It’s March, and it’s crawfish time in the Miss-Lou. I know it’s early and I know there will be bigger ones later in the season, but at my house it’s time to eat crawfish. Before long my son will be bringing home bags of crawfish, potatoes and corn to enjoy and we will eat them until the last one can be bought in the Miss-Lou.

I like to go ahead and peel any leftovers and keep them in my freezer rather than having to buy frozen crawfish. But if you have to buy frozen ones the best thing to do is to thaw them out and spread them out in a colander and sprinkle them with Tony’s seasoning. If you do magically have leftover crawfish from your crawfish boil here are two of my favorite recipes to use them in. The first is from Trinity Episcopal School’s first cookbook and was submitted by Amanda Jeannsone.

 

Crawfish cornbread

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped jalapenos

1 can cream corn

1 package frozen crawfish tails, thawed

 

Put crawfish tail in a colander and sprinkle with Tony’ seasoning. Let them sit for 30 minutes. Heat the oven tot 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 9 by 13 casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes.

 

This recipe didn’t originally contain crawfish, but I added them and now I make this dish all the time. It is from one of my favorite cookbooks, “Square Table in Oxford.”

 

Jambalaya

1 pound smoked sausage, sliced

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onion, shopped

2 green bell peppers

4 stalks celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 chicken breast, boiled and chopped

2 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco

1/4 cup Worcestershire

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

6 green onions, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups raw rice

1 pound raw shrimp, shelled

1 pound crawfish, thawed

 

In a large Dutch oven over high heat, fry the sausage until lightly browned. Remove sausage, drain on paper towels and set aside. Add the oil to the pan and a the onions, peppers, celery and garlic. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are wilted and onions are translucent.

Add tomatoes, chicken broth, chicken, sausage, Tabasco, Worcestershire, thyme and chili powder. Simmer uncovered 45 to 60 minutes. Add the parsley, green onions salt, pepper, crawfish and rice.

Cover and simmer until rice has absorbed the liquid about 30 minutes. Stir in the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turn pink, 3 to 5 minutes.

 

Christina Hall writes a weekly lifestyle column. She can be reached at christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com.