Poseidon Cooks! at Ventura Isle Marina

Our marina hosts periodic seminars for the boaters and they invited me to give a cooking demonstration. Here is the announcement they had posted at all the marina gates:


Kind of hard to see through the glass but the marina also put this collage in their display case:



The event was held at the Pierpont Bay Yacht Club located in our marina. The guest list was originally limited to 30 people but the reservation list filled up immediately and was increased to 40. Jeri, our marina manager, did a great job organizing the event, decorating the club, working "crowd control" and also jumped in as bar waitress. Thanks for inviting us Jeri and thanks for all your hard work:

Jeri's husband Joe was my assistant and he rocked it that night! I can still hear the crowd cheering "Go Joe, Go Joe" when he was whisking  whip cream by hand.  Oh, and there was that tequila shooter moment! Joe, you made the event so fun and I can't wait for our next event.

My dear friend Bonnie was a huge help.  She put in at least eleven hours helping prep the food for the guests, decorating the room, filling in at the last minute as hostess and serving. Thank you, thank you, thank you Bonnie, you were amazing and I owe you big time.

Pictured above with Bonnie is Dino.  Dino is a Ventura Isle Marina employee and pitched in to help with plating and serving. He definitely added to the "fun factor" and was a great addition to the team.

Our Poseidon Cooks! partner, Peter, was also there to help man the BBQ:

I am so grateful to Peter and to Curtis for washing all the dishes after the event, including hundreds of the little plastic dishes.  Here's a pic of Curtis before KP duty:

My sister was a gigantic help.  She chopped and chopped for hours, managed our task list, took the lead during plating and also helped serve.  I never could have done it without you Laura!

John opened the show with an introduction to Poseidon Cooks! This picture makes him look so subdued when actually any other shot would have shown him with arms waving and swinging.  Several people came up to me after the demonstration to say they had no idea John was so passionate about food.

He made a great speech, ran around town picking up fish and last minute supplies, prepared the bruschetta, barbecued the clams & mussels and worked the room promoting Poseidon Cooks! Ahhh, what a guy!!

The event was a great success and so much fun. We received very positive feedback from the guests and have been invited to do another seminar this summer!!

Links to the demonstration recipes:
Shrimp Santa Cruz
Halibut Tostaditas
Grilled Mussels and Clams in the Bag with Bruschetta
Chocolate Kahlua Mousse

Jean & Dudley

Our good friends Jean & Dudley moved their boat to Seattle several years ago.  They found it a little too cold to liveaboard in the winters, so they spend half the year cruising the Pacific Northwest then leave their boat and travel by car in search of warmer weather.  This year they spent time in southern California and we were able to get in several visits.  They joined us for dinner one night, along with Peter & Lynne.  Peter and Jean & Dudley were slip neighbors when J&D lived in Ventura.

On the menu:

Mini Pancetta Quiches (click here for recipe - and scroll down to Day 9)

Arugula, Watercress and Asian Pear Salad in a Champagne Vinaigrette:

Jean helping toss the salad:

And John helping ??

Salmon Chowder (click here for recipe)

I also made a loaf of "No Knead Dutch Oven Bread".  Here is a link to Jim Lahey's (Sullivan St. Bakery) recipe www.sullivanstreetbakery.com/recipes.  This is the second time I've tried this recipe.  Surprisingly good and very easy.

And for a dessert - Lemon and Lime Tart with Berries (click here for recipe)

Good Friends - Good Food, the perfect evening:

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Jean & Dudley -Newport Beach Harbor - New Year's 2004: