Seafood

Stuffed Catfish

Crab Cakes

Crawfish Etoufee

Gina’s Grilled Fish with Mango Salsa

Impressive Fish and Wild Rice

Jambalaya

Low Country Boil

Paella (Ed Roethler)

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

Stuffed Catfish

Place catfish nuggets in a casserole dish.  Drizzle melted butter on top.  Sprinkle with lemon pepper, dill, and salt.  Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.  Mix Stovetop Scuffing according to directions on box.  Spread stuffing on top of fish.  Bake for 10-15 minutes more.  Heat Etoufee and serve on top of fish.  

Crab Cakes

2 Tablespoons Butter

1/3 Chopped Bell Pepper (I use colored)

1/3 Chopped Onion

1 Chopped Stalk of Celery

2 Cans Crab Meat

½ Cup Bisquick

1 Heaping Cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs

1 Teaspoon Cajun Spice (Tony Chachere’s is great)

1 Egg

½ Cup Mayonnaise

Sauté bell pepper, onion, and celery for about 3-4 minutes (semi-soft).  Check crab meat for pieces of shell, and then mix with remaining ingredients.  Add the cooked vegetables.  Form into patties or little balls for hors devours.  (If mixture is too dry, add a small amount of mayonnaise until it will hold its shape.) Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes.  Serve with remoulade sauce (see under Sauces/Gravies).

Crawfish Etoufee

*1 pound crawfish tails (peeled)

1 stick butter

1 onion (chopped)

1/2 colored bell pepper (chopped)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic or garlic powder (to taste)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon paprika

2 cups water

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning or any Cajun seasoning (to taste)

*Peeled frozen crawfish tails can be found with the frozen seafood in your grocery store or you can use peeled shrimp.

Melt butter in a skillet.  Add the crawfish and Tony's seasoning, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook until crawfish are done.  Remove from heat.  

Sauté onion and bell pepper until tender.  Add crawfish back to skillet.  Add water and cornstarch.  Stir until desired thickness.

Serve over rice.

Use your leftover Etoufee to make Stuffed Catfish (see below).

Grilled Fish or Chicken with Mango Salsa

Coating for meat:

1-2 teaspoons ground coriander

1-2 teaspoons chili powder

2 tablespoons olive oil

Juice from 1/2-2 limes

Mix well.

4-8 tilapia fillets or 2-4 boneless chicken breast:

Wash meat and pat dry.  Dip in oil mixture coating both sides.  Place on aluminum foil and grill until done (turning one – two times).

Impressive Fish and Wild Rice

1 lb. flounder filets

1 can lobster bisque

1 package frozen wild rice

Bake fish with a pat of butter on top of each piece until done (about 10-20 minutes at 350.)  Prepare rice as directed.  Heat lobster bisque.  Arrange cooked fish in the middle of a platter. Spoon rice along the edge of the platter around the fish.  Pour hot lobster bisque over the fish.  Garnish with lemon and lime wedges.  It looks beautiful on the platter and tastes great.

Jambalaya

1/2 pound Polish or Smoked sausage (chopped)

3/4-1 pound shrimp (cleaned, shelled)

2 cans chicken broth

1/2-1 cup water

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 bell pepper (chopped)

1 onion (chopped)

1 cup long grain rice (uncooked)

Tony Chachere’s Cajun Spice (to taste)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauté bell pepper and onion with oil in a large pot until soft.  Add broth, tomatoes, water, spice, sausage, and rice to vegetables.  Cook on medium heat until rice is done.  Keep a close check and add more water as needed.  (Should be thick, but with some juice.)  Add your spice according to taste.  (You can always add more after you have it in your bowl.)  I cut each piece of shrimp into thirds and add to other ingredients.  When shrimp pieces turn pink, jambalaya is ready.  Serve with toast.  I butter the bread and sprinkle some of the Tony's seasoning on it, then broil it. 

Low Country Boil

(Enough for 12 people)

While this is cooking I serve some of my Cajun Cheese Ball (previous recipe) with crackers.

3 Pounds Smoked Sausage (cut into 1" pieces)

4 Pounds Chicken Breast (cut into 1-2" pieces)

5 Pounds Shrimp

5 Pounds Crawfish

12 Ears of Fresh Corn (cut in half)

5 Pounds New Potatoes (cut if they are large)

3 Pounds Yellow Onions (quartered)

6-8 Limes (cut in half and squeezed a little)

3/4+ Zaterain’s or Old Bay Crab Boil

Water to fill 1/2 of extra large pot

Squeeze butter for potatoes and corn

Make Remoulade and Cocktail Sauce (Find recipes under Sauces/Gravies).

If you want it spicier, have some Tony Chachere’s handy.

(Cook in pot on gas cooker outdoors.)

Put water, spice, and limes in cooker until boiling.  Add potatoes, cook until almost done.  Add onion and corn.  Remove from pot.  (I place in aluminum pans covered with aluminum foil over sterno burner.)  Add sausage and chicken.  Cook until chicken is done.  Remove from pot and place in aluminum pan.  Add crawfish and shrimp.  Remove when shrimp turns pink and place in aluminum pan.  Serve with toast sprinkled lightly with Zaterain's, Old Bay, or Tony's.

I cook this separate and in stages in case anyone has seafood allergies.  Others cook everything together, and then pour it on a table covered in newspaper for everyone to pick out what they want to eat

Paella (Ed Roethler

Willow Hill United Methodist Church, East Peoria, IL

Boneless chicken breast (bite-size pieces)

4 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion (chopped)

1 garlic clove (minced) or garlic salt/powder

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

4 oz. Chorizo sausage (cut into small pieces)

Shrimp (peeled)

Scallops

1 heaping cup long grain rice (Jasmine)

2 ½ cups chicken broth

1 small can chopped tomatoes

½ colored bell pepper (chopped)

1 cup frozen sweet peas

Salt and pepper to taste

Old Bay Spice to taste

Preheat oven to 350º.  Brown chicken in olive oil.  Add onion, garlic, and turmeric.  Cook 2 minutes.  Add sausage, rice, and broth.  Bring to a boil and season to taste.  Add tomatoes, sliced bell pepper, and frozen peas.  Cook covered for 15 minutes.  Add shrimp and scallops until shrimp are pink.  Place covered in oven for 10-15 minutes until rice is tender.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

1 large clove minced garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole/Cajun seasoning

1 teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons oil

Juice from 1 lime or 2 teaspoons “Real Lime” juice

1 pound shrimp, medium to large size

Lemon and/or lime wedges

Wooden Skewers

Soak skewers in water for a few minutes.

Mix garlic with Creole/Cajun spice and paprika.  Add oil and lime juice.

Clean shrimp, remove sand vein and shell.  Thread on 2 skewers.  (2 skewers will prevent the shrimp from rolling when you’re trying to turn them.) 

Grill outdoors or on George Foreman grill for a few minutes on each side (turn once).  Serve hot with lemon and/or lime wedges.

This goes great with baked potatoes and salad.