Last week I inventoried the pantry and freezer and am making a concerted effort to cook it all down before hurricane season gears up.  So far I'm doing really well-- just 2 days have most of the ingredients been purchased for a meal. Last night I made pesto with basil from the garden, sunflower seeds from the pantry, and good parmesan, which I consider to be a pantry staple. I seasoned chicken thighs from the freezer and stuffed pesto under the skin. The salad was sliced Creole tomatoes and cucumbers, something we eat almost every day while they're in season, feta cheeze from the cheese drawer, and fresh broccoli sautéed with galic and lemon. Tonight it's going to be buccatini with clams, both from the pantry, and I'll make a panzanella salad with some of the leftover pesto. It's been fun-- we'll see how long I can keep it going.

For the recipes this week, I had comfort food in mind. First up is an easy, creamy crawfish pasta dish; add a crisp green salad and you'll have a great meal. Next up, Lidia's Italian-American lasagna, definitely a labor of love, but worth it. Bonus, you can use the meat sauce recipe as a stand-alone for pasta or sloppy Joe-style sandwiches. And finally, fresh and in season sweet corn and Louisiana shrimp soup. Yum!

Enjoy this week's recipes, stay safe and healthy, and, as always, let me know what's on your mind. 

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Susan Ford, Publisher and Editorial Director

Louisiana Kitchen & Culture

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Creamy Crawfish Pasta

This is comfort food, pure and simple-- even better, SIMPLE comfort food! Have plenty of hot French bread on hand for serving.

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Lidia's Italian-American Pasta

Also pure comfort food, this one's not as straightforward as the crawfish pasta. It will take a while to make the meat sauce and assemble the lasagna. It will take a good bit of time to make the sauce and assemble the lasagna, and about 90 minutes to bake and cool before slicing, so plan accordingly.

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Louisiana Shrimp and Corn Soup

This one tastes like summer! The sweet corn is coming into season, and it pairs so well with sweet Louisiana shrimp.

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