Halibut, Fajitas and I-Da-Ho

Saturday, August 22, 2009 (Cloudy, Fog, Rain and 52°F)

I decided to pull out all the stops for our end of the trip brunch. As you may have noticed earlier, we had a scrumptious crab feast, with about 2 whole crabs left over. I painstakingly extracted all the nuggets of crab from the bodies and created The Crab Cake. To elevate it, I created Crab Cake Benedict. In the home kitchen, benedict in and of itself is a bit of work; hollandaise (from scratch-NEVER a mix!)), poaching eggs free-form, muffins and canadian bacon. So for this version, add sautéing the cakes, fresh bread toasted instead of the muffins, do it all on a 2-burner stove in a tiny galley and you’ve got an idea of the mountain in front of me. I pulled it off with the exception of the egg whites, which ran instead of clotting when added to the simmering water. My thinking is that the water was not hot enough, or I added too much vinegar. It was a HUGE amount of food, but gave us the base we needed for a long day of whale watching, halibut fishing and fog navigating.

About that halibut fishing. Yours truly landed one! Actually, we believe that I had TWO on the line at once. ‘How’ you say? Well, the halibut rig has a 6# lead ball on the end to get it down to the bottom as fast as possible. Halibut is a bottom feeder, and you need to get past all the other layers of species without your bait being thieved. Above the weight are two gigantic hooks onto which you skewer herring. Bounce the weight off the bottom until you get a bite, and believe me, you’ll know when you get a bite, then hold on! The landed halibut weighed only about 12 pounds, but based on the bend in my rod El Capitan theorizes that there must have been two fish and one shook loose.



Filleted weight was about nine pounds. I hope to catch more this week and bring home a 50# box, the Borough Boys and all my new friends in PA will finally taste real, fresh fish!



Dinner was my signature 'Three Saints Halibut' It was created on this boat during my first tour of duty six years ago. Seared halibut atop grilled asparagus and a roasted tomato and onion ragu. That is about as good as a food day gets!

‘Happy 50th Hawai’i

Friday, August 21, 2009 (Dense Fog, Clouds, Rain and 52°…again!)

Our guests for the week also spend part of the year in Maui and share an affinity for the Emerald Isle, so it was only fitting that the 50th anniversary of Hawai’i’s statehood fall during our cruise together. Meals, snacks and evening entertainment centered around this event.

Happy hour snacks were a bit funny, but very in keeping for a snack they are used to in Maui, Maui Onion Potato Chips! If you have never had then, grab some, they are awesome! Prior to departing I was asked to be sure and bake some of my Mac Nut Shortbread cookies, dipped in chocolate too! Also on the menu was my version of kaula pork. Obviously, it is a tad difficult to bury a whole hog or semblance thereof on a yacht, so marinated pork tenderloin would have to do. Asian sautéed veggies accompanied our simple island feast.

By now, I have grown accustomed to grilling in the rain, so after ample marination, the tenderloin was charred to perfection and allowed to rest. Dessert involved more grilling, this time Island Gold pineapple. All the chocolate was used in the dipping of the cookies, otherwise a drizzle of that would have been tasty atop the caramelized pineapple. Movie night feature was ‘As Good As It Gets’.
Lunch was a simple, ‘What’s In The Fridge?’ event. Quesadillas of left-over NY Strip, sweet corn, guacamole and pepperjack cheese. Surprisingly good and just enough to take the coffee jitters away.

We had no idea of the jitters that lay before us as we ventured further into Glacier National Park in search of glaciers, hopefully ones that are calving (see previous post for video). Zig-zaging our way through ice flow of varying sizes, passing Reid and Lamplugh Glacier, we ended up at Johns Hopkins Glacier. We gently ‘tapped’ several chunks of ice as we inched our way to within 1/2 mile of the glacier. At this vantage point we witnessed several calvings, followed 4-5 seconds later by the sonic boom-crack of the ice. The temperature is markedly lower up near the glacier…duh! it’s ice moron! You’ll see from the video/photo below that upon deciding to leave the area we discovered we had been surrounded by ice with no way out! It’s always a tic nerve-wracking when El Capitan states, ‘Gee, this has never happened before’ followed by, ‘Theo, come here and find me a way out of this mess’ We engaged in another Titanic round of ice tapping and pushing to make our way out to ‘clearer’ waters. Another Alaska trip, another story for the ages!











