Aunt Phyllis’ Phantastic Crawfish Pie

My Aunt Phyllis is my father's twin sister, and the idyllic Southern lady. I love listening to her soft, genteel southern draw, great stories, and so enjoy the sense of welcome she always exudes. She's one of those people you want to be around because they always make you feel so special! She's also a great cook on top of being a great hostess; this recipe comes from her kitchen. I even watched her make this one day, crust and all!

Now, here in middle-of-nowhere Georgia, crawfish are a might hard to come by, seeing how they aren't stocked in Wal-Mart. I had to make a few adjustments on my own: you can substitute two good sized chicken breasts and half a pound of smoked sausage (both fully cooked and finely diced!) for the crawfish if you can't find them. I KNEW this one was good when the hubby insisted I put this one up for everyone to see! While I was lazy and used a frozen rolled crust, there is a phabulous recipe from my Grandma Nita included as well for the pie crust.

PHYLLIS' PHANTASTIC CRAWFISH PIE

2 lbs. boiled and peeled crawfish tails

1 large onion, shopped

1 small bell pepper, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

8 toes garlic, chopped

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can evaporated milk

5 Tbsp. corn starch

Tony Chacachere”s seasoning to taste

3 generous shakes of Worchestershire Sauce

1 can corn, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make your pie crust using your favorite recipe, frozen, or pre-made sheets. Drain the water out of the crawfish if you’re using frozen making sure the bag is totally defrosted. The pie will be too soupy if you take this precaution. Chop the crawfish tails into small pieces. Saute’ onions, bell pepper, and celery. This combination is called the “holy trinity” in Louisiana. Add the garlic. Add milk and mushroom soup; bring to boil. Add crawfish and bring to a medium boil. Add corn starch to thicken and cook for ten minutes. When the mixture thickens to correct consistency, pour into 9”pie shell; bake for 30 minutes. Serves six.

ANITA'S PERFECT PIE CRUST

3 cups flour, sifted

1 cup Crisco shortening

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 egg added to milk to make ½ cup

Use the blades of an electric mixer to cut the flour, baking powder and salt into the shortening. Add the egg/milk mixture stirring gently with a fork. Chill before rolling out for pie tins. Makes four 9” pie shells.