Sailboats may look serene as they coast past Navy Pier on sunny summer days, but on board they can be quite shifty–all those pesky waves. That added degree of difficulty makes dining afloat more difficult than a picnic, but a fresh breeze and a cool lake on a hot day offer ample compensation. The two outdoor dining experiences do share some elements, such as meals that are portable or easily prepared on-site and foods that can keep well without spoiling.
Sailors and chefs offer advice on such subjects as prepping, storing and cooking–for those who would dine while taming the seas (or even Lake Michigan). Some of these ideas will work for an afternoon on the water and others for the several days (up to five or six on a slow boat with light winds) it might take to complete an event such as the Chicago Yacht Club’s annual Race to Mackinac, which begins July 24.
“It’s important to have one hand to eat and one hand for the boat,” said Gregory “Ike” Scott, whose sailboat, Howl, won the 2002 Culinary Arts Award at Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago.
Members of the club volunteer their boats for race committee duty during the summer Wednesday night races known as Beer Cans. The race committee is the group of people who, among other things, decide what course to sail, make sure the races start fairly, take finishing times and figure out who the race winners are. For several years now, they also have voted for the boat that fed them the best during the evening’s races.
“The reason I wanted to treat them is because they’re out there so long and do so much work for no pay,” Scott said.
His winning menu included such tasty morsels as “little quiches, more like little pies, and crab and shrimp cakes” for starters and a choice of entrees: London broil, grilled salmon or butterflied chicken breast.
It should be noted that the race committee fare was served at anchor. When Scott is racing, Howl’s menu can be somewhat different. For starters, he often serves an entree he doesn’t even like.
“Mostly because I’m–maybe–a food snob, I don’t much like lasagna,” he said. But then he explained that a pan of lasagna could be precooked, then frozen so that early in a long passage it will act as extra ice to keep other foods cool. Later, being precooked, it just needs to be warmed and served. For bad weather, the Howl crew gets to subsist on “pretzel rods and maybe some beef jerky,” Scott said.
He said that the best meal he ever had during a race was boiled lobster. “Fortunately it wasn’t very windy, so things were kind of calm with all that water boiling.”
If consuming too much food causes queasiness, Allen Smith, who holds a Coast Guard license to command vessels up to 100 tons, recommended ginger ale or gingersnap cookies. Ginger, he said, is supposed to have properties that stave off certain motion-related ailments.
Smith is a member of Sheridan Shore Yacht Club and runs a charter service aboard Free at Last, his 42-foot two-masted sailboat. Smith also has a need for boiling water: spaghetti.
“You can always carry 10 spaghetti meals,” he said, noting their ease of preparation and small storage volume. He also said that macaroni and cheese makes great seafaring fare, especially when tuna and peas are added to boost the protein content and color, respectively.
He also has a dining suggestion that’s vegetarian-friendly.
“A lot of times I just go to these delis or chef’s kitchens and pick up some veggie salad or fruit salad. They’re so easy because you don’t have to cook them. Just put some lettuce down on a plate and spoon out some salads,” Smith said.
“Of course, the thing that will save your life is oatmeal. If you’ve got people dizzy from fatigue and cold, a pot of oatmeal will bring them ’round.”
Dry cereal with canned milk is good in the morning, Smith said, and cited the Parmalat brand of milk, sold in aseptic cartons, for its long shelf life. “The kids love it,” he said. Powdered or bottled juices also should find their way into the cupboard, he said, for their nutrients.
Thanks to Lake Michigan’s relatively cool temperatures (water temperatures were just above 60 degrees in the middle of the lake last week), fresh eggs also travel surprisingly well.
“You can carry whole eggs on the boat,” Smith said. “Stick them down by the hull. They’ll last at least a week, maybe two.”
Chef Mark Ainsworth, an associate professor at The Culinary Institute of America in New York, said that keeping food stored on a boat at a proper temperature is a special worry, especially for boats on the water for several days. Refrigeration or properly cooled coolers are essential.
