Rub My Pork Tenderloin Please

Posted on April 30, 2021April 29, 2021 by Mike P

Now that it’s grilling season, I’ve started doing more meals on the grill. When I say meals, I mean the entire meal is cooked on the grill, if the menu allows. Haven’t found a way to do pasta or rice on the grill, yet! My father, a great Chef, and mother, the best Southern cook I’ve ever known, never did any grilling. So I learned all the grilling techniques from others and through my own experimentation. Personally, I don’t use barbecue sauces on the grill. My preference is to have them on the side for two reasons. Most, if not all barbecue sauces overpower the flavor of the meats to which you apply them and number two, they make a hell of a mess on the grill. However, I do love dry rubs and marinades.

This recipe will result in an encrusted tenderloin with your favorite rub all around it. Pork tenderloin is one of those cuts that is so tender, it is difficult to mess up. About the only way to screw up a pork tenderloin is to OVER cook it. Even then, it can be salvaged. I like my pork tenderloin to be pink in the middle. I know, some of you are screaming, “What about trichinosis?! You’re gonna die!” Well, back in the 50’s and maybe even the 60’s, there was a higher threat than today. However, for the last several decades the pork industry has taken measures to significantly improved the health of their livestock, resulting in a huge reduction in cases in the US. There are less than 20 cases per year in the US today, vs more than 400 cases per year in the 1950’s. As long as you’re eating US produced pork and not wild game, it’s very unlikely you’ll be exposed to trichinosis. Having said all this, you can still thoroughly cook pork tenderloin all the way through, and it will be delicious.

This is so easy to prepare and easy to scale up if you need to serve a bunch of folks. We usually buy this cut of pork when it’s on sale. I’ll buy 6 or 8 of them and vacuum seal each one individually so I have them on hand. They can be thawed in less than 2 hours when vacuum sealed. Dropping one in a sink or dishpan full of water will thaw it very quickly. That’s how we thaw most things these days. Using this method to thaw a piece of meat that isn’t vacuum sealed can be challenging. First of all, it’s likely to want to float and secondly the packaging may let water in, exposing the meat to a water soak before it’s thawed completely.

We find that a single pork tenderloin is plenty for a first dinner for the two of us and then leftovers for something else. So basically, we get four generous servings out of a single pork tenderloin. Or, it will serve generous portions for four people.

Prep time: 3 hrs – Cooking time: 10-11 Min

Ingredients

1 – Glass of wine to marinate the Chef, Chef’s choice.

1 – Pork tenderloin

4T – Dry rub, use your favorite. I used Applewood Dry Rub for this meal. I have several that I love. Just depends on my mood.

Olive Oil

***Simple ingredients, incredible flavor!***

Making The Magic

With the dry rub I use in this recipe I like to prep the tenderloin at least 3 hours before I introduce it to the grill. Pat the tenderloin dry. Coat with olive oil and then crust the entire piece of meat with dry rub. Place it in a container, cover it and put it in the fridge. The oil will slowly moisten all the rub. Some of it will dissolve into the tenderloin and create a beautiful crust when exposed to the heat on the grill.

***Don’t be stingy with the rub. Use plenty to create the encrusted tenderloin.***

Preheat your grill on high. Take the tenderloin out of the fridge and let it start to warm up. When the grill is hot, lay the tenderloin directly over the heat source and reduce the heat to medium, or about 400°. Cook on one side for about 4 1/2 minutes, with the lid down. Flip and cook on the second side for about 4 1/2 minutes, with the lid down.

For this recipe I also grilled a zucchini. It was cut lengthwise, coated with olive oil and seasoned with my own “GSB Kicker” seasoning. The recipe is simple and is on the Spices page. I cook this on the grill over medium low heat for the same amount of time as the tenderloin.

***This grill has five burners, so I have seperate cooking sections.***

When the tenderloin is finished, let it rest for a few minutes before slicing. It will have a dark, crispy crust, all the way round. I like to thinly slice the tenderloin at an angle. It makes each slice a little larger and exposes more of the beautiful pink color.

***So tasty and tender. It’s also very lean, so a lot of the flavor will come from your rub!***

Variations To Keep It New

The variations on this are limited only by your imagination and the number of rubs and food combinations you are willing to try.

Wines We Love With This

Depends on the rub.

Merlot

Cabernet Sauvignon

Sauvignon Blanc

What ever your favorite is!

Leftovers

We love slicing the leftover tenderloin and serving it cold with a nice salad.

This is also awesome in a Hearty Breakfast Bowl. See the recipe on this site.

It’s warm, it’s sunny, it’s time to grill! Move the love from your kitchen to the outdoors!

Question

What is your favorite Dry Rub and what do you use it on?

Garlicy, Garlicy Chicken Delizioso

Posted on April 23, 2021April 15, 2021 by Mike P

Nick Stellino has been one of my favorite Chefs for many years. Nick and Vicky Saman, friends we made while living in London, introduced us to his cookbooks and style of cooking in the mid-1980’s. Suzanne gave me one of his cookbooks in the late-1990’s. “Mediterranean Flavors” has been one of my favorites ever since. I remember the first time I made one of the recipes. We were living in Havre de Grace, MD. We had purchased a town house that was built on a point of land that stuck straight out into the Susquehanna River. It was a beautiful location. We were the top two floors of a four story townhouse. From our dining room and living room balcony you could drop a fishing line right down into the river. The wild life was incredible to see. Being on the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay, the area was home to Osprey and Bald Eagles in numbers we had never seen anywhere else. Our kitchen, living room and dining room was a large, open floor plan, allowing us to be in the kitchen and have an incredible view, straight up the river.

