Crawfish Bread...a tutorial

Most people who know my eating habits call me a vegetarian; however, I do eat fish and seafood, so that's not technically correct. I think the PC term for me would be pescetarian. Anyway, I am from Louisiana where seafood is king. Now I live in a landlocked state where it is acceptable to buy and sell shrimp from Vietnam and catfish from Indonesia. To help us overcome our withdrawals, Neal's parents are kind enough to ship or bring us what we know as true seafood at least once a year. This year's shipment arrived a couple of days ago. The first night, we had a Southern favorite...fried shrimp. Today, I convinced Neal to make crawfish bread. Oh my, this is so good and so easy, but be forewarned...it is NOT at all low cal! If you don't have or don't like crawfish, you can substitute shrimp in this dish with the same delicious results.

First you start with one pound of crawfish tails...

As if you couldn't guess, the crawfish must be from the good ole USA, even if they are farm-raised...

In addition to crawfish, all you need is bell pepper, onions, garlic, mayo, cheese and some seasonings. Oh, and a hulled out loaf of french bread. The recipe didn't call for it, but we used Slap Ya Mama seasoning, which is something like Tony Chacere's or Zatarain's. For us, anything seafood is much better with a little kick!

chop the the onions, peppers and garlic then saute' until translucent...

then add the crawfish tails and saute some more...

then add some mayo and cheese...

mix it all together and spread onto one half of the french bread...

take a break to shoo the chickens away from the door...

then finish spreading the crawfish mixture onto the bread...

put the two halves together...

cover tightly in foil and bake for about 30 minutes...

take the loaf out of the oven, unwrap and slice...

and dig into the ooey-gooey delicacy before you.

Even though this is classified as a finger food, you'll want to be sure to have a fork on hand. There is no way every bite will make it from your hand to your mouth without some spillage!

Here's the recipe Neal used. The changes we made included adding extra cheese and spices, adding green onions along with the white, and using green peppers instead of red. Ooo la la, this is delish!

Chef John Folse's Crawfish Bread

Prep Time: 45 Minutes
Yields: 4–5 Servings

Comment:
This delicious crawfish and cheese mixture becomes a delightful appetizer when baked inside a loaf of French bread. While it is a wonderful Lenten dish, it’s also great for tailgating in the Fall. An equal amount of (70-90 count) shrimp works great in this recipe, too.

Ingredients:
2 cups peeled crawfish tails
1 loaf French bread
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced red bell peppers
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup Cheddar cheese

Method:
Slice French bread in half lengthwise and scoop out the inside of the loaf. Set aside. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Sauté crawfish, onions, celery, bell peppers and garlic 15 minutes. Blend in dry mustard and mayonnaise. Add cheeses and blend until melted. Spread crawfish mixture inside the bread then put halves back together. Butter the top of the loaf, wrap it in foil and bake on a barbecue pit or in a 350°F oven for 20–30 minutes. Cut bread into slices and serve hot.