Crawfish mac & cheese anyone?

The next thing coming up that I’m excited about is sweet corn. I love it just about any way it’s served, but this salad is delicious this time of the year when the corn is good.

You don’t have to use jumbo lump crab meat. Any kind of crab will do. But if you do get the jumbo lump stir the salad very carefully so the lumps don’t break up too much.

Summer Tomato, Corn, Crab and Avocado Salad

12 oz lump crab meat

1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 avocado, diced

2 hot peppers, such as serrano or jalapeños, diced fine (seeds removed for mild)

1-1/2 cups roasted corn kernels

1/3 cup chopped red onion

Juice of 2 limes (or more to taste)

1 tsp olive oil

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Salt and fresh pepper to taste

In a small bowl combine red onion, lime juice, olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper. Let them marinate at least 5 minutes to mellow the flavor of the onion.

In a large bowl combine chopped crab meat, avocado, tomatoes, hot pepper and corn. Combine all the ingredients together, add cilantro and gently toss. Adjust lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

—kwc— I’ve been posting a lot of healthy(ish) recipes lately because all the vegetables taste so good and are plentiful right now, but I am ready for something fattening again and I think crawfish macaroni and cheese will do it.

Crawfish Mac & Cheese

1 pound Louisiana crawfish tails

1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked until just al dente (don’t overcook)

5 cups shredded sharp cheddar, in all

1 tsp salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tsp dry mustard

Hot sauce

1/2 stick butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp flour

2-1/2 cups half & half

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Thaw crawfish tails; drain liquid and reserve. Drain macaroni well and place in a large mixing bowl with 3 cups of cheddar, salt, pepper, mustard, and hot sauce.

Place a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and melt; add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over garlic mixture and whisk to blend; slowly pour in half & half and reserved crawfish liquid, whisking briskly. Bring to a boil and hold at a hard simmer for three minutes while whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in crawfish tails. Fold crawfish and sauce into the pasta mixture; taste and adjust seasoning.

Pour mixture into a buttered 13x9-inch baking dish, dot with butter, and top with remaining 2 cups of cheddar. Transfer to oven (middle rack) and bake until golden, about 50 minutes. For a darker crust, broil for a few minutes, watching carefully.