Bring On The Crawdads....And The New Traditions!

I adore traditions. Adore, adore, adore. And we have lots! We always have Christmas enchiladas (with homemade green and red chile) on the day after Thanksgiving while we put up the tree, we give new jammies every year on Christmas Eve, and St. Patricks Day is a hoot because we stuff ourselves with my famous corned beef and cabbage while we try to catch a leprechaun and toast my Daddy who LOVED St. Patrick's Day. That's just scratching the surface but suffice to say, I love an opportunity to create a fun memory opportunity for my nearest and dearest.

 

Last year, for Labor Day, I happened to have access to a BUTT-TON of crawdads. That should be a formal measurement by the way. What to do with that many crawdads? Add shrimp, potatoes, Andouille, and corn and have a low country boil of course! Don't forget to invite a bunch of friends. Add soda or water for the kiddos and adult beverages for the grown-ups, stir and you have a helluva fun party! So fun in fact, that I couldn't stand to let the ball drop and sent out the invitation to this year's Labor Day low country boil.....in October of last year........for September of this year :)! And I'm going to send out next year's invitation soon. We have a new tradition and I love it as much as love the rest!

 

I love a low country boil because besides the food being delicious, everything cooks in one great big pot, you dump it on newspaper, eat with your hands, and when you're done, roll it all up and throw it in the compost bin.

Just look at it!

 

Make sure to put outs lots of melted butter, cocktail sauce, and hot sauce. Melted butter and hot sauce are easy but it's rare that I find a commercial cocktail sauce that I like. I don't care much for ketchup and I always want lots more horseradish. So, I did what I always do in this situation, I fooled around with a scratch recipe until it was so good my mom said I should bottle it. Instead, I'm just going to share it with you.

 

 Cocktail Sauce

1/2 C sweet Thai chili sauce

1/2 C garlic chili sauce

1/4-1/3 C Horseradish

1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

1 tsp Sambal Oelek  

2-4 Tbsp Ketchup

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Mix and enjoy. You can adjust as you like for heat. More horseradish and/or Sambal Oelek for extra heat. More ketchup for a sweeter sauce.