Kitchen Adventures: Frogmore

This is hands down one of my favorite summer meals. Don't ask me about the name because I have no idea why we call it this, but I can promise you it has nothing to do with frogs. It's very simple to make and quite fun to eat! Growing up this was a meal that we would have a week or two before school started. It has always been something that we did as a family and over the years we have began to share it with friends too. Since I went back to college, this meal has transitioned into a summer meal rather than a back to school meal because we all started school at different times.

My mom usually cooks the meal in a very large pot. We cover the table with a plastic table cloth, and once the food is finished cooking we dump the pot of food out onto the table and eat it with our hands. Most of it is pick food, so utensils aren't really necessary.  This year we didn't have a table cloth, so we put it on a serving tray and ate it on plates.

Ingredients
2-3 pounds of shrimp
 6 ears of corn on the cob
2 packages of kielbasa or your favorite type of sausage
Redskin potatoes (about 3 per person)
1-2 cups of Ole Bay
1 loaf od Italian bread
1 stick of butter
Thousand Island dressing

Directions
Fill a large stock pot 2/3 full with water and ole bay. Bring the combination to a boil.

When the water comes to a boil, add the potatoes and cook them for about 20 minutes. You should be able to easily pierce the potatoes with a fork, once they are cooked.

Add the kielbasa and let the water boil without being covered. This should take about five minutes.

Add the corn and continue to cook the food. The corn will need to cook for about 13 minutes, so you will want to set a timer. It's best if the corn is cut in half before placed into the boiling water.

Add the shrimp when the corn has about six minutes left. Once the shrimp turn pink, then you will know they are cooked all the way.

Drain the mixture in a large colander.

Pour the mixture onto a covered table or serving platter and sprinkle with additional ole bay seasoning.

Optional Extras:
Bread and Butter
The meal pairs nicely with sliced Italian bread and butter. The ole bay can be a bit spicy, so the bread helps to cool down your mouth.

Thousand Island Dressing
This is known as Timmy's Sauce if you choose to make it by hand. The dressing is perfect to dip the shrimp and kielbasa in.

Beer
If you're 21, then I recommend pairing a nice cold beer with the meal.  We chose to pair the meal with Corona and limes this summer. The beer was refreshing after eating lots of ole bay seasoning.

Enjoy!
XOXO