cream, and added it just before pureeing. While pureeing it seemed a bit thin, so I thickened it with 2 tsp of Arrowroot.

Instead of white wine, we used a New Belgian trippel to deglaze the pan after the leeks had sauteed.

We served it with sourdough bread for dipping, and garnished with the chives.

This soup was EXTREMELY delicious. It was hearty, and has left me feeling very full for the relatively low caloric content.

Recipe Index for Online Recipes

I have a Delicious for recipes: http://www.delicious.com/mrsslats

As I find recipes I will link them there, with primary ingredients tagged and general cook times. I will also note if the ingredients are unusual, or other things which are important to know ahead of time.

Then, if I make the dish I will post to my blog about any changes made, and how it turned out.

This is regarding recipes not made yet, or recipes which I do not wish to copy in their entirety for expedience.

Enchiladas

Enchilada Filling

2 Chicken Breasts 1 Ranch Steak 1 can Diced Tomatoes 1 packet Taco Bell Taco Seasoning 1 tsp Chile Powder 1/2 tsp Cumin 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika Vegetable Stock 2cups Presoaked Beans (Pinto) 1 can Black Beans (optional) 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup From: Made up as I go.

-Presoak Beans the night before -Early in the day of the meal, start a crock pot on high heat -Put everything in this list in the crock pot, and use enough veg stock to cover everything. Allow to simmer for the day. -Check doneness of beans about 2 hours before dinner is served. If they are still a bit al dente take out the meats and pour all the fluid and beans into a pot. Add veg stock if needed and boil the beans until they become tender. -Preheat Oven to 425 -Shred Chicken. Combine with some of the mixture from the beans (by the time they were done, the fluids were very reduced to a syrupy texture) and a fair amount of cheese. Stir in the can of Cream of Chicken soup. This should result in a fairly stiff mixture of all these ingredients. Should not be watery or very loose. -Dice beef. Combine with some of the mixture from the beans, and a fair amount of Cheese. Add in some black beans for extra flavor.

Enchilada Assembly

Recipe Enchilada Fillings, Beef and Chicken 2 large cans Enchilada sauce, Red or Green LOTS Cheese, Mozzarella and Cheddar 30ct bag Tortillas 2 Glass Baking Dishes From: Various sources

-Pour some Enchilada sauce in the two glass baking dishes, making a thin layer in the bottom. -Pour more on a dish -With clean hands, rub enchilada sauce from the dish into each tortilla, back and front as you go: -Fill each moist tortilla with some filling. Roll it up and place it seam side down in the dish. -Continue this until the mixture is gone. I used a smaller dish for beef enchiladas, and a larger dish that I filled completely with chicken enchiladas. -pour more enchilada sauce on the enchiladas, until they are almost completely submerged in it. -Cover generously with cheese. -Bake until heated through and cheese is bubbly. Makes good leftovers.

Risotto Milanese

Changes: No saffron, added equal measure of mushrooms as onions.

Risotto Milanese

2 1/2 quarts Chicken Stock 4oz (120g) Whole Butter 5oz (150g) Onions 1lb 8oz (700g) Arborio Rice 8 fl oz (250mL) Dry White Wine 1/2 tsp (2ml) Saffron Threads 4oz (120g) Parmesan, grated From: On Cooking, Third Edition

-Bring Chicken stock to a simmer. -Heat three ounces (90g) of the butter in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the onions and saute until translucent -Add the rice to the onions and butter. Stir well to coat the grains with butter, but do not allow the rice to brown. Add the wine and stir until it is completely absorbed -Add the saffron. Add the simmering stock, 4 fluid ounces (120mL) at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until the stock is absorbed before adding the next 4 oz portion. -After approximately 18-20 minutes, all the stock should be incorporated and the rice should be tender. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1oz of butter and the grated cheese. Serve immediately.

Chicken Parmigiana

Chicken Breaded with Panko and topped with Parmesan Cheese

Chicken Breasts Bowl Whole Milk As Needed Panko Breading To Taste Herbs: Oregano, Parsley, Garlic, Salt, Pepper As Needed Whole Wheat Flour 1 Egg 1 Teaspoon Milk To Taste Shredded Parmesan From: Mrs. Slats

Preheat oven to 350F -Place thawed chicken in bowl of milk. -Prepare a bowl with the whole wheat flour in it -Prepare a bowl with the egg in it, beaten with the teaspoon of milk. -Prepare a plate with the panko mounded on it. -Prepare a baking dish with a rack in it or above it to hold the chicken above the dish itsself. -Place the chicken in the bowl of flour and thoroughly dredge it. -Move the dredged chicken to the egg, and coat it with that. -Dredge the chicken with the panko and get it thoroughly coated. -Bake the chicken for about 25 minutes. -Sprinkle the parmesan on the baking chicken, and then continue baking until it is done (depending on the thickness of the breasts.

Spaghetti and Pasta

2 tsp Olive oil 1tsp Minced Garlic To taste Oregano, Parsley, Basil, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder 1/4 cup Small dice onion As Needed Red Wine or Red Wine Vinegar 1 can Plain tomato sauce 1 tbsp Sugar small can Mushrooms Prepared Spaghetti Noodles, as needed From: Mrs. Slats

- While chicken and parmesan is baking, heat oil in a small pot. -When oil is somewhat hot, add garlic and some of the seasonings you want to do, and the onions. -The mixture will stick to the bottom a little (unless you are using nonstick, but we prefer regular pots) and this is ok. Allow garlic to brown a little. This step is very nicely aromatic. -Deglaze the pot with some of the red wine or vinegar, and remove all the residue from the bottom with it. It should steam up a lot, and smell nice. -Once the residue is up and the pot is completely deglazed, add the tomato sauce. Allow it to just simmer. - Stir in sugar until the mixture tastes less tart and more balanced. For us this was about a tablespoon. - Stir in mushrooms. - Allow all this to simmer while you prepare your noodles, and while the chicken finishes in the oven. Once all the components are done, put the spaghetti on the bottom, the sauce on the spaghetti, and the chicken on top. Add more parmesan as wanted.

Some folks also like to add some mozzarella at the end.