We now have the winners of Panntoa’s Galley Chef Recipe Contest!
From the recipes submitted by Panntoa members, our celebrity judge – Panntoa member Laura Domela – has selected these winners . . . [drum roll, please] . . .
FIRST PLACE:
Flank Steak Marinade
Joni Hardcastle & Dave Leon
SECOND PLACE:
Welsh Biscuits
Brian Helminen (aka Captain BRH)
THIRD PLACE:
Marinated Barbequed Salmon
Roger Hind
Judge Laura was looking for these qualities:
- Something I hadn’t seen (much) before.
- Something with easy-to-find ingredients or that one already has onboard. (Traveling by boat in remote areas means you can’t always find the ingredients needed for recipes).
- Something easy enough (and delicious enough) to become a staple for a boat chef. Having a good base of recreatable recipes that you can keep ingredients on hand for is so helpful. At home I’m fine having a dozen (or two!) jars of ingredients I bought and used once for a random recipe I wanted to try, but that’s definitely not an efficient use of space on a boat.
- Versatility!
Here are Laura’s comments on the winning recipes:
Flank Steak Marinade: I’m always on the lookout for a good marinade for proteins to throw on the grill, and this one is solid. I can see why it’s been a hit for decades. Tasty, with no hard-to-find ingredients (definitely stuff I already have on board, but maybe not the same for everyone). Followed the recipe exactly as written, and made awesome roast beef sandwiches with the leftovers the next two days. Super good!
Welsh Biscuits: Common ingredients found in a galley of a boater who bakes … and all easy-to-find if you don’t already have them. Versatile (good with coffee, or as a base for other desserts). I like the idea of experimenting with other spices in the roll-up version, too, like nutmeg or cardamom. We had these with vanilla bean ice cream and fresh blueberries. Delicious!
Marinated Barbecued Salmon: I appreciate the looseness of this recipe (no amounts!) … but that’s how I cook most of the time anyway … a bit of this, dash of that. Marinated for four hours, grilled, served with sauteéd broccolini and rice. Really nice flavor, but I think I could have marinated it longer, and maybe used scotch instead of bourbon for a slightly punchier flavor. Will try again with revisions!
You can find these recipes on the Panntoa website (in the Members Forum): https://panntoa.com/forums/topic/panntoas-first-galley-chef-recipe-contest/
All the recipes submitted for the contest by other Panntoa members are there as well. Judge Laura noted that they all “looked great.” Check them out and give them a try for yourself!
Among those recipes, you’ll find one for Skillet Hashbrown Surprise, submitted by Doug Ford, our Panntoa Vice Commodore. To avoid any possible appearance of unfairness, Doug specified that he wanted to share his recipe, but didn’t want it considered for the prizes. In her comments, Judge Laura said:
“If Doug hadn’t been ineligible, his recipe “Skillet Hashbrown Surprise” would have been a strong contender. This recipe has so many of the qualities I love: versatility, using up leftovers, breakfast!!, and endlessly customizable to suit individual likes/dislikes. All components of a good boat galley recipe!”
THE PRIZES:
Keep a sharp lookout for our winners as you cruise the Salish Sea in the months ahead. They will be enjoying one of these prizes Panntoa provided for this Galley Chef contest [Commodore not included]:
JUDGE LAURA:
If you’re wondering why we describe Laura Domela as our “Celebrity Judge,” just check out the website slowboat.com. Laura, her husband Kevin Morris, and Sam Landsman – all Panntoa members – lead small flotillas to Alaska and elsewhere, as well as offering cruising consultation and other services described on the website. They share these adventures more widely via the blogs they post, including many examples of Laura’s stunning professional photography. They’re just now departing on their latest cruise, so you can anticipate fresh blogs soon!
Laura’s Dungeness Crab Enchiladas
Ingredients:
A couple large handfuls of fresh crab (about a pound)
Cream Cheese (6-8 oz)
Shredded Mexican cheese blend, or jack cheese and/or cheddar cheese, your choice
Chopped garlic (I use 4-5 cloves)
Shallots (1-2 medium/large, diced)
Fresh jalapeños (1-2 Tbsp or so chopped, and more sliced thin for garnish)
Fresh spinach
Tortillas, corn or flour
Green enchilada sauce or salsa verde
Tomatoes, sliced thin to garnish (optional)
Olive oil for sauteéing
Sour cream (optional)
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Chopped green onions (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350-375.
Heat about a Tbsp or so of olive oil in a large, non stick frying pan over medium heat (this frying pan will hold all of your filling, including crab, in the end, to pick a big enough pan). When oil is hot, add diced shallots, chopped garlic, and chopped jalapeño. Sauté until translucent but not brown. Add a couple handfuls of fresh spinach until wilted. Add cream cheese and lower heat, stirring until it’s all melty. Then add crab and a handful or so of grated Mexican cheese. Stir to blend.
Spray a glass or metal 9×13 pan with olive oil or other nonstick spray, and lay/arrange the tortillas in the pan like taco shells with the open side up. I usually end up using flour tortillas, because they’re the right size to fit across the width of the pan I normally use. If you prefer corn tortillas, just layer them so the edges of the outermost tortillas are touching either side of the pan, width-wise.
Start portioning out the crab/cheese/spinach filling into the tortillas until you’re satisfied they’re all filled somewhat equally. If you need more filling, add some fresh spinach before rolling up. I usually start at one end of the pan and roll the enchiladas so the opening of the tortilla lengthwise is on the bottom of the pan. Once you’re finished rolling, top with green enchilada sauce (jarred tomatillo salsa works fine too…but I find that red sauce a bit strong for the crab). I like to have enough sauce so that there’s sauce along the edges and in the cracks between the enchiladas, but it doesn’t have to totally cover the enchiladas. I use my spatula along the edges of the pan to sort of pull away so sauce gets down in there a little more. Top with a bit more grated cheese, and then add thin sliced tomatoes and thin sliced jalapeños for color/design. Bake at about 350-375 until the cheese is bubbly. Let rest a couple minutes, then serve. Top with sour cream and chopped cilantro and or sliced green onions.
Notes:
This recipe is forgiving and endlessly customizable. Omit jalapeños if you want it less spicy. Use cilantro in the filling AND as a garnish. Add shrimp if you don’t have enough crab. Cut back on the cheese and add more seafood. Tomatoes in the filling instead of on top. I’ve used the jars of Frontera Tomatillo Salsa instead of enchilada sauce and it works just as well.
I came up with an earlier version of this recipe on our first trip to Alaska in 2015 when we were catching more crab than we knew what to do with. It’s been revised and improved over the years, and as you can tell, I still haven’t worked out the amounts, but like I said earlier, it’s fairly forgiving.
If you make the full version and have leftovers, wrap a couple leftover portions in foil. They reheat nicely in the oven. (Honestly, they’re even pretty great cold in the morning for breakfast.)
The photo above from our NT42 galley: a large pan of enchiladas for our flotilla group, plus two individual pans for the vegetarians on board (made with zucchini, spinach, and probably some beans). 🙂