Low Country Boil For Eight With No Heat And Birthday Desserts

Wende and crew came down to celebrate my birthday and we did it a day late so Cindy could join us. I had considered making jambalaya but changed to low county boil to take advantage of the last of the fresh corn for the season. I used the recipe below which is designed for eight diners with some leftovers. 

Low Country Boil For Eight With No Heat 

Ingredients:

 6 qt. water 

3 tbsp. salt 

3 oz. (wgt) no heat Emerils Essence (recipe below) 

1 lemon, cut in half 

3 lbs. baby potatoes 

2 lbs. mild smoked sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces

8 ears fresh corn, cut in half 

3 lbs. large EZ peel raw shrimp (add a lb. for big eaters)(bag said jumbos but I got 63 in two pounds so larges) 

Directions: 

Combine first four ingredients and 6 quarts water in a 16-quart covered stockpot. 

Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat. 

Add potatoes and sausage; cover and cook 10 minutes. 

Add corn; cover and cook 5 minutes. 

Add shrimp, remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes. 

Since we were eating inside at the dining room table (covered with butcher paper), I used a large wire dipper to remove the ingredients to jelly roll pans on each end of the table. 

Serve with Ina Garten’s cocktail sauce, hot sauce and pepper flakes.

My plate to start with. 

Emerils Essence 

Ingredients: makes 3 oz. (wgt) 

5 tablespoons paprika 

2 tablespoons salt 

4 tablespoons garlic powder 

2 tablespoon restaurant grind black pepper 

2 tablespoon onion powder 

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 

2 tablespoon dried oregano 

2 tablespoon dried thyme 

Directions: 

 Add the black pepper, thyme and oregano to a spice grinder and make powder (add any other ingredients if they are lumpy) then mix everything together well. 

The Verdict: 

As expected the boil was a big hit and we put a major dent into it.  The no-heat Emeril's Essence worked perfectly for this version.

Birthday Desserts – The Stars Of The Weekend

We were in pie heaven for the weekend of my birthday beginning on Saturday with our neighbor bringing us a delicious chocolate pie and Bev had decided to make a peach blueberry pie to use the fruit we had on hand. So, we had these two pies after Saturday football then I had more chocolate pie for Sunday breakfast to go with my coffee and banana. Here is a pic of Bev's pie and the link the recipe.

Here is the link to Bev’s pie. Pic Unfortunately I didn’t get a pic of Pat’s chocolate pie before we dug in. Then for Sunday, Wende wanted to bring tiramisu and Cindy wanted to make another chocolate pie - I guess I told several folks about my desire for chocolate pie which was favorite as a kid but I haven’t had it in several years. This is the link to Cindy’s pie and this is the link to Wende’s Tiramisu followed by pics of them. 

I had a little piece of both with some real whipped cream on the pie.

And not only was the food good but it was a great family togetherness day and everyone seemed to have a good time. 

So what can you do with the leftovers – why make breakfast hash of course. Cut the potatoes and sausage into smaller pieces and fry in oil and butter until they brown a little. While they are cooking, peel the shrimp and chop into 2-3 pieces and cut the corn from the cob. When the potato mix is about ready, stir in the shrimp and corn, add a lid to the pan and cook until they are warmed thru. Plate and top with your two favorite eggs. Even though she was reluctant to try it, Bev decided it was very good as hash.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links. 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South. 

Larry 

9/14/25 event date