Second Annual Coronado Jubilee, Our Southern-Style Seafood Boil

Our Coronado version of Jubilee celebrates the end of our incredible Summer Concert in the Park Culinary Challenges. This was our Second Annual Jubilee, held during the last concert of the season, because the Bayou Brothers were performing (last year, we returned for an After-Party Jubilee and had the entire park to ourselves).  Everyone contributes an ingredient to throw into the boiling pot, and/or offers to bring a side or dessert. It takes a bit of planning to coordinate, but it's the ultimate finale to the summer season.

As a brief recap of our Summer Concert in the Park Culinary Challenges, we traveled to Provence, Thailand, New Zealand, Turkey and Portugal. We sampled gourmet Ranch fare before leaving for Montana, noshed on Jewish cuisine while listening to Neil Diamond songs, and savored this Southern-style seafood boil with the Bayou Brothers. Challenge ingredients included bacon one week, and peaches another week. We cooked from Thomas Keller cookbooks one Sunday, and with wine the next.

You can visit our Holidays, Parties and Theme index for the links to our past three years of Concert in the Park Culinary Challenges! And it doesn't stop there. In a few weeks, we'll be celebrating Oktoberfest, and then Halloween. John is already growing scruff all over his face for his Halloween costume, and is being punished by a loud "ouch" whenever he tries to kiss me!

Here's a little photo spread of Jubilee, followed by recipes for our Seafood Boil and Seafood Remoulade Sauce.

John dug out his Diver's Tavern chalkboard, used during his Navy Deep Sea diving days when he prepared seafood boils for his fellow instructors at BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/Seals). We displayed it over the table, with Louis the Lobster flying above.

It was so great to have Jerry and JoAnn join us - they brought the andouille sausage

Jim is attempting to estimate the size or quantity of something...we're not quite sure. Hopefully, it's the amount of bourbon he put into his Mint Juleps and not the size of a certain body part ;-)

Bob, great friend and photographer extraordinaire at Terra Nova Photography, was sweet enough to share some of his photographs for the evening. Bob was also our designated Bourbon contributor. John's Boiled Peanuts are in the background.

John drove Big Ugly to the park earlier in the day, loaded with all of the cooking equipment, but didn't think about how we were going to fill the 32-quart pot with water (doesn't quite fit under the park's bathroom facet). I had to take the pot back home, fill it up with fresh water, and zip it back to the park in the Z, being careful not to slosh water all over my leather seats! 

Once the water got boiling, we cooked the artichokes (which take the longest), and then threw in the second batch of vegetables - corn, potatoes and carrots. Kai supplied the giant artichokes, corn and crawfish. Dean supplied the carrots and broccoli.

Chef Kai, testing the corn...

Jubilee Time!

Nina, Alec's better half, found colorful fingerling potatoes and cipollini onions at the Farmers' Market.

My King Cake Bread Pudding with Brandy Crème anglaise, from Dispatches from My South: Reflections and Recipes from a Southern Food Scribe.  For the complete recipe, see my next post, here.

Max and Olivia, cuteness redefined!

Carmen and her show stopping, four-layer Red Velvet Cake, inspired by Sugar Plum

(Carmen doubled the recipe and added fresh raspberries)

Julie, Chris and Hillari, and Chris' Apple Pecan Cheesecake

The Bayou Brothers provided the perfect music to accompany our Jubilee festivities

Group Shot, with Louie the Lobster hovering above (Left to right:  Mom, Carmen, Chris, Jim, Jerry, Kai, John, Sandra, Denise, Brad, Dean, Ursula, Hillari, Nina, Alec, Bob, and Max and Olivia in the front)

Your hosts, John & Denise...Thank you for making Sundays the highlight of our summer!

Jubilee - Southern Seafood Boil
Serves 15-20

Of course, you can use various combinations of shellfish and vegetables, and adjust the quantities accordingly. The most important thing is the timing of the cooking, starting first with longer-cooking vegetables, and then cooking the shellfish last.

Main Ingredients

3 lb. Large Shrimp, with shells and tails left on (we used head-on shrimp), rinsed in fresh water
3 lb. Crawfish (purged and washed)
3 lbs. Manila Clams (soaked in fresh water and scrubbed) 
3 lbs. Green lip or black Mussels (soaked in fresh water, scrubbed, and debearded)
5 lbs. Andouille sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 lbs. Baby Yukon Gold, fingerling and/or red potatoes (scrubbed, skin left on)
1 lb. Baby Carrots (or regular-sized carrots peeled and cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces)
10 ears Corn (shucked and halved)
8-10 Artichokes (trimmed)
2 bunches Asparagus (bend and snap off tough end)
2 crowns Broccoli (cut into small flowers)
1 lb. Okra
1.5 lbs. Boiler onions (we leave the skins on)

Seasoning for the Pot

Water to fill the pot 3/4 full
1 cup salt
Two 3-ounce boxes Zatarain’s Crawfish, Shrimp and Crab Boil in a Bag (remove spices from bags and toast in pan over low heat for about 10 minutes, shaking pan often, until fragrant)
½ lb. butter
2 cups distilled white vinegar
6 lemons, halved
3 heads garlic, cut in half crosswise

Special Equipment

Bayou Classic 1195 Stainless-Steel 32-Quart Turkey-Fryer Kit with Stainless-Steel Burner (or similar set up)
Stainless Steel Steam Hotel Pan Half Size 2-1/2''D
Propane Tank
Oven Mitts
Long tongs
Disposable plastic tablecloths or butcher paper to cover table

Preparation of the Boil

Fill stock pot 1/2 - 3/4 full with water and bring to boil. When water is at a full boil, add 1 cup salt, Zatarain's seasoning, butter, vinegar, lemons (squeeze juice into the water first), and the garlic.

Bring back to a boil and add artichokes. Cook for 40-45 minutes, until tender, and remove to hotel pan. Keep hotel pan covered. Add the potatoes, onions, and carrots next and allow them to cook for about 10 minutes before adding the sausage and corn. Cook for another 10-15 minutes and remove this batch to the hotel pan.

Next, add the okra, asparagus, and broccoli and cook until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Transfer to hotel pan.

Bring the water back to a boil, add all of the shellfish, and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to hotel pan.

Carefully pour out the shellfish and vegetables down the middle of the prepared table. Provide bowls of Remoulade and Rouille, wedges of lemon, and a basket of Carmen's mom's homemade buttermilk biscuits.

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Seafood Remoulade
Slightly adapted from Dispatches from My South: Reflections and Recipes from a Southern Food Scribe

2 large stalks celery
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cups ketchup
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup prepared horseradish
2 cups mayonnaise
5 tablespoons creole seasoning
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Lawry's Seasoning Salt, to taste

Chop onion and celery in the food processor until they are small but not completely pureed. Place onion and celery into a mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Can be made and help for up to a week before using. Remoulade sauce tastes better if made at least one day in advance.

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