I found my thrill....on Money Hill (crawfish pies)

Highlight - Crawfish Pies

So some good friends had their first official engagement party this evening. The bride-to-be's parents moved to the Northshore after Katrina. Specifically, they moved to a neighborhood/Golf Club situation called Money Hill (near Abita Springs)...I'm not making that name up.

Although my cardiologist would prefer me to take up golf (or anything other than cholesterol-based hobbies), I am not an enthusiast. Thus, it was no surprise to all in the car that I did not know where to find the golf club and got us lost, as I am also not a directions enthusiast. We finally got back to Abita Springs, found Money Hill and ended up at the party....a little late.

The good wife took the helm for the drive back, but she is also blessed with my sense of direction. We skipped the Causeway, took the I-12, drove through Slidell, almost ran out of gas (but for a brief stint in New Orleans East) and added the same 45 minutes to the trip home...sorry Jessie and Beau.

It was all worth it. The food was great, the band was a nice addition, the party-goers enjoyed and the engaged (Christian and Jennifer) seemed relaxed. All in all...Money Hill was, well, money.

Most money of all were the crawfish pies. The mother of the bride made them, and looked at me like I was crazy when I told her that I was now blogging and would like her recipe. Nevertheless, she is sending it through Jennifer (hopefully tomorrow).

Crawfish Pies

1 stick butter
½ cup onion (approximately)

1/2 cup bell pepper (approximately)

1/4 cup celery (approximately)

1/4 cup minced garlic (approximately)
1-2 tablespoons flour
1 can cream of mushroom or celery soup (depending on your preference)
1 can cream of shrimp soup

Cayenne pepper, black pepper & salt
1 lb crawfish tails or shrimp tails
2 boxes small pastry pie shells thawed (brands like Bama come 8 to a box).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season the crawfish with black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder & salt to taste (or use creole seasoning and garlic powder). Set aside.

On a medium to low heat, saute onions, bell pepper and celery in butter until almost translucent and/or until light brown (approximately 20 minutes). Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes.

Add the flour and cook an additional 2-3 minutes (stirring constantly). Add the cream of mushroom (or celery) soup and cream of shrimp soup, and stir in while maintaining heat (stirring in soups so that they blend well with other ingredients as they heat up).

Add the crawfish to mixture and cook on low for an additional 15 minutes.

**Note: The crawfish should release a large amount of juice. If this causes the mixture to seem too runny, a very small amount of additional flour can be used to thicken.

Put the mixture into the pie shells & bake at 350 degrees until slightly brown & bubbly (approximately 1 hr).

Makes 16 pies