Mild-Style Shrimp Boil with Corn and Red Potatoes

For teatime, coffee breaks, or after-school munchies, try these shortbread rounds with sugared edges and a dash of sea salt.

Ingredients

Combine boiling water and bouillon cubes in a large pot and stir until dissolved. Add 8 additional cups of water, onion, garlic, bay leaves, cloves, butter, salt, coriander seeds, dill seeds, mustard seeds, celery seeds, allspice berries, and peppercorns; bring to a boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.
Squeeze lemon juice into the pot and add lemon to the pot as well. Add potatoes and cook for 14 minutes. Add corn and cook 6 minutes more. Add shrimp and cook until opaque, about 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
Add ice cubes to the pot with shrimp boil and let sit for 5 minutes.
For a traditional shrimp boil, place several layers of newspaper on the dining table. Use a slotted spoon to transfer shrimp, potatoes, and corn onto the center of the table for everyone to reach, grab, and enjoy. For a tidier take, place several layers of newspaper on a baking sheet. Place shrimp, potatoes, and corn on top of the sheet and place the sheet on the dining table for everyone to serve themselves. If you need something neater, place shrimp, potatoes, and corn in a serving dish to pass at the table.
I omitted any super-hot spices from this recipe and used milder spices in their place. White mustard seed has the least amount of heat of the mustard family. The darker the seed, the hotter the temperature. Similarly, peppercorns have varying degrees of heat from green (the mildest), white (hot), and black (the hottest).