***My Dad and Suzanne enjoying the view!***

Moving to Havre de Grace also moved us closer to getting back to one of our passions, sailing. But that is another story.

The recipe I’m sharing with you originally comes from Nick Stellino’s cookbook, “Mediterranean Flavors“. He calls this recipe Chicken with Garlic Sauce. I’ve added my own twist to this, but the original recipe needs no improvement. When you take the first bite be ready for such an intense combination of flavors it may blow your mind! Suzanne and I had this a week ago. When I finished the last bite, I put my fork and knife down and said, “It’s a good thing there’s nothing left on my plate. I am stuffed, but I couldn’t stop eating this.” Momma Mia, what an incredible mix of flavors and textures. There’s a crunchiness to the chicken skin, a moist tenderness in the chicken meat, a buttery smooth texture to the sauce and a creaminess to the garlic that you won’t believe, and NO bite in the garlic!

Prep Time: 20 min. – Cook Time: 25 – 30 min.

Ingredients

This is one of those dishes where doing all the prep up front really helps. Start by getting everything you’ll need together.

1 – Large glass of wine for the Chef!

2 – 3T – Flour

1 1/2t – Sage, finely chopped

1 1/2t – Rosemary, finely chopped

3/4t – Salt, I prefer sea salt, but plain salt will do just fine

1/2t – Black pepper

4 – Boneless chicken thighs, skin on. If you can’t find these at the market, thighs are easy to bone yourself.

3+T – Extra Virgin Olive Oil

***Having all the ingredients out helps to insure you don’t forget something.***

20 – Garlic cloves, peeled, do not crush, cut in half, lengthwise (YES! don’t skimp here. You’ll be amazed at how the garlic is transformed as you cook this dish.

1/4t – Red Pepper flakes. You can skip this if you don’t like any heat at all, but this won’t add very much. It does add another dimension to the flavors!

1/2 – White onion, chopped

1/4C – White wine, dry

1 1/4C – Chicken Stock, try Chicken Bone broth too!

1T – Butter, softened, mixed with 1T Flour. This makes a wonderful beurre manié (kneaded butter). The general rule is this mixture for each cup of liquid you want to thicken. You can make this ahead of time and store it in the fridge, or even freeze the cubes for later use, any time you need a thickener for soups, sauces, etc.

3T – Italian parsley, chopped, fresh

***Prepping lets you enjoy the experience***

Making The Magic

Once the chicken is in the oven, you’ll have time to make your Garlic Sauce, but be sure you have all the ingredients prepped. For me, having them ready to go means I can focus on the music of the cooking. Bringing the ingredients together at the right time and in the right way to create the flavors that will make your tastebuds sing.

First, did you pour yourself a glass of wine? Take a sip and begin.

Preheat your oven to 325°.

Combine and thoroughly mix the black pepper, sea salt, rosemary, sage and flour. Spread your mixture on a plate. Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet/pan, medium high. Dredge your chicken in the herbal, flour mixture. Drop the chicken into the pan of hot olive oil, skin side down. Reduce the heat slightly. Cook the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side. Wait…take a moment and smell the incredible aromas coming up from your pan! The mixture of the sage, rosemary, salt and pepper, transforms itself as it blooms in the hot olive oil. Enjoy it! When finished, transfer the chicken to a foil lined baking dish and pop in the oven for about 15 minutes.

***Skin side up in the oven for 15 minutes***

Take another sip of wine and begin making your sauce while the chicken is in the oven.

Add some extra virgin olive oil to the drippings in your pan. Bring the heat back up to medium high. As the oil begins to sizzle, add the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes. Reduce the heat to medium. Gently stir, mix and blend the ingredients in the oil for 3 to 4 minutes, just long enough for the onions to begin softening. The garlic will start to brown slightly. You want to be sure not to cook this too quickly. If the garlic starts to darken quickly, remove it from the heat and let the temperature drop. Overheating the garlic will turn it bitter. Cooking it slowly will turn it creamy and sweet. Once you taste the result of this you won’t believe you’re eating garlic. After 3 to 4 minutes, slowly stir in the wine. Scrape the bottom of your pan to loosen the bits and drippings from the chicken. This adds a whole new dimension to the flavors. Now bring the heat up and let the wine boil for several minutes. The goal is to reduce the liquid by half. Once reduced, add the chicken stock, bring back to a boil and let the liquid reduce by half, again. This can take anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes. Once reduced, remove the pan from the heat and add your flour/butter mixture, the beurre manié. Stir this into the sauce until it has melted completely, then return the pan to the heat. Stir for a minute or so, allowing the sauce to thicken. Reduce the heat to low, just to keep the sauce warm.

***Add the onions, garlic and red pepper***

***Remove heat, then add the beurre manié***

Take another sip of wine and refill the glass! It’s time to plate the dish and enjoy!

We love serving this with rice and for this meal I also did a fresh, butter and cream spinach.

Plate the rice, lay your beautiful chicken thighs on the plate, along side the spinach.

Now, spoon the most amazing garlic sauce you’ll ever have over the chicken and the rice.

Momma Mia! I can still taste the flavors as I write about this.

***Get ready for your taste buds to dance!***

Thank you Nick Stellino for sharing this incredible recipe with us! I’m so going to enjoy this! Like I said, it’s a good thing I ran out of food on my plate, because I just couldn’t stop eating this!

