Mudbugs & such

Food doesn't have to be gourmet to be exceptional. In fact, my favorite dishes are generally the simple ones and I might even say the "primal ones". Big hunks of meat grilled over fire...oyster roast...low country boil... You get my drift.

On Wednesday night, John Beck, the owner of our favorite dining establishment, Sheehan's Irish Pub informed me that he was getting in a shipment of live crawfish Thursday night and for me, Danny, and whomever to show up around 6:30. Of course, that's what we did, with our 3rd being Danny's son John Newman and our 4th the late arriving Mike Brown.

We sat down, ordered some Magic Hat #9, and our waitress informed us that we would be having crawfish tonight and it would be on the house. We informed her that's what we'd come for, and we'd start with 4 pounds. The crawfish arrived with the scent typical of crawfish boil...I think it's a little "clovey" and spicy at the same time. And let me tell you these things were huge! So large in fact that we actually ate claw meat from several.

The highlight of my week had to be helping teach John Newman how to eat a crawfish. Rip off the tail, remove the 1st bit of shell, dip in drawn butter, pull with your teeth, suck the heads! Fantastic! Ate 4lbs with a side of grilled andouille and several beers.

Everyone has their own recipe for low country boil etc, but I think by far the best seafood boil I've found is from the New Orleans School of Cooking, unfortunately, post-Katrina, I don't think they sell this stuff anymore! Theirs is very spicy and flavorful at the same time. Boil up some shrimp, crawfish, or whatever you can get your hands on and transport yourself to a steamy Louisiana afternoon. Laissez les bon temps roulez!