Catalina Vacation - Days 8-14

Day 8:

We left Howland's and headed back down the island to Avalon.John and Jeff have a tradition of sharing a special vintage Port every summer. This year they opened a bottle of 1967 Martinez. Cheers!Carrie, Carol (Frank & Carrie's friend and boat guest), me & Sarah:

Day 9:

Sarah, Jeff & Marco spent most of the day ashore. Later that afternoon we were invited to Testa Dura for cocktails. We made these yummy Mini Quiches to take over:

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook diced bacon until browned and crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Pour off all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of fat in the skillet. Set the skillet over medium heat and cook diced leeks, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
While the leeks cool, combine half-and-half, Cheddar, eggs, egg yolks, thyme, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Add the cooled leeks and the bacon and stir to combine.
To assemble the mini quiches, lightly spray four mini muffin tins with cooking spray. Working with one sheet of puff pastry at a time, use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough on a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough on a lightly floured work surface into a 10-by 18-inch rectangle. Stamp out 3-inch circles of dough with a cookie cutter and gently place the rounds into the mini muffin tins, making sure that each round is centered and that the dough extends up to the top of the tin. Fill each with about 1 tablespoon of filling – you can fill right to the top of the dough. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Heat the oven to 400°F and position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Bake the quiches, switching the position of the tins halfway through baking, until the filling is puffed and the crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

The Cecchins ready for Happy Hour:Marco helps cook his dinner:

Day 10:

The Harbor Patrol came by first thing this morning and told us the owner's of the mooring we were using were coming in so we had to leave. Sarah, Jeff & Marco were heading out on the express boat this afternoon so we took them into Avalon, said our good-byes and moved the boat back up to White's. What a wonderful visit we had. Marco is a great boater and found his sea legs within minutes of being on board. Thank you guys so much for spending your vacation with us. We're already looking forward to your next visit.

Marco checking out an antique "hello":

And sitting on the serpent wall in Avalon:Me and my grandpa sitting on the same wall in 1958:
Days 11 to 14:

After spending one more night at White's we moved across to the mainland and anchored at Newport Beach. These harbor residents were kind enough to let us anchor in their backyards. Well, the truth is if they had a choice they probably wouldn't want us there. Such a gorgeous spot!

While we were there we did some re-provisioning. There is a restaurant we really like, The Cannery, that has a dinghy dock and they let us keep our dinghies there while we go shopping.

Newport Beach's version of homeless guys with grocery carts - flowers are a great touch John:We went ashore one night and met the Beasley's for dinner. I sat with the girls and they told me stories about their recent trip to Bali & Hong Kong - lucky little girls! Here are Natalie and Sara (so grown up!) with John: Frank & Carrie also made the trip across to Newport Beach and one day we went on a dinghy cruise to see all the incredible boats and houses. Newport has had a terrible problem with sea lions moving aboard boats and docks for several years but this year we found it much worse. The sea lions are on a federally protected list and cannot be disturbed. There are some that are as big as elephant seals. It is horrible to see the damage they are doing, they have already sunk several boats.

Catalina Vacation - Days 5 to 7

Day 5

Still anchored at White's. Here are a couple of our neighbors in the anchorage:Jeff did some baking this afternoon. He made Taralli, an Italian cracker, using his grandmother's recipe. They are great for dunking in wine:
I was booted from the galley tonight. Sarah & John made a pasta and a salad - perfect!

Day 6

This morning we pulled anchor and headed up the island about 10 miles to Howland's Landing. Marco held a steady course:

When we arrived at the new anchorage Marco was ready to go ashore and test his land legs.

"Papa, I ready!"We had lunch at Doug's Harbor Reef Outdoor Patio Bar and then we took Marco for a walk and some playground time. Don't you love John's new hat?

Back onboard he got in a little hammock swing time with Papa:

For dinner tonight we had tacos (using leftover tri-tip), pico de gallo, jicama salad and a lime-mango torte for dessert. Recipes for salad and dessert are below.Day 7
It was a beautiful, still morning so Sarah, Carrie and I kayaked over to the next anchorage - Emerald Bay. When you see this spot there is no doubt how it got its name. The water is the most beautiful, crystal-clear, emerald color that you could imagine. Marco wasn't ready for kayaking yet, but when we got back to the boat he did pose for this cute picture:

Next up, some fishing. Not sure who's instructing who here:
Jeff caught a beautiful Sheepshead:And of course, requests sushi:I made spicy sheepshead rolls with avocado. I know, not the prettiest rolls but they were delicious:

Jeff invited Frank & Carrie over for pizzas. He cooked one pizza at a time while we all sat at the bar anticipating his next creation - six in all!

We ate pizza for 2 hours - so much fun & incredibly good. Thanks Jeff!
More pizza please:
Marco jumping:

Jicama Salad:

Peel away the brown skin and fibrous layer of the jicama and cut into 1/4 inch thick sticks. Slice a cucumber in 1/4 inch thick sticks. Peel and cut a couple of oranges into 1/4 inch thick pieces. Mix the jicama, cucumber and orange with thinly sliced radishes and red onion. Dress with lime juice, salt and powdered dried chile (preferabbly ancho). You can also add some chopped cilantro, if you like.

