Frogmore Stew

Frogmore Stew

The weather is getting colder by the day and all my thoughts turn to autumn my favorite season.

I wish I could go to a clam bake and on a leaf peeking trip to Maine and Massachusetts but I am broke and a trip to the New England states does not appear to be on the horizon.

That’s OK. I have so much to do here at home now that the seasons are changing. I real need to get ready for the colder days ahead.

So I push the thought of leaf peeking and clam bakes aside and settle down to; put in the storm door, cover the air conditioner, put away the summer furniture, clear the yard of leaves, and get my garden ready for next year.

It took two days to get it all done but I am satisfied that my home is ready for winter and now it’s time to relax a bit. It’s the perfect time to read a book I tell myself.

 I looked over my books that I have and there are hundreds to choose from and settle on a book that is part of my winter book collection and take it from the shelf and started reading it.

The book “Too Late For Angels” a light weight mystery is loaded with good ideas for meals and treats. I know, I know, my mind is never far from food!

 As a habit ever since I read the book “A Tree Grows In Brooklyn” years ago I experiment and make the foods I read about in the books. I have read and I have shared some of these recipes with you as I am going to do today.

Today’s recipe is a rational one from South Carolina.

It is called Frogman’s Stew. Don’t worry there are no frogs in it!

It’s more or less like a smaller version of a clam bake.

Let me give you a little background of where this stew came from.

“Frogmore Stew is a classic Low Country South Carolina dish. It is also called Low-Country boil and Beaufort Stew.

 The dish gets its name from a place that has only a post office on one side of the road and a two-story white country store on the other.

 Frogmore is the mailing address for the residents of St. Helena Island just off the South Carolina coast.”

Information supplied by Beaufort historian, Gerhard Spieler .

 Here is the recipe:

Frogmore Stew

Ingredients 

1 quarts water

  3 tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning

4 small new red potatoes

2 kielbasa sausage links, cut into 2 inch pieces

2 ears corn - husked, cleaned and quartered

½    pound large fresh shrimp

Directions

Bring water and Old Bay Seasoning to boil in a stockpot.

Add potatoes and cook for 15 minutes.

Add sausage and cook for 5 minutes more.

Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes.

Stir in the shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink, about 5 minutes.

Drain immediately and serve.

I understand that Old Bay may be a deal breaker for you to make this meal. If you want to make it plan ahead and set aside between three and four dollars for a small box of this seasoning.

If you are ambitious and you stocked your pantry as I suggested earlier this year with much used spices then most of what you need to make Old Bay is already in the pantry ready to use and the rest can be purchased at the Dollar Tree.

Old Bay Seasoning mix

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon ground dried bay leaves

2 teaspoons celery salt

1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

1-1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground celery seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground mace

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Store in an airtight container and store in a cool place. Use with seafood or chicken.

You can sometimes find ground bay in your supermarket, but you may have to grind it yourself. Be sure to use dried bay leaves, not fresh, and grind to a powder.

I am not feeling that ambitious today so I bought the Old Bay instead.  I know I will put it to good use so for me it was a practical buy.

I know this meal takes a little longer to prepare and demands a little more attention but sometimes when you want to treat yourself it’s worth it and this  meal indeed worth the effort.

This was so good and now I feel that I have at least gone to my version of a clam bake!