Alfredo Crawfish With Penne Pasta Recipes

ALFREDO CRAWFISH WITH PENNE PASTA

Steps:

• melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once butter stops foaming, add the garlic and cook about 2 minutes. It's important to note, I said medium heat. I didn't say high or medium high. Butter is something you'll need to watch or you will ruin this dish before it begins. Add the thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper and Cajun seasoning.
• Add the flour and cook another 3 minutes until flour is incorporated and begins to make a light roux. Yes -- 1/2 LB of butter and 1 Tablespoon of all purpose flour CAN make a roux. It's basically a thickened butter. Roll with it --.
• Add heavy cream and bring to low simmer. Add the Parmesan and Velveeta cheese and stir until creamy. *Sure you can use other cheeses and I'm sure the results will be amazing. Make sure it is a good melting cheese or blend of cheeses. I used Velveeta here because I wanted it to be easy.
• Once the sauce is cooked to your desired thickness, add the chopped green onion and crawfish (thawed and patted dry) to the sauce.
• Serve over al dente penne pasta and garnish with fresh parsley.

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).

CRAWFISH AND CREAM OVER PASTA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Return to the pot and toss with the olive oil and reserved cooking liquid. Cover to keep warm.
• In a large saute pan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, Essence, salt, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook over high heat until nearly all evaporated. Add the cream lemon juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced. Add the crawfish tails and cook, stirring, to warm through. Add the onions and parsley and cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat with the sauce. Cook until the pasta is warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add 1/2 cup of the cheese.
• Turn out into a serving bowl and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Serve.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

PENNE PARMESAN ALFREDO

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta.
• For the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan which will be large enough to accommodate the pound of cooked pasta, and saute onion until it becomes translucent. Mix in the flour to make a roux. Gradually add milk and allow thickening over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in Parmesan. Immediately cover surface of sauce with a sheet of plastic wrap and set aside briefly.
• Boil the pasta until al dente and drain. Add the cooked pasta and the blanched peas to the pan containing the sauce and fold to coat pasta. Season with salt and pepper, as needed.

CRAWFISH ALFREDO

Steps:

• Always remember a Cajun cook's measurements are by taste and feeling of the day therefore this was a hard recipe to write down.
• All can or frozen ingredients can be substituted with fresh ingredients.
• In a pan put crawfish (leave crawfish fat in for taste or rinse and strain prior to sauteing for a whiter sauce), wine, and a couple pinches of seasoning.
• I use about 4 maybe 6 pinches of seasoning.
• Simmer on very low heat for 3 minutes.
• Take crawfish out of pan and set aside leaving wine and seasoning in pan.
• In another pan saute the onions, garlic, bell peppers, scallions, green onions, and carrots in some olive oil until onions are soft.
• About 5 minutes.
• Season while simmering with a few pinches of garlic salt, garlic pepper and a few more pinches of seasoning.
• Take the ingredients from the two pans (wine and onion pans) and pour into a large pot.
• Place on a low heat adding the zucchini, squash, corn, broccoli, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley, rosemary, bay leaves and heavy cream.
• If necessary add more wine or cream to cover ingredients.
• Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low for 20 minutes.
• Stir occasionally and of course add a few more pinches of seasoning.
• While sauce is simmering add corn starch and water mixture to sauce to thicken.
• I usually mix two tbls of cornstarch with 4 oz of water in a glass, stir and slowly add to sauce avoiding clumping.
• Mix thoroughly and let heat for a few minutes before adding more until you get the consistency you want.
• One you get the consistency you want and you have heated for about 20 minutes add crawfish in and continue to stir on a low heat for 10 minutes.
• While main dish is simmering cook enough pasta for 4-6.
• Serve on a plate or in a bowl over pasta.
• Great with fresh green beans and of course garlic bread.
• Bon Appitite.

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.