“From 41 to 140 [degrees] is the temperature danger zone and you’ve got to keep your food out of the danger zone,” said Ainsworth, a former executive chef for Clipper Cruise Lines. “Food should not be kept between those temperatures for very long. You have about two hours.”
After two hours, he said, bacterial reproduction starts reaching dangerous levels.
Keeping food from sloshing around on a boat also is a concern. According to Conrad Rieckhoff, president of Seafare by Calihan Catering (the official caterer to the Chicago to Mackinac race), his company packages their meals for the Mac race in resealable plastic containers. Plastic stands up well to the beating they might receive in heavy weather and they can be frozen as well, he said.
“For smaller orders, say, regular day-sail deliveries, we use wax-lined paper containers, sort of like Chinese food containers, but a little bigger,” he said. He added that the paper containers are recyclable and more environmentally friendly than plastic containers if they accidentally get blown off a boat.
Seafare’s Mac race menu includes pastries, fresh fruit, cucumber-red onion-mint salad, lobster bisque, grilled beef tenderloin, chili-glazed shrimp, even a chilled gazpacho. Rieckhoff said that on a recent journey on his boat, they added some rum to the gazpacho to add a kick of flavor and, well, a kick.
Assuming proper refrigeration is available, Ainsworth offered a number of ideas for boats that are equipped with grills.
“I would bring precooked meats and salads and think of it more like a picnic. Those meats could be reheated on a grill or in the galley,” he said. “You could also bring raw meats and fresh herbs and … put it in a foil pouch and throw it on the grill.
“Another option is grilled chicken with some simple sauces” that can be prepared on shore in advance, Ainsworth said. “The whole idea is convenience.”
Good examples of that, he said, are satays: marinated cubes of meat, fish or poultry grilled on skewers. “Satays with a peanut sauce. Marinate ahead of time and toss it on a grill at the back of the boat–the best thing is you only need one hand to eat it, so you can steer the boat while eating.”
Not every crew plans far enough ahead for Mac race dining. How bad can things get?
Lloyd Karzen, an Island Goat Sailing Society member (a person must race 25 Chicago to Mackinac races to qualify), and chairman of Chicago Yacht Club’s race committee, said his worst meal afloat was composed of “peanut butter and ketchup on saltine crackers. It was all we had.”
Bon voy-yuck.
Sailor’s peanut butter and ketchup dip
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Yield: 3 cups
– The test kitchen adapted this recipe based on Island Goat Sailing Society member Lloyd Karzen’s memory of his worst meal afloat. Many tasters enjoyed this doctored-up dip (though two still agreed with Karzen) and some even suggested substituting the ketchup with barbecue or chili sauce. For a Thai twist, try coconut milk.
1 jar (18 ounces) peanut butter
1 cup ketchup, about
Saltine crackers or pretzels
Combine peanut butter and ketchup in a small contain-er until smooth and thin enough not to break crackers when dipped, adding more ketchup if necessary.
Nutrition information per tablespoon:
68 calories, 67% of calories from fat, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 3 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 105 mg sodium, 1 g fiber
Gazpacho
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Chilling time: 4 hours
Yield: 12 servings
– Adapted from chef David Danielson of Seafare Catering. Try adding a touch of rum to this soup for an exotic flavor.
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, 3 inches finely chopped, remaining coarsely chopped
1 hard-cooked egg, finely chopped
3 slices day-old French bread, crusts removed
1 cup water
2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 cups tomato juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sherry wine vinegar
1/4 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon each: sugar, coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
1. Place the finely chopped cucumber and chopped egg in separate small plastic food bags; refrigerate until ready to serve. Place the bread in a small bowl; cover with water. Soak the bread 5 minutes; squeeze out the water. Place the bread in a food processor or blender; add tomatoes, coarsely chopped cucumber, red bell pepper and onion. Puree the mixture until almost smooth. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Stir in the tomato juice, olive oil, vinegar, parsley, lemon juice, paprika and sugar until well combined; season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate at least 4 hours to let flavors develop.
