It’s crawfish season and Crawfish Etouffee makes plenty of “good eating.” It’s great for a family gathering to watch sporting events. This is my mother’s recipe, which is delicious. First, purchase 2 packages of frozen crawfish tails (12 oz each). Do your mise en place the evening before by chopping and dicing 1 cup of celery, 1 cup of diced onion, and 1 cup for bell pepper. It’s the famous “holy trinity” of Cajun cooking. You will need about 3 hours to make this dish the day of serving. Thaw the 2 frozen packages of crawfish tails in a bowl of water (while in the package). When thawed, remove the plastic to soak and rinse the crawfish in salt water 10 times. This is to clean the crawfish. By the 10th rinsing, the water will run clear. Meanwhile, in a large pot on the stove, sauté the prepared celery, onions, and bell pepper in a half stick of butter until tender. This takes about 12 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of red Cayenne pepper, depending on how “hot” you like your food. Remember, you can always add more pepper but you can’t undo the pepper once you put it in. Then, add 2 tablespoons of parsley. As an option, you can add 1 teaspoon of paprika. Add 1 tablespoon for sugar. Stir and heat. Add the rinsed and drained crawfish to the “holy trinity” and cook for 10 minutes. Add a tab of butter, as needed, to coat the crawfish in the seasoning. Little by little, add 2 -15 oz. cans of tomato sauce and 1 – 10 oz. can of spicy diced tomatoes with green chilies. (The spicy tomatoes come in mild, original, and hot. I prefer the mild because I like to taste the crawfish and not all heat and spice. It’s your preference.) Stir well. Then, add 1 cup of boiling water, little by little. Stir and simmer for 1 and half hours uncovered. Stir occasionally. When completed, serve over rice for a flavor packed delight! Tres bien et pour l’amour de la famille! © Kelly McBride Loft