New England Clambake!!

As many of you know, we just got back from visiting with my parents in Maine. Each morning the kids anxiously awaited the lobster boats to check their traps outside the deck door. Those memories...priceless!! And for my husband, a fresh Maine lobster dinner is priceless!! He and my sister sat down to a lobster boil of four lobsters from the lobster pound caught that morning! (Me...not into lobster!)

But...a clambake in our backyard...bring it on!!! What fun it is to have a clambake with all your friends. They just love it! And you don't have to live in the Northeast to have one. Since we, unfortunately, don't have the atlantic ocean and sand dunes in our backyard (yet!!), we use our grill! Turn up the music, line the table with newspaper, and bring on the fun!!

**Warning** This is NOT a frugal, budget-friendly shindig!! Entertain at your own financial risk!! (Although I ususally get the butter and sausage on sale and make my own stock...does that count??!!)

New England Clambake:

(plan your ingredients according to how many people you're serving)

12 medium red potatoes, scrubbed

1 lb. clams in shell, scrubbed

1 lb. mussels, cleaned and debearded

2 lbs. unpeeled large shrimp

6 lobsters

2 lbs. italian sausage

6 ears corn, cut in half

1 mason jar homemade chicken stock (or canned equivalent)

1/2 dry white wine
6 cups water

2 cups butter

Lemons (cut into wedges)

(If you can find it...fresh seaweed in salt water!)

In a LARGE pot with a steamer insert (we put pot on the side burner of our grill) fill bottom of pot with wine, chicken stock, and water (and seaweed if you're using). Cover with the steamer insert. In insert, place potatoes (save one potato for top of all contents), corn, clams, mussels, lobsters (back side down), shrimp, and sausage, in layers. Lastly, place one medium unpeeled potato in the middle. Cover your pot. Steam until the potato on the top is cooked, about two hours, give or take.

Pour all contents onto table lined with newspaper . Bring out the cold beer and white wine, and serve plates with little cups of melted butter and lemon wedges.

(I also grill up some chicken breasts, brats, and grilled corn on the cob for those who don't care for the clambake...which isn't many!!)

Recipe linked to Fishmama's Recipe Swap