Christmas Fare

We had a very quiet Christmas this year.  Christmas Eve was spent at Laura's & Ma's condo.  Dad and Laura's friend Louann joined us.

I made Cornish Pasties for our dinner.  A Pasty is a meat pie that originated in Cornwall as a meal for the miners.  There were large amounts of arsenic in the mines so the pies were designed to be eaten out of one hand until the miner reached the last corner of pie.  The last bite was discarded to feed the "mine ghosts" and it kept the miners from ingesting too much arsenic.  My great-grandfather, who lived in Scotland, took a Pasty to work with him everyday for his lunch.  He worked as a butcher so didn't have to worry about arsenic, but he loved the meat pies - especially when accompanied by an entire bottle of Worcestershire Sauce to wash the Pasty down!  In honor of Pop I added a little Worcestershire to my Christmas Pasties.

The traditional recipe is made with raw beef, potatoes and vegetables, encased in pie crust and folded in the shape of a turnover.    I wanted to make sure the meat was good and tender, so I pre-cooked the meat and veggies - kind of like a hash. I cut a chuck roast into small pieces and browned them in olive oil in a dutch oven.  Then I added red wine and continued cooking until it evaporated and then added beef broth and a bay leaf and simmered for about an hour.  Next I cut a couple of potatoes into small cubes, added to the beef and cooked until the meat and potatoes were tender.  (Any root vegetables - carrots, turnips, etc. could be added, but my family is a bit picky about such veg, so I stuck to basic meat & potatoes). While the meat was cooking I sauteed a chopped onion in a skillet until it was caramelized.  I added the onion and a bit of Worcestershire to the meat and seasoned with salt and pepper.  While the meat mixture was cooling I made a basic, but buttery,  pie dough.  I rolled out the dough, cut out 5" circles and placed a large spoonful of the meat mixture onto each circle.  Then I folded the dough over the meat into semi-circles and crimped the edges together.  I placed the pies on a cookie sheet, made small little slashes in the top of the crusts and baked at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until the pies were golden brown and the juices started to bubble up through the slashes.

Christmas Day was celebrated aboard Poseidon with Ma, Laura & Dad. On the menu:

John's delicious Caesar Salad:

Prime Rib (roasted very simply with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder):

 

Popovers:

And Cheesey Stuffed Potatoes and Peas with Leeks & Bacon:

Hoping your Christmas was merry, Linda & John:

Christmas Chocolates

I haven't made chocolates in probably twenty five years. At that time I had a candy business with a good friend and neighbor that we called  Sweet Impressions.  We made custom candies for friends' and family wedding showers, baby showers, parties, etc. and then started selling our candies at craft fairs. I don't think we ever made a dime, but had great fun staying up half the night drinking wine and making what we thought were very creative chocolates.  Next I tried a venture selling candy-making supplies in people's homes - kind of like Tupperware parties.  I would teach everyone how to make their own chocolates and then I would try to sell them supplies - don't know what I was thinking, because anyone who knows me knows that I am the worst salesperson on earth!  I also sold nautical themed chocolates in the Ventura & Channel Islands Harbors.  Great fun at the time but I finally had to admit I was never going to get rich making chocolates and that it was time that I got a real (by that I mean paying) job.

I'm not sure what inspired me to make chocolates this Christmas, but it was fun and brought back lots of great memories. My first candy-making experience was learning how to make hand-dipped chocolates when I lived in Logan, Utah in the mid-seventies.  I wasn't quite that ambitious this year and used plastic molds.

One filling was made with bittersweet chocolate, cream, butter and mint extract and another with milk chocolate, cream, butter and Kahlua.   Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate in the plastic mold, chill in the freezer for a couple of minutes, add filling, top with more melted chocolate and chill until set. For the seashell  molds I swirled in a little white chocolate before adding the filling.

Wishing you a sweet holiday season!

Thanksgiving

We decided to go a bit nontraditional for our Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Still roasted a beautiful turkey, but skipped most of the "normal" trimmings.

We started with a Heirloom Tomato, Caper and Bay Shrimp Salad - yes, we're still getting great tomatoes in November - amazing. 

Our next course was homemade ravioli.  Jeff brought garlic sausage he had made with his cousin a couple of weeks ago.  The pork was fresh from his cousin's farm. For the filling I cooked the sausage, added fresh chopped spinach, a couple of eggs and Asiago cheese.  The sausage was so delicious we didn't need any other seasoning.  Jeff made the pasta sheets and John assembled and cut the ravioli. Marco helped out too - his ravioli are on the far right:

A real family effort:

I dressed the ravioli in a very simple tomato sauce - San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil, fresh oregano, fresh thyme and salt:

"I'm ready! Let's eat."

