Thursday, February 19, 2015

Key West Boiled #Dinner #Recipe @LucyBurdette


LUCY BURDETTE: One of the nice things about living in Key West is that good friends visit us, escaping from the dreariness of winter. We spent Valentine's Day with our friends Jane and Jack Novick, and it was lovely to remember how we all met, and what kind of food we made for each other's wedding receptions!

Of course we did go out one night, but we cooked in too. We wanted something not too fussy, but utterly delicious. I remembered a dish that Jane made for us some years ago, and we adapted it for this occasion. It's delish, but very little trouble! (It would be even better with fresh corn on the cob, but the frozen was not bad...and I promise I will make something besides shrimp next week.)


Ingredients for Key West Boiled Dinner
  • 1 lemon, quartered
  • 5 tablespoons Creole seasoning (like Tony Chachere's)
  • 2-3 bay leaves
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
  • 1/2 to 1 pound fingerling potatoes (we used multicolored)
  • 1 package sausage of your choice, cut into 2-3 inch lengths
  • 1 package frozen corn on the cob
  • 1 1/2 pounds large Key West pink shrimp in shell

Bring a gallon of water to boil in a big pot. Squeeze the lemon into this, and drop in the lemon pieces, the garlic, the bay leaves, and the Creole seasoning. 

Simmer this together for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, wash the potatoes and rinse the shrimp. Add the potatoes to the water, simmer until almost soft. (About 10 minutes, depending on the size.) Add the sausage and corn, simmer a few minutes. Finally, add the shrimp, simmer until they turn quite pink--another 2-3 minutes. 



Dump the whole pot into a colander, drain, and serve on a large platter. 

Serve cocktail sauce (2/3 ketchup to 1/3 horseradish) and Dijon mustard on the side, along with a green salad.  








Everyone takes as much as they want and peels their own shrimp as they go. 





Until you are left with...this!


Hang in there northerners--that horrible winter will pass! And July will come soon too, bringing the sixth Key West food critic mystery, FINAL RESERVATIONS. You can pre-order it here.



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10 comments:

  1. Cute picture of you! I hope you're staying warm. Do you have any heaters down there? I heard on the news that even Key West is shivering.

    Lucy, I love these boiled dinners. Oh yum. They're flavorful and such fun! Sounds like you had a great time with your friends. : )

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    1. We are not going to complain, but it IS in the 50's and windy! We do have heat, but we're resisting turning it on...

      This dinner is so easy, but it turns out so delicious that everyone felt it was a special meal:)

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  2. Who is your cat friend? Very good looking.

    I bet this smells wonderful while cooking. The whole house must smell yummy.

    We are shivering a bit in Boca this morning. Tomorrow will be even cooler. (In deference to our friends up north I will not say it is "cold.") Had to bring in all the plants last night.

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    1. That's my friend Yoda--he's the king of the house:).

      Hope it warms up in Boca soon!

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  3. My son has made boiled dinners at our family camps in the summer. They are so good! I am going to just have to make this myself. Then I will get to eat all the leftovers! Yum!

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    1. Boiled dinner doesn't sound that great, but they are yummy. and we did have leftovers, put them on a salad with vinaigrette--sublime!

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  4. Gorgeous cover on Fatal Reservations, Lucy, and we’re looking forward to its release. We're also ready for that warm Florida sunshine about now, too! New York City is bracing for one of the coldest days of the year tomorrow (or so the weather folks warn us). Your boiled dinner looks amazing. We love shrimp, and we’ll be trying this one-pot recipe soon—love the ease of it. Thanks to you (and you good friend Jane) for sharing it with us and have a great week... ~ Cleo

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    1. thank you Cleo! I hope the winter is almost over for you guys--it's been a doozy:(

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  5. How nice to live in a destination spot where people come to you. :) The meal looks so easy!

    Daryl/ Avery

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  6. This looks terrific, Roberta! I bet it would help us cope with winter up here. I am making it soon.

    Thank you!

    XO

    MJ/VA

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