Variations To Keep it New

Like I said before, I don’t think this can be improved, but a little variation might be fun.

Nick uses boneless chicken breasts with the skin on. Just be careful not to overcook the chicken breasts. They can get tough and dried out if you overcook them. You may need to debone them yourself. I’ve never found boneless chicken breasts with the skin on at the market.

This may sound a little strange, but adding some raisins to the sauce, for the last minute or so of the cooking, will give a contrast to the savory blends already in the sauce.

You might want to try serving this with Ginger Glazed carrots and Angel Hair pasta.

Wines We Love With This

Sauvignon Blanc

Cabernet Franc – a Nick Stellino recommendation

Frescati

Leftovers

If you do have any leftovers, reheating in a microwave works great. I have saved some of the rice that goes with this and reheating in the microwave at power level 8, doesn’t overcook the chicken or rice.

Make your taste buds dance and sing with the music and love from your kitchen!

Question

Do you have any favorite garlic recipes?

Festa Italiana alla Pilollas – Minestrone di Riso

Posted on April 16, 2021April 16, 2021 by Mike P

This was the second course of our wonderful Italian Feast with friends and neighbors in 1993. This marvelous and delicious soup also connects me to one of my oldest memories. We lived in Brooklyn, NY for several years when I was somewhere in my preschool years. My father was in the Merchant Marines until I was 7 years old, so we moved between Charlotte, NC and Brooklyn, NY. My mother’s parents, Gracie and Speedy, lived in Charlotte on Tennyson Ave. A dirt road back then, they built their house in 1949, paying about $5,600. It was the one place in our “gypsy lifestyle” that remained constant, so no matter how much we moved, Gracie and Speedy were always there. My father’s sisters lived in New York and we were close to one of his sisters, my Aunt Jean and Uncle Gabe. Brooklyn was a bustling, prosperous, middle class town that stood in the shadow of Manhattan.

***Such sweet faces, such holy terrors!***

***Gracie and Speedy’s house – 1009 Tennyson Dr, Charlotte, NC***

I remember my Aunt Jean making her Minestrone all the time. It seemed as if she always had a pot going on the stove and her kitchen always smelled glorious. One day, she and her daughter Delores came over for dinner and brought some of her Minestrone. Mom had some bread in the oven and my little brother, Donnie, was running around our apartment in his diapers, making a ruckus and refusing to let Mom put pants on him. It was January, cold and we had hardwood floors, like most apartments back then.

We finally sat down for our meal and I remember my brother and I sitting on phones books. Because I was sitting at the “big table”, Donnie insisted he do the same, not in the one high chair we had. He made such a fuss about it my Mom finally gave in, and sat him at the “big table”, on a stack of phone books. Aunt Jean was serving up her wonderful Minestrone, and Mom brought out the sliced, hot bread. Even though it was winter, cold outside and the sun was going down, I remember feeling warm and safe in the apartment. My Dad was at sea again, so when we weren’t with Aunt Jean and the family, it was just the three of us. We were all sitting at the table, and I was listening intently to everything the adults were saying. I adored my cousins, Delores, Jimmy, and Janette, as well as my Aunt Jean and Uncle Gabe. Just being with them was always fun, and it was one of the few times we felt like we were part of a big family. Aunt Jean and Mom were laughing about something I didn’t understand. I was laughing because laughter is contagious and little kids “catch a laugh” as easily as they catch a cold. I remember the soup was delicious and Mom gave me a large piece of bread to dip in the soup. I think we were about half way through our soup when Donnie announced, “pee-pee Mommy”. She looked over to see him standing up on his chair, his diaper around his ankles. And then, he peed, straight into his soup bowl. With shocked looks on all our faces, we froze while little Donnie relieved himself right into his bowl of Minestrone. Aunt Jean and Mom burst into laughter at the same time. Delores and I soon followed. Donnie looked at all of us, a little confused I think, and then he started laughing. Finally, he sat back down, with his diapers still off. He picked up his spoon and started to reach for his soup bowl. Mom and Aunt Jean screamed, “NO”, and my cousin Delores jumped up and took the spoon away from him. Little Donnie started to cry, more from the loud “NO” than anything else. Aunt Jean got up and whisked his bowl away. Delores and Aunt Jean came back out of the kitchen with a fresh bowl of Minestrone and a new spoon. We all finished that incredible meal together, Donnie still sitting on the phone books with no pants or diapers on. I still remember the taste of that soup and the warmth from the inside out!

The recipe I’ll share comes from another of my favorite cookbooks, “Italy – The Beautiful Cookbook”. It’s one of those that looks like a “coffee table book”, but don’t judge this book by its cover. The recipes inside are amazing. It was a cookbook I bought because of the beautiful photos and stories and has become one of my favorite “goto’s” when I’m looking to try something new.

This recipe will serve 6 as a meal with bread or 10 as a second course of a large meal. I promise it does NOT include my brother’s “special ingredient”! Also, Minestrone can be served hot or cold/room temperature. The cooking method is a little different because of the rice.

Pre time: 45 min – Cook time: 2 hrs 20 min

Ingredients

Gather everything you’ll need and prep the ingredients so all you’ll need to do is add each, once you start cooking.

***I double check to be sure everything is there.***

1 – 2 Glasses of wine, Chef’s choice, drink while cooking!

