Cooking Thanksgiving dinner on a sailboat

   Living aboard a sailboat means letting go of a few things…but not Thanksgiving!!! Captain Wifey and I are firm believers that cooking as liveaboards doesn't have to go the way of long hot showers & jumping on the bed. When we first moved aboard we were skeptical of our Force 10 propane stove. It didn't take long, however, for Captain Wifey to prove that she is not just a domestic goddess, but an aquatic domestic goddess! But does our sailboat's lack of counter space, only two burners, and a small oven make it impossible for even her to make due on the most important eating day of the year? Let it begin!

   The first thing she did is find recipes that she felt comfortable preparing and combine recipes that best utilize our cooking areas. She searched online for these recipes using foodgawker. Also, there's some good apps (Simply Cookin) that save multiple internet recipes in one place so you don't have to worry about the websites refreshing while cooking.
  To make the actual day of cooking more manageable, Captain Wifey prepped the day before - basically, a lot of chopping. There is only the two of us to cook for but we wanted lots of leftovers. Most of the recipes prepared serve 6-8.

   The Captain always likes to try new recipes, so for the menu she chose traditional recipes with a twist. Instead of green bean casserole, we had Roasted Parmesan Green Beans. Instead of a pumpkin pie for dessert, she made a Savory Pumpkin Spiral Pie with Goat Cheese (above) as a side dish. Other side dishes included Sweet Spice Roast Carrots, Mashed Potatoes, Sausage & Apple Stuffing (below), Cranberry Orange Sauce, and Buttered Rosemary Rolls. Since there is no way we'd be able to fit even the smallest turkey in our oven, she cooked a cornish hen as the meat course. To end the meal, the Apple Pie Parfait can be cooked in the microwave (our boat actually has one) or on the stove and topped with whip cream instead of ice cream (ice cream doesn't stay frosty aboard…for some reason).

The meal is going great, here's a few tips if you try on your vessel:
- Have a second fuel tank full in case the first empties before you've finished cooking
- Fill water tank
- Try to find recipes for the oven and stove top to utilize all cooking areas at the same time


General tips for cooking larger meals:
- Pre-prep as much as possible the day before
     Rinse & cut all fruits, vegetables & herbs & store amount for each recipe in separate
       containers 
     Measure and mix seasonings for each recipe
     Label all items
     Don't forget to thaw frozen items
- Read through recipes multiple times to become familiar with them
- Create a timeline for when to do specific steps
- Make sure all pots, pans & dishes to be used are clean & in reach
- Make sure all ingredients are easily in reach and pre-measured if possible

   Voilà! Thanksgiving aboard!!! Anything is possible! Next year: maybe we should cook the meal while sailing?!?!?!?
   ~Paul & Amber [this post = all Amber!]      ETC

RECIPES
Roasted Parmesan Green Beans
Sweet Spice Roast Carrots
Savory Pumpkin Spiral Pie with Goat Cheese
Sausage & Apple Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes - boiled & then roughly mashed with seasoned salt, sour cream, butter,
   Parmesan cheese & chopped parsley
Cranberry Orange Sauce
Pioneer Woman Buttered Rosemary Rolls
Chicken Tabaka Recipe ~ replaced tomato juice with water
Apple Pie Parfaits with Whipped Cream ~ cooked on stove for 15 minutes

SHOPPING LIST
5 medium potatoes
2 firm apples, chopped
fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves minced or nicely chopped
4 tbsp of cilantro chopped
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
zest of 1 orange
1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
12 oz green beans, trimmed
1 cup celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1 onion, grated
1.5 teaspoons sage
1 bunch of parsley
2 lb of pumpkin, peeled and cut in small cubes
800g baby dutch carrots
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (more or less, depending on what you like)
granola 
2 1/2 tbsp of ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp of ground cumin
2 tbs honey
2 tbsp of oil
coarse sea salt
Ground pepper
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoons seasoned salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp of coarse semolina 
whipped cream
caramel sauce
frozen, unbaked dinner rolls
1 egg, beaten
450-500 gr. of phyllo pastry sheets
melted butter
2 oz sour cream
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
6 oz goat's cheese, crumbled
1 whole cornish hen (8 oz, i use two hens to feed the family)
1 pound italian sausage
1-2 cups of tomato juice or water
1 loaf whole wheat bread

TIMELINE
Total cooking time: 6 hours
0:00 Cranberry sauce on small stove & sauté onions for pumpkin pie on large burner
0:30 Boil pumpkins on large burner & preheat oven
0:45 Toast bread
1:00 Start making savory pumpkin pie
1:30 Cook stuffing on large burner
2:00 Savory pumpkin pie in oven
2:15 Boil potatoes on larger burner
2:45 Make mashed potatoes
3:00 Stuffing in oven
4:00 Carrots and beans in oven
4:45 Cook hen on large burner
5:00 Rolls in the oven
5:30 Cook apples on stove & whip cream