SOCIAL STUDIES
ood and water — usually of the salty
variety — and a happy marriage
have been tied up in Lori Ross’s life
for years. She fell in love with her
husband Jim, and Chesapeake Bay
crab cakes, the same year, when he
was teaching her to sail. Six months later, in the
afterglow of a fabulous dinner, they decided to
buy their first sailboat, a 24-foot Hinterhoeller-designed Shark. Even her husband’s wedding
proposal came over a dinner of emergency provisions as they sat fogbound and anchored at
Duck Island on Long Island Sound. For their
20th wedding anniversary they made their first
run to the Bahamas on their 42-foot Grand
Banks and fell in love again — this time with
fresh conch and Bahamian hot sauce.
For five years Ross was the food and wine
editor for PassageMaker magazine. This month
we present the best of her columns, along with
some mouthwatering recipes, and a bonus for
cruising cooks: Ross’s recipe collection and
photos are now on our new What’s Cooking
web site, along with her unabridged columns.
You can even post your own favorite recipes.
F
A nicely presented Pinzimonio can act as an appetizer or the main event.
Cruising
Adventures in cooking aboard, and great boating tales,
from one of the yachting world’s most acclaimed food
writers. Plus, an invitation: join our new cooking web
site at www.BoatUS.com/cooking
Provision Like A Pro
Much of what I learned about planning, provisioning, storing, cooking, and serving food was on cruising sailboats under
35 feet, so it was a revelation to indulge in my food and drink
passions aboard Seaworthy, our 42-foot Grand Banks trawler. No
matter the size of our boat, one thing I learned early was never,
ever to buy anything we wouldn’t eat at home! In our early days,
on Long Island Sound, the Chesapeake Bay, and parts of the Great
Circle route, I committed the newbie’s error of buying all kinds
of prepared, canned, and powdered vegetables, meats, stews, and
fruits in case of emergency. Despite being fogged in for three days,
often anchoring in quiet rivers and creeks that had no restaurants,
stores, or marinas, and almost running out of food several times
— we never opened those cans! At the end of each season, they
malingered, moving from boat to new boat until, finally, years later,
we tossed them out.
Over two decades of
cruising I’ve learned through
trial and error. My first breakfast aboard our little Shark —
parmesan and chive omelets,
sausage, and Portuguese
bread — capsized all over
our newly upholstered navy-blue settee when we were
rocked by a wake because I’d
neglected to use the stove’s
pot holder to stabilize my fry
pan. Jim and I looked at each
other in a moment of horror,
then, forks in hand, we ate it
right off the seat. With that,
we each knew we’d found
our soul mate!
These days, I routinely overprovision, ever since I had to feed
eight people for two days on rations for four. We were cruising
with another couple aboard and made plans to raft up for the night
with mutual friends in a remote harbor on the Eastern Shore of the
Chesapeake. We arrived first at our rendezvous spot, anchored,
set out beef kabobs for four to marinate, and kicked back with
a sunset cocktail while Jim regaled guests with stories about my
tendency to overprovision — “Lori isn’t happy unless she has
enough food to feed 40!” Suddenly, a call came in via VHF from
our fellow cruisers. In their rush to leave the dock, they’d left all
LORI ROSS
tip!
IT’S PARTY TIME If
you’re planning a cocktail
party that will be followed
by dinner (out or aboard),
plan on 4-5 appetizers per
person and 1-2 drinks per
person. But, if your cocktail
party doubles as dinner for
most guests, plan on 10-15
servings of assorted appetizers per person and 2-4
drinks. Plan sufficient food
or the cocktails might get a
little out of hand!
