sausages

Happy Wednesday and Happy Birthday to my old friend José in Seattle! I hope you’ll have a wonderful celebration with the wifey – we both miss both of you lots! I also hope that you’ll be enjoying some Seafood Boil this weekend. Maybe, maybe not? The wifey asked me for the recipe so I hope so! ;)

Anyway, 2 weekends ago we made a Seafood Boil and enjoyed it while watching Downton Abbey (I’m HOOKED!!!). You may have seen the post on my Facebook Page. I must admit that the idea came from my husband. I don’t remember exactly what he said that inspired me to make this, but in any case, this turned out quite delish.

Remember to taste as you go, because to be honest, ours turned out a bit salty. Woopsies!

Seafood Boil

1 small bag red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1 onion, quartered
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 shallot, quartered
4 celery stalks, cut into 3″ pieces
1 lemon, quartered
1/3 cup dry white wine
old bay seasoning
cajun seasoning
smoked paprika
s+p
2 corn on the cobs (or 3, or 4!), quartered
7 oz smoked sausage, cut diagonally into 1/4″ thick slices
1 dozen little neck clams
1 dozen tiger shrimps
1/2 stick unsalted butter
parsley, coarsely chopped
crusty bread, for dipping

1. Put potatoes, onion, garlic, shallot, celery stalks, and lemon into a large pot, and pour enough water to just cover everything. Season with s+p, and 3 heaping tablespoons of old bay. Boil for about 7-8 minutes until potatoes are almost fork tender.

2. Place sausages and corn on the cobs into the pot. I used 2 corns that I halved (wasn’t strong enough to quarter them), but I became sad later on as I wished there were more. The corn absorbed the broth SO nicely. Boil at medium heat for another 5 minutes.

3. Add the clams along with the 1/3 cup of wine. Cover the pot and steam for about 8 minutes or until the clams have opened up.

4. Add the shrimps and let cook for about 90 seconds. Don’t leave the shrimps in there for too long, or they will become tough, like mine… because well, I apparently don’t listen to myself.

5. Strain the boil but keep about 2.5 cups of broth and set the seafood aside on a serving dish. Pick out the celery stalks and lemons – you don’t want to eat those.

6. Combine broth with 1/2 a stick of butter. Season with more old bay, cajun seasoning, s+p, and a bit of smoked paprika. Add parsley.

7. Lastly, pour the buttery broth over the seafood, and serve with lots of crusty bread for dipping! :) Oh, and we had some pan-seared cod on the side. Way overkill, I know. I would omit this part next time.