We Went to a Crawfish Boil!

WhatIWore: Last night we did something really fun - a crawfish boil! My coastal readers might have these every weekend, but believe it or not, this was my first time!! We are in the middle of the Midwest afterall! I asked our host to tell me more about how he put it together, so here’s the scoop!

First things first, you need live crawfish, which you can order online. I did a little looking around and saw the huge batch David had came from Louisiana Crawfish. Next you need some BIG pots and a heat source for boiling everything. Along with the crawfish, our boil had corn on the cob, potatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms and aligator sausage. The real key though is the seasoning! I couldn’t put my finger (or tastebuds?) on the specific spices, but take my word for it - it’s delicious! David told me that you need both ‘boil oil’ and seasoning (not too little, not too much) because it’s all about the spice (which also gives the veggies amazing flavor!)

The actual cooking is something like this - boil the batch for 11 minutes and then let cool and absorb more of the spices for another 20 minutes. You want the water to come down to 150 degrees and our cook used ice to speed up the process. 

When time to serve, set up some big tables, spread out newspapers and pour the drained goodness on top! We sat on haystacks and dug in! Luckily other guests knew what they were doing and gave the rest of us lessons on how to get the meat out of the shell (an easy to learn, yet complicated combination of twist, squeeze, slurp, squeeze, etc). 

This was such a fun party! Thank you to David and Jana for having us!! 

In The Kitchen | Key Lime Pie

I love baking and I especially love making pies (see my #Jessicas100pies on Instagram to view past pies!) I usually go with a flakey crust and custard filling, but for Adam’s birthday weekend, I decided to make his favorite - Key Lime Pie. The recipes I used were so easy and the result was tangy, sweet and silky. If you’re a newbie to pie making, I bet you could tackle this recipe! 

Graham Cracker Crust (original recipe here)

- 1 ½ C graham crackers

- 1/3 C sugar

- 6 T melted butter

Start by tossing your graham crackers into the food processor and get them pretty well crumbled. Add sugar. Slowly add melted butter until the mixture clumps up a bit. Transfer to 9″ glass pie dish and evenly press to bottom and sides. Using glass will help you hold the dish up to the light and see if you have any holes!

Bake for 7 minutes at 375. Let cool completely before filling. 

Key Lime Filling (original recipe here)

- 3 14oz cans of sweetened condensed milk

- ¾ C key lime juice

- ½ C sour cream

- 1 T freshly grated lime zest (about one lime)

Combine all ingredients and transfer to cooled graham cracker crust. I like for a little bit of the crust to show around the edges, so if you’ve used a smaller pie dish, you might have a little filling left over. Bake for 6 minutes at 350. Watch closely! Don’t let your pretty pie get brown. 

Let your pie cool on the counter and transfer to the fridge once at room temperate. To garnish, slice a lime with your mandoline (be careful!) and layer over the top of the pie. To serve, slice and add a dollop of freshly whipped cream (heavy whipping cream with a little sugar and dash of vanilla).