8C – Chicken stock or chicken bone broth

1 Can – Red beans, drained

2oz – Pancetta or bacon, finely chopped

2T – Butter

1 – Onion, medium sized, chopped

2 – Celery stalks, diced

2 – Carrots, medium sized, diced

2 – Zucchini, diced

2 – Potatoes, medium sized, diced

4 – Tomatoes, large, ripe, peeled, chopped

1T – Tomato paste

1C – Green beans, short cut. I used frozen cut green beans.

1/2C – Arborio rice. You can use any type rice you refer, but this adds to the thickening of this soup.

***The candle helps reduce burning eyes while chopping onion***

2T – Italian parsley, chopped

6+T – Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Salt – use sea salt if you have it, to taste

Pepper – to taste

***Prepping makes the cooking process a lot more fun!***

Making the Magic

You probably finished the first glass of wine, unless it was a generous pour, so you should probably refill that glass of wine. Take a sip. Now, let’s get started making your masterpiece! These steps are simple, but the sequence is important. Adding the right ingredient, at the right time, helps the flavors to combine and bloom inside your Minestrone.

Add the 2T of butter, add more if you like, into your stock pot or sauce pan. Preheat on medium high until the butter just starts to sizzle.

Add the pancetta, or bacon, and the onions and reduce the heat to medium. Stir frequently and cook for several minutes, until the onions start to brown, slightly. When the bottom of the pan has a golden crust starting to form, it will be time for you to start adding more ingredients. Lean over the pan and take a deep breath. OMG…is that smell incredible, or what?!

A sip of wine is appropriate at this point.

Next, add the celery, carrots, red beans, potatoes and zucchini. Stirring frequently, cook for about 5 or 6 minutes. You don’t want things to stick to the bottom, so keep an eye on this.

Next, I like to add the tomato paste at this point. Thoroughly stir it in, mixing it well with all the veggies, coating each piece so the flavors start to combine and the combination begins to bloom in the pan. Take another whiff. Amazing, isn’t it?

Next add the green beans and chopped tomatoes. Stir into the mix.

Finally add the broth. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir. Bring everything up to a boil. Increase the heat to medium high and wait for the boil to begin. Once boiling, reduce the heat and let your Minestrone simmer for about two hours.

***Not too dark or the onions will burn***

***Simmer for 2 hours. The house will smell wonderful!***

IF YOU WANT TO SERVE THE MINESTRONE HOT:

After 2 hours simmering, bring the heat back up and add the rice. Cook on medium high to high for 15 to 16 minutes. When finished cooking, remove the heat. Ladle your work of love into the serving bowls. Sprinkle with the grated or shredded Parmesan and top with the chopped Italian Parsley.

IF YOU WANT TO SERVE THE MINESTRONE COOLED DOWN OR COLD:

After 2 hours simmering, bring the heat back up and add the rice. ONLY cook the rice for about 5 or 6 minutes and then remove the heat. The rice will finish cooking as the Minestrone cools. While the Minestrone is still hot, ladle it into the serving bowls and stir in 1T of Parmesan cheese. Let it cool. Garnish with the chopped Italian Parsley, just before serving.

Hot or cold, you will love this soup. Serve it with some crusty Italian bread. We get ours at Aldi’s grocery stores. We love the “Special Selected – Italian Bread” they carry. You finish baking this at home and it is so very close to what we used to have when traveling in Italy. Momma Mia, Bellissimo!

***Mangiare, mangiare, il tuo amore è in ogni boccone!***

Variations To Keep It New

Try different vegetables. Sliced Okra makes it a little thicker and adds an amazing texture. Corn adds a little sweetness and a nice crunch. Replace the green beans with cut asparagus. You can add cooked, chopped chicken or turkey. Cubed ham adds a whole different dimension to this. The possibilities are endless.

Wines We Love With This

Frascati

Pinot Grigio

Chardonnay

Leftovers

I always make extra so I can freeze some. It’s awesome when cooked again. The veggies change texture and the flavors are more blended. I never met a left over Minestrone I didn’t like!

Food attaches us to so many memories. Remember that whenever you make a meal for someone you love!

Question

What’s your earliest childhood memory? Is it associated with food? No, breastfeeding does not count!

Tomato Topped Chicken Breasts

Posted on April 9, 2021April 15, 2021 by Mike P

This is a great dish, loaded with flavor and very easy to make. I fell in love with Basil and Pesto many years ago and I’m always looking for ways to incorporate either of them into any dish I make. I used to make my own Pesto and found I wasn’t having it nearly as often as I wanted to. It’s not that making Pesto is difficult or complicated, it’s about when basil is available, and when I have enough of the various ingredients in the house. So, after missing many opportunities to make the dishes I wanted, I searched high and low for an off-the-shelf product that would match my preferences in taste and ingredients in Pesto. There are some really good ones out there, but the one I finally settled on is from Costco. To me, it has a perfect balance of Olive Oil, Basil, Parmesan, Garlic and Pine Nuts. Pesto originated in Genoa, Italy. It’s found in many places around the world today, and the quality can vary quite a bit. The Costco brand uses Basil imported from Italy and I think it does deliver an authentic flavor. I usually buy 4 or 5 jars, they’re plastic, and I freeze them so I can replenish when I empty a jar.

