I Wanna Eat Bad Things: Food Inspired By True Blood

As you can tell by the title, I have fallen under the True Blood spell - along with my sister and her husband. Thanks to HBO On-Demand, I was able to watch both seasons in a few weeks and be ready for the show's return on June 13! To help get ready, I thought it might be fun to share some recipes of food that I think of when watching the show.

First up (of course) is a Bloody Mary.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces vodka
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Tabasco sauce to taste
1 celery stick for garnish
1 lemon wedge for garnish

Instructions:
Combine vodka, tomato juicem lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, one cup of ice cubes and salt & pepper to taste. Mix well and shake, strain the mixture over a tall glass of ice. Add the celery and lemon to garnish.

Next up, Crawfish Etouffee - because what is a blog about Cajun food without a catfish dish? This recipe comes from Louisiana Foods - they have a lot of great recipes, so check out their site.

Ingredients:
1 lb. cleaned crawfish tails, commercial kind
crawfish fat and water to make 3/4 cup
1 stick margarine or butter
1 heaping teaspoon all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley
2 lemon slices, thinly cut
1 tablespoon green onion

Instructions:
Use a saucepan with a tight fitting lid to etouffee, (French for smother). Season crawfish tails with salt and pepper, set aside. Melt butter, add onion, cook over medium heat until tender. Stir in the flour, blend well. Add water, crawfish fat, lemon, tomato and garlic. Cook slowly, about 20 minutes, and add a little more water occasionally.

When sauce is done, add crawfish tails, cover with lid. Cook 8 minutes. Season again, to taste. Add green onion and parsley, cook 2 minutes longer. Serve on steamed rice. Garlic bread and green salad is a good companion to crawfish etouffee.

Cooking Tip:
Commercial crawfish are pasteurized and practically cooked. If you are using live crawfish, wash, then scald in boiling water. Clean them, picking off the shells, leaving tails whole. Save crawfish fat. When tails and fat from live crawfish are added to cooked mixture, it should be cooked 10 or 15 minutes longer.

Last is (Gran's) Pecan Pie. Poor Gran, she deserved much better then the ending she received - but her pie sure looked good!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
4 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell
1 to 1 1/4 cups pecan halves

Instructions:
Combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup; cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Let cool slightly. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt to mixture; mix well.

Pour filling into unbaked pastry shell, and top with pecan halves. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes. Serve warm or cold.