Banana Pepper Poppers

My garden is a champ at producing peppers. I wanted to try something different with them other than pickling and candying them. We aren't that big on heat, so we have a lot of banana peppers. I decided to turn them into poppers using the filling from my VooDoo Eggrolls! They turned out delicious!!!

Banana Pepper Poppers

12 Banana Peppers, halved and seeded
1 1/2 cups Crawfish Tails, chopped or shrimp*
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp Butter
1/4 cup Onion, minced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3/4 cup Andouille Sausage, cut in a small dice
4 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup corn
1/2 block of Cream Cheese (4 oz, room temp)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, add crawfish and seasonings.

In a skillet, sauté onions and garlic in butter and Worcestershire sauce,
until tender. Add crawfish and sausage. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Dump back into the large bowl to cool.

Stuffed Banana Pepper Poppers

Mix cheeses and corn until well mixed. Add to the cooled meat mixture.
Stuff peppers with the mixture and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool a little, about 5 minutes and enjoy!

*If you don't have access to crawfish, substitute shrimp. I used a combo of both in this recipe.

Voodoo Egg Rolls

I saw a picture of Voodoo Egg Rolls for the first time the other day on Serving Houma's Facebook Page. They offer an amazing service. For restaurants in their area that don't deliver, they'll order for you, go pick it up and deliver it to you! What a wonderful service especially for those house bound individuals! Anyway, I contacted them and told them that I wasn't asking for a recipe, because I knew that only delivered, but could they describe the rolls to me. Their picture looked so good, and they were very nice to describe them for me. To me, they sounded like a Louisiana version of the lobster rolls that Red Lobster used to sell... just kicked up with some good andouille sausage! I had worked for a long time to try and replicate the Lobster Rolls, so I figured I'd try my hand at these Voodoo Egg Rolls! I'm not sure if these taste anything like the ones in Houma, La, but they were VERY good!!! The hubby gave them a thumbs up... because his mouth was too full to talk! LOL

Voodoo Egg Rolls

1 1/2 cups Crawfish Tails, chopped or shrimp
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

1 tsp Butter
1/4 cup Onion, minced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3/4 cup Andouille Sausage, cut in a small dice
4 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 cup corn

1/2 block of Cream Cheese (4 oz, room temp)
12 Egg Roll Wrappers

In a large bowl, add crawfish and seasonings.

I didn't have the crawfish this time, so I substituted shrimp.

I'll try the crawfish next time!

In a skillet, saute onions and garlic in butter and Worcestershire 

sauce, 

until tender. Add crawfish and sausage.

Saute for 2-3 minutes.

Dump back into the large bowl to cool.

Mix cheeses and corn until well mixed.

Add to the cooled meat mixture.

Put an egg roll wrapper on a dry surface.

Place 2 tablespoons or so of the filling mixture

in the middle of the wrapper.

Fold the top down...

 Tuck the bottom in a little and fold over the sides...

 Fold in the other side... Notice the small white bowl?

It has water in it...

Wet the top edge with a water on your fingertip

and roll toward the end. The water will seal the edges.

 Press to seal.

 Fry rolls at 375 degrees until golden, about 2 minutes.

My plate...

The Hubby's plate!

My Trip to get the crawfish... and a Crawfish Boil!

Yesterday I decided to go to Elliott's Landing and get some crawfish! I didn't figure that my son would eat much, so I just got 4 pounds. You might say, "Just 4 pounds???" Yes, that sounds like a lot, but if you are familiar with these little creatures, you know that's not really all that much. You buy crawfish whole and alive... The only other way to buy them is already cooked. Once a crawfish dies, it cannot be sold and is discarded. The meat is in the tail and the rest of the body, or head is dead weight... Yes, I know that you can suck the juice out of the head, but that is just that... juice! I did have quite a few that I cracked the claws and got a tiny bite out...

Old boat shed on the right behind the trees...

There is always something to see on the drive down...

The Landing is only about 4 miles away from my house!

Nice day... Dirt Road Anthem by Jason Aldean

on the radio!!! Windows rolled down, ponytail in the wind!
"It don't get no better than this!!!" Woo Hoo!!!

I'm here... Getting my 4 pounds of crawfish :-)

Got my bag in the cooler :-) 

As soon as I untied the bag, they tried to escape!

Crawfish Boil...

I added onions and sausage.

I didn't have any potatoes or corn-on-the-cob.

Dig in!!! This is round 1... about half (2 pounds)

I had to peel crawfish for my son who hurt his hand riding his

dirt bike this afternoon. He ate a lot! I didn't think he would!

