Foodies, Unite!
— By Lori Ross
LORI ROSS
Left, A fruit platter adds color and contrast with not too much work. Center, Lori on Seaworthy, the first of her two trawlers. Right, Lori Ross and Jim
Ellis take cooking and cruising to new heights.
their food in a cooler in their car and hadn’t eaten since breakfast! I
was redeemed; I had extra beef for kabobs, lots of salad and bread,
plus emergency rations of quick-cooking couscous that stretched
my dinner to eight. Plus, I’d brought a dozen eggs and muffins for
breakfast. I even packed them off the next day with sandwiches
and snacks for the trip back.
Adventures In Grilling
Our first boat, the Hinterhoeller Shark sailboat, didn’t come
with a grill so we brought my little charcoal-burning hibachi along.
Everything we cooked on that grill was delicious! But it didn’t have
a lid, so it was tough to keep lit in windy conditions and a real challenge to keep clean and stowed. Finally it rusted out. Our second
grill was an inexpensive rail-mounted marine kettle-style charcoal
grill with removable lid, air vents to increase and decrease convection, and a nice plastic cover to keep it dry. We grilled delicious
steaks, burgers, chicken, corn, fruit, and even sandwiches during
our cruises. While this was a vast improvement on the hibachi, we
still had the dual challenges of dumping the ash without getting a
face-full of ashes, and the new challenge of keeping the unsecured
lid from going overboard.
When marine propane grills became popular, we bought a
rectangular rail-mounted propane grill, which solved several problems — it stayed lit, there was no ash disposal, the temperature
was easily regulated, and it featured a hinged lid, which made it
easier to light in a stiff breeze. However, propane-tank storage was a
problem (we still had a sailboat) because we couldn’t find an effective way to stow extra propane canisters above decks.
For our two trawlers, we’ve purchased larger, rail-mounted,
box or cylindrical grills that feature two burners, a warming rack,
and Sunbrella covers for the grill and propane tanks, so they can
stay permanently mounted on the flybridge. There’s lots of space
GRILLED TANDOORI CHICKEN WITH MANGO
½ cup each chopped cilantro, parsley
4 garlic cloves (sliced)
1 tbsp each ground cumin, paprika, salt
½ tsp pepper
½ cup oil
1 cup plain yogurt
¼ cup lemon juice
3-4 lbs. of chicken pieces
2 mangoes, peeled, cut, ½-inch slices
medium heat. Place marinated
chicken, skin side down, on grill.
Cover and grill chicken for 20-30
minutes, or until cooked through,
turning 4-5 times. Grill mango
slices 2 minutes per side; set aside.
Arrange chicken on large platter;
garnish with grilled mango slices.
Blend herbs, garlic, spices, and pepper by hand in food processor. Whisk
in oil, yogurt, lemon juice to make
marinade. Place chicken in marinade
and turn to coat; refrigerate 1 hour.
Prepare grill for direct cooking over
BRUNCH STRATA
6 slices of bread (preferably day-old)
8 oz. breakfast sausage or bacon
(cooked and chopped)
5 large eggs
2½ cups milk
2 cups grated Swiss (or cheddar)
1 tsp of salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper
Mix eggs, milk, salt, pepper. In a shallow baking dish (2-quart), arrange
bread into a single layer. Spoon
sausage or bacon and half the
cheese over bread. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread and top
with remaining cheese. Let sit
covered in fridge for an hour, or
ideally overnight, then bake at 350
degrees for 45 minutes until puffy
and brown. Cut and serve warm.
PINZIMONIO
1 cup of each of the following vegetables: zucchini, cucumbers, scallions,
celery, carrots, radishes
Cruet of olive oil
Cruet of red wine or balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper/peppermill
¼ cup mustard
¼ cup of fresh herbs (one or several)
such as thyme, rosemary, mint
2 tbsp minced fresh garlic
Prepare a platter of fresh tasty vegetables, cut into strips or pieces. Set
cruets of olive oil and vinegar on
the table, along with salt, pepper,
fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary,
mint, Dijon mustard, and minced
garlic. Give your guests small bowls
in which to mix up a sauce with
the olive oil and vinegar, seasoning to taste. They then dip their
veggies in their sauce and eat.
