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39
HURRICANE
•
RECOVERY
Crawfish Pie
Serves 6
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
½
stick (4 tablespoons) butter
1
cup chopped onion
½
cup chopped bell pepper
¼
cup chopped celery
1½ teaspoons salt
¼
teaspoon cayenne
½
cup chopped canned tomatoes
1
pound crawfish tails
2
tablespoons cornstarch
½
cup water
2
tablespoons chopped green onions
1
tablespoon chopped parsley
1
(9-inch) pie crust, unbaked
HOW TO PREP
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the onions, bell peppers and celery, and cook,
stirring until the vegetables are soft and golden, 6
to 8 minutes. Add the salt, cayenne and tomatoes
and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
Add the crawfish tails and cook for about 5 minutes,
stirring occasionally.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add to
the pan. Stir for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the
mixture thickens. Add the green onions and parsley
and stir to mix. Remove from the heat and cool for
about 30 minutes.
Pour the crawfish mixture into the pie crust. Place
the pie on a baking sheet and bake for about 45
minutes, or until the edges of the pie crust are
golden. Cool for 15 minutes or so before cutting
into wedges to serve.
Tripani’s, Bay St. Louis
A
fter Hurricane Katrina swept ashore 10
years ago, no city in South Mississippi
was left unscathed. More than 80,000
homes and businesses were reduced to
slabs. Every major bridge was demolished,
and much of Highway 90, the main East-
West thoroughfare, was un-drivable. It was
an unimaginable scene.
At first, recovery was painstakingly slow.
Thousands of trucks labored for months
just to remove the debris. Many businesses
decided not to reopen. Long stretches
of Highway 90 were nothing but empty
lots. But then, something happened. An
entrepreneur saw an opportunity, scraped
together funding, and opened a gas station.
This inspired shops and businesses of all
sorts to open around it. Some very brave
souls rebuilt where their business had once
stood, and we got our first Rouses Markets
in Mississippi.
The recovery has been remarkable, but
nowhere is it more prevalent than in the
restaurant industry. In those first weeks
after Katrina, there was no place to eat on
the coast. If you were lucky,
a Salvation Army food truck
might come by. But eventually,
restaurants of every sort began
to open to huge crowds of
recovery workers and weary
residents.
Remarkably, in this region more
than 50 restaurants have opened
every year since the storm.There
is a bevy of new beachside,raised
restaurants — most recently,
the Oyster Reef Club in Long
Beach. In the mood for Indian?
Try Gulfport’s Orchid. Want
a pizza you’ll never forget?
Try Biloxi’s Sicilian II. Ocean
Springs is the epicenter of
this incredible building boom,
with more than 30 restaurants
within walking distance of the
city’s heart. Vestige, which just
returned from its second trip to
the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival, is one
of the South’s best fine dining restaurants.
Washington Avenue Diner just opened,
and Maison de Lu, Bayview Gourmet and
Government Street Grocery are all nearby.
In Bay St Louis on North Beach Boulevard,
there’s a new Trapani’s, 200 North Beach,
The Blind Tiger and Buoy’s Bar. Around
the corner is Serious Bread. Down the
street, the Sycamore House, the Mocking
Bird Café and The Butter Cup Café all
thrive. One of The Bay’s now most famous
places is on Highway 90 — Cannella, an
eclectic mix of German and Italian food
that draws people from all over Louisiana
and Mississippi.
“All along the coast, there’s evidence of
growth. Food has been the foundation.
We have new chefs, new restaurants, three
Rouses in Mississippi and five new ones in
Alabama.”
—Les Barnett, Ocean Springs
M.R.E
Mississippi is Ready to Eat
by
Julian Brunt