Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler

It's a bit of a surprise to me, as well as to half my Texas and Louisiana food friends, that in the 12 years I have lived here in Austin, I have yet to experience a good old-fashioned Crawfish Boil.  I've heard all about them from friends that have resided in Cajun Country.  I've eaten my fair share crawfish creole, etouffee, and I'm no stranger to the sweet little meat from their tails, but with all that said, I've still never experienced a true boil.  All that changed a few weeks ago when we followed up on an invitation from our neighbor to come over for their annual  Crawfish Boil and birthday party for their sweet little girl Effie. Of course, being the food lover I am, I asked for advise from my experienced "boil" friends before I went so that I would not look completely dumbfounded once I had one of those mudbugs in my hand. I was given a list of advise - everything from don't rub your eyes to eat cucumbers to cool the heat from the boil.  I was told not to wear chapstick as I needed to experience the full effect. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit scared. I'm all for a bit of spicy flavor but having my lips burnt off? Not really my thing.  So with all of that advise to go along with our ice-bucket of Abita and limoncello, we walked to our neighbors to join the festivities.

It was typical fare when we walked in – a long table out back lined with a plastic cloth and several people just standing around a massive pile of crawfish, sausage, corn, garlic, new potatoes, onions and mushrooms poured right down the middle of the table. Off in the corner of the yard was a boiling pot burning away with a fresh batch. There's a big cooler not far from the fire that hosts 30lbs of lively crawfish on ice. The kids were curious with these little mudbugs and the adults are just intent to get straight to the meat. Because this was a friendly community affair I had no trouble being the "newbie". I walked right up to the table and plenty of well-tuned experts were on hand to show me what I needed to do. Throughout the evening I must have returned to that table at least 3 times for extended rounds of snacking – those things are so addicting! I could not seem to get enough.  I had the lovely opportunity to hear stories from others about how they had been doing these boils since they were kids. Some were straight from Louisiana and some from Houston all having grown up with this amazing tradition.

As with many traditions, the Crawfish Boil comes with its own twists and variations. I found out that many boils are strictly crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage. Depending on how someone grew up or what region a person was raised dictated the "extras" that get thrown into the boil.  For this day, we had heads of garlic, lemons and mushrooms added in. That was super yummy. I have also heard that some like to throw in artichokes and oranges.  From the stories I had been told, I was expecting my lips to burn off from the cayenne in the boil spice, but I think my neighbor was on to me and wanted me to enjoy it as it was not nearly as spicy as I had expected. I did have one ear of corn that was pretty spicy so I opted to stay away from most of the other sides and just use my time wisely with the meat. Did I suck the heads? You betcha. Was I impressed with it?  Not really,  it seemed kind of overrated.  I did, however, drink a couple Abita's and they seemed to pair perfectly with those little mud bugs.

I mentioned above that part of the experience and fun of a Boil is the community aspect of it. It's hard NOT to meet and talk to the people standing around this table full of "finger food" and I met some pretty cool people. Aubrey and her husband Joe came with their mom and kids. Aubrey was a crawfish pro – she has been doing crawfish boils her whole life. In fact, her first date with Joe was at a boil( at least I think that is what he told me) . She was quick to show me the tricks to snapping off the heads, sucking the meat out, and separating the meat from the tail.  She did it so quick I had to take a video of her.  Her husband Joe was busy teaching science to all the little ones about "how you can tell if the crawfish is a male or female".  Seem strange? Not really as he had all those kids fascinated.  When it came time for me to leave, the kids were still playing with the few remaining live ones and naming them as pets.

After 12 years of living so close to Louisiana, I am happy to report that I finally "let the good times roll" and could kick myself for not doing this sooner... I'm jus' sayin'!

Curious about Boils for next year? Check out the Do512 site. Then mark it on your calendar for next year as the Crawfish season is a short one (April and May).