3. Adjust seasoning. Transfer to serving bowls; garnish with chopped cucumber and egg.
Nutrition information per serving:
163 calories, 55% of calories from fat, 10 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 18 mg cholesterol, 16 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 411 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
Beef satay with peanut sauce
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Marinating time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 4 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
– Chef Mark Ainsworth, an associate professor at The Culinary Institute of America, likes this appetizer recipe, adapted from “Cooking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America.” If using wooden skewers, soak them first in water 30 minutes.
1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos, minced
1 yellow onion, minced
1 piece (1-inch long) ginger root, minced
1 cup water
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup each: soy sauce, dark sesame oil
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Juice of 1/2 lime plus wedges for garnish
1 tablespoon chili paste
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1. Split the steak lengthwise; cut against the grain into thin strips. Place in a food storage bag. Whisk the garlic, jalapenos, onion, ginger, water, ketchup, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, lime juice, chili paste and salt in a bowl. Pour into the bag with the steak; seal. Squeeze several times to distribute the marinade. Refrigerate 1-12 hours.
2. Prepare a grill or broiler. Remove the beef from the marinade; thread lengthwise onto 16 skewers. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan; set aside.
3. Grill the beef until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn; grill to desired doneness, about 2 minutes for medium-rare.
4. Meanwhile, heat the marinade to a full boil. Add the peanut butter; stir until smooth, thinning with water as necessary to give it a saucy consistency. Serve the beef satay with the sauce. Garnish with lime wedges.
Nutrition information per serving:
322 calories, 55% of calories from fat, 20 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 33 mg cholesterol, 14 g carbohydrates, 23 g protein, 1,322 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
Crab and shrimp cakes
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 10 minutes per batch
Yield: 6 servings
– “I have often made these cakes for crew members on the Howl,” said Gregory “Ike” Scott. “They’re easy to eat on a boat and beat the cold meat sandwiches we so often get.” The recipe is adapted from Cook’s Illustrated. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
1/4 cup grapeseed or olive oil
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled, deveined
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, cartilage, shells removed
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
6 green onions, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped each: dill, basil, cilantro
2 1/4 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
2-6 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs, see note
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add shrimp. Cook, stirring, until shrimp begin to turn pink, about 2 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; cut into 1/4-inch chunks.
2. Combine shrimp, crab, mayonnaise, green onions, dill, basil, cilantro, Old Bay seasoning, 2 tablespoons of the bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste. Fold in eggs with spatula until light and just incorporated and the mixture stays together, adding more bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed. Form into 3-inch-round cakes; place on baking sheets lined with wax paper. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill 2-24 hours.
3. Place flour in a pie pan; lightly coat cakes on both sides with flour. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons of the oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Fry cakes, in batches, until crisp and brown, about 5 minutes per side.
Note: Because refrigerating the bread crumbs helps hold them together, use only as much as you need to help the mixture come together. They were prepared with only 2 tablespoons of flour in the test kitchen.
Nutrition information per serving:
357 calories, 61% of calories from fat, 24 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 212 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrates, 25 g protein, 602 mg sodium, 1 g fiber
Mini frittatas
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Yield: 24 pieces
– Gregory “Ike” Scott serves these mini frittatas on his boat, Howl. The recipe is adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
8 eggs
2 teaspoons chopped chives
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 can (61/2 ounces) crab meat, drained, flaked
1 small zucchini, finely chopped
3 white button mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper or yellow bell pepper or combination
1/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush 24 mini-muffin cups with olive oil; top each cup with 1/2 teaspoon of the bread crumbs; set aside. Whisk together eggs, chives, salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
2. Arrange crab flakes, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers and cheese in each of the muffin tin cups. Ladle egg mixture into each prepared cup, filling to top. Sprinkle each with thyme. Bake until set, about 12-14 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
46 calories, 54% of calories from fat, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 76 mg cholesterol, 1 g carbohydrates, 4 g protein, 155 mg sodium, 0.2 g fiber
