GATHER’ROUND

features Gulf Coast shrimp, crab, sausage, new potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and spices, all steamed or boiled together in an extra-large stock pot. The mix is dumped, sans dishware, onto a paper table runner alongside plenty of lemon and butter, creating an informal family, knew how to fish. But for a seafood boil, he often left the task of catching shrimp to the professionals who sold directly off their boats. However, his homemade sausage of ground venison, salt, pepper, cumin, and feral hog made it into our seafood boil just once, giving the entire meal an offensive, gamy funk. After that, my mother insisted on spicy, store-bought Andouille sausage as well as Zatarain’s spice bag, a pre-mix of mustard seed, coriander seed, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, dill seed, and allspice.