Tropical Lime Torte with Mango:

For torte: Whisk eggs, sugar, lime juice and lime peel in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Whisk over medium-high heat until mixture thickens and just comes to boil, about 6 minutes. Transfer lime curd to small bowl; press plastic wrap directly onto surface. Chill until very cold, at least 3 hours up to 3 days.

Line 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with 2 layers of plastic, leaving long overhang. Stir dark rum and sugar in small bowl until sugar in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Trim brown layer from outside of a pound cake. Cut cake horizontally into 3 equal layers. Beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy; gently fold in cold lime curd.

Trim bottom cake layer to fit pan bottom; reserve cake trimmings. Brush layer on both sides with 1/3 of rum syrup. Place in pan; spread 1/2 of lime curd mixture over top. Brush second cake layer on both sides with 1/3 of rum syrup. Place in pan; spread remaining lime curd mixture over top. Brush third cake layer on both sides with rum syrup. Place on lime curd mixture; press to adhere. Press reserved cake trimmings around sides. Cover torte with plastic overhang. Refrigerate torte at least one and up to two days.

For compote: Stir water, sugar lime juice and lime peel in large bowl until sugar dissolves. Mix in peeled, pitted and diced mangoes. Cover; chill up to one day.

Using plastic as aid, lift torte out of pan and unwrap. Cut crosswise into slices. Arrange slices on plate. Top with compote. Garnish with lime slices.

The lime curd was delicious, but there was too much cake for my taste and the mango compote didn't add anything to the dessert. Next time I will trim more cake and serve with a raspberry sauce.

Catalina Vacation-Days 1 thru 4

Day 1:
We left Ventura Harbor on Thursday morning at 6:30am headed to Catalina Island for a couple of weeks. Frankie & Carrie were right behind us aboard Testa Dura. We had a beautiful crossing, the seas were calm and flat as glass. Thousands of dolphins followed our boats for hours. Our plan was to stay in Avalon for a couple of days but it was already packed, the upcoming weekend was the Labor Day holiday, so we headed back up the island about four miles and anchored off of Hen Rock- one of our favorite spots on Catalina.

Testa Dura at anchor:

For dinner we barbecued chicken breasts and eggplant:The eggplant were stacked on the chicken, topped with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce and heated until the cheese melted.

Day 2:
On Friday we took our dinghies into Avalon. We had a delicious seafood lunch at Steve’s Restaurant. Walked around town to do a little shopping then headed back to the boats for a swim. The air temperature was 89 degrees and the water temperature 76 degrees!!

On the barbecue tonight was a pork tri-tip served with a cucumber and tomato salad:

Day 3:

Saturday afternoon John took the dinghy back into Avalon to pick up Sarah, Jeff and Marco. They had flown into Long Beach Airport and then took the express across to the island.

First on Jeff’s vacation agenda was to impress Marco with his diving skills:
Marco getting ready to take a nap with Papa:
Then his first dinghy lesson:

Tonight’s dinner was bbqd ribs, small red potatoes on skewers and Asian Coleslaw. For the salad make a dressing of rice vinegar, vegetable oil, fresh minced ginger, sesame oil and a little sugar. Combine the dressing with thinly sliced Napa cabbage and green onions.

Day 4:

Marco calling Papa, Marco calling Papa, come in Papa:

Frank, Carrie, Justin, Carla, Leo, Ben, Darrin, Dina & Lia came over for a barbecue:
On the menu –
Tri-Tip in a Chimichurri Marinade
To make the marinade: In a food processor, mince garlic, parsley, cilantro and basil until finely chopped. With the processor running, slowly add extra virgin olive oil. Add rice vinegar, salt, freshly ground pepper and Tabasco sauce. Place the roast and the marinade in a large Ziploc. Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours before grilling.

Grilled corn on the cob

Potato Salad
I like to make my potato salad with russet potatoes. Boil the potatoes making sure you don’t overcook them or they will split and get soggy. Take them out of the water and drain on paper towels. Peel, cut into large cubes and put them in a large bowl. As each potato is added to the bowl, pour a little red wine vinegar on top of the potato. Chop hard boil eggs and celery – I like fairly big pieces. Add to the bowl along with thinly sliced red onion. Stir in mayonnaise and a little mustard and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least a few hours so the potatoes have a chance to soak up the seasonings. You probably will have to stir in a little more mayo before serving.


Farro Salad
The day before we left Ventura, Frankie, Carrie & I went to Westlake Village to do our provisioning. We had lunch at a great Italian restaurant and tried their Farro Salad. We loved it and thought it would be a great dish to make when we were at Catalina. Problem was I couldn’t find any farro. I sent a message to Sarah & Jeff asking if they could find any in Oakland. When they arrived they had two bags of farro – one regular and one quick-cooking. Hard to stump those guys when it comes to finding Italian ingredients. I decided to use the regular farro which requires soaking in water for 8 to 24 hours before cooking. After the farro has soaked, rinse in cold water, then boil in water for about 20 minutes. After it has cooled, add diced cucumber, diced red onion, diced tomato diced cucumber, chopped basil and capers. Dress with sherry vinegar and a little olive oil. Finish by stirring in some crumbled goat cheese.
Thank goodness someone (Dina?) thought to take a picture before it was completely polished off.

The Kimbles:Sarah & Jeff Frankie & Marco:John turned on the underwater lights and Leo caught a beautiful flying fish. Not to worry, we released him back to the sea:
Carrie reading bedtime stories: