From the moment I clicked “attend” for my life long friend’s Mississippi Shrimp Boil, I knew that I was crossing into a new territory of the South. I mean, I’ve grown up with my mum cooking fine meals, including mini shrimp boils on our porch in Nashville, but my friend, Caroline, who has been living down in Greenville, Mississppi finishing up her time at Teach For America, conveniently met the hottest chef in their town. Nick is the head chef at Giardina’s, and was co-hosting this boil with Caroline…obviously my attendance was confirmed!
They were coming up to stay at her godparent’s apartment in NYC, which triggered the idea for them to host a Southern-influenced dinner party for us “Yankees”. I was intrigued by Chef Nick’s cooking the moment I walked through the front door {did I mention he was featured in Bon Appetit and cooks with Mario Batali?…hola!}.
Thinking of throwing your own shrimp boil? It’s simple {thanks to Nick and Caroline’s expertise}…even in a fabulous {and immaculate!} NYC apartment. Click here for the recipe!
First step? Cover your entire table with newspaper. No mess. Just guests!
Follow this shrimp boil recipe {make sure to get all of the ingredients the day before or the early morning of your party!}. All you need to do is add spices, large sausage {or make chicken sausage for guests with diet restrictions}, potatoes, corn, etc. {follow recipe!} and dump them all into a huge pot of spicy boiling water!
Once the shrimp turns into the color of Miss Piggy’s best pink from that raw gray, precisely transfer both pots to the newspapered dining room table. And do one thing your momma told you never to do: dump like crazy! Everywhere. Seriously! Your guests will be shocked.
And that’s it! You’re all ready to go. Besides a quick clicking of the glasses, of course!
Oh, but wait…what should you be cheering with?
Caroline showed me how to make the simplest Bourbon Lemonade cocktail. Literally!
Pour in the Bourbon!
Pour in the Lemonade! It’s so simple to brew, but this drink goes incredible with the spicy meal prepared.
We all dunked our shrimps into this spiced {heavy on the horseradish please!} cocktail sauce…it was the perfect compliment to every food featured! It’s a secret recipe, so if you’re craving it take a trip down to Greenville, MS and visit Nick’s restaurant…it’s that fab!
After we cleared our plates {we devoured the meal!}, we all headed towards the living room. We discussed life, how fantastic the meal was and how fun it was for Caroline & Nick to bring a taste of the South to NYC.
Refreshed. Southerned. Better. Having my friends bring a bit of the South {MS to NYC} through a shrimp boil was one fine start to Spring!
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