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.

***

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.

***

Our Portuguese Picnic Table Overfloweth

It's been a busy summer, with our weekly Concert in the Park Culinary Challenges.  We're at the end of the season now, and gearing up for the finale tomorrow - our Second Annual Jubilee. The pot will be boiling, with lots of fresh shellfish, potatoes, corn, artichokes, Cajun spices, et al.

Getting back to last Sunday's Portuguese challenge, I published our Portuguese Dessert Table post earlier in the week, and then I squeezed in a Tuscan Guest Post for my friends over at Bunkycooks. In addition to Portuguese Baked Custard Tarts, Orange Olive Oil Cake and Stuffed Figs for dessert, we feasted on an amazing spread of Portuguese food!

We tackled several recipes from David Leite's The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe's Western Coast (Grilled Piri Piri Shrimp, White Beans and Sausage, and Duck Risotto)

Grilled Piri Piri Shrimp

(For this bright Piri Piri Paste, I used a combination of Red Padron and Jalapeno Chiles, and one Habanero)

Mom beat me to My Family's (David Leite's family's) White Beans and Linguica Sausage, a dish I've been wanting to try for a long time. Beans are a traditional side dish in Portugal, especially for pork and beef

John was all over the Duck Risotto with Ham and Sausage, grilling duck breasts in the park and slowly adding chicken stock to his his dutch oven full of risotto. Arroz de pato, or duck with rice, is a specialty of the Minho region. The risotto has linguica, shredded duck leg meat, and Serrano ham.

Kai grilled Stuffed Squid and Linguica. The stuffed squid have been on my list to make also, and these were incredible! 

Carmen shared a hearty dutch oven full of Jagacida Verde, Cape Verdean Bean and Sausage Stew.  Carmen made hers with prosciutto, linguica, roasted chicken, collards, baby limas from Mississippi, onion, garlic, green pepper, celery, and green tomato paste.

Mary and Geoff traveled down the coast with Camarao Monzambique

Dena, our new snow skiing buddy ;-) prepared Tuna Empanadas

Pammy, finally back home on the Island after her travels, made Portuguese Salad of Black-Eyed Peas with Tuna, from Leite's Culinaria 

Jack and Sandra baked up a beautiful Gratin, of which the name escapes me...

And, here's Alec and Nina's Green Olive Dip

Whew, I'm stuffed just thinking about all the wonderful food we've experienced this summer.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to share all of these Portuguese recipes in one post, but I wholeheartedly recommend The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe's Western Coast, which has many of them, as well as David Leite's blog, Leite's Culinaria.

***

Our Portuguese Dessert Table

While sitting cross-legged on the floor at Borders, in the middle of the cookbook stacks, I came across David Leite's The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe's Western Coast, winner of the 2010 International Association of Culinary Professionals’ First Book, Julia Child Award. It's been on my to-buy list and, as promised, "takes you on a gastronomic journey through the country's eleven historical provinces plus the islands of Madeira and the Azores, sharing the details of their local foods as wells as the extraordinary diverse terrain in stunning photographs throughout."

I was first introduced to one of David's recipes, Pine Nut and Orange Cookies, in the latest issue of Fine Cooking. After making those cookies for our Concert in the Park Challenge Tacos, I received a surprise comment from David on my post.  I was so thrilled he took the time to visit There's a Newf in My Soup!  If you haven't already, drop by his amazing web site, Leite's Culinaria.

Hopefully, David will be pleased to know he was the inspiration for our latest Concert in the Park Culinary Challenge - Portuguese Cuisine. However, it was impossible to choose just one recipe from his cookbook. There are so many I can't wait to try. I knew I wanted the Grilled Shrimp with Piri-Piri Sauce for the park, but then I couldn't pass up the Baked Custard Tarts.  John chose Duck Risotto with Ham and Sausage for his park dish, but we also made the Sausage Tortilla for our Saturday night dinner. Tomorrow, I plan on making one of the salads. Can you tell I love my new cookbook??

At the Concert in the Park, we enjoyed three Portuguese desserts. This post is dedicated to the dessert table, and a second post will follow featuring some of our other Portuguese dishes.

