Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Crawfish boils are a fun, festive way to celebrate Mardi Gras! "Laissez les bons temps rouler" means "Let the good times roll!"   So that's what we did...we had a great time this past weekend celebrating one of Justin's friends 31st birthdays with a crawfish boil!!  Several of our friends came in from out of town to join in on the celebrating...then we had several other friends that we've made here in Marshall show up too.  We ended up with quite a turn-out!  The crawfish turned out delicious and everyone had a great time eating, drinking, playing washers, shooting guns, dancing, playing drinking games, and just being merry!!

My husband, Justin, on the left and the birthday boy on the right getting ready for the crawfish boil.

My brother-in-law designed and built this crawfish pot!! Pretty cool, huh?!

 This was either before or after the target shooting and I just captured the moment, lol!

 Digging in to dem mudbugs!!

 Beautiful mudbugs!!!

 Cheese!!

Smitty's Crawfish Etouffee

My husband's maternal side of the family has French heritage and I feel VERY fortunate because I have always enjoyed Cajun faire!  Justin's Dad learned to cook from his mother-in-law...so he's actually the one that does all the Cajun cooking around their home even though Justin's Mom is the one that has the French blood pumpin'!!  Justin's family enjoys embracing their French heritage through cooking, decroating for Mardi Gras, attending Mardi Gras functions, hosting crawfish boils etc.  So, for our rehersal dinner, we planned a Mardi Gras themed dinner and party.  We chose to have it at Delacroix's in Nacogdoches and it was fun and delicious...I've become a fan of the Cajun traditions and have enjoyed embracing that part of my new family :)
For our second Valentine's Day together, Justin invited me over to his house...he had cooked a wonderful meal of Crawfish Etouffee!!  I was blown away at how absolutely mouth-watering this dish was.  If I wasn't already head-over-heels with this boy, I was after that meal!!  So enough with the background, here's the scoop on the dish:

• 3 lbs crawfish tails (I buy these in the seafood section at Wal-Mart or if you've just had a crawfish boil and you have leftover crawfish, you can peel them and use those!)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 stick butter
• 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 6 oz. heavy whipping cream
• 3 cups prepared Minute Rice
• water, as needed
• Tony's to taste

Saute all vegetables in butter until clear and soft.  Add tomato paste, whipping cream, and Tony's.  Add water if needed for consistency. Simmer 15 minutes.  Add crawfish.  Simmer 5 minutes. Turn off burner, cover, and allow to sit for 15 minutes.  Serve over prepared white rice (I cheat and use Minute Rice...the ancestors are probably rolling over in their graves!)

(Ok, if you're wondering....for these pictures, we used shrimp because Wal-Mart was out of crawfish and it turned out really good....so you can always use shrimp if you're not a crawfish fan....or you can use crawfish AND shrimp...Justin also added crab leg meat this time, but NEVER use imitation crab for this dish)

BEEF...it's what's for dinner!!!

I know I've been M.I.A. for a while, but work, life, and work have been getting in the way...did I mention work?  Anyway, it hasn't stopped me from cooking for my honey, just kept me from staying glued to the computer so much!!

If my husband and I could survive solely on protein, I think we would...oh, and potatoes....meat and taters kind of people, that's us!!  We thought we knew good meat and we thought we were eating good, UNTIL, I ran across a recipe for a beef tenderloin.  Ohhh myyyy...we didn't know what we had been missing all these years!!  This is a Pioneer Woman recipe.  She is the best, and I have come to completely admire her and just plain want to be her!  So, on with the recipe...

Heat the oven to 475.  Start with a whole beef tenderloin (about 4-5 lbs).  I get mine at Sam's.  Trim the fat and the "silvery" cartilage that is sometimes between the fat and the meat.  Season the meat with plenty of seasoned salt (Lawry's, Tony's, or TexJoy...whatever your favorite may be) and lemon pepper.  Remember, be liberal with the seasoning.  Heat just enough oil (canola, vegetable, or olive) to cover the bottom of the skillet until it is at its smoking point and sear the meat in the oil on both sides.  Place about 1/3 cup of whole peppercorns in a ziploc bag.  On a cutting board, beat the peppercorns with a mallet or hammer until they are crushed.  Once the meat is seared on both sides (this only takes about 45 seconds per side), remove from oil and press crushed peppercorns on both sides of meat. Top meat with 4-5 tablespoons of butter. Place tenderloin on a cookie sheet and bake for approximately 30 minutes,  internal temperature should reach just under 140 degrees.  Slice and enjoy!!!  Tastes delicious with any kind of potato, of course :)