Cajun Cookin', Part 1

• 1 lb. cleaned crawfish tails
• 1 Stick corn oil margarine
• 1 lg. onion; chopped fine
• 2 ribs celery; chopped fine
• 1 med. bell pepper; chopped fine
• 1 recipe golden roux (below)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. red cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 c water

GOLDEN ROUX:

• 1/2 Stick corn oil margarine
• 4 Tbsp. flour

Sauté‚ onions, celery and bell pepper in margarine; add salt and paprika. Add golden roux. Stir until well blended. Add crawfish tails; cook ten minutes on medium-high heat, stirring often. Add water and simmer 30 minutes. Add additional water if too thick. Serve hot over rice. Serves 4.

To make golden roux: Melt margarine in a cast iron skillet over low temperature. Blend in flour; cook until golden color, stirring occasionally. Takes about 15 minutes. Yield: 4 servings

FRESH CORN MAQUE CHOUX

• 2 medium red peppers, halved crosswise
• 6 ears fresh corn
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon TABASCO pepper sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

In skillet, steam pepper halves over 1-inch water 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; reserve.

With knife, cut kernels off corn cobs (you should have about 2 1/2 cups). In skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter with oil. Add corn, onion, sugar and TABASCO sauce. Cook until corn is almost tender and starts to form crust on bottom of pan. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup broth, scraping up bits on bottom of pan. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter and cream. Cook 5 minutes longer, stirring frequently, until most of liquid evaporates. Remove skillet from heat.

For more Cajun recipes, check out these sites:

• Tabasco Cajun and Creole recipes
• Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Recipes
• Andrew Guidroz's Cajun recipes