Mississippi Boil

Eleven family and friends gathered for our annual shrimp feed.  First time attendees were my cousin Carol and our Canadian friends Jim and Marie.  We were missing a few folks that had already gone home but we will expect them back next year.

Dave and I  had gone downtown earlier in the morning and brought home 8.8 pounds of shrimp.  The first order of business was to have an expert clean them.  Jamie, our Mississippi native was in charge of cleaning and putting together her "Boil".

Jamie shucking and cleaning over 150 shrimp.

While prep for the main course was going on I began grilling shrimp and feeding the crowd as they came off the grill.  We had mango/jalapeno and red chili pepper dipping sauces.

Lots of talking and laughing as we waited for the main course.

Of course I made my home cooked tortillas.

Our table only seats four so it was dining on the deck or where ever you could find a place.

Outside worked fine because it was still in the high 70's.

My brother Dave and cousin Carol.

Jamie with the magic "Boil".  My sister Sara hard at work.

So what is "Boil"?  You start with a big pot of boiling water.  Add a packet of "Boil" spices, a baggy of Jamie's secret spices and squeeze lemons into the pot.  Toss in tiny potatoes, corn-on-the-cob and smoked sausage.  The last thing added for the final few minutes is 5 pounds of fresh shrimp.

In a few minutes the feast was ready.

After dinner we took an evening stroll on the boardwalk around the marina before desert.  Friend Marie had baked a wonderful chocolate cake that finished our evening.

Good people, good food, good times..... of course life is good.....duh.

I want to wish my granddaughter, Phoebe, a happy 18th birthday.