Cooking with Wine: Crawfish Pie and Chardonnay

Comfort food season is here to fill your home with aromas of nostalgia, warm your belly, and hug your soul. One of the quintessential comfort dishes celebrated in September is pot pie. It’s no secret why, either. The buttery, flaky crust and warm, satisfying filling is the stuff dreams are made of. We asked Food Blogger and Wine Guide Melissa Summar to share her favorite southern style pot pie recipe, Crawfish pie.

Crawfish pie holds so many nice memories for me. Last December, my family and I vacationed in Florida. On our long drive back to Texas we spent a few days in Louisiana. I fell in love with the culture and the food! Oh, the food! It was like nothing I had ever had before. Crawfish étouffée—crawfish simmered in a roux—was on everything like gravy. We stopped at a local meat shop and got a cooler full of “souvenir” food to take back home. From boudin balls to meat and crawfish pies, to fried gar balls, frog legs, and alligator sausage—we got it all! We had so much fun over the next few months cooking a few things here and there reminiscing about the fun we had on our Christmas vacation.

But first, the wine.

Like food, wine holds a lot of memories. I remember the very first time I tasted wine. It was a Chardonnay. I was on a vacation with my grandpa in San Diego. He had brought me along to his company convention. During one of the fancy dinners, my grandpa, who prefers whiskey, had to settle for wine so he chose Chardonnay. He offered me a sip. I remember a weird burning sensation on my tongue. I coughed and tried my best to not spew wine everywhere. In that moment, I thought I’d never enjoy wine. Many years later, however, I came across a direct sales wine company—Traveling Vineyard. I gave wine another try. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the more I tasted wine and the more I learned about it, the more I fell in love with it.

Here I am eight years later celebrating my love for wine. Today, I have so many memories about being with friends and sharing amazing bottles of wine over a great meal, like Crawfish pie. My recipe for Crawfish Pie is a blend of a traditional pot pie filling and crawfish étouffée. And the perfect wine for this recipe? You guessed it—Chardonnay. Steeple Street Chardonnay to be precise. And this one dances on my tongue.

Crawfish Pie Recipe

First, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a skillet and whisk in flour, stirring over medium-high heat until roux is a peanut butter color. Add in onions, bell peppers, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and sauté 30 seconds more. Stir in chicken stock, tomato sauce, half and half. Bring to a simmer. Once the mixture thickens, add in the crawfish tails. Stir well. Season with the Cajun seasoning (onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and Old Bay) and stir. Remove from heat. In a buttered pie plate, place on pie crust into the bottom. Pour in the crawfish filling.

Next, cover with the second pie crust. I used my homemade pie crust and for whatever reason it was not cooperating with me. So instead of fighting the crust and getting it too warm I used a cookie cutter and cut big circles out of the crust and topped the filling. This was a great way to have the kids help in the kitchen, by the way. I have learned whenever you involve your kids, the more they are willing to eat the food you have spent time making.

Finally, brush the egg wash over the top of the crust. Bake the pie for 30 to 35 mins until your crust is golden brown. Allow pie to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

For left over filling, place it in a bag and toss it in the freezer to make a second pie at a later date. If you have more pie dough you could assemble the whole pie, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for a quick meal. I love to double recipes and put one in the freezer for quick meals on those busy weeknights.

Melissa Summar, Wine Guide and Food Blogger

Enjoy the finished product with Steeple Street Chardonnay, which is aged in stainless steel—the way I like my Chardonnay! It’s crisp, slightly fruity, and oh-so-delicious. Chardonnays are known to pair with anything buttery and creamy. It added a nice balance of acidity to the crawfish filling, like having a little splash of lemon with every bite.

Do you have a favorite recipe for homemade pot pie? We’d love to share it on social. Message us on our Facebook page and we will put your cooking skills in the spotlight. Want more great food and wine pairings? Check out Traveling Vineyard’s easy peasy Sommology tool for pairing your bottles with great recipes, or searching based on your food to find the right wine selection.