Spring in Pelican Harbor

Spring has sprung at Pelican Harbor on Santa Cruz Island:

The coreopsis were in beautiful bloom:

We had been land-locked far too long, so when we had a favorable weather forecast for the next few days we untied the lines and headed for Santa Cruz Island. About a half-hour out of Ventura we hit a fog bank that lasted all the way into the anchorage. This is Mary Francis at anchor:

It didn't take long for the fog to clear and reveal the beauty of one of our favorite anchorages on the island:

John barbecued a marinated flap steak for our taco dinner. We also had Mexican Red Rice and this yummy and refreshing jicama salad:

I tossed sliced jicama, radishes and orange segments in a bowl and dressed the salad with juice from the orange, a lime and sprinkled with chile powder and salt.

The next day we went on a dinghy ride, first time we have had our new inflatable at the islands.  Love this salty boat anchored in a small cove just around the corner from Pelican Harbor:

We were sitting in the cockpit relaxing when I looked up and saw a line of dolphin feeding. We jumped back in the dinghy and ran out to see an amazing show. There were thousands of dolphin leaping and diving. One jumped over the bow of the dinghy getting me soaking wet - what a thrill! It was really hard to get pictures, they move so fast, but here's my attempt at a video:

The dolphin feeding frenzy lasted for about an hour and then they were gone.  Time for us to head back to the boat for some feeding of our own.  I made a tuna salad from the fresh tuna I had bought at the fishing pier  a couple of weeks ago.  To the flaked tuna (conserved for two weeks in olive oil) I added chopped celery, chopped red spring onion, capers, red wine vinegar, sweet relish and a little mayonnaise and a served on a bed of mixed lettuces.  John opened a German Riesling Kabnett (von Hovel 2008 Oberemmeler Hutte Saar) which was perfect for our lunch:

It felt so good to be able to finally eat outside in the cockpit:

We were very happy to see our friends Larry & Brenda aboard Abreojos pull into the anchorage right behind us. They are planning on leaving for a two year trip in the Intercoastal Waterway late this year and we enjoyed hearing about their plans. 

Perusing recipes for Lobscouse and Spotted Dog for our Patrick O'Brian dinner (an adventure to come for our Aubrey-Maturin reading friends):

 

 Just as they were preparing to board Poseidon we noticed a funny shadow in the water moving towards us. You can't imagine - millions of tiny shrimp were being chased by anchovies and sardines and were running for cover near our boat. The little fish feeding on the shrimp got the attention of the seagulls and pelicans. All of a sudden the anchorage was filled with birds, squawking and diving for the fish - spectacular!

Here they are first coming into the anchorage:

 

And here they are trying to hide in the shadow of our boat:

Here's a close up of the little guys:

 

 

 

 

Happy Spring!!

Shrimp

I wasn't exactly thrilled that I had to work on Saturday, but by the time I got to the office my mood had changed.  We had horrible, windy weather all week but this morning was calm and beautiful so I decided to walk to the office.  Every Saturday morning at 8:00 am(except when the Ventura II is in port selling their fish) there is a Fisherman's Market set up near the fish pier.  There are usually about 6 or 8 local  small boat fishermen selling their catch.  In my grumpy mood I walked past the market but something made me turn around and go back.  With my laptop hanging from my shoulder I walked through the market, peeking into all of the fish bins.  There were spiny crabs, sanddabs, rockfish, lots of fish I didn't know the names of and beautiful Pacific Ocean Shrimp for $4.00/pound!!  Big spender that I am, I bought five dollar's worth of the shrimp.  My whole day was changed.  How lucky I am to be able to buy fresh-off-the-boat fish on my way to work. To prove how fresh the shrimp were, here is a video (sorry it's so long but I don't know how to edit:

I removed the heads, the shells (leaving the tails on) and cleaned the shrimp.  Look at how much beautiful shellfish I ended up with for $5:

I decided to cook the shrimp "scampi-style".   I sauteed the shrimp in olive oil for a couple of minutes.  Then removed them from the pan and added chopped garlic, white wine, chicken stock, lemon juice and reduced the sauce for about 5 minutes.  Next I swirled in some butter (actually a lot of butter), seasoned with salt & pepper and added the shrimp back into the pan to coat them in the sauce for a minute and sprinkled with parsley.  I served the shrimp on homemade pasta - delicious!  The shrimp were some of the sweetest I have ever tasted.

TUNA

From November to May the fishing vessel Ventura II pulls into the fishing dock and sells their catch to the public.  They head out 400 to 1,000 miles and come back into port every three or four weeks.  Customers are alerted of their arrival by e-mail, newspaper ads and by signs posted at the marina entrance that simply say "TUNA".  The fish are sold whole or filleted (at a higher cost, of course). 

Last weekend there was an ad in the Los Angeles Times and it brought out customers in droves.  Look at the line!

I could see the crowd from our boat so I waited until the line thinned out -- 5 hours later!

Filleting the fish aboard the boat:

I bought Big Eye Tuna:

First up, a little sashimi:

Next, I decided to conserve some of the tuna in olive oil.  In a large saucepan, add half of a lemon, a couple of garlic cloves, half of a fennel bulb, half of a leek,  half of a red onion, a tablespoon of peppercorns, a couple of crushed bay leaves and kosher salt:

I added the tuna to the pan, covered with water and simmered for 15 minutes.  Then I removed the fish, drained, placed in a container and covered with olive oil.  I plan to use this in salads and maybe a pasta dish:

And then for dinner we seared a couple of steaks (about 1 minute per side) and served with steamed rice and sliced avocado.  

