Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Dinner "Party"

I feel truly blessed that Jason and I are surrounded by loving family.  We are constantly reminded of this blessing - through a Valentine's card for Colt from Aunt Carolyn, through old pictures posted on Facebook, through the ever-ready "free" babysitting service offered by Jason's parents, and through countless text messages, phone calls, and emails. 

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss my family (none of them live in the Houston area), but in the same breath, I say a prayer of thanksgiving that my husband's family is close, and I have been a part of that family since the moment I met them.  It would take an entire day to write just 1% of what they mean to us.

Tonight, we are having Jason's parents over for dinner.  They do so much for us.  Gamma and PaPa babysit almost every weekend, they keep our dogs when we go out of town (and they keep one of them when I am home by myself because he is too strong for me to handle on a leash), and they have made dinner for us a countless number of times (including for me last week when Jason was in Louisiana).

The Menu: Crawfish Bisque, Salad and French Bread Croutons, and Blackberry Cobbler



[I must thank my friend Nancy for the bisque recipe.  My husband has said that I am allowed to cook ANYTHING that she gives me the recipe for because it is all so wonderful.]

1 - 1 1/2 pounds frozen crawfish tail meat
10 oz. tomato sauce
16 oz. milk
16 oz. heavy cream
6 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1/3 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3-4 Tbsp. flour
2-3 Tbsp. minced garlic
salt to taste
cayenne pepper to taste (usually about 1/2 tsp. for us)
1/3 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup cooking sherry

1.  Melt butter in a heavy pot.  Saute onions, celery, and bell pepper in butter.  In a separate pan, heat together milk, cream annd tomato sauce until very hot.

2.  Once the vegetables are half cooked, lower the heat and add flour to make a roux.  Cook, stirring constantly for about 1-2 minutes.

3.  Add the hot milk and cream mixture to the roux, stirring continuously.  Add the minced garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper.  Add the frozen crawfish.  Continue cooking until the crawfish is heated through. 

4.  Add the fresh chopped parsley (save a little bit to garnish the top) and the cooking sherry last; cook for about 5 additional minutes. Serve with crusty bread (I make French bread croutons with day-old bread).

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