Where do you get Crawfish if you want to have your own boil?
Fiesta ~ Quality Seafood

James, the chef and pretty awesome neighbor, standing by his boil pot.

For boil instructions, simply search the internet as there are plenty. Or you can use my neighbor James' condensed version.

In a 36 quart pot

Add
1/2 full water
1 1/2 bags Pro Boil spice mixture
12 lemon halves
1 1/2 sweet onion
Bring to boil
Wait 10 minutes

Then Add
6 corn cob halves
6 small red potatoes
1/2 package of mushrooms
7 sausage links (sliced)
Bring back to boil
15 min until cooked

Then Add
2 sticks of butter
Crawfish
Bring to boil
Cook 13 minutes

Dump on table (plastic table cloths or newspapers work best for this mess). As soon as it's cool to the touch, dig in and get 'em while they're hot!

Hot and Steamy

I'm digging in

Prepare to get messy

Mom and Daughter know how it's done.

Mom, can I have one for a pet?

Fresh Batch Steaming Hot! 

My neighbor having some mud bug fun with her husband.

30 Days of Gratitude Day 27 - Catching Up

I bet you thought I was referring to catching up with housework, yard work, that pile of laundry, or re-organizing the Christmas decorations, right? Although those are all wonderful things to catch up on (insert sarcasm here) that's not what I'm grateful for tonight. Rather, I am grateful for the chance to catch up with a friend I have not seen in awhile. A sweet friend of mine came over this morning. This is a friend that I used to see a lot of, especially when she lived with us for a short time, but with her busy job and our sometimes chaotic schedules we don't get to hang out as often.

Today she spent the whole day here at the house. You might think we would take the opportunity and go to lunch, go shopping, or even get manicures but no, we did something even better. We sat around doing nothing but catch up on each other's lives. We enjoyed leftover Christmas prime rib made into sandwiches for lunch, Manhattan cocktails in the afternoon, and delicious BBQ for dinner. We laughed at life and enjoyed watching a great documentary. I am so very grateful that our schedules allowed us this day because catching up with good friends beats catching up on the laundry anyday... I'm jus' sayin'!

"Yes’m, old friends is always best, ‘less you can catch a new one that’s fit to make an old one out of."
~ Sarah Orne Jewett

"To keep a new friend, never break with the old."
~ Russian Proverb

"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend — or a meaningful day."
~ Dalai Lama

Manhattan

2 oz Bourbon (I used Knob Creek)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes of aromatic bitters

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with 2-3 ice cubes. Stir gently with a cocktail spoon. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry. (We also included a blood orange twist)

30 Days of Gratitude Day 20 - Friends with Lemons

Every year at Christmas we start preparing for the making of our annual batch of Limoncello. Unfortunately, our beloved Meyer lemon tree that usually provides us with more than enough lemons did not fair well from a couple of winter freezes this year. That cold snap kept our tree from producing a crop this year but I have no doubt it will be stock full of blossoms again next spring. For now, though, we have to think outside of the box. One year, we had a limited crop and my lovely brother shipped us some of his Meyers from his tree in California. We were not exactly sure how we were going to do it this year. The price of these precious lemons can be ridiculous at local stores - especially when we are used to picking them from our own tree. This is where my gratitude comes in. Earlier today I noticed my friend Kate the very talented author behind "The Hip Girls Guide To Homemaking" post on facebook that she was excited to have gotten her Meyer lemons from her local farm. Curious, I asked her where the farm was. Not only did she tell me, but she offered me some of her beautiful organic stash. So tonight we drove over (with J singing carols and observing all the lovely lights along the way) to her lovely little casa. With a ton of thanks and gratitude to Kate, we will be making our limoncello this year and bottling it for our annual SXSW party. Funny how thinking outside of the box led us to a friend's box... I'm jus' sayin'!