This picture has convinced me I have to work on my photography skills. In reality the rice was not a huge mountain, overpowering a tiny piece of tuna. Imagine a large, beautifully cooked piece of fish. You won't need your imagination after my "table-top photo studio light box" is delivered and I produce incredible food photos.  Yes, the "studio" is on order and should be arriving any day.

Dave & Barbecue Beef Brisket

My brother Steve, his wife Linda and our nephew Dave were visiting from Oregon and spent the day with us last Friday.

Dave had called me the week before and asked if I would make a barbecue beef brisket for him.  A beef brisket??  He said he had seen someone cook one on TV and it looked like something he thought he would like.  So, a barbecue beef brisket it was!  I forgot to take pictures, but here is the recipe:

Mix together paprika, brown sugar, salt & pepper and cayenne pepper.  Rub the mixture into the bef brisket and refrigerate for a couple of hours.  Meanwhile, chop a large onion and saute in olive oil until soft, about 7 minutes.  Put the onions along with garlic cloves, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, salt & pepper and red pepper flakes in a food processor and process until smooth.  Put the brisket in a roasting pan or Dutch oven and cover with the sauce.  Cover the pan and cook in a 300 degree oven until the meat is tender, 3 to 4 hours.  Thinly slice the meat and pour the sauce over the meat. Dave was not disappointed! 

After lunch John took Linda, Steve, Dave and Laura for a dinghy ride up to the pier.  It was Linda's first ride - looks like she had a good time:

By the look of everyone's hair, John must have been going pretty fast!

Their next stop was Las Vegas so they practiced a little blackjack.  Too bad Dave won't be able to play in Vegas because he was pretty lucky today:

Some of David's other visits:

2008

2006

2004

1999

Happy Anniversary and Tsunami Day!

What a day (February 27, 2010) - our 17th anniversary and a tsunami!!

It was a full moon and we were having extreme tides.  Thank goodness the surges didn't hit at high tide.  If it had, the docks could have floated off the top of the pilings and who knows what might have happened.  But luckily, instead it was just a "wow, look at that" couple of hours. Here is a video taken by our neighbor from our dock.  It's kind of long, but if you go to :48 and watch for about a minute you'll get a pretty good feel of the surge that hit the harbor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imfd2tTpxv4

After the excitement died down, we enjoyed our anniversary dinner:

Dry-aged Rib Eye Steak with Porcini Butter, Stuffed Potato and Jumbo Asparagus

And, of course, we watched last year's Animoto video  http://mvposeidon.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html

Valentine Dinner

I know this picture looks like we made Carrie eat at the bar by herself, but we really did let her join us at the grown up table. 

Frankie & Carrie joined us for Valentine's Day dinner.  On the menu:

Fennel, Orange and Radish Salad - This is such a fresh and beautiful salad.  Combine strips of fennel, segments of orange and sliced radishes and toss with olive oil, juice from the orange and salt & pepper.  I used blood oranges because that's what we happened to have in the fruit bowl - not a good idea, it turned the vegetables bright pink!  I claimed I used them on purpose in honor of Valentines.

Garlic Sausage and Spinach Ravioli - Crumble the garlic sausage (ground pork, chopped garlic, chopped thyme, white wine and salt & pepper) in a skillet and cook until it is no longer pink.  Combine the cooked sausage with cooked, chopped spinach, grated asiago cheese, fresh chopped basil, a couple of eggs and salt & pepper.  Roll out a sheet of fresh pasta, place tablespoons of sausage filling on the pasta, about 3 inches apart.  Top with another sheet of pasta and stamp out raviolis with a round cookie cutter.  Seal the ravioli making sure to push out all of the air.  Cook in salted boiling water until the ravioli float to the top about 3 to 4 minutes.  On this night we dressed the ravioli with a butter-sage sauce.

And this delicous Osso Bucco  (click for the recipe and scroll down to Day 16):

 

ZABAGLIONE GELATO - Zabaglione is a creamy Italian dessert made with egg yolks, sugar and wine. Traditionally the wine used is Marsala, but for this recipe I substituted Grand Marnier, an orange-flavored liqueur. Gelato is Italy’s version of ice cream. It has less butterfat, is less solidly frozen than ice cream and melts in your mouth faster allowing you to taste the full creamy flavor immediately.

6 extra-large egg yolks

½ cup sugar

½ cup Grand Marnier

2 cups heavy whipping cream

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

In the top of a double-boiler or stainless steel bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale yellow. Stir in the Grand Marnier and whisk together until blended. Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water - not too hot or you will scramble the eggs – and constantly whisk until thick and doubled in volume.

You now have zabaglione and it can be served as is – warm, creamy and delicious. But, if you would like a frozen dessert continue on ...

To make a zabaglione gelato – whip the cream, sugar, vanilla & salt together until medium thick. Fold the cream into the zabaglione and chill for 2 to 3 hours. Process in an ice cream machine for about 20 minutes. Transfer the mixture into a plastic container and freeze for at least 3 hours.

Asian Dinner

Last month I made three different sausages to stockpile in the freezer.  I pulled out some of the Chinese Pork & Shrimp Sausage for this dinner.  Start making this very quick meal by steaming white rice - I use a fool-proof rice cooker.  Form the sausage into patties and saute in a skillet until cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.  Remove the sausage and deglaze the pan with a little white wine.  Add chicken stock and oyster sauce and simmer until reduced.  Serve the sausage topped with the sauce and sliced green onions.  Steam the sugar snap peas, I cooked them in the microwave, covered with plastic wrap, for about 3 minutes.  Then toss the peas with sesame oil and sesame seeds.   Quick & delicious!!

These are the quantities to make about 1 pound of sausage:

• 3/4 pound ground pork shoulder
• 1/4 pound ground shrimp
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tabelspoons sherry
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese chili paste