Crawfish Quiche

Springtime in Louisiana means crawfish boils.  Lots of crawfish boils.

We had one for my baby's first birthday!

And who would have guessed - he LOVES crawfish.

is that for me?

because it looks... yummy! 

so good! 

And chocolate cake - but that's a story for another day :)

But after the party is over, I inevitably have a few leftover crawfish tails - not to mention potatoes, corn, mushrooms, onions, and all those other yummy things we throw in the crawfish pot.  Not really enough for an etouffee or anything fancy, but I love crawfish enough that it seems a small crime to throw even a handful away.
so....
Crawfish quiche.

I know I have posted before about my love for leftovers re-incarnated as quiche, but this recipe takes it to the next level... something about the corn and potatoes in there, or maybe it's just that I really like spicy eggs...

First, chop up all the leftovers from your crawfish boil.  I had mushrooms, onion, garlic, corn, and 2 red potatoes.

Loosely chop your tails and grate a lot of cheese.

Then, roll out a pie crust and start adding ingredients.

Pour in the egg mixture and top with more cheese.  Bake until the eggs are set (about 45 minutes).

Then serve!

Recipe:
1 pie crust
assorted leftovers from crawfish boil
1/2 lb crawfish tails
1-2 small red potatoes, skin on, diced
3-4 mushrooms, diced
1/2 boiled onion, diced
3-4 boiled cloves garlic
1/2 cup corn, removed from cob
8 - 10 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
6 extra large eggs (or 7 large)
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste (I did not use much because the crawfish boil is very salty and gave the eggs an amazing flavor!)

Roll out the pie crust.  Fill with the leftovers from the crawfish boil.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs and milk.  Pour this mixture over the leftovers.  Top with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until the eggs are set.

Enjoy!

Very Southern Banana Bread

This afternoon, my husband told me he wanted a snack.  And I've taken a rather long break from the kitchen, so I decided to make banana bread.  
I looked at quite a few recipes - Paula Deen likes buttermilk, Pioneer Woman prefers sour cream, but I finally decided to adapt one from Smitten Kitchen... largely because it contained bourbon.  And I've never baked with bourbon, but wanted to try it out. 


It was delicious. 


Also, this turned into one of those recipes were I didn't quite have all the ingredients, but I liked my adaptations so much I included them below for you. Generous, right?  But for the original, just go here. 


I got my butter melted and my bananas mashed and then went for the brown sugar - and realized I only had about 1/3 a cup.  And the recipe called for 1 cup.  I had white sugar, but I didn't want to miss the molasses-ey taste of the brown... and then I spotted THIS: 

And I'm so very glad I did. 

So Steen's, plus pecans, plus bourbon.  This was quite a banana bread. 

3-4 very ripe bananas, smashed
1 stick butter, melted

2/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon

2 tablespoons Steen's cane syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cup of flour

1/2 cup pecans, chopped and toasted (optional, and I guess you could use walnuts, but then it wouldn't be as Southern)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Mash the bananas (with a fork, potato masher, or let your 4 year old improvise) in a large mixing bowl.  Add the melted butter.  Add the rest of the ingredients, except the flour and nuts.  Stir well.  Fold in the flour and nuts, trying not to over stir.  Pour into a buttered (or Baker's Joy-ed, if you're me) 4X8 inch loaf pan or 2 mini loaf mans (or muffin cups, or I'm sure there are other adaptations).  Bake for 45 minutes (if mini-loaf pans) - shorter for muffins, longer for a big loaf pan - until a tester (or toothpick) comes out clean.  

Cool on a rack (but just a little) and serve - possibly with more butter. 

One of the reasons we've been a little busy: 

My sister had a baby!  I'm an aunt (again, but still!!). 

I volunteered to keep all the boys last Saturday: 

Thomas - 1 week

Witt - almost 2

William - just turned 1

and Dixon - 4 1/2.  

It was fun! And exhausting. 

Luckily I had good help :)