Old Bay Shrimp Fest

My husband's grandparents live right on the beach in North Carolina near the boarder of South Carolina, so whenever we go we eat good Southern food. Well we are heading there at the end of Summer and I'm looking forward to the fresh shrimp and crab! To get us ready I made this shrimp fest, just like good ol' Southern cookin. It was delicious. I was originally going to make hush puppies to go with, but I didn't find the corn meal and I didn't have time to shop around so instead I grab a box of Trader Joe's cornbread. Best decision! If you haven't tried it I highly recommend that! And in place of vegetable oil use applesauce, in fact do that with any cornbread recipe. But if you are in the mood for some Southern style cooking, try this, you will be satisfied! You can usually find Old Bay seasoning and the meat and seafood counter in the grocery store and I eliminated the beer.

1/2 C Old Bay Seasoning
2 T salt
4 quarts water
1 can beer
8 red potatoes, quartered
8 ears fresh corn, broken in half
4 pounds large shrimp in shells

In a large pot, bring Old Bay, salt, water and beer to boil. Add potatoes and cook for 8 minutes. Add corn and boil for 7 minutes. Add shrimp for about 4 minutes. Drain cooking liquid and pour contents into a large bowl. Serves 8.

For a real fun way of eating it. Dump contents onto a new paper covered table and just eat off the table.