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Sailing and Hiking Makes for Hungry Guests
Submitted by Maine Windjamme... on Tue, 01/13/2009 - 2:54pm.
Being out on the water is a sure way to work up an appetite — even if you’re just watching the waves or taking pictures of lighthouses. Throw a day of hiking into the mix and you know you’re going to be hungry.
One day during our sailing and hiking trips we serve what we call "Deli Lunch." It's a smorgasbord of assorted bread, rolls, and wraps that guests fill themselves with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, deli turkey, ham, or roast beef, tuna, chicken, or egg salad, cheese, mayo, mustard, or hummus. Everyone makes their own sandwich to their liking and packs a brown bag with chips, fruit, trail mix, and plenty of bottled water. The best thing to top off this brown bag lunch is warm cookies fresh from the wood stove. And the cook always makes twice as many as usual because no one can resist eating one (or two!) before we even leave the boat to hit the trails.
Our hiking day is usually spent on Isle au Haut, one of Maine’s most beautiful islands and home to the most secluded part of Acadia National Park. Whether guests choose to stroll the island roads or trek up a park trail, they’ll find the scenery stunning and peaceful…with lots of great spots for enjoying their delicious brown bag lunch! And what’s better is that the crew has been working all afternoon preparing another magnificent dinner to enjoy when everyone is back aboard.
It’s hard to decide which cookie to make but here are two favorites aboard the Isaac H. Evans:
Black and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
(Makes approximately 3 dozen)
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup (packed) golden brown sugar
- ½ cup solid vegetable shortening
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 ounces coarsely chopped high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina)
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (or macadamia nuts)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat both sugars, shortening, and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; stir. Add white chocolate and pecans; stir.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing two-inches apart; flatten slightly. Bake cookies until just set, about 13 minutes. Cool on racks.
Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Squares
On the boat, it’s often easier to bake off cookie dough in a single deep pan and cut it into squares rather than rotate several sheets of individual cookies. This is a great recipe is you are short on time.
(Yields approximately 24 2” bars)
Greased 13” x 9” pan, oven preset to 350 degrees
Cream together:
- 1 C shortening
- 1 C brown sugar
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Beat in two eggs and toss together and add to sugar-egg mixture and blend well:
- 1½ C flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
Fold in:
- 2 C uncooked oatmeal
- 1 C chopped nuts
Spread above mixture into pan and sprinkle evenly across the top one 12 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate morsels.
Bake in preheated oven for only one minute, until chocolate morsels are melted. Remove from oven and run a knife through the chocolate and dough to marble. Return pan to oven and bake until set and dough mixture is golden brown, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Test for doneness: A sharp knife or toothpick should come clean after being inserted into dough near center of pan.
Cool before cutting.
Captain Brenda Thomas and her husband Brian own and operate the Isaac H. Evans, part of the Maine Windjammer Association.
The views expressed on this Web site are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of Down East Enterprise or its employees.
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