"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A friend in need is a friend indeed."
~ Latin Proverb

"I get by with a little help from my friends."
~ John Lennon

30 Days of Gratitude

Yikes! Looks like I am going to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. I have decided - with some support from a local friend/food blogger - to participate in a project being put on by Jote, another local food blogger writing the Bless Her Heart blog. In a nutshell, she is posting her own personal "30 Days of Gratitude" and asked if anyone was interested in joining in. It would be wrong of me not to participate in this because I am such a firm believer in being grateful for all that we have, no matter what the circumstances that life throw's you. However, being accountable for posting every day for a month? I must be crazy to be taking on a task like this during what is always the busiest time of the year. With that said, if you know me you know that I am constantly posting positive quotes on my facebook page and I make it a daily goal to not complain, but to be thankful for everything I have. So this should be easy, right? We shall see. I'm going to do my best and hopefully this will inspire you to join in as well, or just follow along and leave me comments on my daily posts about the things that you are thankful for. What comes around goes around, right? So if a bunch of us are participating in positive energy, surely only good things can come from this... I'm jus' sayin'!

Day 1 - December 2, 2011

I am thankful for Time! God has blessed me with the ability to stay home these last 3 years and that's allowed me to be available for my family/friends/charities. Instead of looking at not enough time in the day I am thankful for every minute.

"I took some time out for life."
James L. Brooks

Purple Houses & Warm Smiles

I know that I have mentioned one time or another that there are a few perks to being married to a writer. If you are lucky enough to accompany them when they go out to conduct research or attend events, you may have keen opportunities to learn all kinds of new things. I have also learned that when you are invited to a stranger's home based on a common interest shared with your spouse, don't hesitate to grab your stuff (pen, paper, camera and, in this case, maybe a bottle of tequila)!

This past weekend, I had the honor of meeting Lucinda Hutson, yet another deep, creative Austinite who has been living in her amazing purple house for 35 years. I am always filled with joy meeting such interesting people. From the moment she greeted us with a soulful hug at the gate of her garden I knew we were not going to be just dropping in for a quick "meet-n-greet". I'm not exactly sure if it was her whimsical garden that first took my breath away or the bright purple colors of the house. It was as if you stepped back for a moment and found yourself transported into one of those intricate pop up books. It was all quite surreal and nothing was nudging me to think about that "to-do" list or the errands we were actually out running. With the sounds of babbling water fountains adorned by mermaids and the constant bits of nature catching my eye (butterflies galore and a little squirrel chomping on a front porch pumpkin) I instantly forgot about the city around me. I think it's safe to say that I could write a volume on just her front garden alone. I will try to give you a quick tour from memory but I think the pictures below provide a much more vivid account.

Just seeing her front yard inspired me and with each step I took on her pathways my creative garden juices that have quite honestly been dormant this year due to our state-wide drought began to return. I particularly enjoyed her "salad garden". Full of herbs, lettuces and all things waiting to be adorned by a tasty dressing, it was thriving quite well. The specs of orange popping out from kumquat trees and the beautiful Meyer lemons greeting me on the pathway of joy! Particularly eye catching is the clever way her love for the Latin culture is so predominately portrayed, from mosaics to pottery to agave plants. Oh, I mentioned agave! Before I continue with my story I must say that not only is Lucinda a well known food writer but she is also a tequila aficionado that has been drinking, writing about and enjoying the world of agave way before it became the latest trendy "new spirit". Her love for the juice and it's culture humbly comes through in her lively stories and the way her eyes light up while sharing them. It was because of her love of the agave that we were there in the first place. Lucinda was doing some research and contacted my husband after finding his tequila blog. After trading a few emails, she invited us out to her home and that's where we now found ourselves. As her gardener worked his magic around us, we wandered throughout her garden and unique backyard spaces. Then we were invited into her casa.

