Dining In: Tamales meet crawfish

March is typically the time to pull out the crawfish pot, check that the tank is full of butane and fire it up. Boiling crawfish is the quintessential Louisiana pastime; it’s fun getting together with friends and family to “pass a good time” over a steaming heap of mudbugs. But once crawfish season is in full swing, we like to prepare our mudbugs in lots of different ways, including etouffee, bisque, pasta, pie and even tamales. That’s right—Crawfish Tamales, which are not only a bit unusual, but are a lot of fun to make when you have a group of friends coming over who don’t mind gathering in the kitchen around a pitcher of margaritas to help you cook!

Read more about this dish and check out a full menu, recipes and a how-to photo gallery for a night of crawfish tamales here. —Stephanie Riegel, Tracey Koch