Greg Rannells
The only thing more Southern than a crawfish boil is outstanding hospitality. G.P. and Jennifer Boyer have found a way to happily showcase their Southern side by hosting a crawfish boil they won at Chaminade College Preparatory School’s annual Esto Vir Auction. Their sons Gregory, 18, and Mitchell, 14, recently finished their respective senior and eighth-grade years at the school. (Their sister Olivia, 10, attends Immacolata School.)
As guests walk through the home’s stone foyer and a series of French doors, chef Steve Vincent, who is also the school’s director of advancement, is in the backyard manning a 100-quart pot filled with swirling spices and vegetables. The dinner has been an increasingly popular item at the auction,
Mr. Vincent notes. “This is the third year in a row I’ve done a crawfish boil, and every year the price
gets a little higher,” he says with a grin, pulling slices of smoked sausage from the pot for the first guests to try. “There’s no better way to throw a party that’s laid-back and a little different, too.”
The event’s relaxed, fun mood was part of the appeal to the Boyers when they bid on it. “We always like to have impromptu parties with other families,” says Mrs. Boyer, adding that the couple’s entertaining motto is always “the more the merrier.”
“When the Boyers used to live by us, their doors were always open,” says guest Jenni Boresi, owner of floral-design company Millefiori. “They always had time for people.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Vincent opens a long white cooler to reveal the evening’s fare to a small group of guests sipping hurricanes and Louisiana craft beers. The hostess’ sister bravely snags one of the crawdads and squints at it bemusedly. “They look like baby lobsters,” she says, as Mr. Vincent hoses down the rest of the batch before the big drop.
Once the water is hot enough and the spices have adequately permeated, Mr. Vincent transfers the crustaceans into a metal strainer and slowly lowers them into the pot of steaming, amber-colored water.
“I’ve done about 40 of these boils in my time,”
Mr. Vincent says, stirring the pot with a massive wooden spoon—an “Official Louisiana Crawfish Paddle” he purchased at the old Perkins Road Hardware Store in Baton Rouge, La. “My wife is from there, and we lived in the South for about 15 years.”
His secret to a great crawfish boil? “Real lemons,” he says. “They give it a zest. That, and killing the heat after they’ve cooked long enough.” He adds a bag of ice to the pot to keep the crawfish from overcooking.
Once the crustaceans are cooked and sufficiently cooled, Mr. Vincent serves guests under a large white tent in the traditional manner: “Just dump them on the table and watch them go,” he says.
Within minutes, the once-noisy group is almost silent as those gathered feast on the crawfish, shrimp, potatoes, and corn, a meal so delightful, the guests only speak in fragments: “Wonderful spice.” ... “A nice kick!”
As the sun sets on the party, guests are laughing and mingling—still enjoying the crawfish.
Mr. Boyer hands out cigars and stands up on a folding chair to address the group. “I’d like to thank everyone for coming tonight. I’d also like to thank the Anthons for making the bid on this party so high,” he say. “But really, not everyone knew each other before getting here, and now they do. Thanks, everyone, for coming out.”
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Fresh-Boiled Crawfish, Shrimp Corn, Potatoes, and Sausage Ginger-Glazed Pecans Lemony Spinach-Artichoke Dip Beef Tenderloin Sandwiches Hurricane Punch Louisiana Beers _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Recipes
Courtesy of Stephen Vincent
Lemony Spinach-Artichoke Dip
Makes 3½ cups
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 8-ounce container reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup light mayonnaise
3 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 envelope dry vegetable soup mix
1/4 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
Stir together all ingredients except the spinach in a large bowl. Drain thawed spinach well, pressing between paper towels; stir into artichoke mixture. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Serve with assorted corn or tortilla chips. Store in airtight container in refrigerator up to two days.
Crawfish Boil
For 35 to 40 pounds of crawfish. Ingredient amounts may vary to taste and size of pot.
3 16-ounce bottles of Zatarain’s Liquid Crab Boil
1 16-ounce bottle of lemon juice
1 16-ounce bottle of Cajun Power Garlic Sauce or Tabasco Garlic Sauce
8 ounces cayenne/red pepper
8 ounces garlic powder
10 lemons, halved
10 garlic pods, halved
3 pounds of mixed white, red, and yellow
onions, halved
16 ounces of salt for the pot (or more to taste)
8 ounces of salt for crawfish purge process
Small red potatoes, whole (two per person)
Small frozen corn on the cob, whole (two per person)
Hillshire Farms Polska Kielbasa, cut into 1-inch pieces (four pieces per person)
Optional
8 ounces Zatarain’s Creole Mustard
10–12 bay leaves (do not eat)
2 Zatarain’s Crab & Shrimp Boil seasoning bags
Purge crawfish by adding 8 ounces of salt to large tub or cooler of cold water, then gradually emptying live crawfish from bag into the saltwater. Throw away any dead ones. Leave live crawfish in tub until purged and ready to cook.
Fill 80- to 120-quart pot just over halfway with water. Start fire on high and bring water to a boil. As water heats, add all liquids and spices, then cut vegetables and other ingredients to size. Put all remaining solid ingredients other than the crawfish, corn, and potatoes into crawfish cooker’s interior strainer. Set aside. Taste water periodically as it comes to a boil to ensure mix is to your liking. Add more spice for heat, more water to dilute. Once boiling, put strainer in the water. Squeeze lemon halves into pot, then drop in. Stir with a small paddle to evenly distribute ingredients.
Add potatoes. If the water stops boiling, bring back to a rolling boil before adding crawfish. If the water stops boiling again, bring back to a rolling—not splashing—boil. Boil crawfish 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then turn off the fire, add frozen corn, and let soak. Since the crawfish are still cooking, add a bag of ice to pot and spray the pot’s exterior with cool water to allow the crawfish to soak up more of the seasoning.
Soak crawfish 40 to 45 minutes. After 25 minutes of soaking, pull out a few to check: They should peel easily and have some flavor. If not to your liking, soak for another 5 minutes and check again. Continue to soak until they have the flavor you want. If they start to get hard to peel, the meat isn’t slipping right out of the tail, or the meat is beginning to get too soft and sticking to the shell, they are beginning to overcook. Add more ice to the pot for more soak time.
Serve and enjoy.
Ginger-Glazed Pecans
Makes 8 cups
4 egg whites
1/2 cup champagne, ginger ale, or water
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 cups light brown sugar
8 cups pecans or walnut halves
Preheat oven to 250. Spray two baking pans (15- by 10- by 1-inch) with nonstick cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
Whisk egg whites in large bowl. Add all other ingredients. Fold together until nuts are evenly coated. Spread mixture evenly onto baking pans. Place in center of oven, away from top and bottom heating elements, as the nuts can scorch easily.
Bake for 1 to 11/2 hours, until coating is absorbed and nuts appear dry. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
After removing from oven, separate nuts into a single layer using two forks. When cool, store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Louisiana Beer List
Abita Amber
Abita Turbodog
Abita Jockamo IPA
Dixie Beer
Dixie Jazz Amber Light
Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager
Hurricane Punch
Serves 3 dozen
1/2 of a 64-ounce bottle of red fruit punch
1/2 of a 12-ounce can of frozen limeade
concentrate, thawed
12/3 cups light rum
12/3 cups dark rum
