The Bayou Bunch!
One of the bad things about having sons who work on boats is the work schedule. David, the oldest, works a 28 and 14 schedule–28 days on the boat and 14 days off. Daniel, next in line, works 14 and 7. I never know ahead of time if they will be off the boat to celebrate holidays and birthdays. So, we just get together when we can, especially when they are both off the boat at the same time.
I missed baking David his annual birthday dewberry cobbler last month, so I asked him if we might get together this time while he was off the boat. He and Daniel planned a crawfish boil.
The last two crawfish boils we had, Termite took charge and did a wonderful job of boiling the mud bugs and all the side items. He has definitely earned his spot as the resident boiling chef. Now, the pressure was on for the two oldest boys.
They gave the crawfish a good soaking in freshwater to help flush out some of the mud. (L to R: David, Daniel, Termite)
Termite already had the water boiling when they arrived with all the side items, so all they had to do was add the critters and the seasonings.
I guess you can kind of tell how happy Miah was to see his big brother(s).
There was a new addition to the family at this gathering–a new grand puppy.
Her name is Breesi (after Drew Brees), and she is an 8-week-old designer dog (fancy word for mutt)–a mix between a Chihuahua and a Dachshund–called a CHIWEENIE!! Isn’t that ingenious? She really is a cutie.
After the potatoes and sausage boiled a while, it was time to add the live crawfish–all 42 pounds of them!
David stirred them well, pushing them all down into the hot bath. How ya like that big boiling paddle, huh?
While the crawdads were boiling, I managed to get all the kids and their significant others and the grand puppies together in one place long enough to take a couple photos. That is a major task, believe me!
They are left to right, front to back, Muzic Man (married to Dotter), Termite, Miah & Ti Du, Dotter (the oldest), David (oldest of the boys), Brittnee (Daniel’s girlfriend) & Breesi, Daniel & Babi.
If I did Christmas cards in July, that would definitely be the pic I would use!
My guys poured the cooked crawfish into the ice chest and let the hot water drain off. They then took the chest upstairs and set it on a towel in the kitchen, and using a strainer, served everyone a tray full of piping hot mudbugs for supper.
The power went out before everyone arrived and stayed out the whole time we were boiling down under the Miracle Bayou Tree House. At least there was a stiff breeze to keep us content. Thankfully, the power came back on halfway through our meal.
Daniel did a good job on the boiling. Dotter made some side-item dip–one plain and one spicy (seasoned with Sriracha sauce), which was delicious on the potatoes, sausage, and crackers.
After everyone ate their fill, Dotter and Daniel peeled the remaining mud bugs to freeze for a later dish of either fettuccine or stew.
Got an envie` ?
BW
Avast! That’s a mighty tasty lookin’ boilup!
It’s grand to see the whole fam-damily together…good lookin’ crew – our best to ye all!
Thank ye, Captain!
Nice. I had Sriracha sauce on boiled egg today.
Canned gumbo tonight. 96 deg right now. 6 pm.
On a boiled egg? Why is it so hot up there? It’s scorching here too, and no rain in sight.
Yeah work cafe doesn’t have Crystal and the Sriracha sauce is a leftover from embezzling manager. The weather here in summer is the same as yours mostly.
Well maybe Mark’s. 2 eggs today pepper no sauce. 98.
11 weeks of vacation between now and May 1st 2012. I may have time to get my Capt. license and guide training.
Anybody ever been to Natchitoches, LA?
May have time to get a Capt. license? Are you kidding me? You don’t need a Capt. license to guide from the bank or a kayak 🙂
Good thing I had already eaten when I read about the food!
Love the new dog! Very cute!!! The crawfish look pretty good too!
Oh, the dog is a “grand puppy” and belongs to Daniel. Not me. She is cute though. And tiny.
The mud bugs look very clean………one of the most important things to me when eating crawfish. Great family picture. I think using the filled ice chest would go over big as a Christmas card too, especially for out of town folks. Or merge the two pictures and use both!!
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your crew. Sniff. They’re all grown up.
You like your crawfish to take bath before they take a bath, cher? LOL!! Do those crawfish look funny in that ice chest? Good idea about pics. They are growing up, aren’t they? Termite and Miah especially.
What a wonderful family you have BW! This is the stuff great memories are made of having all of your family together and enjoying good food.
I love getting them together and listening to them talk about things that happened when they were little. Bit it’s kind of weird, because the older three grew up together, and Termite can’t remember any of their antics because he was a baby when they were teens!!! But thank you for the kind words about my family. I think they’re pretty great!
Oh my that looks so darned good! You have a wonderful looking family too.
I wish I could have another big boil here but, I just got out of the hospital Friday evening and am in a wheelchair for a while. That stuff they knocked me out with knocked out my appetite too. I have lost 6+ lbs so far.
When does the season end?
I guess the weight loss is a nice trade-off, huh Cammy? Just take advantage of that lack of appetite while you can. I could sure stand to drop some pounds! I wish you a full recovery. Stay in the chair as long as you need to, though, and let others do for you. I think the season is coming to a close. Not sure, though. We don’t grow crawfish here. They grow them over in the West. Take care!
Nice pot. Is it a keg?
