Ever since I read Lauren Conrad’s Book: Celebrate I have wanted to do a Clam Bake in the worst way! I love everything thing about it! Coastal my favorite design aesthetic {my home is a mixture of coastal, rustic, and something else I can’t quite put my finger on}, everything comes out of one pot, you get your hands dirty and it makes dinner an experience.
My father-in-law’s birthday usually falls on or around Father’s Day {lucky him} and we thought it would be a great time to have the Clam Bake to celebrate, since he LOVES good food too. I had also just found a 32 quart sock pot for $30 at a Flea Market {don’t worry, it was new}.
I used the recipe straight from LC’s book although I did add some Old Bay Seasoning to the water that boils at the bottom of the pot. I also made some Cheddar Bay Biscuits and Cornbread to soak up all the goodness that came out of that pot.
Of course, since I love to make decorations for all occasions, I had to make a few for this.
Let’s start with the invitation … duh. I really wanted to stick with the Cape Cod type feel so I used sandy colored font with reds, browns and beige. I left out the navy blue because I wanted to steer away from a Lobster or Low Country Boil theme – since they are different.
You can order this invitation HERE.
I took some tin buckets {from the dollar section of Target} and filled them with utensils for cracking and shelling – in turn they were used to put the shells in from the clams, shrimp and lobster.
Using some blue bakers twine I attached these tags: Download them for free HERE.
I also made individual pineapple upside-down cakes {my father-in-law’s favorite} and made some mini cupcake toppers to add some fun. They can also be used as picks for an appetizer.
Attach them with a piece of tape to tooth picks or mini wooden dowels: Download them for free HERE.
Not pictured: I had little bowls of drawn butter for lobster dipping as well as wet wash clothes soaked in lemon water for hand cleaning. Overall it was a great time and good food – not to mention – it was actually really cool looking. What more could you ask for?
Here are a few tips I learned from the process:
Prep takes up to two hours – Cook time is 30 min.
When you go to dump the pot, there is still a lot of liquid in the bottom. Next time I will strain the pot before dumping on the table.
If you get BIG lobsters only use two.
The leftovers turn into a great Corn Clam Chowder.
Make the bibs out of a dollar store plastic table cloth.
DON’T EAT the clams that didn’t open.
