Every family has their Christmas traditions. Of course, one of the many Centola family traditions involves food, specifically appetizers. I come from a large family, having 6 brothers and sisters. With the whole family together, it is almost the size of a small army. Opening presents can be a long drawn out affair.
To prevent hunger from altering the festive mood, every siblings family prepared an appetizer to nibble on during the gift giving. Over the years, we have eaten many different appetizers. So, I thought I would share with you 3 of the more popular recipes we have prepared; Crab Muffins, Crawfish Stuffed Eggs and Brie en Croute.
Crab Muffins could also be called Crab Pizza. The first time I tasted this recipe was one Christmas gathering. My sister-in-law, Edna, made these for the festivities. They disappeared in record time. The original recipe calls for Season-All seasoning. I like the flavor you get from substituting Creole seasoning for Season-All. Either way, your guest will quickly eat them up.
Crab Muffins
1 jar Old English Cheese 1 stick Butter Garlic Powder Creole Seasoning 1 pound Crabmeat, picked thru for shells 1 package English Muffins
Preheat oven to 350℉.
Cream the cheese and butter. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Creole seasoning to taste. Add crabmeat and mix. Spread mixture over English muffins. Bake for 20 minutes to melt the cheese and butter. Cut muffins into quarters before serving.
Stuffed eggs are a Southern staple. They can be made in advance and kept fresh in the refrigerator. Crawfish are starting to come into season. Their peak is in the spring. If fresh crawfish are unavailable, you can always use frozen crawfish tails. Just make sure they are Louisiana tails. Imported crawfish tails do not have the same flavor.
Crawfish Stuffed Eggs
1 dozen Hard Boiled Eggs 1 pound Crawfish Tails 1 cup Mayonnaise 2 teaspoons Creole Mustard 3 to 4 dashes Hot Sauce 1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning Smoked Paprika for sprinkling
Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and separate the yolks from the whites. Crumble the yolks and place in a mixing bowl. Drain and squeeze the crawfish to remove as much moisture as you can. Select 24 large crawfish and set aside. Finely chop the remaining crawfish and place in the mixing bowl, along with the mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce and Creole seasoning. Mix well. Place the mixture into the egg halves, top each with a crawfish tail and sprinkle lightly with smoked paprika.
This recipe, Brie en Croute, is in honor of my late sister-in-law, Denny. Every Christmas, this is one of the dishes that she would make. While writing my cookbook, I wanted to honor her by including her Brie recipe. However, no one was able to get it for me. Here is my version of the Christmas memory.
Brie en Croute
1 sheet frozen Puff Pastry 1 Egg, slightly beaten 1 tablespoon Water 1/4 cup toasted Pecan Pieces 1/4 cup fresh Parsley, chopped 1/2 cup Apple Jelly 1 pound Brie Cheese
Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400℉.
Mix egg and water. Unfold pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 14-inch square. Cut off the corners to make a circle. Sprinkle pecans and parsley n the center of the pastry. Top with apple jelly and spread evenly. Top with the Brie. Brush the edge of the pastry circle with egg mixture. Fold two opposite sides over Brie. Trim the remaining two sides to 2 inches from the edge of the Brie. Fold these two sides onto the Brie. Press edges to seal. Place seams side down on a baking sheet. Decorate the top with pastry scraps if desired. Brush with egg mixture. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 1 hour. Serve with crackers.
Next time, I will share with you the New Orleans tradition of the Reveillon dinner.
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