A clambake is born

Hi everyone! I’m hoping you all find yourselves well at this time.  I  know it’s been  a while since  I’ve posted and I do apologize for that  believe me it’s been torture not  being  able to do so until now.   But perhaps what I’ve got for you  today will make the wait worthwhile.   As my days in Florida neared the end, I felt something was missing, there were things I wanted to do there that just didn’t happen.  One being having a “clambake” with my friends.  Well, I mentioned it to some friends and we finally got together and made plans to realize my dreams of a clambake.  Everyone pitched in and bought the ingredients, our venue? “Boynton Beach” we were lucky enough to find the perfect shady spot and immediately went to work on our dinner.  

As we each prepped our items for the “pot” we joked and laughed and reminisced then one by one we placed the ingredients into the large stock pot and began having visions of what was to come.  While the contents of the pot cooked we continued on talking and laughing at each other’s expense, then the wonderful aroma emanating from the pot struck us and for a moment we were paralyzed by it.  Comments on the smell of seafood that had filled the air spilled from our mouths and we found ourselves anxious to eat.  Unable to wait any longer I grabbed a spoon and dipped it into the pot to have a taste and I ;yelled out “oh my gosh this rocks”! because it did, it rocked!  And soon enough everyone who could eat seafood tasted it and words like : the bomb, great and awesome were used..  It seemed  the seafood had taken on the flavor of the sausage and it was , well….MIND BLOWING! 

Soon after, we decided it was time to eat and removed the pot from the heat and onto the table.  We each grabbed a plate and helped ourselves to a nice serving of clams, corn, potatoes, sausage, mussels and shrimp, there was also grilled chicken, potato salad and grilled broccoli and asparagus.  We all found a spot to sit and the air was quiet for a while, that usually means it’s good.  When I was done, I just sat for a bit and took in the cool breeze coming my way, I watched my kids and friends enjoy the food and thought how great things had turned out.  Then almost instantly I realized this is how a clambake is born…

Putting together a clambake mainly lies in inviting good friends and family and having everyone contribute not only to the purchasing of the ingredients, but also to making it and basically having a great time in the process.  I have to say our clambake was a very nice way to say farewell.  Below find the ingredients for the clambake my friends and I had and enjoy!  Feel free to comment and join my site, I will post again soon from my new location. 

CLAMBAKE

4 tablespoons onion powder

4 tablespoons pepper

3 tablespoons chili powder 

salt to taste

2 tablespoons black pepper

3 dozen clams

3 dozen mussels

1 lb. large shrimp

8 corn stalks

5 lb. red potatoes

2 packs of kielbasa sausage

Fill large stock pot halfway with water and let simmer.   Add spices, let simmer a little more and stir.  Begin adding potatoes cut in half, corn stalks peeled and cut in half.  Then add clams and mussels, sausage.  The shrimp should go in last as they cook quickly.  Most people like to add beer to the pot so go right ahead.  Hope you enjoy this recipe, photos below.