***Love having this on hand all the time!***

It takes very little time to prepare and make this dish. In this recipe, I cook the chicken in our air-fryer. It cooks very quickly without drying the chicken out. Chicken breasts can dry out, become rubbery or chewy if you’re not careful. You can also cook the chicken in a frying pan, on the stove top and of course, you can cook it in a conventional oven. There’s nothing complicated about this recipe and it’s so simple, you can try different methods until you find what works best for you. This recipe is for two, but is very easy to scale up or down.

Prep time: 15 minutes – Cook time: 10 to 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 – Glass of wine for the Chef, Chef’s choice

2 – Large chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

1 – Plum tomato

Pesto

2 or 3 – Slices Swiss cheese

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Angel Hair Pasta

Making The Magic

Preheat your oven to 375°. Preheat your skillet or frying pan to medium, if you cook the chicken on the stove top. The oil should be hot when you place the chicken in the pan.

Put a pot of water on the stove for your pasta. Most folks, including myself for years, used too much water to cook the pasta. Use a stock pot or sauce pot, large enough for the pasta and fill about half way with water. Add plenty of salt and start warming the water. You want it to come to a boil just when you are flipping the chicken.

Slice your tomatoes, lengthwise. You should be able to get 4 slices out of the tomato.

Pat the chicken breasts dry. Butterfly the breasts so you have 4 pieces. Set the “underside” pieces aside for another recipe. Coat and rub both sides of the “topside” pieces, the pieces with the smooth side, with Olive Oil. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Cook the chicken in a pre-heated oven, or skillet. 375° in the oven, for 5 minutes. Medium heat on the stove, about 7 minutes.

Half way through the total cooking time, flip the chicken.

Cook for another 5 minutes, 7 if you are cooking stovetop. When you have about two minutes left, spoon some pesto over each chicken breast. Layer the sliced tomatoes over the pesto. Layer the cheese slices on top. Finish cooking.

***Add more cheese if you like cheese!***

We love serving this with Angel Hair pasta and Pesto. While your chicken is cooking, bring the water in your pot up to boil. Drop the Angel Hair pasta in the water with about 4 minutes left on the chicken. Al Dente Angel hair pasta takes about 3 minutes. I usually cook it for about 3 1/2 minutes. Drain it when it finished.

Plate your finished dish and enjoy!

***This is a delicious and simple way to enjoy Pesto, Chicken and Pasta!***

Variations To Keep It New

You can also sprinkle some Romano or Parmesan Cheese over the Swiss cheese and turn the broiler on for a minute or two, just enough to start browning the cheese.

Adding a strip or two of cooked bacon, on top of the pesto, under the tomatoes, is incredible.

Wines We Love With This

Frescati

Chardonnay

Pinot Grigio

Sauvignon Blanc

Leftovers

This chicken is absolutely delicious with scrambled eggs, especially if you do the variation with the bacon!

Great meals don’t have to be complicated, they just have to be made with love!

Question

Do you have a favorite Pesto, either off-the-shelf or home made?

Lobzilla vs Pilolla

Posted on April 2, 2021April 15, 2021 by Mike P

Lobster is one of those dishes we seldom have at home, unless you live in an area of the country where lobster is available and as plentiful as chicken at the supermarket. Before 2005, I may have had lobster a total of 6 or 7 times. In 2006 -2008 we probably had lobster two dozen times or more. What changed? Availability, price and I learned how to make it at home. The reason for all that changing has more to do with our lifestyle and location changing, than anything else. It’s a bit of a story, but there are so many great memories wrapped up in the years 2000 to 2009. When I started this blog, I said I wanted to also share stories and explain why some of my dishes are special to me. I hope you enjoy the stories, if not as much as the recipes, at least enough to make it worth your time to read them. Maybe they will trigger a memory of yours and so inspire you to some creative cooking.

Suzanne and I lived on a sailboat for those 9 years. We decided to make plans so that I could retire early, in 2005, and go cruising on our full-time live aboard sailboat, “Carolina”. We purchased Carolina in 1999, took delivery in 2000 and moved from Havre de Grace, MD to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. It was a wonderful experience, filled with many, many friends and memories.

***Our home for nine years….sailing under the Bay Bridge, near Annapolis, MD!***

One memory, in particular, was the evening we made fresh Maine Lobster onboard Carolina for six of us. Some friends and marina neighbors had them shipped to us as a surprise. It was the first time I ever knew you could ship live lobster that way and the first time I would fix them at home. We all had a blast and of course, the lobster was incredible. I wouldn’t call what the lobster had, a blast though! Preparation was a bit of a challenge, given the size and limits of a small galley/kitchen. But we managed and were able to pull off one of the many memorable meals on Carolina. We lived aboard Carolina longer than any house we have ever owned!

***Lobster dinner on-board SV Carolina, 2001***

The full-time live-aboard boating community is really unique. Everyone agrees that it is an “equalizer”. It doesn’t matter your background, profession, social status, race, creed or religion. Everyone depends on everyone. You become truly self-sufficient and dependent on one another in many ways, turning to each other for help, assistance, and advice. We all had shared experiences to which we could relate. We all found things to make life aboard a boat easier and fun. We all traveled to many of the same places, or recommended places to those who have not been there. We ALL end up sticking our hands into things and learning about on-board systems that we wish we didn’t have to deal with. No one is above any of it, so it doesn’t matter what your social or economic status might be. It sure as hell does matter if you know how to fix a toilet, unstop a plugged water intake or replace an engine water pump. Mechanics, Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers, Nurses, Corporate Executives, Truck Drivers, Farmers are all at the same level when you’re up to your elbows in “whatever”, and it happens to EVERYONE!

