Anniversary Dinner

So we're officially celebrating our anniversary tonight after Will goes to bed. We always watch our wedding video on our anniversary, but last night we had our Thursday shows, so we figured we'd watch it tonight when we have our official celebration.

I have to say, I'm really excited for this dinner. John is from New Orleans and introduced me to the drink, Hurricanes. And if you're drinking Hurricanes, you have to use the offical Pat O'Brien's mix, from the bar in New Orleans. We ordered some last week, and it's supposed to get here tonight. We haven't had it in awhile, so it will be good. Of course, there's a ton of alcohol in them so one or two will knock you on your butt! Anyway, we figured we needed something that went with that so I turned to my "Best of the Best from Louisiana" cookbook. But, before we have dinner we're having baked brie. So, my friends, you get two recipes for the price of one today!

Hot Baked Brie
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup almonds or pecans, finely chopped
Small round brie cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter over medium heat. Add nuts and saute for 5 minutes. Using a sharp knife, carefully remove top rind from brie. Press nuts into soft part of brie using back of spoon. Bake in covered ceramic or glass dish for 5-7 minutes. Serve immediately with crackers or french bread.

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Gouda Crawfish
2 Tbsp butter
1 pound crawfish tails
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry Vermouth
1 Tbsp seafood seasoning
1/2 package frozen puff pastry
1 pound round Gouda cheese, cut into large slices
Melted butter

Simmer butter, crawfish, onions, parsley, and garlic until crawfish are tender. Add cream, parmesan cheese, vermouth, and seasoning. Simmer until liquid is consumed. Set aside to cool.

Defrost 1/2 package of puff pastry to room temperature. Place one pastry on baking sheet. Add gouda cheese in center. Add crawfish mixture on top of cheese. Fold pastry over cheese and crawfish. Seal edges. Brush with melted butter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serves 10.

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Okay, so this is a new baked brie recipe for me, but it sounds really easy and yummy. I love baked brie, so I'm totally excited for it. I may slice up some apples to have with it as well.

Now, the crawfish recipe has me salavating. I'm actually halving the recipe because we just don't need 10 servings, and if it's as good as it sounds, we'd sit there and eat the whole thing. Plus half a pound of gouda was $5, and I couldn't justify spending $10 on a pound of cheese, even though it is a special occasion. The package of crawfish I got is only 12 ounces anyway, so I was shy on that to begin with. It actually sounds like another recipe I make, Jazz Fest crawfish bread. We'll see how this compares. Oh yeah, I didn't want to have to buy vermouth, so I looked up substitutes and found white wine vinegar can be used instead, so that's what I'll be doing. I'm also using fat-free half and half instead of the cream. I hope it turns out okay. I should have splurged on the calories and fat, but I already have the half and half.

Oh man, I just can't wait. I figure I can get the brie all ready to go, and John can pop it in the oven while I put the kid to bed, then it should be ready and waiting for me once I come back downstairs.

Oh, we're also having a salad. Spring mix with feta, walnuts, craisins, and balsamic vinagrette. I know I spelled that wrong, I always spell that wrong. It's my grandma's vinagrette recipe, and it's so good. If I remember, I'll post the recipe for that when I get it out later. It's the perfect mix of tangy and sweet.