Tasteful Reminders

     Isn't it interesting how certain tastes can take you back to a different time and place?  For example, having cantaloupe with a sprinkle of salt recalls a time in my pre-teen years having that as a weekend morning appetizer before breakfast at the kitchen table.  Cold pizza crusts have the same effect, bringing back memories of those morning-after meals in the Conshohocken apartment that I shared with 2 other college buddies the year after we all graduated.

     But there is a singular meal I enjoy that brings to mind a vacation along the South Carolina coast.  It's something called Frogmore Stew, a classic low country dish.  Sometimes referred to as Low Country Boil or Beaufort Stew, it's actually not a stew, nor does it contain frogs.  The name is derived from a small coastal town on St. Helena Island, SC.  Although the USPS abolished Frogmore in the 1980s, the town lives on in the name of this meal.


     In their book, The Lexicon of Real American Food, Jane and Michael Stern describe it as, "A gallimaufry of shrimp, sausage, new potatoes, onions, and chunks of corn on the cob that all get boiled in the same pot with a hail of crab-boil seasonings..."  One story alleges the origins of the stew came from Richard Gay, whose family runs the Gay Seafood Company on St.Helena Island.  While he was serving with his National Guard unit one weekend he made the stew in an effort to serve over 100 of his fellow guardsmen with whatever he had available or could procure.  Shrimp and the corn on the cob were naturals.  The sausage, onions, potatoes he appropriated also went into the giant pot.  Variations can include crabs, crawfish and celery, in fact, anything that's good to boil.


     Once a dish known only to the locals it hit the big time after it was featured on the cover of Gourmet Magazine in the 1980s.  And it is still a hit with me after I prepared it for our travel group as we vacationed on Kiawah Island over a decade ago. 

     Here is the basic recipe for you to try and make a memory of your own:

FROGMORE STEW

Ingredients

4 lbs red potatoes

3 lbs shrimp, unshelled

1 lb smoked sausage, such as Kielbasa,sliced into pieces

6 ears of sweet corn, husked and cut into thirds

1 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning.

Directions

Bring about a gallon of water to a boil in a large pot.  Add the potatoes and Old Bay and cook 5 minutes.  Add the sausage and boil for 5 minutes more.  Then add the corn and boil for an additional 5 minutes.  Lastly, add the shrimp and boil 3 more minutes.  Drain and serve on a table top covered with newspaper.

Some people add in crabs, crawfish or clams and cook the stew in beer.  Others add onions, lemons and/or celery to the stew.