Boating Menu




Tervis TumblerYesterday we invited some friends to boat with us on the beautiful Chickahominy River.  The day could not have been ordered better.  Lots of sun, enough wind to be comfortable without making the water too choppy.  In addition to wanting to get together with friends, we were also reciprocating hospitality that we had received.

K made a special libation for the trip:  Chickahominy Breeze:  Cranberry juice, coconut rum and pineapple juice--served in a giant sippy cup.  You cannot beat a Turvis Tumbler with a straw to provide safe delivery of your beverage of choice to your mouth.

While we have been boating for many, many years, we don't entertain on the boat.  I wanted to do something special, but appropriate for our circumstance (size of boat etc).  It's a 21 ft 1988 Century 3500 Sport LX.  It's a great boat to have folks on.  Six adults is a comfortable seating--because with boating, everyone needs a bag and a cooler, etc.  Any more and it is too crowded. Here are some bullet point logistics that worked well for us.  Your mileage may vary.

In my usual fashion, I spent some time researching ideas. Surprisingly, I didn't find a great deal of combination menus for a boat outing. So this post is my contribution to the blogosphere on a fantastic scalable lunch outing.

 Objective:  To have a flavorful menu that doesn't (1)  kill your guests or (2) gets soggy. (click here to get some tips from Rubbermaid on how to optimize your cooler's job.). 

First, some packing tips (these are my tips, not expert tips, but it worked for me!)  Separate like kinds.  For non-perishable foodstuffs (bread, brownies, chips)  put them in a cooler bag.  It's a boat, and any temperature constancy and protection from splashing is important to consider. A cooler bag will keep condensation out of your baked goods and offer protection from the water splashing in from outside the boat or from drippy people emerging from the water.
  • For perishables, I used both a regular Igloo Cooler and another California Innovation  bag.  I like the bag because it can be stuffed out of the way, and I think that they perform well for the time period that I need <8 hours.
  • To keep perishables from getting soggy in your cooler of choice, consider using the space-saver bags (due to larger sizes) to separate your food stuff from the surrounding ice.  The bags come in many sizes, and they are stronger and larger than regular Zipoc bags.  (I use these when brining my turkey! to keep the brining liquid undiluted from the ice).  If you have a value pack, of these, there are several sizes.  Simply choose the size that with your food containers and meat/cheese containers and pack them in. Zip it up.  Put it in the cooler.
  • To support your hard working bag ice, consider freezing bottles of water.  Their cylinder shape makes them easy to slip here and there.  Also, using an "Ice mat" like aThermos one  on the bottom of your cooler/cooler bag, allows your perishables to sit on a mat that is already freezing. (Yes, I know that cool travels down, but often one's bag is sitting on another thermal dynamic surface where heat travels up. Protect against this!) You could also make your own ice walls  if you own a vacuum system and fill the bags with water and seal allowing for expansion.

For our trip I opted for the following menu  (Click here if you want a link to the recipes I used.):

  1. Roast beef sandwiches on onion rolls (BJ's Bakery). (See recipe pdf and comments below--the dijon, horseradish dressing is wonderful, and I also used it on the sandwich below)
  2. Italian meats ( BJ's Daniele Italian combo which was 8-Oz. Presliced Gourmet Variety Pack (Hot Calabrese, Pepper Salame, Hot Capocollo and Provolone Cheese) on Chiabatta Rolls (BJ's Bakery)  Rolls dressed with Tasso's Roasted Pepper and cheese spread on side 1 and the dijon horseradish on side 2.
  3. Romain hearts (separated and washed and packed into a ziploc gallon bag) to dress the sandwiches or to nestle the shrimp and mango salad for those looking for less carbs.
  4. Claussen Pickles (out of the jar and into a baggie for lightening up the load!)
  5. Shrimp and mango salad (see recipe pdf)
  6. Bacon potato salad (with potatoes from our garden)
  7. Robert's ultimate brownies (see recipe pdf)  (The Chickahominy Breeze affected me so much, I didn't quite remember to serve these!)

Sturdy Chinet plates, sturdy plastic spoons, forks, knives and colorful napkins make for a stable consumption environment that can then be discarded into the garbage bag.

