Can We Talk 2

Sunday Cooking

         I led the older ladies' Bible study this morning. I lectured on history and the Bible. That's a subject all by itself. The choir had the day off, so I sat with some older friends (they're celebrating their 62nd anniversary this week). At home, I prepared to entertain family.

         It sprinkled all day, so outdoor dining was out. One set of children didn't come. But I had a ton of food just in case. Fortunately, I only cooked half the hush puppies I had planned to have. I settled for a brownie mix instead of the fancier cookie bars I had seen. So I had time to sweep up after my Dad and hide things from children.

         I did a "low country boil", a mixture of corn, vegetables, spices, and seafood all in the same pot. I thought my pots were pretty big, but I ended up using both (two gallon size). I cooked garlic cloves, bay leaves, Chesapeake Bay style seasoning with some pink salt until the water boiled, then let it rest for a bit.The fresh corn, I broke into three pieces each; the first one comes off with a snap, but the second has to be cut. I had fresh broccoli and cauliflower, which I did not want to get soggy. So I put all of these into the hot water together and cooked for about 5 minutes or less. I washed live mussels, clams and let them sit in the sink while frozen raw, easy peel shrimp thawed under running water. To solve my dilemma, I put a colander onto the second pot, and drained the vegetables into that. I put the drained vegetables back into the first pot with the cut up smoked sausage and put a lid on it. The sausage got hot in the steam. I boiled the second pot of used seasoned water and added all the seafood.It only takes three or four minutes for the mussels and clams.

         I tested the cauliflower, and it was great with the seasoning. I took the pan off the heat and let it sit. It would be a bit of a wait, so I removed the shellfish into a bowl. I had homemade coleslaw from the night before (a whole head of cabbage, so that's a lot of coleslaw). The cabbage was a little bitter, so it could have used a bit more sugar, but I was leery of adding more. When the first guest showed up, I put the hush puppies in the oven and boiled the water again. I added the vegetables to it to heat up. After a few minutes, I put the seafood into the empty pot, and used the colander to put the water back into it. So the seasoning and meat flavors were influencing everything. I didn't recook the seafood, but allowed the hot water to heat it up. I dipped it all out into platters, just as the rest of the guests showed up. I took the hush puppies out and started pouring tea.

         It was a big hit. The one year old (18 months) loves mussels! It was cute watching him eat out of the shell. I tried something new, it was a success, and it feels good. I was there for the wildest child to keep her from tearing the house apart. Oh, I still have to clean up what she did get into, but it would have been worse had I been at work. Now tonight I can rest.