Here are the Baked Custard Tarts. David says these are "the reigning monarch of desserts in Lisbon and, frankly, in all of Portugal." They're typically made in individual 1/3-cup forms, which gives them their characteristic size and shape, but mini muffin tins worked well for me.

At first reading, this recipe seems somewhat involved, with an interesting method of forming the tart shells. However, they turned out to be quite a breeze. My only problem was that I didn't blind bake the tart shells long enough, and ended up putting them back in the oven after removing the dried beans. The recipe says to put the muffin pan on a baking sheet in the oven, and maybe that prevented the heat from circulating under the pan. All turned out well in the end, and these babies disappeared like hot cakes!

Baked Custard Tarts (Pasteis de nata)
Makes 24 pastries
Slightly adapted from David Leite's The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe's Western Coast

Ingredients:

One 17 ¼ ounce package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, thawed
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Grated zest of ½ lemon
1 ¾ cup heavy cream
1 large egg
8 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling
Ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

Preparation:

Place one still-folded sheet of pastry on a lightly floured work surface so that a short end is facing you and the thicker fold is to your left. Open the two panels of dough, lightly brush the right panel on both sides with water, and then fold it back into position. Cover with the left panel and press down to seal. Lightly brush the top of the pastry with water, then curl up the short edge and tightly roll up the pastry away from you, as if making a jelly roll. You should have a 3-inch-wide log. Roll it back and forth on the work surface to extend it to 3 ½ inches. Repeat with the second sheet of pastry. Wrap each roll in plastic and place in the refrigerator.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, lemon zest, and ½ cup of the cream until all the lumps are dissolved. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the egg and yolks together, and set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and 2/3 cup of water to a boil over high heat. Do not stir. Let it bubble until a candy thermometer registers 230 degrees F.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the remaining 1 ¼ cups of cream over medium high heat, until it steams slightly and bubbles appear around the edges, about 5 minutes.

Whisk the hot cream into the flour mixture until smooth, and then pour in the hot sugar syrup. Slowly add the egg mixture, whisking continuously, then pour the custard back into the medium saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking slowly, until the mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon and registers 170 degrees F on the thermometer, about 4 minutes. Pour into a bowl, add the vanilla, and let cool completely.

About 15 minutes before you are ready to prepare the dough for the muffin tins, transfer the wrapped dough logs to the freezer (the cut will be easier to cut into slices).

Have a mini muffin pan (24 capacity) nearby.  Using a serrated knife, trim off the uneven ends of one dough log, and discard. Cut twelve ¼-inch slices from the log, and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with the second log. Place the baking sheet with the dough slices in the refrigerator.

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. (NOTE: The recipe says to put a baking sheet in the oven also, and then put the muffin pan on top of the baking sheet when blind baking the tart shells. However, as stated above, I found that my pastry shells did not cook enough on the sides and bottoms. Next time, I might try omitting the baking sheet from this step and just using it when the filled custard tarts are returned to the oven for the final baking).

Fill the tart shells to the top with rice or dried beans. Bake the tart shells until the edges are puffed and golden brown, about 16 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, leaving the oven on.

Carefully remove each tart shell, one at a time, and dump out the rice or beans. Some will stick, and gently remove with the tip of a knife. Place the tart shells back in the muffin tin. Fill each tart shell three-quarters full with the cooled custard (a pastry bag, with a large round tip, works well for this task). Bake until the custards barely jiggle in the middle, about 12 minutes.

Transfer the muffin tin to the rack and let cool for a few minutes. Gently remove the pastries (I used a small offset spatula to lift them out) and let cool until warm. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Orange Cake (Bolo de Laranja) is another Portuguese dessert featured in David's cookbook. Mom prepared a similar version, Orange-Scented Olive Oil Cake, from Saveur (recipe here). The cake is dense, but moist, and has a light orange glaze and sprinkling of sea salt on the top. This would also taste wonderful with morning tea or coffee.

Geoff and Mary made a surprise appearance, making amends for their Chocolate and Red Wine Cake tragedy, with these Dried Figs Stuffed with Almonds and Chocolate (Figos Recheados). You can find the recipe here. Fabulous flavor combination!

Stay tuned for a second post of sensational Portuguese cuisine!