Seafood Boil and weekend project

I have always wanted to do a seafood boil, but just haven't gotten to it yet. This weekend seemed perfect...the weather was awesome...we could sit on the patio...what more could you ask for. I didn't do very well at taking pictures because I was too busy visiting, but you get the idea :)

John is thrilled - oh wait, he hates seafood!

mussels and clams

potatoes and corn

 

shrimp

spicy sausage

Toby and Amy - Cash was on the floor in his little seat, so I didn't get a pic

Monica and Eric

Monica and friend

Eric with corn in his teeth

It was a great night - but let me tell you, seafood boils are a lot of work. If you have ADD, you should not attempt this since you are constantly adding stuff, taking it out, etc. Here is what I did.

• 2 - 49 ounce cans of chicken broth
• 5 bottles of beer (optional - just replace with other liquid)
• Water - so the seafood or whatever is in the pot is fully covered
• 1 bunch of thyme and rosemary tied together
• 2 large onions quartered
• 10 cloves garlic smashed
• 1 bag crab boil seasoning - I think I would use two next time
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2-3 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 pounds mussels and clams cleaned and for the mussels debearded
• 2 pounds shrimp (you can use shell on or off - just make sure the mud vein is taken out)
• 4 ears corn cut in half
• 10 large red potatoes quartered or halved (just so they are easier to eat)
• 2 jalapeno kielbasa sausages
• Garlic butter and parsley for topping
• Crusty bread for dunking

Add the first nine ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil. Put your potatoes in a basket and put in the pot. Cook for 30 minutes. Add in the corn and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside. Place your shrimp in the basket - watch them close. When they are a nice pink color (about 4 minutes) remove from the pot and set aside. Place your mussels in the basket. Place in the pot and cook for 4 minutes. Add in the clams. Cook for an additional 4 minutes. Remove from the pot. Top seafood with a generous amount of garlic butter and chopped parsley and dig in. You could also serve that on the side - I just put it on though.  I got some of the juice form the pot and dumped it over the mussels and clams too - that way you can actually use the bread for dunking.

As for the sausage, I didn't want to boil it, so we threw it and some chicken on the grill. I liked it much better that way! Pretty much you can do any kind of seafood you want with this recipe - lobster, crab, whatever you want and is available. The broth was really good - especially with the rosemary, thyme, onion, and garlic.

As for the rest of the weekend, we worked on a little project. We had a space in our little back yard for a garden, but after four years of trying - nothing grows in it. I mean nothing! There just isn't enough sun and the dirt sucks. So, we decided to get some pavers and just fill it in. I like it better and it gives us just a little more space. We just put the BBQ on it, so we can add a bench or something where it was so we will have a few more seats on the patio.

John working hard - those suckers were heavy!!

tada!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week too!