Shane was planning make pizza last night but the yeast was bad and the dough didn’t rise. He cooked a pie with the bad dough anyhow. It’s true, the dough wasn’t right, it was thin, but too crispy. Shane would only let me serve the pizza with the disclaimer that it was terrible, crappy pizza. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their terrible, crappy pizza, while Shane cooked up some pasta. We had the tomato sauce over pasta, and the pizza toppings on the side. It was just fine, good even.
cape meals
Sticks! Dinner for 49 on a sailboat
My mom and dad both turned 70 this month. Yep, their birthdays are a day apart. Since my dad likes boats, sailboats in particular, and my mom likes parties with lots of people, we decided to charter a boat and have a big party on it. We also decided to keep the boat a surprise.
We settled on a sunset cruise on the Schooner Liberté, a 74 foot sailing ship that runs out of Falmouth in the summer. The crew of the Liberté is actually a family, and they live on the boat 9 months out of the year, you can read all about them here. Were more than impressed with their setup, their ability to accommodate our group, bartend, sail the boat and prep and serve the food. And all with good humor, charm and ease. Plus, they managed to keep the rain away, somehow.
So, how do you feed 49 people on a sail boat?* We think it was Shane who came up with the idea of food on sticks. This way there would be no juggling, no plates or utensils and always a free hand to grab on to something. It worked brilliantly and everything was delicious.
The Menu:
Shrimp cocktail on sticks, served on a bed of ice with cocktail sauce for dipping.
Tomato, mozzarella and pesto-topped crouton on sticks.
Grilled chicken, marinated in lime, soy, garlic and honey, on sticks.
Caesar salad on sticks, romaine and a crouton, drizzled with caesar dressing.
Small, roasted potatoes on sticks.
Meatballs on sticks, cooked in tomato sauce, with pecorino cheese for dipping.
Brownies and marshmallows on sticks.
Photos left to right: 1. Rose and Jenya preparing the tomato, mozzarella sticks. 2. Potatoes ready to roast. 3. Rose and Ronni preparing the croutons. 4. Wayne, André & Allan skewering marinated chicken before grilling. 5. Jenya, Jenny and the romaine. 6. Shane and his well-wrapped meatballs, plus other dishes all ready to go. 7. Our amazing team, aka “the kids” Rose, Shane, Anna, Jenya (with baby C) & André. 8. Everyone waiting for the boat. 9. The Schooner Liberté. 10. Aboard the Liberté. 11. The lovely Jane, First Mate, bartender, waitress, hostess, food-prepper and mom. 12. Shrimp cocktail sticks and tomato, mozzarella & pesto-topped crouton sticks. 13. Caesar salad on sticks, meatballs on sticks and roasted potatoes on sticks. 14. Meatballs on sticks. 15. Cozy kids enjoying brownie and marshmallow sticks. 16. Anna leads a birthday toast for Rita and Morgan.
*Anna, Jenya and I are a great team and did a ton of planning for the party but we could not have pulled it off without lots (and lots) of help. Thank you, Shane, André, Rose, Wayne, Ronni, Sharon, Dick, Pam, Allan, Jenny, Regan, Iris, Johanna, Kate, Mick, Drew, Cathy, Gail and everyone else who helped pull this off without a hitch.
Pasta with brie, and fish for 24
Dinner for 24 is not all that out of the ordinary for the Cape, but an impressive number nonetheless. I’m not entirely sure who cooked besides Rita and Drew because Jenya, Anna, Shane, Andre and I were too busy preparing for a dinner for 49 (!) tomorrow night.
Tonight, we had locally caught striped bass and bluefish and the ever popular Pasta with brie, tomatoes and basil from the Silver Palate Cookbook. The salad was made with arugula, cucumbers and watermelon radishes from the Drew’s garden.
Just another Saturday night
Dinner for 16, just another Saturday night at the Cape. Photos, left to right:
1. Rachel and Kate grating the carrots. 2. Shrimp ready to grill. 3. Table set for 16 in the olive garden (no endless breadsticks, but the food is much better).
4. Vodka, natch. 5. Flowering broccoli. 6. Girls, dogs and sea-breezes.
7. Flowering (non-heading) broccoli salad with watermelon radish. 8. Cheese on the chair. 9. Drew and his grilled veggies.
10. Pasta almost ready. 11. Cheers! 12. The dinner plate.
• Grilled shrimp •
Sautee some minced garlic in a lot of butter, mix in a lot of Paul Prudhomme’s Blackened Redfish Magic and apply liberally to shrimp before grilling or, broiling. Grill or broil shrimp until just cooked through, flipping half way.
We also had Linguine with Butter, Pecorino, Arugula and Black Pepper, a favorite from Giada De Laurentiis. The carrot, feta and mint dish I made last Tuesday. Grilled homegrown veggies by Drew. A really cool flowering broccoli, called non-heading broccoli, and watermelon radish salad from the Drews’ garden, made by Rita.
Dinner was followed by ice cream from Smitty’s and then s’mores and sparklers over by the fire pit. Suffice it to say, we’re full.
Surf and turf for 16
We had a classic, communal Cape meal last night. 16 people for dinner and almost everyone participated in some way, whether it was growing the vegetables, catching the fish, cooking, prepping, setting the table or cleaning up. This is how we roll on Cape Cod, it’s what’s kept things going here, harmoniously, for so many years (25 years and counting!)
The flounder was caught locally and prepared by Drew (baked topped with pesto from the Drews’ garden in Western Mass). Shell steak (aka NY Strip) “imported” from The Butcher Block in Sunnyside, NY by Shane, and grilled on the Weber by grillmaster Goo-Goo Sean. Two delicious salads made by Rita with lemon, lettuce and parsley from my csa box and arugula from the Drews’ garden. A tomato and onion salad (a la Peter Luger Steak House) by me and Shane. I made a “restaurant-style” vinaigrette for the tomato and onion salad with red wine vinegar, honey, worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, salt and olive oil. Potatoes Gratin by Shane, really, really delicious, from this recipe.
Ribs for a few
We had a record low number of people for dinner at the Cape tonight, there were only eight of us! Shane has been perfecting his smoked ribs for the past two summers. This was his first attempt this summer and all meat eaters agreed it was his best yet.
André made three types of barbeque sauce, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kansas City, they were all really good but most people favored either North Carolina or KC.
We also had mashed potatoes, baked beans (Bush’s from a can), asparagus roasted with olive oil and lemon pepper, really good zucchini from my csa box sauteed in butter and olive oil and topped with lots of parmesan cheese, buttered carrots.