crawfish au gratin

I have not been cooking much lately due to trips, Thanksgiving and parties.  So, for the latest home-cooked meal, I went all out!  This is a recipe from a past coworker in Birmingham.  Beware: NOT on the diet.

Crawfish Au Gratin

1/2 c butter

3-5 tbsp AP flour

2 c heavy cream (2 c half & half)

1.5 lbs clean crawfish meat

2 c sharp cheddar

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's

1/2 c green onions

1 box of pasta

Melt butter in saucepan and add flour to make a roux.  Adjust the amount of flour as you see fit.  Slowly add the cream, stirring constantly.  (My recipe doesn't mention adding the half & half.  I only had 1 lb of crawfish so I just added 1 1/4 c of cream.  That wasn't quite soupy enough so I added the same amount of the half & half.  Why not, right?  It was fat-free after all.)

Once that is nice and thick, add the crawfish (I got mine in the seafood freezer section - near the fresh seafood - in Publix.), onions, garlic and Tony's.  My scallions were old so I used my trusty onion flake and minced 4 gloves of garlic.  Add the cheddar to the sauce.  I added a little asiago too!  With my smaller batch, I used one c of cheddar and 1/4 c of asiago.

Cook and drain the box of pasta.  (I used penne but any will work.)  Mix the pasta with the sauce and place in casserole dish.   Sprinkle a little cheese on top and bake at 350 until bubbly.  Enjoy!

I didn't actually make any side dishes but have had this photo for a while and wanted to post it.  :)

Just saute some asparagus in olive oil and add salt and pepper.  Isn't it pretty??