Low Country Boil…And a Le Creuset Giveaway
Every year at my in-laws, we have a tradition of taking turns choosing the Christmas Dinner Menu. It started humbly, with my mother-in-law choosing pasta. Then the next year, my father-in-law chose Turducken. Then my sister-in-law changed things up and ordered Low Country Boil.
Kind of a strange thing for Christmas, as it’s typically cooked outdoors in a giant pot, and as we live here in the mountains, winter is pretty darned chilly. Therefore, summertime is best, with autumn a close second. Having to traipse in and out of the house in a foot of snow to work on maintaining the Boil is pretty un-fun, but, luckily, Low Country Boil is worth it.
(I won’t even tell you what I chose the year it was my turn, but let’s just say it was fabulous and unrivaled. Totally.)
But back to the boil.
Last year for one of the Hokie Tailgates Jon and his cooking cohorts made a HUGE boil to share, and of course, it was a enormous hit. It’s actually perfect for tailgating, as it merely involves a giant propane turkey roaster, which can be set up just about anywhere. There’s no real cooking involved – just a method of adding different ingredients at the right time to ensure that everything is properly cooked without overcooking or undercooking any of the items.
Us? We like some chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots. A nice andouille sausage, peppers, corn on the cob, and then of course, some seafood. Shrimp are a given, but lots of folks like crab, scallops, and crawfish.
Everyone gets fed – you can pick and choose the items that look the best to you, and there’s very little waste. See? Crowdpleaser.
But what if there’s only 4 or 5 of you, and yet, you’re still craving Low Country Boil?
Here’s your solution…
Just make it smaller!
(Rocket Surgery, I know.)
Seriously, though, I’m not sure why we never did it smaller before. It’s not like it’s that much work. In fact, Jon made ours while I made some pretty yummy creamy corn hushpuppies – so – that’s really all the time it took. Again – it’s about the sequence. Plan accordingly, have your ingredients at the ready (the last thing you want to do is be rustling up Old Bay or carrots when it’s already time for them to be added.) – and have fun. Low Country Boil is a fun and festive dish – so try to enjoy it. It’s worth it!
Low Country Boil – Step by Step
Ingredients (choose what you like, in what quantity)
- Seasonings – Zatarains Crab Boil or Old Bay and Garlic powder, salt
- Potatoes, in 1-1/2 inch pieces
- Fresh Baby Carrots
- Peppers, coursely chopped
- Corn on the Cob, halved
- Cooked Sausage, such as Johnsonville Arc Sausage, choice of flavor
- Crab Claws
- Fresh Large Shrimp
Method
- Fill pot about half way full. Add seasonings (Zatarains Crab Boil is good, though spicy, or, add garlic, salt and Old Bay). Bring pot to a boil.
- When boiling, add potatoes and onion. Boil 10 minutes.
- Add carrots and peppers. Boil 5 minutes.
- Add corn and sausage. Boil 3-4 minutes.
- Add crab claws and shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink and start to float. Remove from heat, strain, and serve immediately. Enjoy!
The Giveaway
I am thrilled to be able to offer you this gorgeous Le Creuset Steamer Pot Set. We used it for our small boil, and so can you, but there are lots of other uses. Use all three pieces to steam veggies and prepare pasta at the same time, or, just use the bottom two pieces for anything you want to cook and easily drain. It’s the perfect size for a large pot of mac & cheese, too – not that I make LOTS of mac & cheese with a 5 year old in the house.
Right.
So – who wants to win it? You? Great…just leave me a comment, letting me know you want to win it. There, you are entered.
For chances to win, do any (or all) of the following, just be sure to leave a separate comment for each item you do:
Share this post on Facebook, for one chance to win. Just be sure to come back here and comment, letting me know you did.
For another chance, Tweet the link to this post. Again, return, and let me know you did – I’m not psychic!
For a third and fourth chance, please Fan Le Creuset on Facebook and/or Follow them on Twitter. Each one counts, so that’s two additional chances, just be sure to comment for each one you do.
So there are FOUR MORE chances!
I highly recommend Following doughmesstic on Twitter and becoming a Fan on Facebook as well, as I have this tendency to throw bonus entries out via those two…so it can’t hurt!
Contest is open to addresses in the US only, and closes at 11:59pm on September 25, 2012. Prize is supplied and shipped by Le Creuset. I was supplied one to review, but was NOT paid for this post, and all opinions are my own.
Envious of the great looking shrimp and crab claws you see pictured above? You should be. The crab claws were divine, and cooked so perfectly that the shells pulled right off, leaving us with succulent meat at just a slight tug. Nice. All of it is from Anderson Seafoods, and if you want to win $200 of product from them, just scoot over to this post, where I am giving it away! Scoot – someone is going to win it, why not you??
