Key West Shrimp Boil

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Ken and I get up at 8am and let Jason and Lola sleep. It is windy today. We can see small white caps on the water. It’s our last day here….sad…but we have had a wonderful time. Ken makes coffee and I join him up on the top porch to enjoy the morning. The houseboat still is anchored out in the distance. It’s a great day for sailboats and we see some going out.

Jason and Lola get up, we let them sleep because the wind is so strong; we can’t go out on the Sea Doos. As they join us on the porch, a storm kicks up and the rain starts. It is so beautiful but quickly forces us inside. The rain only lasted a few minutes and now the sun is out and a nice breeze is blowing. We are back on the porch.

We made some breakfast and literally lounged around all day. It was stormy and windy all day. We watched a marathon of “Mountain Men” .Lola and I played games. I told Lola I was going to miss her, so she took my phone and made videos for me.




I had purchased some “Key West Shrimp Boil Spices” in Key West so Lola and I decided to go shopping for other ingredients and make a special dinner for our last night. One kind of unique thing in the Keys, is that chickens and roosters are wild, kind of like squirrels. They are walking around in the grocery store parking lot. It is so hot and humid from the stormy weather and I am soaking wetby the time we get back. Lola and I make the shrimp boil together. It was so fun. She loves to cook and is quite the helper.




Here is the recipe:








Shrimp Boil: 4 servings








Ingredients






2 lemons, halved, plus wedges for serving1/2 cup Old Bay Seasoning<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; color: black; line-height: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">8 cloves garlic, smashed1 large red onion, quartered6 sprigs fresh thyme1 pound baby red potatoes4 ears corn, husked and snapped in half1 1/4 pounds large shrimp, unpeeled2 tablespoons unsalted butterHot sauce, for serving (optional)


















Directions




Fill a large pot with 4 quarts of water. Squeeze the lemon juice into the water and add the squeezed lemon halves. Add the Old Bay, garlic and onion. Tie the thyme sprigs together with kitchen twine and add to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook about 5 minutes.




Add the potatoes to the pot and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Add the corn and cook 5 more minutes.




Meanwhile, slice along the back of each shrimp through the shells; remove the veins and rinse the shrimp. Add to the pot, cover and cook until the shrimp curl and are just opaque, 2 to 3 minutes.




Transfer the shrimp and vegetables with a slotted spoon or skimmer to a large bowl. Add the butter and about 1 cup broth to the bowl and toss until the butter is melted. Transfer the shrimp and vegetables to a platter. Serve with the remaining broth, lemon wedges and hot sauce, if desired.




I used the spice mix I purchased and omitted the Old Bay seasoning and Thyme.




We had dinner out on the back deck overlooking the bay. It was delicious.It was a great last evening. Lola and I showered and got ready for bed. She wanted to sleep in our room for the last night.

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