Cindi's Window ... Lake Living : Do you boil?

Last week we went through a couple additional days of some very intense snow, maybe another 12 to 14”. It wasn’t, as the weather man reminded us, a blizzard as there was no wind, no whiteouts, but it was cold and lots and lots of snow.

That did not deter us from having a family get-together, share some seafood and good times. This particular event is better outside, I must say, as it is kind of messy. But, it was also lots of fun and good eating. For those of you who see my Facebook page a couple of these pictures may look familiar. It’s not the first time we have done a seafood boil, and also not the biggest crowd. I didn't realize I was on a two-year schedule with these boils but that's what Facebook tells me. Key to the seafood boil is friends, family and a willingness to eat with your hands!

I have a few non-seafood eaters in the family. I know, right? We had pizza for the kids and adults (1, there was 1) that didn’t want seafood. There was also a fair amount of wine and beer, which is perfect with seafood, and homebaked French bread, which was also perfect. I did all the shopping ahead of time but in the past have folks bring a bag of shrimp, crab legs or smoked sausage to dump in. I included corn, onion, lemon, crab boil seasoning and new potatoes. We served 13 adults and there was some left over, but, I admit…this is not good leftover stuff. Keep in mind the shrimp and crab are already cooked so I just thawed those bags of goodness and layer on top, maybe long enough to steam up a bit. (Full disclosure. This time I used two roasters and one had better shrimp than the other as it was in the boil less time.)

After layering the dining room table with paper and removing all the chairs…that’s right, you had to stand, and providing plates for those that just really wanted/needed a plate, and three rolls of paper towels. A big bowl, huge, a hand me down from my late mother-in-law, in the center for shells and corn cobs, half eaten potatoes. Yes, the potatoes with your hands, too. Just grab it and bite. 3 cast iron skillets for butter and a couple bowls of just mixed cocktail sauce. You get the idea ~ it’s a free for all.

We had a good time. A nephew discovered the key to removing large slivers of crab from the legs and handed it to others gathered around the table, to make sure everyone had their fill, cause he's like that, bless his servant heart. We were barbarians. The Olympics on in the background, kids supervising kids, and life is good, folks, life is good.