Mike, Gina & Zoe's Home Cookin' Episode 5: Shrimp Boil

My name is Zoe...

I am originally from Valrico, Florida. The Large Hairy One is from Phoenix, Arizona and The Small One is from New York. I was told that they met at a Barnes & Noble where The Large Hairy One works, although he didn't work there when they met. They got married on September 9, 2007. I came to live with them on April 29th of this year. I am 5 years old.

This is our family version of a Lowcountry Boil.

aka Frogmore Stew

INGREDIENTS

3 Clementines

4 Lemons

Mushrooms

Celery

Sausage or Kielbasa

Shrimp

Old Bay Seasoning

Red Pepper Flakes

Bay Leaves

Clove

Grapeseed Oil (not pictured)

1 stick of Butter

Dill

Peppercorns

Thyme

Chili Oil

Marjorum

Hot Sauce

1 Onion

8 Garlic Cloves

Corn (not pictured)

1/2 Bag of Fingerling Potatoes

Fill a large stock pot up 2/3 of the way with water. 

Turn burner on high. Tip: Your water will boil faster if you add hot water rather than cold.

Add 3 ounces of Old Bay Seasoning. If you buy the 6 ounce container, use half. 

Add 4 peeled clementines.

Zest 4 lemons and then add the zest and the zested lemons.

Add 1/4 cup peppercorns.

Add 6 bay leaves.

Add 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes.

Add 1/4 ounce bag of marjoram.

Add 1 tablespoon thyme.

Add 1 teaspoon clove.

Add 8 cloves garlic.

Add 1 tablespoon chili oil.

Chop 4 stalks celery.

Chop 1 whole Vidalia onion.

Put the chopped celery and onion into a food processor and blitz.

Act like the onion and celery mix is a rebel traitor scum and put it in.

...

Pardon that last bit. I had retired to the bedroom for a cat nap and when I awoke I caught The Large Hairy One at my computer desk. There will be no more Star Trek references throughout the rest of this blog post. 

Add 1/2 bag of fingerling potatoes.

...

That was The Large Hairy One again. I was indisposed in the litterbox.

The potatoes need to be at a rolling boil for at least 30 minutes.

Oil your cast iron skillet. Use grapeseed oil. Do not use olive oil as it will smoke. Turn the burner on medium high.

Cut 2 packages of sausages into bite sized pieces

Heat in skillet until you have some nice caramelized bits. Sit on a paper towel when done. No, not you. The sausages. Do not add to boiling mixture. Add when plating.

Add mushrooms.

Cut 2 full cobs of corn into 6 pieces. Be careful with your knife skills. I knew a cat once who lost his right front paw to a short tempered badger. We called him Lefty. The corn needs to be at a rolling boil for 20 minutes. To time it right, add it in 10 minutes after the potatoes. Remember: The potatoes need to be at a rolling boil for 30 minutes.

Once the timer is up on the potatoes and corn, shut the heat off. This is important because you don't want your shrimp to overcook and turn into an expensive bag of rubber squeak toys. 

Add 1 stick of butter to a sauce pan. This does not have to be at a high temperature. You want your butter to melt, not scorch.

Add fresh dill.

Skim as much of the foam off as you can. Finish with a touch of lemon. You should end up with liquid gold.

...

Apparently a cat can't step away for a minute to get a few mouthfuls of Hill's Science Diet without The Large Hairy One adding a GIF.

Add your shrimp to the hot water. It should no longer be boiling. It should only take a couple of minutes. Have a colander ready in the sink. You might want to have at least two glass pans on standby as well. Be careful of the hot liquid and steam. There was this one cat... nevermind. Best not to dwell on morbid subjects.

In the end, you should have quite a bountiful feast. By the looks of the newspaper, it looks like A Warm Place To Sleep and A Ray of Sunshine are a couple of Lefties. I wonder if they had a disagreement with a short tempered badger as well?

Meow for now!