A Louisiana Shrimp Boil in New Hampshire

On this chilly rainy evening I'm sipping tea and sorting through a backlog of photos taken over the summer. In August Jack and I went to visit my sister in New Hampshire. We'd inserted ourselves into a busy weekend. Lisa's house was in the midst of renovation, her friend Alan was visiting from France, and she had another friend coming up from Boston for dinner. So of course I volunteered to cook.

Because of the renovation her dining room was stacked with furniture, so we carried a table outside and dined al fresco. We kept it simple. A platter of heirloom tomatoes drizzled in olive oil, and a simple Louisiana Shrimp Boil.

The basics to a boil are always shrimp (or crawfish or crabs), potatoes, corn and a Cajun spice mix. You can also include onions, garlic and andouille sausage, too. You can make your own Cajun spice mix or you can buy pre-made bags of seafood boil. I like Louisiana Cajun Crawfish, Shrimp and Crab Boil, but it's kinda hard to find in New England, so I just used Old Bay.

Lousiana Shrimp Boil

I don't have a written recipe for this and generally base the quantites on the number of people I'll be feeding. I allow for 2 ears of corn, 2-3 small potatoes, and a half pound of standard jumbo shrimp per person. You'll need about 8 oz. of spice for every 5 pounds of shrimp.

Bring a large pot fitted with a strainer insert of water to a boil and add your spice mix of choice. Toss in as much garlic as you like.

Add the potatoes (and onions, if you want) to the pot. You don't need to peel them. Boil them for about 10 minutes.

While you're waiting, shuck the corn and cut each cob into thirds. If you're going to be ultra traditional about this, use this time to cover your table with newspapers (put some plastic under the newspaper), as you'll be dumping the boil directly onto the table. We opted to use a large platter.

Add the shucked corn and boil about 3 minutes.

Add the shrimp. When the shrimp are pink, turn off the heat, cover, and let it all steep to absorb the flavors for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and dump onto the table or platter. Eat it just as it is, or with dipping sauces like cocktail sauce or Tabasco.

Unfortunately there is no photo of the overflowing platter of Shrimp Boil before we dug in. I wasn't being my usual bossy self that evening (there was company present, people!). My sister was the only one with a camera and thoughtfully composed this shot to include my backside. If you squint you can see that all of the shrimp was eaten and just a few potatoes and pieces of corn remain. Take my word for it. It was good.

Comments

[CookiePie]

Hi Ann -

Thanks so much for your comment on my blog! Yours looks amazing -- I'm defnitely going to bookmark it. I love that you keep your mom's old kitchen gear -- that nut-grinder jar is a gem! I have my eye on several of my mom's items too, not to mention her hopelessly dog-eared and food-splattered cookbooks.

The shrimp boil looks like a lot of fun and a great way to have a bit of summer in cold weather -- I'm going to try it!

Thanks again for stopping by! Very nice to "meet" you :)

[Pieds Des Anges (Kyla)]

I never knew it was so easy -- looks like fun.

[Ann]

CookiePie, nice to meet you too! Oh, I have my eye on some of my Mom's cookbooks for sure... she has an amazing collection. Do try the shrimp boil sometime... it never fails to impress people-- especially when you dump it all out on newspaper.

Kyla, this is one of those great meals you get raves on and then spend lots of time explaining was no trouble at all. My favorite kind. :-)

[Sophie]

This looks amazing!

[Blake]

I'm really digging this post. Cooking feeds me as much emotionally as it does physically. I love meals like this. People from all over coming together to share in an amazing time. But you have to tell me...what's your Louisiana connection? I live and cook and work and eat in New Orleans. :)

[Zenchef]

Ok i have a confession to make, i'm a chef and Shrimp boil and Lobster bake intimidates me.
I never even tried!...I am ashamed now.
Sounds like a lot of fun though!

[Ann]

Zenchef... I find this hard to believe. You must rectify at the first warm weather opportunity. (Hey, I've never done a Lobster Bake, either. That's intimidating!)

[Susan from Food Blogga]

I thought the grass looked awfully green for November! It must have been wonderful.

[myfrenchkitchen]

This looks like a magical evening...great food, great company and shoes kicked off...what more do we want from life!
Ronell

[Ann]

You're right, Ronell... there is nothing better than eating barefoot. :-)