Next up - Roast Turkey, Potato Fennel & Leek Gratin, Roasted Beets with Clementines & Mint and Parkerhouse Rolls.  Everything went swimmingly until my dad decided to steal a roll off Marco's plate.  Do not come between that boy and his food:

To make the Potato, Fennel and Leek Gratin - Sauté leeks in a butter in a small skillet. Place ½ of the leeks in a small casserole. Layer with thin potato slices, thinly sliced  fennel, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle liberally with Jarslberg cheese. Repeat the layers. Pour heavy cream over the casserole and top with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Cover with foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the top is browned and the potatoes and fennel are tender, about another 20 minutes.
It was a nice change from mashed potatoes & gravy - not that there's anything wrong with mashed potatoes!!

Marco helping with the beets:

To make the Roasted Beets with Clementines & Mint, Marco & I mixed roasted beets (red & yellow) cut into chunks, segmented Clementine tangerines, a little olive oil, chopped mint and seasoned with salt.  It added a beautiful, vibrant color to our plates:

And for dessert - Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie and ..

Vanilla Ice Cream with Cranberry Sherbet Swirl:

Marco giving me advice on how to serve the dessert - no wonder my back was so sore the next day!

Our menu made for a very relaxing day with plenty of time to play board games and visit. 

And for our after-dinner entertainment, Marco played the drums for us:

And then kept himself amused with Dada's computer while we did the cleanup.

Thanks Dad, Ma, Laura, Jeff, Sarah & Marco for joining us you give us much to be thankful for.

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

This cute little sugar pumpkin served as one of my Halloween decorations:

But Halloween is over and we're in the mood for Pumpkin Creme Brulee.

Start by cutting off the top of pumpkin and then quartering:

Scoop out all of the seeds (save the seeds and see recipe below) and fibers, place on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour:

Peel off the skin, cut into chunks and whirl in a food processor.  If the pumpkin is too thick add a little water until you have a puree:

That's all there is to it! So simple and so much better than you will ever find in a can.

To make the creme brulee:
In a medium saucepan, combine 2 1/2 cups heavy cream, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat.  In a medium bowl whisk 7 egg yolks until they are thick and light yellow.  Slowly add about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly.  Then add this mixture back into the cream and continue whisking.  Stir in the pumpkin, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.  Strain through a very fine sieve, discarding any pumpkin pulp.  This step is very important if you want a smooth creme brulee, rather than a pumpkin custard.
Place creme brulee ramekins or custard cups in a large metal roasting pan.  Divide the mixture between the cups.  Add hot water to the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the ramekins.
Bake the custards until they are set in the center, about 45 minutes.  Remove from the pan and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.
Sprinkle each custard with sugar and torch until the sugar melts and caramelizes. You can buy cute little kitchen torches for this job, but John prefers his industrial torch:

Pumpkin Seeds or Pepitas:

Rinse the seeds and remove as much of the stringy fibers as possible.  Spread out on a cookie sheet and let dry overnight.  Toss with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake at 250 degrees for about an hour.

Autumn Cruise

The weather has been so unpredictable this year.  Ventura only saw the sun three days the entire summer.  A few weeks ago we had thunder, lightening and hail!! We've also been having heavy winds and big seas for the last month, so when we saw a fairly good weather window we headed back out to Santa Cruz Island.

Leaving Ventura in our wake:

We spent the first night at Yellowbanks and we were the only boat in the anchorage.  It made me realize how lucky we are to be able to find such solitude in this hectic world we live in - and so close to home!

I have been craving Spaghetti & Clams for a month.  Knowing we wouldn't be finding any at Yellowbanks, I stopped at a local fish market to pick up 3 pounds of clams before we left the marina. To make the clams I sauteed chopped shallots, chopped red pepper and chopped garlic in olive oil. When the veggies were soft I tossed in the cleaned clams, some quartered heirloom cherry tomatoes and white wine.  I covered the pan and cooked just until the clams opened.

I served the clams on a bed of spaghetti and of course with a hearty bread for soaking up all those delicious clam juices.  Our business partner and his wife had given us a couple of bottles of beautiful Chardonnay the day before we left.  The Rombauer was perfect with our Spaghetti & Clams. Thanks Rick and Patty!

The next morning we spied these lobster traps in the anchorage. We started to drool thinking about fresh lobster paired with the second bottle of wine Rick & Patty had given us, a Far Niente Chardonnay.

We were in luck - the lobster fishermen came to check their traps and John convinced them to sell us a couple of the bugs. The guys were really nice and even cleaned the lobsters for us. They sold us 3 lobster tails for $20!! John was so pleased he gave them an extra $5 and told them to buy a six-pack.

