We have a guy http://www.shrimpconnect.com that drives to the NC coast every week on Thursday. He is back here in Piedmont NC on Fri, Sat and if necessary on Sun. with "fresh off the boat" shrimp. We had a shrimp boil the other night for several friends - complete with corn on the cob, new potatoes and turkey sausage. It was quite tasty.

Mmmm. Shrimp. I've been avoiding it ever since I has to start watching my cholesterol about 6 years ago, but I recently read about a recent study that says despite its high cholesterol content, it doesn't tend to raise your levels.

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/indepth.food/meat/seafood/healthful.shrimp/index.html

Woo hoo!!!

A very unscientific study indicates that it takes a laymen 45 minutes to peel 5 pounds of medium sized shrimp. AND, it is worth every second.

...and your average Joe, about 90 seconds to eat them! (80 secs with seafood sauce, 75 secs with garlic butter)....also an unscientific study, of course.

We'll do a low country boil from time to time, a certain crowd pleaser for sure. We just started harvesting our fall crop of sweet corn so a trip by the packing house for a crate of bi-color and a boil may be on tap for the near future, the shrimp must be fresh ... that frozen store bought stuff is pitiful.
Have you ever tried it with cauliflower or mushrooms? Good stuff. Oh yea, got to have onions also.

The wife is out of town today so it's leftovers for me, and a shot or two of Souza Hornitos anejo tequila.

Damn, Rick, I sure do wish I lived closer to you.

Best shrimp I ever had - by far - was with a401classic (Scott) while in New Orleans. Great little place called Jacques-Imo's. The dish was called (I think) BBQ Shrimp, but it was basically butter, spices and shrimp slathered all over my face and insides. Effing Yum.

We have some great seafood in the NW, too (oysters, clams, crab, salmon), but nobody else in my family is smart enough to enjoy it.

Rick,
NO!- on the shrooms, cauliflour or onions. Adding those items to the menu for the next boil now. We are relative rookies at the boil process - first one we did was at the coast this past summer. If you go to the web site there is an article from "Our State" magazine - sort of the state mag for NC. He only has fresh shrimp - when you get to his setup which is outside the triad Farmer's Market, he has a sign that says "Friends don't let Friends eat imported Shrimp".

My wife has me interested in the movement towards buying locally produced goods - vegetables etc for consumption. At the Piedmont Farmer's Market is a farm that brings their fresh Angus Beef. Never frozen, no steroids etc etc. Cheaper than the grocery stores and just finished a couple of Filets off the charcoal grill......it doesn't get much better.

Sigh... Thats the biggest thing I miss from my business travel days. Living in the middle of the continent, its hard to get fresh seafood of any sort.

There's an experiment on the stove, sort of a Jamaicanized version of good ol' "red beans and rice". Gungo peas instead of the red beans, a half dozen habaneros / scotch bonnets instead of the green pepper, and some leftover jerk pork instead of the ham hock. The rest is largely unchanged; lots of onions, celery and garlic, and a heap of spices.

When I tasted it at first it was nose-runningly hot, but after simmering for a couple of hours the heat is starting to mellow and it's getting mighty tasty.