Yep, it’s a keg! Had it for years! Pretty cool, huh?
What a wonderful looking family! I love love love when we can get our whole family together, doesn’t happen near enough though. This post was filled with love. I am so happy you had them all together!
Great looking mudbugs…..1 more reason to miss being down there.
Courtney
Great picture of the family!
IT RAINED!!!
IT RAINED!!!
IT RAINED!!!
Got over 2 inches yesterday! Thundered Lightning Hailed….. Ran outside and did my Snoopy happy dance! The rain was immediately soaked up, but it’s 10 degrees cooler today!!!!
Those crawfish look good. A good looking family too. That below the elevated home? Thats a perfect place to party and/or keep the bateauxs/pirogues….
We quit putting the boiled seafood back in the Igloo, had to many swell up and then they are ruined.
New format so you can network?
Are you talking in code with the question about new format so I can network? I have no clue what you’re talking about.
I DID NOT rain here, but it was gray all day. It rained a little in Houma, but not much, you lucky duck!
That’s an old ice chest, so it doesn’t matter!
Has the price of crawfish dropped there? They’re still running about $2 a lb. here. I did see a place in B.R. that had a sign out for $1.50. Maybe the high water has started that “bumper crop” the fishermen were hoping for. Or, they are just selling them cheaper because no one wants to have a boil in 100 plus temperatures.
I think I’d go for an Fettuccini.
$1.29 here 3 weeks ago, but this batch was up to $1.79 for some odd reason. And they were on the small side. I was not pleased with them, but I didn’t buy them, my son did. I thought they were supposed to have a bumper crop from all the high water, too?
Bumper crop will come when the water subsides. Format is different for posting comments.
Ah, thank you, Master. And just one more question. Why do they not drown in the high water? They do not have gills. Or do they?
Yes they have gills. I am seeing packages of 24 oz crawtails for like 12 bucks up here. It is hot hit 100 and I bought beer. Foster’s.
Katy bar the door, Blu bought beer! 100? WOW! And we FINALLY got some rain here today. And I don’t smell smoke any more.
My kids sat and peeled the rest of the crawfish Sunday and filled up one and half quart bags!!!
I’ve been out of town at a NAFDPIR conference (National Association of Food Distribution Programs On Indian Reservations) and just now getting to catch up on your posts. You had the boil a couple of weeks too early!!!!! We missed it. LOL We will be there in 12 days!
I know, huh? And by the time you get here, I’m not sure what the crawfish status will be. Have you ever had them? If not, we might just have to look in that.
Yep, we have had them! Bryce requests them every year for his birthday (Jan. 5), not exactly an easy find in Oklahoma in January. 🙂
I saw an ad in the Dallas paper for fresh crawfish. It mentioned there would be a bumper crop from the the crawfish farms due to the water. Trouble is, the place that sells them is WAYYYYY over there! A good 1 1/2-2 hr drive.
Oh, my gosh. What wonderful pics of such a good-looking family! And you got RAIN? I knew they’d had some up Houma way but every time I peeked at the radar it looked like it was missing you. Glad you got at least a bit.
Breesi is just too cute. She looks like one of those dogs that gets carried around in a purse. I don’t get that, but I suppose it’s all right.
Everything topsy turvy here. Mom’s out of the hospital but into a skilled nursing facility, on oxygen, ivs and such. And she won’t eat. That’s a true sign of trouble with that woman – even turned down some good chicken salad and chips. Nothing to do but take it day by day.
If you need some extra heat, I’d be happy to send you some. This could get old by August. 😉
Can you tell Breesi was in my son’s pocket when I took the pic? She is very, very tiny. And yes, she would be a purse puppy! We did get a little rain, and it was amazing, but short lived. The marsh is still smoldering behind our house and the smoke has Termite with a constant chest cough. His room is the first outlet for the central air, so I think he breathes more smoke at night than I do. Miah’s having sinus trouble, too. I wrote a letter to the Fire Chief and CC’d the Parish Councilman and Parish President, yet the smoldering continues at a time when the whole state is under a burn ban. The President never replied. The Councilman wrote a political reply (he’s running for the President’s spot) to the Chief and copied me on it; and the Chief wrote me back with his cell phone number and said to call him any time. (Why? So I don’t write any more emails to your bosses?) The Chief said the landowner is not responsible for the burning land because kids set the fires, and farther down the bayou, where the fire keeps flaming up, is where they have been dumping the water, which is very costly to the “volunteer” fire department. The land behind our house is not “flaming” so it gets no water. So, we sit and smolder until a really good rain comes along to douse the embers. And have you ever smelled burning earth? Termite took a walk out back to see it, and before he knew he was walking in the burning earth, his ankles were burning.! Thank goodness he was not so far in that he could not run out before his tennis shoes melted to his feet. His shoes were so melted on the bottom, they had to go in the trash. One good thing for wildlife watching–the marsh bunnies are all up in my front yard now and Ti Du loves chasing them! (And thank goodness there is a slough, although it is probably dry right now, that keeps the fire from coming into our yard, proper.)
At least some bloggers can still write. Thank you for this read
Thank you, Pink Perfume, for those nice words!