The inside was just as whimsical as the outside. I felt as if I were stepping into a casa straight from old world Mexico. Lucky for me, Lucinda still had her Día de los Muertos decorations out as beautiful sugar skulls adorned her dining room. The moment I was waiting for came when she took me into her kitchen. The colors, the food, and the energy were just seeping through the pottery and mosaics. I had no doubt that in that small oasis the inspiration for her books were found and her recipes tested. She quickly fixed us a refreshing "coctel" in lovely Moroccan mint tea glasses. While Bob discussed tequila I found a cozy place to sit down and skim through her tequila cookbook, first published in 1994, and ordering one for myself quickly became the first item on my to-do list (and which I did later that night). It was hard to say goodbye (I truly believe we could have stayed well into the night chatting) and I quickly realized that Lucinda was the true epitome of "Mi Casa, Su Casa." I'm already looking forward to going back to her lovely casa and hearing more stories. Thank you Lucinda for bringing such joy to my afternoon "to-do" list!

It's been over 10 years since we moved from California and I only knew one person in Austin. Now we are surrounded by friends that have become La Familia and I can't imagine having my casa anywhere else. Now if you will excuse me I have some creative gardening to attend too I'm jus sayin!



Delicioso Coctel by Lucinda Hutson

In small glasses
2 part fresh pomegranate juice
1 part good silver tequila
1/2 key lime (squeezed and dropped in)
5-6 frozen pomegranate seeds
1 Allspice leaf
1-2 ice cubes

I plan on making some more of her recipes in the future and posting them.

Shiner 101

So my sweet hubby won tickets to this exclusive Shiner 101 release party and with both of us being big fans of Shiner beer, we were really looking forward to the event. When the official invite came, the previously unannounced party date fell on a day that he would be in Seattle for business. But as any dutiful and supportive wife would do, I grabbed my girlfriend Lisa to go in his place!

The party was put on by DO512, one of our local entertainment groups, and they - like most of Austin - love to support local businesses and big parties. In this case, they hooked up with Spoetzl Brewery (makers of Shiner Bock) to help celebrate their 101 anniversary. For the last five years or so, the brewery has been producing special anniversary beers, each one of a different style and only made for one year, all of which led up the the brewery's 100 year anniversary and celebration. Those brews included a Bavarian style amber and a black lager, which proved popular enough to become one of Shiner's regular bottlings. Each was also given a number to note the anniversary year. The initial plan was to stop at 100, but the popularity of these "anniversary" brews has been enough to continue it and so that brings us to Shiner 101, a Czech-style pilsner, and the Shiner 101 release and tasting party.

The event was held at Saengerrunde Halle, a German-styled beer hall, which definitely added to the theme of the night. Ausinites young and old came out to honor this company and all the years of producing great brews. Along with the beer, we all enjoyed Czech-styled food and danced to the band "Brave Combo". All of this made for a festive crowd, great conversation and a dance floor full of people doing everything from a conga line to the traditional chicken dance. Since this beer had already hit the grocery store shelves in January, I had already purchased and tasted it, but getting to meet and talk to others at this event to hear their opinions was great! The consensus at our table was that Shiner 101 was tasty and heartier than expected, but ultimately, each of us still had our own personal favorites among the Shiner lines (Shiner Bock for me!). But hey, no complaints here - after all, it was free right? So after meeting some cool people and sampling some free beer, free food, live music and hanging around for the drawings for Shiner swag and the grand prize of SXSW badges, we called it a night. Walking back to our truck parked just behind the Capitol, I looked up at the beautifully lit building and once again thought to myself how lucky I am to be living in this fun, dynamic, ever growing and changing city. I'm jus' sayin'!




The Lovely Christina B. who was invited by her friend only to find out her friend was working that night for Do512




Our Czech food, brats soaked in Shiner Bock (our favorite!)




The Beautiful Do512 girls working the ticket booth




The cutest couple sitting across from us. It was his birthday!




So many caps!




Lots of tables displaying there finished artwork




Conga line as the band "Brave Combo" played on




My date Lisa enjoying a Shiner 101!




Towards the end of the night these were starting to pop up all over the Halle!