Open face Crawfish Bread/its not a secret

This is a simpler version of Crawfish bread and served open faced. Since it slices nicely and is way more ladylike to eat than the Jazz Crawfish bread it would make a great appetizer for group gatherings.

Now before I go on, let’s discuss something (less discuss and more me going on one of my things that annoy me tirades, actually.)  I love simple/uncomplicated things like this recipe, cheese dip, a good ole fashioned diner etc. You know what's not uncomplicated? You know what doesn’t make sense? Restaurants without signs- on purpose. I get it, in 2008 this was different and cool and the diner felt like they were part of some secret society of special people. It’s 2017 and it’s time to stop. Now it’s just annoying. Hey, you know that restaurant? Yeah, the one without a sign? It’s like the worst scavenger hunt ever. Oh we found it, along with the other 55 people dining there. If you're going to do the no sign thing why not fully commit- menus are written in invisible ink, you must know the secret handshake to get your water refilled, look the fish is chicken and the chicken is fish. I know... what about the bathrooms being only accessible by secret passageways? Find it or tee-tee on yourself. Maybe I am just getting old and grumpy but it drives me nuts. If hundreds of people are eating at your restaurant every day it is not a secret! Now if you are a restaurant in my area and I’ve never heard of you then congrats, you did it. On the other hand, I have mad respect for pulling this off. If your restaurant is successful, you have managed to pull off the impossible- a restaurant that thrives with zero money spent on marketing. You sir or madam may actually be a marketing genius. Okay, back to crawfish bread before I start going off about snacks bowls on bars, corn and crab bisque, the price of cracklin.

Just like the Jazz Crawfish Bread, the focused ingredient here is the Crawfish. If you should use Louisiana crawfish (not that other crap). If you can’t find crawfish where you are, feel free to sub with shrimp. I also use soft french bread for this. The crusty french bread tends to toast too much and wreaks havoc on the roof of my mouth. For the cheeses, since they are on top of the bread I like to use freshly grated parmesan and a nicer pepper jack. They melt better and have a better flavor. Cajun seasoning- whichever you prefer. I use my homemade mix which you can find in another post here. The paprika is up to you. I am a savory girl, so I use smoked, but you may prefer the fancy sweet paprika. Remember as with the other crawfish bread, finely dice your veggies to prevent big, uncooked chunks. This recipe moves fast so I recommend having all your ingredients prepped and ready to go.

Preheat your oven to 350. While the oven preheats in a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook till softened about 5 minutes. Add garlic to the pan and cook till fragrant - about 2 minutes. Add Crawfish with the fat, green onion and parsley, then stir to combine. Cook until crawfish is heated through (5 minutes or so) then remove from heat.

Add the seasoning and cream cheese and continue stirring off heat till cheese is completely melted.

While you let the mixture cool for a little bit you can prep the bread. Cut your loaf in half and put each half on a cookie sheet. Spread mayonnaise on the top of each loaf. Spread the Crawfish mixture evenly on the loaves to cover the top. Sprinkle cheese on top and then paprika. 

Bake for 10 minutes, till cheese, starts to melt. Switch to broiler for 5-6 minutes. Be sure to check that they aren’t starting to burn. Once done, remove and let cool before slicing. If you slice the bread too early, all the crawfish mixture will slide off. This crawfish bread was Lucius and the girls favorite. If you make both let me know which one wins.

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Recipe:

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup finely diced onions

6 cloves of garlic minced

3/4 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 pound Louisiana crawfish tails

1 1/2 teaspoons cajun seasoning

1 8 oz package of cream cheese softened and cut in cubes

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cup Pepper jack cheese grated

Paprika for sprinkling

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 loaf of soft french bread.

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook till translucent. Add garlic and cook till fragrant about 2 minutes. Add crawfish with fat and cook till heated through about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add seasoning and cream cheese. Stir till cheese is melted and combined. Set aside to cool a little.

3. Split bread loaf lengthwise in half and place on cookie sheet. Spread Mayo evenly on top of both pieces. Top that with crawfish mixture. Spread the cheeses on top of the crawfish mixture. Sprinkle Paprika lightly on top to add a little color.

4. Place bread in oven for 10 minutes. Check at 10 minutes and if cheese has started melt and get bubbly transfer to the broiler.

5. Broil for 5-6 minutes till bread is slightly golden and bubbly.

6. Remove from broiler and allow to the bread to cool long enough for the crawfish mixture to thicken up.

7. Once you can cut the loaves without the mixture sliding off, slice and serve.