The next time we had lobster was in the Bahamas. In 2005, as planned, I retired and we began our cruising life on Carolina. Like hundreds of others, we headed south in October of that year, finally making our crossing to the Bahamas in December. I was so looking forward to all of the things I knew we would experience. One, in particular, was to “free dive” for fish and lobster. I had all the gear I needed and was totally prepared. In the Bahamas, it is illegal to wear scuba gear or use a speargun when hunting fish or lobster. You can only use a Hawaiian sling (like a large sling shot) and snorkel (holding your breath while you dive). It took some practice and lots of failures, but I finally got my first lobster in January, 2006.

We had caught up with some friends of ours, from Harbor View Marina in Baltimore, and Dave taught me where to look for lobster. I had envisioned them walking across the sandy bottom or across coral formations, just waiting for me to come shoot them with a spear. Didn’t quite work that way. Once I learned where to look, I caught lobster almost every time I went out hunting. It was an amazing feeling to take lobster and fish out of the ocean and feed ourselves from what I caught. The day I got LOBZILLA, was the first time Dave took me out. We had been hunting for a couple of hours and Dave already had one. He was going back for a second, in a place he was pretty sure he had seen another. I was frustrated, having had so many failures already, but thought, what the hell, I’ll try one more spot that I had snorkeled over. It was about 20 feet down, a formation of brain coral, surrounded by white sand. There was an opening at the bottom of the brain coral, with a slight mound of sand on the outside, as if something had dug it out and made its way under the brain coral. I hyper ventilated, took a deep breath and dropped slowly to the bottom, right over the coral formation. I had to lay down on the sandy bottom to peer inside the hole. As I looked in, sure enough, for the first time, I saw the eyes of a lobster starring back at me. In the darkness, it’s the one thing you can see on a lobster. I bounced back to the surface, got another breath and dropped back down, this time with my Hawaiian sling at the ready. As I hit the bottom I made sure my spear was lined up and I fired at the two eyes glaring from inside the darkness. The spear left my sling and the next thing I could hear was the impact of the barbed tip crashing into and through the hard shell. Suddenly, ALL HELL broke loose! Dave had told me never to use the spear to pull a lobster out of its hole. If you do, there’s a good possibility you’ll lose your catch. The trick is to reach inside the hole and grab the lobster by its back. Once you have a good hold, pull it out with your hand. So, reaching into the darkness, still holding the other end of my spear, I found him and wrapped my hand around the back of the beast. Holy cow, what a ruckus! At that moment, two things occurred to me. Damn, this is a big lobster, or my hands have shrunk. Secondly, Oh crap, I need to breath, this guy does not. As Lobzilla thrashed his strong tail repeatedly I did manage to get him out, and immediately bounced to the surface for air. Swimming on the surface and breathing through a snorkel tube, with my first lobster held tightly against my chest, I finally made it to the dingy. Carefully, I eased my catch, with the spear still though it, into the dingy. I was so excited! I pulled myself up and into the dingy. Ripping my mask and snorkel off I reached over and took hold of my catch. This was my first, but I was thinking, this guy seems to be pretty big. After removing the spear I put soon to be named Lobzilla inside the huge cooler I had for any fish or lobster I might catch. His antennae were sticking out one side. I was stowing the spear when Dave arrived back at the dingy. He pulled himself aboard and took off his mask and snorkel. He did have his second lobster for the day! Leaning over to open the cooler and drop in his second catch, he said, “Gawd Damn, I’ve never even seen one this big, and this is your first catch! Good job!” Wow, did that ever feel good. Getting that kind of praise from Dave was inspiring and awesome. I couldn’t wait to get back to Carolina and show Suzanne. She met us at the stern of the boat as we pulled up in the dingy. Pictures were taken. I beat my sub primal chest. Grunted, “Me Tarzan, you Jane.” Suzanne just rolled her eyes and murmured, “Yeah whatever….I’m not cleaning’ that thing” and walked back to the cockpit of the boat. LOBZILLA was delicious and only the beginning of a great lobster hunting season our first year out. It was an awesome experience.

***My first catch was nicknamed Lobzilla because of his size!***

Our winter in the Bahamas gave me a chance to sharpen my hunting skills and got me into the best physical condition I had been in for many years. I caught fish and lobster every time I went hunting and we made great use of our vacuum sealing system and a freezer that really worked. Most boats have terrible refrigeration and freezers. I had completely replaced the factory system before we left Baltimore and ours worked great. We could even make ice and keep ice cream on our boat! Even as we were frequently eating fish and lobster we still managed to bring back about two dozen frozen lobster tails when we returned to the US.

***Finding their “Hidey-Holes”. About 25′ down.***

***Oop there it is…Oop there it is…Oop there it is!***

There was such a beautiful bounty of fish and lobster. We found many ways to prepare it and enjoy it and the recipe here will be an entire dinner with some of the Bahamian twists we learned there.

***We had a catch on every hunting trip!***

Sharing these experiences and memories with many of our friends has been great fun over the years. Sharing the dishes we learned to cook and the recipes we acquired has been even more special. Food is an integral part of our shared experiences. Delighting in the flavors and textures, the colors and aromas, the company and friendship create memories that last a lifetime. Sometimes, even beyond the life of a friendship. Even when that happens, it doesn’t diminish the memories and the feelings they may evoke.

