Crawfish Etouffee

As always, scroll on down to the bottom for the instructions

Occasionally you will be threatened by even the fairest of ladies.  

“Let's go out to eat tonight.” I have found to be one of the most common.

Panic hits as you try to remember all the important dates that would warrant such an action.

Is it her birthday?... Is it my birthday??

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but one thing is for sure.  If you can’t get out of “going out to eat”, you can forget about buying that St. Croix you've had your eye on for another week or so, not to mention gobbling up the entire evening.  

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  You don't want to pull out the big guns and inadvertently raise any expectations too high, but you definitely don't want to counter offer with a hamburger.  Think fast and stay cool.

“Oh darling, I was planning on cooking a Crawfish Etouffee this evening.”

Silence on the other end of the phone.  The name sounds exotic.  I don’t even know what Etouffee means.  Unless she’s from Louisiana, she may have never had the dish, and your counter proposition stands a fighting chance.  

“Is crawfish etouffee good?” She’s never had it.  Perfect.

“Oh why of course it is honey.  The finest of all table fare.  I'm sure you’ll love it.”

Use a reassuring and confident, yet firm tone.

“Umm… ok, that sounds good. Do you want me to pick anything up from the store?”

Another point for the home team and another hundred-dollar bill saved for future discretionary spending.  The ingredient list is short and affordable; another reason this may be the perfect dish for such an occasion.  

Ingredients

1. Crawfish. 1 lb.  Already cleaned and shucked.  Comes in 12 oz bags and can be found at regular big grocery stores like Walmart. Finding some harvested in North America may require extra effort. Don't be scared to add more crawfish if you'd like.
2. Butter. 1 or 1.5 stick. I prefer the real kind.
3. Onions. 1. Regular kind. Regular size.
4. Flour. 2-3 tablespoons.
5. Tomato or tomato sauce. 1/4 cup for sauce. 1/2 cup for diced.
6. Garlic. 1-3 cloves chopped. Minced would probably work too.
7. Seasoning. ~1/2 table spoon or to taste. Old bay, Tony Chachere's, etc
8. Broth/stock. Chicken or seafood. Optional.
9. Celery. Optional.
10. Green onions. Optional
11. Bell pepper. Optional
12. Rice. Optional.

Instructions

On medium to low heat

1. Melt butter in a cast iron skillet or Magnolite dish.
2. Add in flour and stir until it changes color to a light brown.
3. Add in onions and stir occasionally until they're almost floppy
4. Add in other optional vegetables and sauté.
5. Stir in broth and tomato, add seasoning, add salt if needed.
6. Add crawfish tails. Simmer for 5 minutes or so.

This dish is traditionally served over rice. I have found that the rice just gets in the way so unless you're trying to feed more people or have leftovers for lunch the next day, skip the rice and just have the good part.

It's worth noting, if you do take some leftovers to lunch the next day, you just about don't want to eat it cold. The butter and the fat from the crawfish separate and coagulate after sitting in the fridge all night so make sure you have a plan to microwave it the next day.

The idea of this dish isn't just about weaseling out of a trip to town and saving a buck. Prepared with care and curated to your own personal taste buds, this dish will rival any Michelin three-star fancy smancy meal and can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home.