There was a period of deluded consideration of  making the sandwich rolls.  Thank goodness I abandoned that idea!  The onion rolls and ciabatta rolls were sturdy and delicious, so go for structure (for travel and eating)  such as these hearty rolls.I did buy and roast an eye of round (for $20) v. the $75 tenderloin in Ina G's recipe.  Here are my cook's notes on the eye of round:

I slathed with olive oil, salt, more salt and garlic powder, pepper. Further I slit the roast with sharp knife and inserted garlic cloves.  Roasted a 5.5 lb roast for 25 minutes at 500 (It was recommended 5 minutes/lb).  Stopped oven and took it out in 1 hour.  I saw many other recipes that called for a longer oven-dwelling time after the 500 degree roast.  I used a my temp probe.  If it had stayed in any longer, I would have had a 5.5lb lump of junk.  I'm of the opinion that as the roast is almost a perfect cylinder no matter what the poundage, that whether it is a 3lb roast or a 5lb roast, that the upfront roasting time SHOULD NOT BE BASED ON LBS.  I would have roasted for 10 minutes less (15 v. 25), and turned the oven back.  Nevertheless I never cook anything in the oven without my probe.  So the meat was rescued.  I tented it.  It rested. Cool meat slices easier.  So best to put in fridge.  I did not, but my knife was razor sharp and I sliced this roast into the thinest of slices.  (Almost shaved).  I put it in a container with the juices that rendered when slicing.  The meat was tender, moist and delicious--and almost 1/4th the cost of tenderloin. (Which is lost in a sandwich to my way of thinking).  The dijon horseradish sauce is quite good, and I also put it on .....

When I told my guests of their choices, all wanted 1/2 sandwich of both.  Sturdy rolls (onion / ciabatta) and a good bread knife made it easy to half each sandwich.

It was a wonderful day with friends.  Revitalizing and fun.

I hope this post gives some an idea or two to incorporate on their boating or other outdoor outing.







EggCiting News



When my daughter got married, my sister and I (because I thought this a good idea at the time) were going to make deviled eggs for the dinner to accompany the wonderful Buzz and Ned's food that was served.

Given the task at hand, I followed Julia Child's method.  I had good luck with that method until that important day where I was making the most eggs (72 eggs for 144 halves).  Oldish eggs really are a boon to deviled egg making.  My eggs were store bought the day before.  Ugh.  (And you can check an egg for being inedible by seeing if it is a 'floater'.  Any egg that floats in your water should be discarded.  Best not to open it or you may never eat an egg again!)

I pricked the shells to let air out, I boiled and then covered, put in ice bath, returned to hot water--all of the steps that had led to great eggs....until that needful day.

Our peel failure rate was high and time was ticking!  About halfway through, we almost gave up.  The dogs were happy, because nothing is better than a failed peeled egg!

Despite our problems, we ended up with beautiful eggs, but....about halfway through, we almost jumped ship.

I stumbled upon this wonderful video from Food and Wine. (I'm hoping that it shows below). It's the greatest tip! Using a spoon to peel an egg.





Thunder Group SLPR009, Stainless Steel Potato Ricer
Be sure to look at some of the other Mad Genius tips! (He also has one on grating frozen butter for biscuits, etc--I can happily say that I had my own mad genius moment on that some years ago!)

My mad genius tip to share? Use a potato ricer for the egg yolks.  Never used a potato ricer?  If you are a kitchen gadgeteer, it is a must for super creamy mashed potatoes.

Dinner Success

My dinner was a success.  We dug potatoes from the garden.  Grilled asparagus.  And enjoyed our lamb/beef sliders.

Well, they were not quite sliders as the buns that I made from scratch ended up being regular size though I had followed the sizing.  Even though it was humid, the dough came together beautifully.  Who can resist homemade bread?  Thankfully, I had not made my burgers, so I was able to size to the bun. 

The burgers were wonderful.  1:2 beef:lamb ratio.  A safe ratio to introduce people to lamb.  I found the ground lamb at Kroger.  I also found some great wines and Belgian beers to accompany our meal. 

This was my first introduction to baharat spice blend.  Here is is from Food.com.

4 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground cloves
3 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons paprika

The blend that was instructed in the Bon Appetit was not as robust as the above.  I will try to blend above next time.
 
Even though it was a simple meal, there was plenty of work involved.  A labor of love--we had a wonderful time with our friends.  The great payoff is that because there is no driving involved, we we could liberally imbibe.  We always ensure that we know the designated driver of our guests and ensure appropriate number and spacing of drinks.  
 
Today will be a lazy day.  Well, I'll do CPE on sequel server!  Headphones and a laptop will give legs and back a rest from the constant motion yesterday.
 
 


Long Lost Cousins Reunited (version 3.0)

Growing up, my mother and my aunt were very close.  My mother had three kids (me in the middle) as did my aunt.  All of us were within a few months to a year of each other.  Two months difference between my oldest cousin and brother; six months difference between me and the middle cousin; and a year + 2 days between my younger sister and my youngest cousin.

My aunt died from complications from lupus at the young age of 42 (or so).  My oldest cousin was 12.  After my aunt died, our ties to our cousins were essentially cut.  So after almost 40 years, we are now back into each others' lives.  Their father died recently.  At the funeral home, I mentioned that my sister was coming into town in a couple of weeks, and to see if we could get together. We did and had a marvelous time.  But as adults we were essentially strangers to each other having gone about the business of growing up, raising children (two of us have children, two of us do not) without the benefit of a relationship.