Lobzilla Dinner Menu

Bacon Wrapped scallops – Frascati, a fresh, crisp white Italian wine

Beer Steamed whole lobster – Chardonnay from Shug Vineyards and a Sauvignon Blanc

Chicago Style grilled ribeye – Stayed with the whites

Bahamian Style Mac ‘n Cheese

Lemon Delight squares

Prep Time: 1 – 2 hours – Cook time: 1 hour

To make this dinner manageable for the chef and fun for everyone, make your dishes in this order so the easiest is left for last. Let me state, right here at the beginning. Insert the following instruction throughout any of these steps as often and where ever you like. It’s essential to the joy of cooking!

“Pour yourself a glass of wine and take a sip! Hug someone you love! Continue…..

1 Lemon Delight Squares

Ingredients

Pecan Crust

1C – Flour

1/2C – Ground or finely chopped pecans

1/4C – Butter, melted

Lemon Square Layers

2 1/2C – Cool Whip, thawed

2pkgs – Lemon Instant Jello Pudding

8oz – Cream cheese

1-2T – Lemon juice, fresh squeezed if you have it

3C – Milk

1C – Sugar, powdered or icing (same thing)

1/4C – Finely chopped, toasted pecans

Making The Magic

Crust

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the flour, the finely ground pecans and melted butter. Blend these together until you have a crumbly mixture. Add a little butter if it seems to dry. It should be slightly pasty.

Spread mixture evenly into a 9×13 baking dish.

Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. While it’s cooling…..

***Having a crusty top on the base will let you spread the next layer more evenly.***

Lemon Layers

Cream Cheese

With an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese, slowly adding all of the powdered sugar. Blend until smooth and creamy. Continuing to blend, slowly add at least 1T of fresh lemon juice

Gently fold in 1C of Cool Whip

Gently spread evenly over the cooled pecan crust. Have a knife or another spatula ready to scrape the layer off the spatula you’re using to spread the cream cheese layer. The crust may want to pull up, so be gentle.

Lemon Pudding

Whisk together the pudding packets and the milk. The directions on the packets will call for 4C milk. Ignore that and use 3C. Add at least 1T of fresh lemon juice for additional tartness. Continue to whisk until the pudding has thickened.

Spread evenly over the Cream Cheese layer.

Topping Layer

Spread the remainder of the Cool Whip over the Lemon Pudding. Sprinkle 1/4C toasted, finely chopped pecans over the Top Layer.

***The toasted, chopped pecans are a nice contrast to sweet, tart layers.***

Refrigerate for several hours. I made mine the night before and stored it covered in the fridge until desert was served the next evening.

2. Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Okay. I’m busted here. I have to admit that this is a “cheater recipe”. We LOVE the Bacon Wrapped Scallops you get prepackaged and frozen at Target! Yes, I did say Target. I figure, with all the other things I’m doing, using this as an appetizer is just fine, and guess what, your dinner guest will LOVE them too!

Here’s the instructions: Buy them at Target. Open the box. Cook as directed. OMG, they are so GOOOOOOOOD!

Drink wine and serve these before the Mac ‘N Cheese goes in the oven.

***So easy to add a really special starter to your evening***.

**A friend of ours turned us on to these**!

3. Bahamian Mac ‘n Cheese

Ingredients

1 pkg – Macaroni, elbow, 16oz

2 – Country Ham slices, can also use bacon or sausage, fully cooked

2 – 3T – Butter

2 cans – Evaporated milk, 12oz

6C – Cheddar cheese, grated, use sharp medium or mild, or 2C of each, or whatever is your preference

2T – Onions, yellow, finely chopped or minced, add more if you like onions

2T – Sweet Pepper, finely chopped use red or yellow and I add up to 1/4 cup, always depends on my mood

1 – Pepper, Habanero, seeded, deveined and finely chopped. I sometimes wear a face mask to keep the vapors of the pepper out of my nose. This pepper is very hot and will burn your skin and eyes if you’re not careful. This much pepper will not add a lot of heat to the dish because of what we’ll be doing with it in the recipe.

3 – Eggs, large, beaten

1t – Paprika, sweet, smoked paprika will give this a nice change.

Salt

Pepper

***Get all your ingredients out before you start your prep.***

Making The Magic

Fill a large pot, 6 to 8 Qt, approximately half full of water and add salt. Turn the burner on high and bring the water to boil. Once boiling, add your macaroni elbows, reduce heat to medium high, and cook the recommended time for al dente, minus 3 minutes. The macaroni will finish cooking while you bake this dish in the oven.

While the macaroni is cooking, coat the inside of your 9×13 baking dish with butter. Preheat your oven to 400°.

Also, mince the onion, bell pepper and habanero pepper. Finely chop the country ham. This is a very salty ham and is sort of an American prosciutto, just a little thicker and not so subtle a flavor.

***I like wearing a mask to keep the Habanero vapors out of my nose and throat. They tend to make me cough when chopping them.***

Sauté the ingredients in olive oil and butter. 5 to 7 minutes should do nicely.

***Blending these in the olive oil and butter transfers the flavor and some of the heat to the oil, which all mixes better with the macaroni.***

While sautéing the mixture, heat the evaporated milk in a sauce pan, slowly. Do not bring it to a boil.

When the macaroni is finished, minus 3 minutes, drain the water and return the macaroni to the pot. Stir in the warmed milk, the sautéd onions, peppers and ham, and 1/2 of the cheddar cheese. Stir in gently so everything is well mixed. I prefer using a silicone spatula because it is gentler on the food you’re mixing.

