Crawfish and Mushrooms with Creamy Basil-Garlic Sauce with Cornmeal Johnny Cakes

Cornmeal Johnny Cakes with Parmesan Cheese Ingredients:
*makes about 12 cakes
½ CUP cornmeal
½ CUP self rising flour
½ TEASPOON salt
1 TABLESPOON sugar
DASH OF cayenne pepper
1/8 TEASPOON black pepper
¼ CUP grated parmesan cheese
1 CUP buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 CUP frozen yellow and white corn kernals, thawed, drained
½ CUP chopped green onions, tops and bottoms
Vegetable spray or bacon drippings

Steps:
1. Whisk corn meal, flour, salt, sugar, cayenne & black pepper in large bowl
2. Stir in grated parmesan cheese
3. Whisk buttermilk and eggs in separate bowl until well blended, stir in corn kernels and chopped green onions
4. Add buttermilk mixture to cornmeal mixture and whisk until just blended
cooking:
1. Coat non-stick skillet with vegetable spray or bacon drippings, over medium heat
2. Work in small batches, about ¼ cupfuls per cake
3. Cook until cakes are golden brown, about 1 ½ minutes per side. serve warm.
*From the recipe files of: George Panayiotou

Crawfish and Mushrooms with Creamy Basil-Garlic Sauce Ingredients:
*Serves 4 to 6
2 TABLESPOONS butter
½ POUND sliced mushrooms
1 LB. crawfish tails
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ TO ½ CUP butter
8 OUNCES softened cream cheese with chives
2 TABLESPOONS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
3 TABLESPOONS fresh chopped basil leaves or 1 ½ TEASPOONS dried basil
¼ CUP white wine
½ TO ¾ CUP whole milk (more milk if sauce is too thick)
2 TABLESPOONS grated parmesan cheese

Steps:
1. Saute mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter until cooked and tender. add crawfish tails the last minute.of cooking. remove to a plate.
2. Using same pan, melt butter with the minced garlic, stir in the cream cheese with chives, break it up with a fork. stir in parsley, basil and white wine
3. Using a wire whisk, simmer and whisk sauce until cream cheese is creamy with no lumps.. 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Add milk, bring back to simmer. stir sauce until creamy and smooth. *add more milk if too thick.
5. Add crawfish, mushrooms and parmesan cheese. to sauce and bring back to a simmer
6. Ladle crawfish and mushroom sauce over cooked cornmeal johnny cakes.
*From the recipe files of: George Panayiotou

Bluegill Restaurant
3775 Battleship Parkway
Spanish Fort, AL 36527
(251) 625-1998
http://www.bluegillrestaurant.com/

About the Restaurant:
It’s no wonder our motto at the BLUEGILL is to “Have Fun on the Causeway”! The causeway has been the Mecca of seafood dining for over 60 years. When you combine our fresh seafood, live music, casual atmosphere and a cold beer you get the Great Local Dive that has been an authentic piece of causeway history since 1958.

At the BLUEGILL we offer more than just a commitment to fresh traditional seafood in a relaxed, fun atmosphere. Our goal is to create a memorable dining experience with great service that will have you and your guests returning time and time again to create more memories of Fun!

And the funniest part of all, the BLUEGILL is located right on the Mobile Delta. You can join in on the fun by car or join us by boat! We recommend you visit on a night when we have a live band out on our Wharf Amphitheatre! With our play area for the kids there’s a little bit of fun for the whole family! So next time your on the Causeway don’t just take our word for it – come see for yourself that we are ALWAYS having fun at the BLUEGILL!

About the guests:
Chef George Panayiotou, Chef Michael Prince and BLUEGILL General Manager Jeff Bacon