Crawfish Linguini Food

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH LINGUINE

Steps:

• Cook the pasta in a large pot of well salted boiling water for about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Toss back in pot with olive oil and 1/4 cup pasta water and cover for later.
• In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat and sweat the onions until translucent (5 minutes or so).
• Add the Garlic, paprika, black pepper, oregano, thyme salt, and cayenne. Cook an additional minute.
• Add the broth (or pasta water) and turn heayt up to high. Cook until mostly evaporated, then add the cream and lemon juice and cook until slightly reduced, stirring often.
• Lower heat to medium low and add the crawfish and cook another minute until warmed through.
• Add shallots and parsley, cook another minute, then add pasta and cool until warmed through.
• Remove pot from heat and add the Parmesan and incorporate well.
• Serve in large bowls with a dry white wine.

ORIGINAL CRAWFISH OR SHRIMP MONICA

Steps:

• 1. Cook pasta in salt water according to the directions on the package. Drain, then rinse under cool water to stop the cooking. Drain again, thoroughly.
• 2. Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
• 3. *If using raw shrimp, add them with the onions and garlic at the beginning.
• 4. Add the crawfish and half-and-half, sauté until bubbly.
• 5. Add Creole seasoning - 1 big pinch then taste. Add more as needed but tasting before adding the next pinch until you think it's right. Add salt if needed. If you've boiled your own crawfish add the crawfish fat to the mixture as well.
• 6. Cook for 5 - 10 minutes over medium heat until the sauce thickens.
• 7. Add the pasta to the pot and toss well. You may not need to use all of the pasta. (I double the recipe when using the whole pound of pasta.) Let it sit for about 10 minutes over very low heat, stirring often.
• 8. Serve immediately, with lots of French bread and a nice white wine. Buon Appetito!
• 9. *COOKS NOTE: Most of the time I use half Heavy Cream and half - Half and Half, or in other words 1 1/3 cups heavy cream and 2/3 cups milk. I generally buy Heavy Cream because it can be cut with milk to make Half and Half. The sauce seems to thicken better than straight Half and Half but using all Heavy Cream is too thick.
• 10. *Tip: The sauce is excellent over Redfish on da Half Shell or grilled filets - I call it Redfish Monica.
• 11. *Options: If you don't have crawfish, use bay scallops, shrimp, lump crabmeat (add last and fold in gently).

CREAMY CRAWFISH PASTA

Steps:

• Add butter to a Dutch oven, preferably cast iron, set over medium-high heat.
• Add onion, green pepper and celery. Cook until onion is opaque.
• Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add crawfish and cook until heated through.
• Add cream and jalapeno cream cheese and cook until heated through and cream cheese is melted. Add your favorite Cajun seasoning, to taste. Stir in the parmesan to incorporate.
• Add prepared pasta and heat through. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until sauce is slightly thickened.
• Garnish with additional parmesan cheese.

RICHARD AND SUZANNE'S LOUISIANA CRAWFISH PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain.
• While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the garlic in the butter 1 to 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the yellow onion and 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes; cook until the yellow onion becomes translucent. Add the crawfish tails; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring continually; transfer the crawfish to a bowl, leaving as many onions as possible in the skillet.
• Pour the heavy cream into the skillet and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, and simmer until thickened. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes into the cream, return the crawfish to the sauce and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Serve sauce over the drained pasta; garnish with chopped green onion.