I'm quite sure I started going to crawfish boils since I was an infant, but the first one I really remember was the Spring when I was in second grade. It was at our house on Southwind Dr. in Baton Rouge. I even remember what I was wearing, a pink GUESS t-shirt and my first denim mini skirt! How do I remember this, but not why I walked into the kitchen earlier? It pretty much felt like we had crawfish boils every single weekend. I mean under a dollar a pound for live crawfish, why not! And you get to hang out with you best friends every weekend?! Mais oui, cher! I'm quite sure this is where my love of hosting parties began.
Crawfish are quite magical creatures if you think about it. There are more than 500 (FIVE HUNDRED) species that have been cataloged thus far. The most common ones we have here in the South are Red Swamp Crawfish and White River Crawfish. And they are delicious! Once when I was in Barcelona, there were crawfish in our paella. Yes please! They can literally be found all over the world!
Besides eating them boiled, my next favorite would be prepared in étouffée. Étouffée can best be described as a stew, served with rice. And Nonnie Bread. It's probably one of my most favorite things to cook for friends!
To think that you can take crawfish from a swamp then end up with a delightful bowl of étouffée, to me, that is magic. And Delicious!
So when invited to a crawfish boil. Go. Enjoy the company and friendship. Drink a beer. Pinch da tail, Peel 'em, Suck da heat, Eat da tail, then repeat!
Live crawfish photo credit to Lindsay St. Amant Seeley
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