When we got together, I could not help being left with the feeling that we had been robbed of a precious gift of being able to be there for the other. 

My oldest cousin had a birthday, and my sister was in town.  We went as did husbando.  My husbando had a grand time sharing similar interests with her husband. Oh...such a time that we had.  


I'm hosting a get together this Saturday. This dinner will be our 3rd visit.  No season or reason other than my sister is in town, and we want to continue our trajectory of solidifying our bonds.

Being with them fills a hole.  They are the last bond to my mother's side of the family--that diluted Armenian heritage as second generation from an Armenian mother and non-Armenian father. No others but ourselves to remember the 'tales from our grandmother'.

I did learn the other day that my grandmother was a Hudson, and supposedly a direct descendant of Henry Hudson.

I look forward to welcoming them to my home.  EPA cleanup efforts will soon begin.  I found a great recipe in Bon Appetit for spiced sliders with date ketchup.  How good does that sound?  I think that I'll make the slider rolls.   Our potatoes will be ready.  Nothing so good as freshly dug potatoes.  I'll serve them with butter, parsley and lemon zest. Roasted asparagus to round out the meal. And to finish the meal....fresh brownies.

I found the best brownie recipe at Leite's culinaria.   http://leitesculinaria.com/36645/recipes-brownies.html  It is advertised as the best brownie, but for it to be the best brownie it requires the addition of salt.   I've also made this brownies stirring the batter by hand as recommended.  Today, in the brownies that I made for my father, I used the mixer.  No difference in the results--huge difference in effort of method!  Do yourself a favor and try them.  I'll never make another brownie.  They really are that good.  (I use Valrhona chocolate).

My proposed dinner, then, is informal, but I think will be "different".  I have become lazy about entertaining--meaning that I always wanted to go all out which meant much effort and expense to create a memorable meal. However, with such a large hurdle, my entertaining fell off.  I still harbor the goal of serving something different and interesting, but delivered in a package that I feel that I can deliver more comfortably. 

This menu seems just right.  The lamb burgers might be too much for some tastes--but we are embracing our Middle Eastern heritage, and my cousins are open to an introduction to lamb.  It has ground beef in it 1:2 ratio.  I might bring the ratio down to 1:1 to soften the lamb taste.

I'm looking forward to an evening of food and family and trying out an new recipe!





Update

The bad news is that I did not meet my weight loss goal for the month.  The good news is that I'm quite happy with meeting 90% of my weight loss goal! My initial goal was a little aggressive, and frankly, I was not willing to be THAT deprived.   Rather, I will opt for taking a little longer to meet my overall goals.  That I had an ambitious goal helped me get off to a good start.  I've not re-embraced the exercise part...but it's coming. 

It is great to feel more comfortable in my clothes.

Until I was 45, I was the same size as I was when I was 25.  I never bought bigger clothes.  I just used my discomfort to trim back down.  What changed?  I'd like to blame it on age, but I have to place blame where blame is due....I discovered the joy of wine.  I went from drinking nothing, except an occasional beer to drinking a glass or two of wine a few times a week, to everyday.  Well, the math on that is pretty clear.  If a glass of wine has about 140 calories (depending on alcohol content, etc), then 2 glasses is 280 calories.  (And if you are pouring your wine to fill your glass, then double that!).

(280 x 7 x 52)/3500 = 29+ lbs per year.  Your mileage may vary.  These sort of incremental daily  increases (or decreases!) add up over a year (years).  One thing that I've given up over this month is switching to drinking black coffee v. coffee with 2 tsp of sugar and half and half.  Let's see how that adds up in a month. 
2 tsp of sugar = 30 calories.
1 tbls of half/half = 20 calories
Combination of the two = 50 calories per cup of coffee.  I have two cups a day, so that is 100 calories per day or ~10.5lbs per year (100 x 365)/3500

These amounts aren't incremental so long as one is using them to meet his/her daily basal caloric rate.  However, more often than not, these are add on calories. 

Conclusion?  I'm happy to give up the cream and the sugar, and enjoy my wine on a moderated basis to achieve stasis!

But the above is based on what we commonly believe.  Here's an interesting source on calories etc from Zoe Harcombe discussing low carb diets.  I used to say that a carbohydrate free diet is not worth living. However, I'm beginning to realize the role of carbs/sugar in fueling craving.  http://home.theharcombedietclub.com/2012/04/a-calorie-is-not-a-calorie-and-heres-the-reason-why/

My goal for this month is to lose 5lbs.  Ironically, it will be less easy to lose those lbs than it was for the first 10 lbs.  But I'm motivated by my results so far.  Adding more regular exercise will help.  I've been in geek-out! mode in learning Crystal Reports as part of my CPE.