Glaciers calving at Johns Hopkins Glacier.

Things that go ‘pump’ in the night.

Thursday, August 20, 2009 (8:23am, Clouds, Rain and 54°…this is getting old.)

Today was a full food day. Magoo wanted to wet a line so while watching large pods of humpbacks and orcas he jigged for whatever was hungry. Four rockfish later I was busy filleting our pre-lunch snack of pan-seared blackened rock fish. Very delicious, reminded me of a meaty catfish or larger walleye. Now I was quite mistaken after the fish. I assumed (never do this!) that lunch would not be necessary based on the upcoming carnivorous dinner feast. WRONG! ‘What’s for lunch swab?” I broke in our new toaster and created Avocado Club Sandwiches.

They really hit the spot and gave us something to do as Magoo had transitioned to trolling for salmon. He landed a smallish Silver Salmon weighing a respectable eight pounds. Filleted, Vac-Pac’d and flash frozen. All that was left was a little back deck wash-down.

Successfully set the anchor for the evening in Inion Bay. Very picturesque with aqua-green water, dense treeline and steep banks. A classic meat and potatoes dinner was planned. Grilled NY Strip w/ Jack Daniels Mushroom Cream Sauce, Herb Roasted Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli and more fresh bread (plain for El Capitan and Sundried Tomato and Garlic for the rest) Dessert was more of Hayes’ creations, this time biscotti. YUM! Thanks Hayes!!

The evening feature film was ‘Duets’, a light, fun movie about relationships and karaoke. Go figure!


All tucked away snug in their beds I am awakened by a vacuum pump from the starboard head. As my berth (bed) is in the main salon, I hear everything, and having been working on this yacht for 6+ years know what virtually every sound it makes and when said sounds should and should not be heard. Vacuum pump at 3am running continuously indicates that someone didn’t properly flush the head. Hoping El Capitan would hear this and address (as it was his head) didn’t happen, so I made repeated attempts to silence the pump. Upon the fifth try, El Capitan appeared on the scene and rectified the problem. At last, silence. Well, except for the generator, heating system and the anchor being hoisted at 7am! Up and adam sailor!
What’s for breakfast swab?

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 (6:30am, Cloudy, Foggy, Rain and 54°)

Last night after a mere one failed attempt at anchoring for the evening we tied to a floating pier with 4 other yachts. Not the usual evening atmosphere I am used to, but none-the-less offered a more pleasant sleep without worry of dragging anchor at 3am! (Ask me about last year!)

The ultimate meal was then enjoyed. We steamed a half-dozen fresh Dungeness crabs, boiled some sweet corn and broke homemade bread. The only thing else required was clarified butter and lots of napkins!

Dessert was not at all necessary, but centered around Hayes’ toffee, some frozen Oreo’s, and the ubiquitous vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce for El Capitan. Good wine and lots of laughs were had by all as the evening closed while watching the required flick, Captain Ron.
Arrrgh!

Auke Bay, Rain and Clouds

Arrived safe and sound and not too worse for wear after a long day of flying on Sunday. Yesterday was a brutal day back on the boat, but that is the norm.

