Can We Talk 2

Low Country Shrimp Boil

         I don't know what sent me in this direction. But I decided I haven't had a family blowout in a while, so I invited them to my house for Sunday dinner. At first, I wanted just all beef hot dogs with decent side dishes. Then it hit me about a shrimp boil. I can't afford this, and it is so much work the day of serving! But I'm committed.

         I looked up the recipe, and it reminded me of the jambalaya that I made once for a Duck Dynasty theme. So I looked further. They are not the same, but are very close. Gumbo, seafood or shrimp boil, and Jambalaya are very close. They all start with green pepper, onion, and celery. You choose two of 3 meats: chicken, shrimp or lobster, and sausage (andouille preferred, kielbasa will do). Gumbo is soupier. Jambalaya has rice cooked in it. The boil has red potatoes and short ears of corn. It's all low country, because it is Southern and mostly Louisiana based. Crayfish is optional in all of them. I am not a crayfish person.

         I have made my shopping list. I still have to have hot dogs for the picky children in my family. If they all come, I'll have 9 children, maybe 10, and 7 adults, counting me. There's a precedent for two spouses not showing up. And the maybe 10th is a 15 year old boyfriend who can't be separated from my great niece. So I have to clean house, and plan my cooking schedule, since I have a 9 am meeting Sunday and have to clean up after Communion, making me a little late getting home from church. I have to prep the bread the day before: cut off the crusts and cut in small cubes to place in storage bags until Sunday morning.

         For side dishes, I will make homemade coleslaw on Saturday. I will make garlicky mac n cheese ( I will have ingredients ready so I can throw them in the pressure cooker/air fryer when I get home from church. The vegetables will be ready to go in the pot on the stove. I just have to clean my hands and start tossing in. The boil takes about an hour. We decided mid-afternoon, so I will make it okay. If they have to wait, okay. I have to wait when I go to their houses. One of them might bring dessert, and one might bring fruit.

         So that will be my Labor Day celebration. It might the last shindig this old lady does for the whole family. They have their own things going on these days. I want it to be memorable.