Cream Of Crab And Brie Soup

One of my favorite restaurants in Louisiana has a Cream of Crab and Brie Soup that is out of this world. Another of my favorite restaurants has a Cream of Crab and Asparagus Soup that I also love. Of course (you know me!), I went home and poured through all my cookbooks looking for something comparable. I ended up taking several recipes, modifying them and came up with this one. You can make it with the brie, or not, and you can make it with the asparagus, or not! It's up to you. Either way you decide to go, this is a soup that is absolutely wonderful. Serve it as the main dish with some buttered french bread and a salad or as a side to a different main course like crab cakes. It's heaven in a bowl!

4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup brandy, optional(increase the wine to 1 cup)
6 cups seafood stock
2 cups cream
8 ounces Brie cheese, rind removed and cubed
1 pound crabmeat (backfin or lump, NOT She-Crab)
1 bunch asparagus spears, tipped to 1-1/2” (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Salt and/or Tony’s to taste

Melt butter in a dutch oven/pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour, stirring constantly, until a blond roux is achieved, about 6-8 minutes. Add onions, garlic and optional asparagus tips. Sauté 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Carefully add the white wine and brandy. Stir constantly, scraping the bottom of the pan. Gradually blend in seafood stock. Add cream and blend.

Bring to a gentle boil. Be careful not to scorch. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 30 minutes until reduced to a thick, velvety texture. Add brie; stir constantly until cheese melts. Gently fold in crabmeat. Cook an additional 5 minutes. Add cayenne, black and white pepper. Season to taste with salt and/or Tony’s.

Crabmeat Stuffing

Per request, here is a versatile crabmeat stuffing recipe that can be used in a wide variety of dishes. I use it to stuff vegetables like baked tomatoes and mushrooms as well as for stuffed crab, shrimp and even stuffed chicken! It can also be formed into patties and pan fried in butter.

It's more economical to use the claw crabmeat unless you are making crab cakes or something special and want to use jumbo lump crabmeat in your recipe. If you want more crabmeat in your stuffing than what this recipe calls for, just add another pound. Additionally, you can add chopped shrimp as well as chopped crawfish for a different flavor. This recipe makes a large batch but you can either cut it in half or freeze the rest in an airtight container.

1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine
2 medium bell peppers - chopped
3 large onions - chopped
3 stalks celery - chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 cups bread crumbs
1 tbsp. Flour
3 eggs
1 handfull chapped parsley
1 lb. claw crabmeat, shells and cartiledge picked out


Melt butter in a sauce pan and saute onion, celery and bell peppers on medium heat until translucent - approximately 15 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne pepper.In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients except the crabmeat. Add the sauted vegetables and mix well. Gently fold in the crabmeat.

Seafood Gumbo

Seafood Gumbo is my very favorite gumbo of all and I just don't get enough of it. Since I moved away from Louisiana, I don't have access to the seafood ingredients like I did before and I am spoiled. I don't do well with substitutions with this recipe! But, if you've never had it before, you won't notice like I do, particularly since I am a "foodie"!

This is a tradtional seafood gumbo recipe that is a staple in South Louisiana homes particularly during the Lenten Season. There are so many different versions/variations of gumbo recipes, but this is a tried and true, easy recipe to make. Whatever you do, do not substitute fake crabmeat or Alaskan King Crab leg meat for the real claw or lump crabmeat; it's just not the same. The crabmeat and oysters can usually be found in the grocery store butcher section or specialized frozen seafood section. If you can't find crabmeat, find some uncooked whole crab (or claws), clean them and drop them in the pot! Cest Ce Bon!

Seafood Gumbo

3 tbl Oil
3 tbl Flour
3 lbs raw shrimp, peeled
1 lb claw or lump crabmeat, or 4 raw whole crab, cleaned
1 lb raw shucked oysters
1 med onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 10 oz pkg frozen sliced okra
Tony’s, salt and pepper
Parboiled rice

In large pot, combine oil and flour and make a dark brown roux (see Tips and Information on how to make a roux). Add onion and stir well; then add okra and blend well. Add all other vegetables except tomato and allow to cook down, cover if necessary to retain moisture. Add about 4 cups of water, tomato, and seasonings; blend well. Cook down for about an hour and a half adding more water if necessary. Recheck seasonings. Add oysters and shrimp, stir and cook about 5 minutes. Fold in crabmeat and remove pot from heat. Cover and allow to sit about 5 more minutes. Serve over rice.

