Hungry? Tasso Me Some Crawfish, Mister!

Crawfish & Tasso Pasta

- 6 jars of Alfredo sauce 

- 2 green bell peppers 

- 4 stalks of celery 

- 1 yellow onion 

- 2 Tbsp of garlic 

- 2 Tbsp of Oil

- One bunch of green onions. 

- (optional) one 12 oz bag of mozzarella cheese 

- 8 oz of Tasso pork 

- 16 oz of craw fish tails 

- One box of fettuccine pasta

- Tony Chachere seasoning 

- Tabasco sauce 

WINE PAIRING: Pinot Grigio 

Step one: Heat your skillet! one of the most important things you can do for all cooking. 

Step two: Chop up onions, bell peppers and celery. 

Step three: Add onions, oil and garlic to skillet and cook until light brown 

Step four: Once onions are light brown add bell peppers and celery and cook until semi soft. 

Step five: add bell peppers, onions, celery and Alfredo sauce to stock pot on medium low. 

Step six: chop Tasso into small chunks and add to oiled skillet. cook until all pieces are thoroughly done.
Step seven: Add cooked Tasso to stock pot and stir. 

Step eight: Add 16oz of crawfish tails to skillet and cook until done. (if crawfish tails were already cooked, just make sure that all of the tails are warmed and dethawed.) 

Step nine: Add craw fish to stockpot. stir and bring contents to a simmer. Add Tony Chachere's and Tabasco sauce to taste.  Cover for thirty minutes. Fifteen minutes before serving bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta. 

Step Ten: Five minutes before serving cut up green onions

 and stir into the stock pot. 

Step Eleven; (optional) when adding the green onions add the bag of mozzarella to help thicken up sauce and make it cheesy and creamier. 

Step Twelve: drain pasta in strainer.

Step Thirteen: Serve over pasta and enjoy with a chilled glass of Pinot Grigio. 

Hey there! Want a dish to impress guests and fancy enough to be seen on St. Charles Avenue? Well, look no further because you found it. This recipe combines one of the most famous ingredients in all of Cajun cooking and one some may not be familiar with: Tasso. Tasso is pork shoulder that has been seasoned and smoked. This adds a wonderful smoky (duh right?) texture to any dish. If added, Tasso works well with the sauce by balancing out the cream. When cooking with Tasso think, "Can I use a more bad ass version of bacon?" If yes, then go on ahead, son, and get to chopping. 

I found that when this dish is served to Yankees, the Tabasco sauce can be a bit to much for them. So, in order to remain a good southern host, instead of Tabasco sauce, substitute white vinegar.  This makes for a much calmer, happier supper party than if you just yell "G back up North, damn Yankees!" This, I have found, is not the best way to make friends and influence people. Vinegar makes up the bulk of Tabasco sauce anyways so you will retain the flavor, just without any of the heat. 

Pinot Grigio wine goes well here due to the light body, acidity, and fruit overtones that help cleanse your palate of the cream while helping bring out the subtler spices in the dish. 

This is it for the first episode of Contraband Cooking. Now, go out whip this up to impress friends and in-laws and always remember: drinking while cooking helps to make the food better and distractions melt like butter. 

'Till next time, drink and be merry, 

Cody