SUNDAY DINNER

I love to cook!! I mean I really really really love to cook ... I get this deep passion from my Maw Maw. Although she passed away 10 years ago a week ago, she definitely passed the cooking gene on!! Everyone on my dad's side of the family is a pretty amazing cook and I truly believe it is because of Maw Maw. She was always in the kitchen, and she would always get you to taste things and see what needed to be added or if you could pick up the different herbs, spices and other ingredients. I may have been too young to learn a lot of what she could of taught me but there is one thing that she taught me very well and that is the pleasure of feeding people. She loved having people over and feeding them (wayyy too much by the way ... you would take 2 bits and she would be filling your plate again!). She took so much pleasure herself in seeing people just fully enjoying her food. That passion to feed people and please them ... I definitely attribute to her! Especially being from New Orleans, food is a huge part of my life. New Orleans Seafood is surely my favorite to cook with. So I though what a good blog idea, since its one of my favorite things in the world!! So pretty much every weekend the family tries to do something new and different. A lot of times we go to a restaurant and we try something on the menu and become obsessed with it and have to figure out how to make it ourselves. This recipe originated from a tv show that we watched, Everyday Italian. We changed the sauce, and a few other things but the gist of it was from Giada. Not to brag but OHHH did it come out sooo good!!!!

CRAB AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI with CRAWFISH SAUCE

Cannelloni Pasta (I was able to make 8)

1 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese, plus about 1/4 cup for sprinkling

1 egg yolk

1 pound lump crabmeat

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, once to a nice boil add cannelloni. Cook until tender but still a little firm ... this will make it easier to stuff them.

In a large bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, egg yolk, crab, salt and pepper. I also added a little garlic and herb salt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crawfish Sauce -- 

1/2 pound Crawfish tails  

(I used a whole pound and I think that was a waste! 

So use your judgement)

1 sticks butter

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons onion powder

1/2 cup onions

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2 tablespoons paprika

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoons Flour

2 cups milk

1 cup half and half

Melt  1 stick of butter in a large sauce pan, then add onion powder and onions. Saute onions until tender, then add garlic and cook for another minute (be careful, it burns easy!). Add in salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, Worcestershire, lemon juice and crawfish tails. Cook for 2-4 minutes

Add flour and milk, cook for 3 minutes then add half and half. Let sauce thicken (when you start seeing the sauce stick to the sides, cook for just a few more minutes).

Fill the cannelloni with the crab mixture and pour the crawfish sauce on top, then sprinkle the extra parmesan on top! Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Since this was the first time, I really liked the sauce ... it actually came out wayyy different than I thought it would. My dad absolutely loved it to death and wouldn't shut up about it. But I think it would be good with something a little lighter also, and thats what I was going for but it came out very rich. I think it would of been good with something a little lighter and just good enough to give it some moisture and a little flavor because the crab stuffing was my favorite part. All in all it was really good and it tasted awesome.