Copeland's of New Orleans Hot Crab Claws

I went to Copeland's with a friend a while back and we ordered the Hot Crab Claws for our appetizer. I never had them before and boy, I really missed out all these years! They were divine! Doing what I always do when I find a new dish I love, I picked through it figure out what was in it. That evening I looked on the internet and I found Copeland's recipe! It's so easy to make and if you buy enough claws, you can make a meal off this with a nice salad to go with it. If you can't find crab claws, they can be substituted with crawfish or shrimp. Enjoy!

Copeland's of New Orleans Hot Crab Claws

2 teaspoons garlic
1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
2 tablespoon scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
6 ounces fresh crab claws, crawfish tails or shrimp
3 ounces chicken stock
1 ounce Italian dressing

Place seasoning, herbs, garlic and half the butter in a preheated skillet; saute until butter is melted. Add seafood, chicken stock and Italian dressing; increase heat to high and toss until seafood is cooked through. Add remaining butter; swirl into the sauce. Do not boil. Serve immediately with buttered and toasted French Bread slices.

A Cajun Christmas, Heaux, Heaux, Heaux

Depending on what side of the family we are spending Christmas with or what our plans end up being otherwise, we will sometimes forego the traditional Southern Christmas and instead have a Cajun Christmas! Cajun Christmas traditions are celebrated somewhat in our household every season but some years we go all out and go full blown Cajun.

We have some wonderful Louisiana traditions that may seem crazy to the rest of you and are very different than the way you celebrate Christmas yet, they are so incredible and unique!

Instead of Santa Claus we have Papa Noel. Papa Noel lives down in the hot, humid, swampy bayou of Louisiana. He's a Cajun legend and you'll often find momma’s (Mère’s) and daddy's (Père’s) reading such books as The Legend of Papa Noel or Cajun Night before Christmas on Christmas Eve.

While Santa is pulled in his sleigh by eight reindeer, Papa Noel is pulled in a Pirogue (pro: Pea-row) by eight alligators: Gaston, Tiboy, Pierre, Alcee, Ninette, Suzette, Celeste and Renee.

On Christmas Eve we follow a tradition dating back hundreds of years....the lighting of bon fires on the levees of the Mississippi River and in the bayous to guide Papa Noel and his alligators to the swamp to deliver gifts to our children in Bayou Country.

Christmas in South Louisiana is so unique and magical with the Cajun decorations, traditions, food and Christmas Zydeco and Jazz music.

The following are a few of our traditional Cajun dishes we serve at Christmas.

Bar-B-Q Shrimp

4 lbs shrimp with shells on (heads on, if possible)
1/2 lb butter
3-4 tbl Worcestershire sauce
3 tbl pickapepper sauce
1-1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 lg lemon
1 tsp tabasco
4 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic sliced

Melt butter in large casserole dish and add all ingredients except lemon. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice, add to mixture. Bake in oven at 350 until done. Serve in large soup bowls with lots of sauce and toasted french bread for dipping.

Copeland's of New Orleans Hot Crab Claws

2 teaspoons garlic
1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
2 tablespoon scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
6 ounces fresh crab claws, crawfish tails or shrimp
3 ounces chicken stock
1 ounce Italian dressing

Place seasoning, herbs, garlic and half the butter in a preheated skillet; saute until butter is melted. Add seafood, chicken stock and Italian dressing; increase heat to high and toss until seafood is cooked through. Add remaining butter; swirl into the sauce. Do not boil. Serve immediately with buttered and toasted French Bread slices.

Cajun Cornbread Casserole

2 pkgs Pioneer Yellow Cornbread Mix or homemade cornbread
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 lb of Louisiana crawfish tails, chopped
1 lb shrimp, peeled
1/2 lb chopped hot sausage
1/2 cup milk
1 can cream style corn
2 whole eggs, beaten
1 cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parsley
Tony’s

Bake cornbread as directed per package instructions or make homemade cornbread. Crumble into a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan; add onions, celery, and bell pepper sauté mixture until the onions clear. Add crawfish tails, shrimp, sausage. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add milk and cream corn, stir until mixture is fully blended. Fold all ingredients into the bowl of crumbled cornbread, along with eggs, cheese, and parsley. Mix well, season with Tony’s to taste, transfer to a baking dish, and bake it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Additionally, we also have dishes from previous posts such as Crawfish Stew, Creole Crawfish Etouffee, Shrimp Creole, and Spinach Madeline. And, of course, we have a smoked or fried turkey!