About the Critic. Leave Your Comments.

We've moved around a lot and, as a result, when we re-visit an old house, we've been known to knock on the door and share stories the new owner might not want to hear....or would love to hear.  I remember bravely going up to a beautiful house we used to live in, only to be greeted by a cranky old General that proclaimed we needed to stop visiting this house because my father was one of the most difficult men he'd ever met!  However, when my husband (who cautiously waited in the car not sharing my curiosity) saw my distressed look, he rushed to my side, and used his military knowledge to soften the old geezer.  He still wouldn't let me in, but he did let me walk the five acres and reminisce about my very first horse - named after my mama "Teeka." 

Another time, we visited a home we had only lived in for a short period of time.  It was a wonderful experience - transplanted midwesterners, seven impressionable youngs kids, to the California coast - greeted by the Newport Greeter, a swimming pool and a neighborhood of kids to romp with! It was in that pool, Mom taught us all how to perfect the swan dive, float and swim like Esther Williams.  The owner there was completely the opposite - loved sharing the entire home with me and related, "I knew I had to buy this house from your parents because there was so much joy - I mean, your mother had 7 kids running around making noise while she stirred her spaghetti sauce AND showed us the house!  ....I can still smell that sauce and hear the bubbling."

Some of you must be wondering if Nana the Critic knows who the recipe contributor is before eating it?  The answer is "absolutely not!"  Yes, she has tried to coerce me before offering her opinion, but I adamantly refuse. 

Having said that, the recipes in this book were contributed because they were somebody's favorites.  So be sure to test them all yourself, leaving your own comments!

Crawfish Fettucini ...p77

For those of you disturbed by the thought of eating a crustacean that goes by the name of "mudbug," crawls along the bottom of rivers, and builds rising mounds all across the wet south, you might find crawfish more appetizing when you learn that they rarely inhabit polluted waters.  So while you may disdain putting them into your mouth, don't disdain their indicator of the health of your muddy ditch.  And that sucking sound Ross Perot used to refer to?  Well, we know it's not related to NAFTA at all - just crawfish.  Y'all just better put up with those of us who love to chow down at a crawfish boil.

In this recipe, however, you won't have to shuck a thing, especially when you buy the pre-shucked, frozen crawfish that is pretty darned near readily available all over now (due to NAFTA of course).  I didn't happen to have fettucini noodles, so I substituted spaghetti noodles.

Ok, how many of you test spaghetti's "doneness" (al dente) the way I do?  When you throw it on the wall and it sticks, it's done?

           With one pound of crawfish and one stick of butter, what's not to enjoy?

Hardy Appetit!