Before we had our son and back when we were cool, we would go somewhere fancy to celebrate Todd’s birthday. We’ve been to New York City, Memphis, and various restaurants around Dallas, most notably was Dean Fearing’s restaurant in the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Such an AMAZING dinner!!! These days, we stay close to home and I cook/bake something special at his request.
This year’s dinner was Crawfish Etouffee – when I was in college (last Century), I was fortunate enough to attend the Texas Restaurant Association convention in Houston. At the convention, I met Chef Paul Prudhomme. I was starstruck and so happy that he autographed his cookbook for me. I have treasured this book since 1992 and I have used it on several occasions. This book is in storage and I failed to search for it when we went to retrieve Julia. So, I had to result to Pinterest/the Internet. Lo and behold, there was the recipe!! I took pics of the different stages of my roux, I probably could have gone darker, but once I added the mirepoix, the color I wanted was achieved. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but the Kroger Cajun Style Mirepoix Blend is awesome!! For the crawfish tails, Bernard’s Crawfish Tails are my go-to. These are found in the seafood freezer section – I usually only get a pound and half the recipe in the cookbook – that’s more than enough food for us.
Earlier in the day, I made some Basmati Jasmine Rice. Once the etouffee was done, I heated up the rice a bit and then placed a ½ cup in the center of each bowl and then topped with chopped green onions, from my garden. When I say garden, all I have are green onions that I grew from the bulbs of green onions I bought from the store in the past 😊
The final dish was one of my better batches and not much was left – that’s a good sign! The only reason Todd stopped when he did was because he wanted his birthday cake!
http://scrumpdillyicious.blogspot.com/2012/02/mardi-gras-crawfish-etouffee.html
Luby’s Cafeteria Butternut Brownie Pie
If you grew up in Texas, chances are you ate at a Luby’s or Furr’s Cafeteria, both of which are slowly disappearing if not already gone. These were great places for people to get a well-rounded, sometimes nutritious (depending on what you chose), affordable meal. My personal favorite was the mac n’ cheese, green beans, square-cut green gelatin, and pecan pie. Todd’s family went for the Luby’s Pie – he remembers it back to at least when he was 16. His grandmother, Mimi, bought the cookbook and started making the pie for various occassions. When I came on scene, in 2005, this was the fought after pie between Todd and his older brother. Fingers were licked by one or the other and drug through the whipped cream claiming the pie for themselves. I even recall Mimi making a cake version where she turned the cake into a two-layer monstrosity of pure delight!
The recipe reminds me of divinity or meringue cookies. It’s pretty simple, egg whites beat with baking powder, cream of tarter, and sugar. Then graham cracker pieces and chopped pecans are folded in. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes on a low temp of 300. Once completely cooled, top with whipped cream that has been whipped with sugar and vanilla. Garnish with chopped pecans and move out of the way!
I also made this for Valentine’s day.
And here’s Mimi’s double-decker version…