First of all...the weather. RAIN and lots of it! It rains about 200 days a year here, so knee-high rubber boots are a fashion accessory among the locals. Second, provisioning for a week out at sea is a challenge. You have to think of EVERYTHING. There are no 'quickiemarts' in Glacier Bay National Park (our first destination). Then there is storage of said provisions. If you have ever been on a boat, you know space is at a premium and there are no land-based-style refrigeration or storage options. CostCo sounds like a good idea until you try and store that 5# bag of spinach in the fridge. No room for anything else! Anyway, I did my best David Copperfield impersonation and made it all disappear into the bowls of the boat. Based on the crummy weather a soul-satisfying beef stew was in order. 3+ hours of simmering and the boat was smelling fabulous. We had a great dinner, with great wine and toasted the upcoming voyage.

Guests arrive in an hour or so, then to the fuel dock. That is an experience. The boat has two (2) 475 gallon fuel tanks and diesel is about $3-4/gallon, so you do the math. It takes about a half-hour to fill the tanks. Then we are off. First anchorage is Funter Bay. Fresh Dungeness Crabs tonight...life IS good!

A few observations over the past 36 hours in the Juneau area. Everyone has a dog. Conceivably, this is because of the treat of bears in these parts. Also, forget about getting a USA Today newspaper before the end of the day. As I mentioned in an earlier post, everything has to be flown into Alaska, so by the time the newspaper gets here, it's 5pm and old news. Thank God for the Internet. Did I mention the lack of sunshine? I have yet to see a display for sunglasses. I must look quite strange walking around town with my shorts, Crocs and a tan!!

Fair Winds and Eat Well!

Juneau, it's the Capital of Alaska

Well, I'm off on another cooking adventure! Port of call, Juneau, AK

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=juneau%2Cak&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

A little bit of trivia for the geographically challenged...Honolulu, Hawai'i and one other United States capital is only accessible by air or sea. Name it!

If you guessed Juneau, AK you are correct! Some think that driving is possible, but Juneau is surrounded by glacial flows, which are constantly moving, thus making road construction impossible. So this may shed a little light as to why Alaskan Seafood costs what it does, air travel is not cheap! Also, since we are talking about driving, Juneau has the only 'drive-up glacier' all others are only reachable by sea or helicopter. Below is the Mendenhall Glacier.


During a earlier trip to Alaska I had the fortune to witness a glacier calving, AND caught it on video! Enjoy...





Until next time, "Eat Well...Or Don't Eat at All!"
Cheers!

Chef Theo

The Nautical Chef—The Beginning

Writing about my time cooking on boats seems to be appropriate at this time. During the last 8 years working as a personal chef I've had the opportunity to jet away and cook for clients while they vacation. Hell, for some, their entire life is a vacation that never ends. Fortunately, they love my food and company, so I keep getting hired along.

When these trips approach I am met with mixed emotions. I am excited for the adventure and the opportunity to see the world from a perspective that most will only get through 'NatGeo', 'Travel Channel' or some periodical. However, getting my personal affairs in order and being away from my business for 2+ weeks brings a whole new set of challenges. Add a relationship to the mix and that's quite a cocktail!

The reaction to these working trips is one of, well, envy. I guess it is true that the grass is always greener. Or at least it seems that way these days. There is a HUGE miss-perception that this gig is all fun-in-the-sun. "Kewl man, like you get paid to sail around and cook on a boat?" "I bet you've got your own stateroom and tons of free-time?" Umm...yes I get paid very well and no, I do not have my own quarters( sleep in the main salon) nor 'tons of free time'(it's a boat!). However, as you will see by following this blog, it's not always easy but it is quite the adventure.

This leads me to one of the core reasons for taking the time to blog, I want to bring people along, first hand to experience all that cooking on a boat is about. While I wish it was all Jimmy Buffet, Margaritas and Bikini's....well, it's not. Happy hour (usually at 5 o'clock, sometime earlier, sometimes WAY later) does usually consist of some great tunes, tasty food and a shaken cocktail or 2 or 3 or '2 and a short one'. But the reality is, the ocean is a big, nasty place at times. You can be 20 feet from shore and really not be 'safe'. So, I hope you'll check in from time to time and see what I've been doing. I'm certain it will grab your interest, or at least make you laugh like crazy.