Carol the Cook and her Marvelous Meals

24 May 2010


It is arguable, but I’m pretty sure the most important person on a ship is the cook. Good food really makes the difference between a happy ship and a miserable one. (Of course, the Captain and Chief Engineer are pretty critical too, but you get my point.) Carol, the cook on the Kaharoa, is awesome, not only does she whip up some fabulous food but also she bounces about the ship making sure things are tidy and people are doing well. Her smile greets us in the morning, along with the massive plate of hot breakfast food she prepares for everyone. About 10:30, we have a “smoko”, essentially a coffee break, but Carol usually makes a tasty treat (e.g., the éclairs pictured above) Lunch arrives about 12:30, and has consisted of a great variety of foods such as yummy sandwiches, pizza and scrumptious mac and cheese. Afternoon tea time is another nice break for a tasty morsel. Dinners are the most elaborate meals, usually including fish or other nicely cooked meat, potatoes or rice, and a variety of vegetables. For example, last night we had our choice of sliced pork with apple sauce, lamb with pepper sauce, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, and potatoes o’gratin. I encourage you to give Carol’s pepper sauce a try; it would be great with beef or lamb. I loved it. Off the top of her head, here ‘s the recipe:

Carol’s Pepper Sauce
300 mls cream
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon of cracked paper
1 teaspoon of chicken stock

Carol also prides herself on her delicious desserts. Some of the stand outs include a chocolate self-sourcing pudding, marshmallow ambrosia, and the banoffi pie (which she modified from a magazine recipe). Carol recommends Edmonds Cookery Book. For those looking for a new dessert, give this a try:

Banoffi Pie
Base
150g butter
250 g gingernut biscuits crushed

Topping
125 g butter
395 g can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp golden syrup
300 ml whipped cream
2 bananas, sliced (Carol made ½ with sliced strawberries)
Shaved chocolate to garnish

Directions:
Prepare the base- Melt butter and stir into crushed biscuits. Press into the base and sides of a loose-base flan tin. Refrigerate until firm.

Prepare the topping- Combine butter, sweetened condensed milk and golden syrup in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until boiling, reduce heat, stir constantly further 5 minutes. Spread caramel over base. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Spread slices of banana in a single layer over the caramel. Spread whipped cream over banana. Decorate with remaining sliced of banana (and or strawberry) and shaved chocolate.

Bon appétit!