***It will look “soupy”, but transforms itself in the oven.***

Transfer your macaroni mixture to your 9×13 baking dish and spread evenly.

Beat the eggs and spoon them evenly over the macaroni mix, working the eggs into the macaroni. Don’t stir it in, just push it in gently with the spoon or the silicone spatula.

Sprinkle and evenly distribute the remaining cheddar cheese over the top, finishing it all off with a sprinkle of paprika. Smoked, Spanish paprika gives a nice twist to the flavor.

***The paprika adds color and darkens the top quickly, so don’t be afraid it’s burned.***

Bake in the preheated oven at 400° for 35-40 minutes. Look for a dark golden crust to develop on top.

When ready, remove from the oven and let this cool for a few minutes. Serve it by cutting into squares or rectangles, “Bahamian Style”!

4. Chicago Style Grilled Ribeye

Ingredients

2 – Steaks, I used ribeye, 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick. You could also use marinated flank steak, or New York Strip.

Olive oil, my favorite comes from The Natural Olive Hickory

Steak seasoning or rub, to taste

Making the Magic

I do these on the grill, outside, because of the amount of smoke. If you have a strong vent hood, you can probably do these on the stove top. The secret is to use a cast iron skillet or raised rib griddle. Make sure the surface temp is high. You want the steaks to sear quickly and blacken on the outside and be pink, all the way through.

Lay your steaks out for a couple of hours allowing them to come up to room temperature. Rub them with olive oil and your favorite steak rub. I used Mitchell Street steak rub this night. Do both sides of the steak and let them sit for the two hours, covered, while they come up to room temperature.

Put your steaks on the grill AFTER you start steaming your lobster. Have them ready to go.

Once you’ve grilled your steaks, slice them and plate them on a serving platter. Since we had so much other food, I only needed to grill two steaks for the six of us.

***With all the food we had I only needed to serve two steaks for the six of us, and we had leftover steak for Bandit!***

5. Beer Steamed Whole Lobster

So here’s the thing, cooking whole, live lobster requires a big pot. I used my 30 Qt Stock pot for this, with a steaming rack in the bottom. It was the perfect size for 6, 2lb lobsters. We got our lobster from an online source, the Lobster Trap, in Maine. They are very reasonably priced and next day shipping means you get “LIVE LOBSTER”, and it doesn’t get any fresher than that.

I used three bottles of Independence Ale that I get from Aldi’s. Pretty good beer to drink as well! Pour it into the bottom of your stock pot being sure the liquid doesn’t come above the steaming rack in the bottom of the pot. Bring the beer up to boil. Once you have it boiling, add the live lobster.

Steam a 2lb Lobster for 16 minutes. The calculation is 13 minutes for the first pound and then an additional 3 minutes for each additional pound. A 1 1/2lb Lobster would take 14 1/2 minutes. You want to see a bright red when they are done. If you steam too long, the Lobster will become a little rubbery, but you know what? The worst Lobster I ever had was wonderful!

***Do NOT remove the rubber bands until after they cook. They can put a serious hurt on you!***

***Drop ’em in, cover ’em, don’t look!***

After the proper cooking time, take them out right away. Use some oven mitts, and holding them over a sink, pierce the underside to let any excess juice run out. Otherwise, it will end up on the plate of the person eating it. Clip off the rubber bands, or slide them off and plate the Lobster.

Sequence For Timing All Of It

Make Lemon Delight and place in fridge.

Prep Mac’N Cheese – set aside.

Prep Steaks for grill. Olive Oil and season as you like.

Cook and serve Bacon Wrapped Scallops.

40 – 50 minutes before eating, preheat oven to 400° and put Mac ‘N Cheese in.

25 minutes before Mac ‘N Cheese comes out, boil beer and start steaming Lobster.

Melt 3/4 to 1LB butter – pour into individual serving cups as you plate and serve the Lobster.

10 minutes before Mac ‘N Cheese comes out of oven, grill the steaks, 2 1/2 minutes per side for 1 1/2 inch ribeyes.

Remove steak from grill and let rest for 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove Mac ‘N Cheese from oven. Let rest for a few minutes.

Remove Lobsters, pierce undersides, drain and plate.

Cut Mac’N Cheese into squares and plate with Lobster.

Slice steak into strips and place on a serving platter.

Serve it all and enjoy!

***The beautiful floral arrangement came for www.sharonsturgessflorals.com***

When everyone is finished and they think they just can’t eat another bite, holy moly, we almost forgot dessert! Not to worry, too much. You’ll be surprised at how light, refreshing, and perfect the Lemon Delight is for this meal.

Cut into squares, serve it, sit back and enjoy the Ummmm’s and Ahhhh’s and Oooooo’s and maybe even a “Please sir, may I have some more?”

***Lite enough to enjoy, even after all we just ate!***

What in the world are you waiting for folks……Dig in, before it gets cold!

Wines We Love With This

Frascati

Chardonnay

Sauvignon Blanc

Pinot Grigio

Gewurztraminer

Reisling

Leftovers

Wait! Before you throw out the legs and shells, there’s another meal in there. Yes, even the shells! Freeze them and look for my recipe for Creamy Lobster Bisque. You’ll love it!

Eat hearty friends, neighbors and loved ones! Feel the joy from the inside out? That’s the food you’re eating and the love that went into it!

Question/Request

Make any part, or all this menu. Make it really special and add your own twist. Share it with me so we can all try your creation! Let me hear from you.