Musings of a Vintage Junkie: shrimp

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Low Country Seafood Boil, Strawberries and Rhubarb!

I promised in my last post to give the recipes for my Mother's Day dinner so here they are.....

Seafood or Low Country Boils are famous in the low country of Georgia and South Carolina. They are typically done in a large outdoor cooker making it an easy all-in-one-pot-all-you-can-eat dinner.

This is a large boiler/fryer that has been a great investment for us not only for seafood boils but also for deep fried turkey!

The ingredients for a boil are variable according to taste but a basic boil includes small red or new potatoes, sausage or kielbasa, fresh corn on the cob, and any combination of crab, shrimp, scallops and clams. We used clams, shrimp, corn, small white potatoes and a combination of sweet and hot Italian sausage. I happen to have a huge platter to serve it on but the authentic way to serve a seafood boil is to spread out some newspapers on the picnic table and throw all the ingredients on top. That way everyone can dig in from all sides of the table without passing the dish. We fed 5 adults and there was still some left over!

The seasonings are very important and also are as variable as your taste. We have found that the more is better so that all the pieces are drenched with it.....otherwise everything comes out sort of bland from just basically being boiled. My husband put so many seasonings in this one that the water was brown.....I was a little skeptical, but each piece was tasty, especially the potatoes, which really soaked it all up. He made it a little on the hot/spicy side.

I have a recipe to follow but we usually wing it and do our own thing for the seasonings, which are different every time we make it. Seasonings include Old Bay Seafood Boil seasonings, beer, lemons, garlic cloves, bay leaves, Cajun seasoning and onions.

So here is the recipe that we used recently....

Seasonings:

5 quarts of water

1 bag Old Bay Seasoning

1 lemon, cut in half

5 cloves garlic, whole

1 pinch Adobo, a Spanish seasoning

1/4 cup kosher salt

pinch of crushed red pepper

pinch of Cajun seasoning

a handful of fresh oregano leaves from our garden

To the 5 quarts of water add all of the seasonings and set to boil.

Main Ingredients:

2 pounds of small potatoes, whole

1 pound sweet Italian sausage cut in 2" pieces

1 pound hot Italian sausage cut in 2" pieces

6 ears of fresh corn, cut in half or thirds depending on the size of the cob

2 pounds large, raw shrimp

4 dozen little neck or mahogany clams, scrubbed clean

melted butter

cocktail sauce

Once the water comes to a boil add the potatoes and sausage and cook for 10 minutes or until tender and done. Add the corn and cook for another 5 minutes.

Take the potatoes, sausage and corn out and keep covered and warm on a plate.

Add the clams to the water next and once they start to open add the shrimp and cook till pink.

You can add the potatoes, sausage and corn back in the water for a minute to reheat and then drain everything and serve on a platter or newspaper. Serve with lots of melted butter and cocktail sauce.

If you have room for dessert.......

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

My daughter found this online from Taste of Home. Click on the link for the full recipe.

I also make a Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp which is a little different in that the topping is made from flour, sugar and butter and bakes into a crisp, crunchy topping. Both are equally fabulous and the strawberries and rhubarb are in season right now in Upstate New York.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

2 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into small pieces

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup butter

Heat oven to 350. Place rhubarb in ungreased 8" square pan. Sprinkle with salt.
Measure sugar, flour and cinnamon into a bowl. Add butter and mix with a fork thoroughly until it is crumbly.
Sprinkle evenly over strawberries and rhubarb.

Bake 40-50 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.