I got awfully hungry feeding him...

He ate a lot faster than I could peel! LOL

Lemon & Salt and Homemade Cocktail Sauce... for me

Butter & Lemon for the guys

Crawfish Carnage... all 4 pounds eaten!

Cocktail Sauce

1 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 small lemon)
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
dash Worcestershire sauce
few drops hot sauce
salt to taste

Combine and blend all ingredients well.

Eggs Benedict

Traditional Eggs Benedict

4 slices Canadian bacon 

1 teaspoon white vinegar 

4 eggs 

1 cup butter 

3 egg yolks 

1 tablespoon heavy cream 

1 dash ground cayenne pepper 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

4 English muffins, split and toasted

In a skillet over medium-high heat, fry the Canadian bacon on each side until evenly browned. 

Fill a large saucepan with about 3 inches water, and bring to a simmer. Pour in the vinegar. Carefully break the 4 eggs into the water, and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until whites are set but yolks are still soft. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon. 

Meanwhile, melt the butter until bubbly in a small pan. Remove from heat before butter browns. 

In a blender or large food processor, blend the egg yolks, heavy cream, cayenne pepper, and salt until smooth. Add half of the hot butter in a thin steady stream, slow enough so that it blends in at least as fast as you are pouring it in. Blend in the lemon juice using the same method, then the remaining butter.

Place open English muffins onto serving plates. Top with 1 slice Canadian bacon and 1 poached egg. Drizzle with the cream sauce, and serve at once.

And of course, I had to add several twists...

Cajun-Style Eggs Benedict

with Andouille Sausage and Hollandaise Sauce with Crawfish Tails...

Cajun-Twisted Eggs Benedict

With a biscuit and Boudin Patty...

Eggs Benedict Pizza

with Prosciutto, Eggs and a side of Hollandaise Sauce for dipping...

Beaufort Stew or Frogmore Stew?

A while back, I was asked if I had any Gullah Recipes. If you don't know what Gullah is, it's an African-American culture that took root soon after the days of slavery. The Gullah settled mainly in the islands along the shores of South Carolina and Georgia, among them: Edisto Island, Coosaw Island, Daufuskie Island, and St. Helena Island. This gave them privacy to preserve their culture and customs; like basket weaving, cultivating rice, trapping and trading especially shrimp.

When I worked for a trucking company in the '90s, I had a driver that was from the islands around Edisto. His 'handle' on the radio was 'Geechee'. This is a word to describe the Gullah dialect, also a word to descibe perfectly how he talked.

On the island of St. Helena, where my Mama began a yearly pilgrimage many years ago, you can find the Gullah settlement of Frogmore. It is a simple crossroads with a two-story white country store on one side and a post office on the other. This is the birthplace of Frogmore stew, a boil of assorted seafood, pork sausage, and corn on the cob. My family in Rimini, SC, has always called this a Beaufort Stew. There is the Louisiana Crawfish Boil and the Lowcountry Boil. The names go on forever, and the fight for the origin of each name does also. I believe that when you get to the 'outer banks' or islands of any southern state, if you look hard and deep enough, you will find the deep hidden cultures of time gone past.

Here is my families way of doing this classic Gullah inspired dish!

•2 crab boil seasoning bags (or more to taste)

•several lemons, halved (optional)

•redskin potatoes (depending on size, 3 or more per person)

•spicy smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch slices (¼ pound per person)

•fresh corn, broken into halves (1 ½ ears per person)

•sweet onions, whole (depending on size, 1 or more per person)

•shrimp (½ pound per person)

•crawfish (½ pound per person) If Elliott's Landing has any left, they go fast!

This is usually done outside over an intense heat such as a propane burner. That's the only way to cook this much food all together! Fill a large steamer pot halfway with water. Add crab-boil seasoning. Add halved lemons. When the seasoned water comes to a boil, add redskin potatoes and onions and boil for 20 minutes; then add 2" slices of spicy smoked sausage and boil for 5-10 minutes. Add the corn and boil another 5 minutes. Then add the shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes. (Don't wait for it to boil again or you will overcook the shrimp.) Drain, and pile on a table.

Serve with lots of paper towels and icy beverages, plus melted butter for the corn, cocktail sauce for the shrimp, and sour cream for the potatoes. ALSO VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure to have a bottle of killer hot sauce for the cousin who's gonna say, "Aw that ain't nothin'!" Then pour it to 'em!!!