It's getting to be time {Crawfish Pie and Rhythms on the River}

You may as well know that I'm obsessed with time.  
Having enough time.
Running out of time.
Being on time.  Even though I'm often not.
Checking the time.  Even though I just did 2 minutes ago.

(Notice my trusty watch in this picture)

It's not always literal either.
I obsess about seasons and the time of year and what that means.
What needs doing.
What gets planted, farmed, hunted, harvested.

It's getting to be time to crawfish.

The rice fields I pass through between Eunice & Church Point have been re-leveled.  Levees rebuilt and fields flooded to change them over for crawfish.  

The recent full moon reflecting on the water instead of lighting a field was a welcome sight.  (No pictures, though because it's 5:30 AM when I head to work...and I'm usually running late.)

Coming home in the afternoon, I've been seeing more and more activity in the ponds.  Farmers out harvesting.  Although the size is still small and prices high.

But the time is coming.
Very soon.

Funny enough when I get on these time jags, I obsess about time so much that I seem to run out of it.

So this week I'm pulling out a Crawfish Pie recipe from a couple of years back.  These mini pies can be supper or party food depending on how mini you go.

I'm also pulling out something I should have put here a long time ago since it happened at the end of October.

Considering he just won Offbeat Magazine's 2013 Best Of The Beat Best Guitarist Award, seems like now is a great time.

My favorite blues musician, Tab Benoit, played in Lafayette, LA this past fall and put on a fantastic show (as usual).  The event, Rhythms on the River, was held at River Ranch Town Square.

Tab Benoit: One Foot in the Bayou


Tab Benoit: I Got Loaded

Beaucoup Crawfish

What's in the past... still tastes good

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Roasted Sweet Potato Soup & a Sweet Potato Round-Up

Since the first Thanksgiving I can remember (way back when), we've had sweet potatoes on the table.

Every year I try to think of a new way to serve them.

 

Baked.  Roasted.  Mashed.  Pie.  Bread.  Biscuits.
This year it dawned on me that the Thanksgiving sweet potatoes could be served as a soup course.

But they won't.
Because we don't have a "soup course."
And because we always have the same sweet potato casserole every year.
So this exercise is totally pointless.

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup is not pointless, though.  My husband made this soup one day for lunch.  Just whipped it up using whatever he could find.  I appreciated having lunch made for me and that it was made using what we had.  What can I say?  I'm a cheap date.

Over time, sour cream and Parmesan crisps were added to dress it up.

Dressy enough for Thanksgiving?

More Sweet Potatoes...

Clockwise from top left:
Sweet Potato Bread w/ Praline Butter  |  Praline Yams  |  Roasted Parsnips (and sweet potatoes) w/ Caper Vinaigrette  |  Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Onions with Rosemary and Parmesan  |  Sweet Potato Cakes  |  Bacon, Sweet Potato, & Sage Baked Risotto  |  Sweet Potato Crunch  |  Fall Sweet Potato Toss

Print It!

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup
olive oil
5 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth, or a mixture of both)
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
1 heaping tsp herbes de Provence

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Place the diced sweet potato on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.  Pat the sweet potato cubes into one single layer and season with salt and black pepper.  Roast potatoes for about 35 minutes, or until just starting to brown on the edges.

Meanwhile, add 2 tsp olive oil to a soup pot and heat over medium.  Add the onions and saute until the onions have caramelized.  Toss in the garlic and saute a few minutes more.  When the sweet potatoes are done, add to the pot along with the broth.  Stir in the rosemary and herbes de Provence.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Puree with an immersion blender and serve topped with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of rosemary leaves, and Parmesan Crisps (below).

Parmesan Crisps

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese per crisp (do not use finely grated or Parmesan from a can--neither will melt correctly)

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place a silicone baking mat on a large cookie sheet.  Spoon Parmesan onto the silicone mat by the tablespoon, flattening the cheese slightly with your fingers.  Place about 1" apart.  Bake for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted and golden.  Transfer to paper towels to drain, cool, and harden.


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Dirty, Dirty Rice {and the last of Gretna Fest}

~~~~~*****~~~~~

Happy Birthday to my dad!

~~~~~*****~~~~~

I wasn't a picky eater as a child, but there were a few things I avoided.

Like Dirty Rice.  I mean, why was the rice dirty?
Did someone not wash their hands?  Drop the food on the floor?

Honestly, does it really matter how the rice got dirty?

Somewhere along the way I learned that dirty rice is dirty because of the browned bits of meat mixed in with the rice.  And I was ok with that.

Until I learned that dirty rice doesn't just have meat in it...there's liver and sometimes gizzards floatin' around in there.  That's the kind of thing I'd rather not ask questions about.  Rather not know.

So my dirty rice is dirty.  As in a dirty trick.  Dirty rice that has bacon drippings and ground pork to give porkiness and richness that livers and such usually add.   Down and dirty, Dirty Rice.

Something else down and dirty is my favorite blues musician, Tab Benoit.

 Usually I feature Cajun & Creole music here.  While Tab Benoit is a blues musician, he's also from Houma, LA.  You can't take Cajun out of a bayou boy.

He has a way of weaving New Orleans funk, Zydeco, and Cajun sounds, themes, and lyrics into the blues.

One of my favorites is Fever for the Bayou.  I love the lyrics:
Got the fever for the bayou
Muddy waters take me home...

Down the Mississippi River, to the Gulf of Mexico.
Oh where I find my Cajun babe, and I dance a zydeco.

He opened with Fever for the Bayou at Gretna Fest 2013.  I was as giddy as a schoolgirl in pigtails.


The last day of Gretna Fest was a fine day.  Good weather, Saints on the big screen next to the stage (winning), and Tab Benoit singing on the banks of the Mississippi.

Another of my favorites:
Sac-au-lait Fishing

Again, I identify with the lyrics
There's something in the water that's callin' my name



More Tab Benoit
More Gretna Fest
And some more Gretna Fest

Print It!

(Dirty) Dirty Rice

1 ½ c white rice, cooked (can be made ahead)
½ Tbsp bacon drippings
½ lb ground beef
½ lb ground pork
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 hot pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
½-3/4 c beef broth
¾-1 tsp salt, or to taste
½ tsp black pepper, or to taste
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 green onions, chopped and divided

Add the bacon drippings to a wide cast iron or stainless steel pot set on medium high heat.  When hot, add the beef and pork.  Cook until meat is well browned and sticking to the bottom of the pan (about 8-10 minutes).  Add the vegetables and sauté for a minute or two.  Add ½ cup broth.  Stir the broth and vegetables, using them to pull the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Stir in the salt, black pepper, and cayenne.  Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes to soften the vegetables.  Stir in the rice and 2/3 of the green onion.  Add more broth if the mixture seems dry.  Heat through and taste for seasoning.  Before serving, top with the remaining green onion.
Serves 4 as a main dish.

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