Living in the midwest, we don't see too many seafood boils. I went to my first about two years ago, on the first night of what was billed as a business trip. That one was a lobster boil, and it frankly was fairly dissapointing. However, when I saw Caviar and Codfish's Shrimp Boil a few weeks back, I was enticed by it for three reasons. First, it looked so easy. Second, it would be so cheap. And finally, anything with shrimp in it makes Amy very, very happy. Cheap, easy, and appeasing makes for a winner in my book.
Of course, bringing our own preferences to bear, that mayo just had to go. I thought breifly about making our own Creole seasoning blend, but then decided that no matter how little effort it actually was, it would violate the second precept of the recipe; easy. Not having such a blend in our current pantry arsenal of spice, I resigned myself to the fact that we would surely soon be the owners of some "essence" du Emril or Rachel Ray's Sawdust 'n Salt blend. But then, there it was: like a boyhood friend, long since forgotten, Luzianne. "All purpose seasoning with lemon", the label says. "Use like salt and pepper", it continues. And we did, growing up. I can't believe I'd forgotten all about it!
Shrimp Boil
(Adapted from Caviar and Codfish)
1 lemon, quartered
5 tablespoons Creole or Cajun seasoning
2 1/2 teaspoons cayenne, divided
2 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves
8 ounces shrimp
2 ears corn
1 pound new potatoes
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp horseradish
Combine ketchup, horseradish, and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper in a small dish and set aside.
Fill a very large stock pot half full of water. Squeeze lemon juice into the water, and drop in the peels when done. Add seasoning, 2 teaspoon cayenne, bay leaves, garlic and potatoes.
Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Add corn and cook 4 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
Dump the contents of the pot into a strainer, plate, and serve with sauce
