Ansell’s First Annual Crawfish Feast

August 15, 2014

In the spirit of tradition, this past weekend, we hosted our first “Ansell’s Annual Crawfish Feast.” A celebration of the August 1st opening of the season and in truth, an excuse to entertain. Even though in time for the celebration I didn’t check “spear my first crawfish” off from The Experience List, friends shared their bounty and I had more than enough tails to stuff Crawfish Rolls, a recipe previously shared on the blog here. Well aware that I am still very much gaining a sense of confidence in the kitchen, I prepared a menu that included this quick grill watermelon recipe and mangos wrapped in proscuitto, as opposed to the expected melons; two creative dishes that certainly impressed guests and both requiring minimal effort, not to mention the latter a nod to mango season. My real effort however was reserved for making Bahamian macaroni + cheese, a dish I had never tried my hand at before. Instead of baking it in a square pan I went the less traditional route and used a cupcake pan and found the bite-sized portions more approachable and party-friendly. I am still perfecting the recipe but once I do I’ll be sure to share it.

In addition to glasses overflowing with Pouilly-Fuisse Domaine Saumaize Michelin Clos sur la Roche from Young’s Champagne – a recommended compliment to any crawfish dish – we also had set up a bloody mary and bloody caesar bar which encouraged guests to customize their own drinks using the following:

Tomato + Clamato juice
Vodka + Gin
Scrappy’s Celery Bitters from Young’s Champagne
Crisp bacon strips
Celery stalks
Lime + lemon wedges
Inagua sea salt + chilli powder, to rim the glasses
Bahama Bloody Mary Mix
Angosture bitters
Tabasco + Worcestershire sauce
Ice, I froze tomato and clamato juice in ice trays the night before as naturally drinks tend to quickly water down in the tropics

In all it was a great way to mark the season and we are already looking forward to next year’s Ansell’s Annual Craw Feast!