A southeast swell started rolling into the anchorage so we decided to move around the corner to Pelican Harbor.  On our way over we heard an urgent marine broadcast warning boaters to keep watch on the weather because there was a fast-moving storm system moving through the area.  The message said there was a chance of thunderstorms, rain, heavy wind and even a possible of a waterspout.  We knew if we tucked in and set our anchor in Pelican that we would be fine, so continued on our way.  The wind came up and blew for about 30 minutes and that was it.  Except for some dramatic thunder clouds the weather was beautiful, in fact one of the calmest nights we have enjoyed on Santa Cruz Island.

Time to throw the lobsters on the grill:

We simply brushed the tails with butter, not wanting to mask the taste of the very fresh meat.  Served with bruschetta rubbed with fresh garlic and tomato, steamed artichoke and the perfect wine - heaven!

The next day, after hearing gale warnings were predicted the following day, we decided it was prudent to head back to the marina. We were so happy we were able to squeeze in this beautiful cruise between weather systems. We will be keeping a close eye on the weather reports, hoping to get in another few cruises before the end of the year.

And on the way home - dolphins & sea lions.  (Sorry for length and quality of video, still haven't figured out how to edit).

Galley Remodel

My mother has been visiting my brother and his family in Mississippi for the past five weeks. She called me yesterday to remind me that I had not updated this blog even once since she has been gone. Ok Ma here is a little bit of what has been going on aboard Poseidon since you have been away --

John installed a beautiful new tile floor in the galley:

The decorative tiles are reproductions of old Catalina tiles that we had shipped from the Steamer Trunk in Avalon.  And wouldn't you know it, of all the tiles John worked with on this project the only one that broke was one of the decorative tiles.  And wouldn't you know it, the Steamer Trunk had sold us the last four tiles they had in the store.  And wouldn't you know it, the artist was also out of stock of this tile design.  But all ended well, the artist made another tile for us and the project is complete.  John did a great job and I absolutely love the new floor!

The week before John started on the tile project our oven finally gave up the ghost.  From the beginning the oven has had a mind of its own, causing me fits and usually during a holiday meal.  One Thanksgiving it would only cook for 20 minutes at a time before shutting down.  On another holiday the oven thought it was getting too hot and the automatic safety lock engaged - trapping my meal inside! On our last Catalina trip the oven wouldn't turn off.  The only way to shut it off was to go downstairs and switch off the breaker, which also meant no microwave oven.  And finally a few weeks ago it gave up completely.  At least it was kind enough not to wait until I was cooking Thanksgiving dinner to quit working.

The new oven - let's hope it is not as finicky:

So, with all the remodeling there has not been much cooking happening in Poseidon's Galley this past month. 

Days Thirty Two thru Thirty Nine - Last Week of Vacation

We left Newport Beach in thick, thick fog - we could barely see the bow of the boat. Reading the radar was tricky because of all the boats on moorings.  We were very happy when we were out in the open ocean headed back to Catalina. Frankie & Carrie were in Avalon on a mooring and we decided to do the same.  Peter & Lynne came out the next day on the express boat.  We spent the day in Avalon being tourists - lunch at Steve's and then went on the Casino Tour.

Peter & Lynne taking a spin on the Casino Ballroom dance floor:

Poseidon from the Casino balcony:

The next morning we moved back to White's and anchored.  Frankie & Carrie and their friend's Bobby & Elisia came by dinghy for a visit:

Lynne, always the good sport, tried out the new knee board:

Early Monday morning we pulled anchor and headed for home.  Once out of the lee of the island we had six foot seas at six seconds - not a fun ride.  Testa Dura was right behind us and we decided to use the sloppy seas as a good excuse to extend our vacation a few more days and headed for Marina Del Rey.  We tied up at the guest dock at Burton Chace Park:

We enjoyed a few days at Marina Del Rey - dinghy cruising the harbor, re-provisioning at a local market and a couple of fun dinners out at The Warehouse and Penguinis. We left MDR on Thursday morning (Day 39!) and had a beautiful cruise back to Ventura.

We have this tile on Poseidon that perfectly states our feeling about our guests- "Welcome, our home is your home":

We were very fortunate to be able to share our summer cruise with family and friends.  Thanks to all who were able to join us and/or stop by and visit and made our trip memorable --Dad, Dave, Kim, Steve, David, Peter, Don , Lee, Tabby,   Lynne, Carrie, Frankie, Sarah, Jeff, Marco, Derek, Kim, Dina, Darrin, Ben, Lia, Leo, Carla, Evan, Bart, John M.,  Natalie, Sara, Bobby, Elisia, Miro & Danka.