Boudin Chimichangas and Crawfish Cream Sauce

Hey y'all, bringing you another original recipe, straight from our crazy brains. This was a collaborative effort between myself, The Hubs, and Primo.

Last summer while down visiting in Louisiana, we saw a sign that Bourgeois Meat Market was selling boudin burritos.  

If you're not familiar with the awesomeness that is boudin:  it's simmered pork, mixed with seasoning, vegetables, and rice (generally about a 50/50 mix, though Bourgeois makes theirs with less rice, about 30%), inside a natural casing.  It's often served grilled, or smoked and cut into bite-size links, or the casing is completely removed and folks will roll it up into little balls, bread it, and then deep fry. Piece of Meat restaurant in New Orleans makes a boudin egg roll that is INSANE.

So a boudin burrito makes sense, I mean: rice and meat inside a tortilla?  A logical lateral train of thought.

But we wanted to go one better.  Because you know what's better than a burrito?  A deep-fried burrito...aka a chimichanga.  Top that with a homemade crawfish cream sauce, and now THAT....that would be something.  I pitched the idea to Primo who responded "10/10 would eat."

So before we booked it back to Missouri, we hit up NuNu's market for some of their amazing boudin, and a packet of crawfish tails. Along with some other essentials.

Now...when it came time to actually make this masterpiece...I didn't actually feel like deep-frying anything. (Especially after having a particularly bad frying incident the week before which scorched my arm and filled our house with smoke.)  So instead, I decided to feaux-fry them (aka oven bake).

INGREDIENTS: (makes 6)
1 lb boudin (fresh or thawed), casings removed
6 "soft taco" size flour tortillas
Oil or butter 
green onions (for garnish)

Sauce:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp dried onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tsp Cajun Seasoning (we use Fontenot & A Half which is extra spicy, so I just use 1 teaspoon)
12 oz crawfish tails
1.5 cups half & half or heavy cream
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese - OPTIONAL (note: most crawfish cream sauces don't call for this, but it wasn't really thickening up for us, so I added the cheese. I'd just recommend having it on-hand in case your sauce misbehaves as well.)

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 400F.
Place about 1/2 cup of loose boudin in the center of a tortilla,

 ...fold in the sides, and then wrap/fold the long edges, and repeat six times.

Spray a 9x11 pan with olive oil, and then place the wraps inside, and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and add the onions and garlic.  Then add the flour and stir well.  Next, add the crawfish tails and cajun seasoning and let cook for 2 minutes.

Add the cream & Worcestershire sauce, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer, stirring often.  Let reduce for 20-30 minutes or until thickened/reduced by about half.  If sauce doesn't reduce/thicken to your liking, add the cheese.  

Let the sauce cool for about 5-10 minutes to help thicken, and then pour over the chimichanga and top with sliced green onions.  Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Alfredo

This spaghetti squash recipe is all over Pinterest, and I was itching to test it out.  As a kid, my absolute favorite thing on the planet was going to Olive Garden & getting the Fettuccini Alfredo.  You know…back in the day when “carbs were good for you” I had a hollow leg and had absolutely no idea what calories were. All I knew was that cheese and noodles and chicken & breadsticks and that magical salad were waiting for me and my dad during their Never-Ending Pasta Bowl special.  We lived somewhere between B.F.E. and a corn field, so a trip into “The City” was a VERY special and rare occasion. 

Of course now, I live in “The City”, and Olive Garden is there all the time…and unfortunately, I now know HOW many calories are in their fettuccini alfredo (1220, for the record)…so I tend to just stick with the soup & salad & breadsticks (especially the Zuppa Toscano—see my recipe for it here!)  But that doesn’t mean I crave it any less.

Finally, I can indulge my need for cheesy garlicky goodness! 

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 2)

• 1 medium-sized spaghetti squash
• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/4 tsp each of paprika, garlic salt, & onion powder
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 tsp crushed dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried basil (or a Dorot basil cube)
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup fat free milk
• 1/2 Tbsp fat free cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tablespoons extra for topping
• 1/2 tsp Cajun Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes  (optional for extra heat)

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and then place flat side down into a baking dish with about 1/2 cup of water.  Bake at 350F for about an hour.

Once squash is cooked, use a fork to gently scrape the “spaghetti” strands into the center.

In a medium skillet spritzed with olive oil, cook the chicken over medium heat; season both sides with the mixture of paprika, garlic salt & onion powder.  Cover with a lid to help speed up cooking and to help keep the chicken from drying out.  When fully cooked, slice & set aside covered to keep warm.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour, cooking for another minute while stirring. Whisk in the milk, basil & rosemary until no lumps remain.

Once heated through, add cream cheese and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and add in the Parm, Cajun seasoning, black pepper and crushed red pepper. (NOTE: I recommend including the CRP because the alfredo is a bit sweet, and the heat from the peppers really helps cut that.)

Spoon the sauce into each of the spaghetti squash halves. Use a fork to get the sauce down into the “spaghetti” so it’s well coated. Top with the chicken strips and extra Parmesan and place under the broiler of your oven for 2-3 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Serve hot with a side salad and a slice of warm garlic toast.  We loved this because it makes two HUGE portions—that come in under 500 calories each!!!!.  Even so, it was SOOO much food that I actually had to set half aside for lunch the next day!

NutriFacts: (per serving)

Calories 456.7

  Total Fat 20.1 g

  Saturated Fat 8.5 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 9.1 g

  Cholesterol 68.9 mg

  Sodium 1,071.2 mg

  Potassium 774.3 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 31.9 g

  Dietary Fiber 5.1 g

  Sugars 11.8 g

  Protein 38.2 g

Boudin Balls: Baked or Fried, with Homemade New Orleans-Style Remoulade

Wal-Mart never ceases to surprise me.  And not in the “OMG People of Wal-Mart” kind of way (at least, not ALWAYS).  But it does regularly amaze me the things I can find in Wally World.  Last week, it was nori wraps for sushi at $2.50/pack (regularly $5 at the local specialty store).  This week, it was boudin.
Or, boudAIN, as the package calls it.

Sorta like Anthony Bourdain…but tastier & less cannibalistic.

At only $2.27, I had to try it.  Typically I’m skeptical of “Cajun” labeled products that aren’t from Louisiana…but Zummo’s is made in Beaumont, Texas, which is in “Cajun Texan country”, near the TEX-LA state border.  In the early 19th century, many Louisiana Cajuns began migrating across the Sabine (the river that serves as the TEX-LA border) to work the rice fields in southeastern Texas and for the promise of jobs with the new Southern Pacific railroads in this area.  This is yet just another reason that Texas is awesome: depending on where you are, you can get delicious authentic Mexican, Tex-Mex, or Cajun food.

What IS Boudin, you ask?  Ummm…well, it’s kinda all there in the picture.  It’s heavily seasoned cooked rice, ground pork, and pork liver, combined and then stuffed into a sausage casing.  I know, I know…pork liver’s gross.  Organs are gross.  But boudin is DELICIOUS.  So just act like it isn’t there.  You won’t notice it, I promise.

What to make with boudin?  Well, it can be oven roasted (like my blog-friend Genet did here) or it can be smoked, boiled, and then sliced up as a nice finger food.

OR…you can roll it in breadcrumbs & fry it.  Because we. like. fried. everything.  Boudin balls are common commodity in the average Louisiana gas station.  Greasy & delicious, like most fried foods they make you super happy while you’re eating them, and then instantly regret it afterward.

Typically, when making boudin balls, you would make the boudin fresh, roll it into a ball, then batter & fry it.  But alas…I don’t have the time (or stomach) to make fresh boudin.  So…we’ll be rolling with the premade stuff. 

Oh…and we’re oven-frying.  To save ourselves from that “After I just ate fried food” feeling.

Trust me…it’s a totally acceptable alternative.

But, since we’re slacking off a bit on making our own boudin, I figured I should probably step it up and make our own dipping sauce, right?  That’s why I’ll also be sharing my NOLA remoulade recipe with you.  Remoulade is AMAZING.  HUGE flavor with not a ton of calories when made right (49 calories in 2 tbsp).  Run out of boudin to serve it with?  Put it on your next sandwich and have a Hallelujah moment.  For realz.  It is also AMAZING with cocktail shrimp.  Or fried shrimp. Dip your french fries in it.  Drizzle over grilled fish.  The sky is the limit!!!

Ingredients:

• For remoulade: [will make (8) 2 tbsp servings]
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip)
• 3 tbsp cocktail sauce
• 1/2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1/2 tbsp Creole mustard (if you can’t find Creole mustard, you can double up on the yellow, but the Creole gives it a much more rounded flavor)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 green onion, diced
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• (For the best flavor, make this sauce the night before so the flavors can fully combine.)

(Note:  if you'd prefer to buy remoulade, I like Louisiana Fish Fry's version.)

For boudin balls: [will make (6) 3 piece servings]

• 1 package (14oz) boudin (boudain) links, casing removed and cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup Louisiana fish fry (or, 1/3 cup cornmeal + 1 tsp Cajun seasoning)
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten + 1/2 tsp paprika

Directions:
To make your remoulade:  Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl & whisk thoroughly.  Let set for 3 hrs or overnight for maximum flavorosity potential.

For the boudin balls:
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Mix the bread crumbs & fish fry together (FYI—if you use the Louisiana fish fry, it’s already seasoned, so don’t add any extra salt.)
Roll the boudin pieces in the paprika egg wash until coated.  Then drop (one at a time) into the bread crumb mixture & toss to coat thoroughly.

Place all the boudin pieces on a lightly spritzed cookie sheet, then lightly spritz the boudin balls with oil (using a Misto or Pam).  This will help them get a nice golden brown.

Bake for 15 minutes, then turn them over, spritz again with oil, and bake for another 8 minutes.  Then turn your broiler on for 2-3 minutes to finish.  Remove when nicely golden.

FRIED OPTION: Since my husband had never had regular boudin balls, I decided to make these two ways.  I oven-fried the majority, but I also pan-fried four of them in oil, so he could have a comparison.  If you decide to pan-fry some, cover the bottom of a small pan with olive oil & heat over medium until the oil starts to smoke.  Then carefully place 1-2 balls in the pan & watch for them to brown, and turn every 10-seconds or so until browned on all sides.  Let rest on a paper towel, and then place in the oven for 10 minutes at 425 to ensure that they’re cooked through.  The results will look like this (darker than the oven-friend versions:

Serve 3 balls with 2 tbsp of the remoulade & garnish with green onions.

(Okay, okay, I admit they look a little like toasted coconut marshmallows, but I promise—they’re DIVINE.

Suggested accompaniment: salad and a good beer (we went with Baraboo Woodpecker Wheat)

NutriFacts:
Calories 265 for boudin balls/ 49 for remoulade
  Total Fat 12.0 g / 3.8 g 
  Saturated Fat 2.6 g / 0.5 g 
  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4 g / 1.4 g 
  Monounsaturated Fat 0.5 g / 1.8 g
  Cholesterol 79.3 mg / 2.5 g 
  Sodium 863.8 mg / 170 mg 
  Potassium 30.3 mg / 16 mg 
  Total Carbohydrate 36.5 g / 3.5 g 
  Dietary Fiber 2.0 g /0.2 g
  Sugars 2.1 g / 2.0 g
  Protein 11.7 g /0.3 g