SWEDISH
CRAWFISH PARTY
KRÄFTSKIVA 2005
SWEDISH CRAYFISH PARTY
Our Own Crawfish Party - August, 2005
This year was our first crawfish party here in the
United States. We had been to many in Sweden, but now the
challenge was on to
hold
our own! We ordered up 40 lbs. of fresh, live crawfish from
Louisiana. We ordered the "select" variety (average 6 inches),
bigger than most Swedish crayfish, and had them flown in from
Louisiana the day before the party. Unfortunately, when we got
home, we realized that these were also not 6" select crayfish, they
were only 3-4" long. We were very upset by this, but the party
was the next day, so there was nothing we could do.
We boiled the crawfish that evening, all 40 lbs. of
them
- half in the Swedish dill-style, and half Cajun style for those among
us who may not prefer the dill. Our friends, Mei and Anjelica
helped us all night as we cooked them up. Sandra's mother
mailed us some additional crayfish decorations for our party, and we
decorated and set up all day Friday and Saturday Morning. We had
crayfish napkins, crayfish plates, crayfish hats and bibs, crayfish
streamers, crayfish balloons, crayfish tablecloths, crayfish
everything! It was quite a setup.
People began to filter in about noon or so, and we
all ate sandwiches, barbecued pork, salad, mini-tacos, and other
finger food to prepare us for the festivities to come. The
competitions began at around 1:00PM, with five teams of four people
competing for the famed Crawfish trophy:
Team A La King
Johann
King
Lynne
Jeannie
Team Cobras
Sandra
Brian L.
Jamie
Anjelica
Team Fried Chicken
John
Mei
Nicolas
Jean
Team American Flag
Matt
Brian B.
Dawn
Kiani
Team Texalinos
Craig
Dan
Mary
Denise
Team American Flag stormed out in front with an
early Ball-In-The-Bucket all-star performance by Kiani, but were soon
overtaken by A La King, who scored victories in the basketball game of
Skål and Win Lose or
Draw.
A La King's lead was short-lived however, as they choked wildly with
last-place finishes in each of the last two competitions, Bocce and
Karaoke. American Flag scored a win at Bocce to tie for the lead
going into the last round with A La King, but the Texalinos stormed
from behind with a crushing victory in Karaoke, landing the coveted 2
point performance bonus thanks to Dan and Craig putting on the moves
first to the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive, and later in the tiebreaking
round, to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, earning them first place in
the competition, followed by American Flag, A La King, Cobras, and
Fried Chicken.
After the competitions, we set out to the
Kräftbord (Crayfish Table) where Sandra instructed everyone how to
eat crawfish and
herring, and how to properly take snaps. We all drank,
ate, and sang Swedish Drinking Songs until the wee hours of the
morning. In true Swedish fashion, we had some casualties - one
person got sick and two passed out - but a good time was had by all.
The place looked like a tornado had struck when clean up time came!
We still had a good 15 lbs. of crawfish left over at the end, so
Sandra had a great time for days afterward!
hold
our own! We ordered up 40 lbs. of fresh, live crawfish from
Louisiana. We ordered the "select" variety (average 6 inches),
bigger than most Swedish crayfish, and had them flown in from
Louisiana the day before the party. Unfortunately, when we got
home, we realized that these were also not 6" select crayfish, they
were only 3-4" long. We were very upset by this, but the party
was the next day, so there was nothing we could do. 
hem
- half in the Swedish dill-style, and half Cajun style for those among
us who may not prefer the dill. Our friends, Mei and Anjelica
helped us all night as we cooked them up. Sandra's mother
mailed us some additional crayfish decorations for our party, and we
decorated and set up all day Friday and Saturday Morning. We had
crayfish napkins, crayfish plates, crayfish hats and bibs, crayfish
streamers, crayfish balloons, crayfish tablecloths, crayfish
everything! It was quite a setup.
w.
A La King's lead was short-lived however, as they choked wildly with
last-place finishes in each of the last two competitions, Bocce and
Karaoke. American Flag scored a win at Bocce to tie for the lead
going into the last round with A La King, but the Texalinos stormed
from behind with a crushing victory in Karaoke, landing the coveted 2
point performance bonus thanks to Dan and Craig putting on the moves
first to the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive, and later in the tiebreaking
round, to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, earning them first place in
the competition, followed by American Flag, A La King, Cobras, and
Fried Chicken.