Upping the Sundowner Game

Sundowners are just a cruiser-term for cocktails. Whether or not alcohol is involved, any gathering on a boat (or the beach) at sundown time usually involves some kind of snack. These can be as simple as a bowl of nuts or popcorn or sticks of carrots, or as involved as you want them to be. When invited to other boats, we usually pack a bag that includes our drinks and cups plus a nibble to share. Here are a couple of fun and easy ones that pack a bigger punch than the effort warrants.

*We take our sundowner tradition to land sometimes too*

After I posted a photo of this on Instagram, a friend reminded me that this general idea is one that’s been in my family for decades: she pointed out that my great-grandmother used to give out bags of these (or something similar) as presents on just-because occasions. I do remember that, and my grandmother’s version that used thinly sliced bagels. Both Edith and Marge used butter and lemon-pepper seasoning to flavor their little toasts, while mine are more mundane. The deliciousness just begs for adaptation in any case.

*Little toasts at the start of their oven stint*

A backstory. We’re in the French islands (now number 4) and decided back in St Martin that we needed to try to find the best baguette and pain au chocolat in the Eastern Caribbean. Not that we’re hitting every single boulangerie, mind you, but we’re trying as many as we come across. Sometimes this means we’ve got a surplus of baguettes waiting to be eaten - and baguettes don’t age well. I’m not throwing them out (well, we’ve had a couple that were so bad they had to be thrown out) . . .

Over the summer last year, when we were living with our friends Wendy and Johnny in Centreville, Friday nights often involved taking the powerboat out on the river for a sundowner evening, Chesapeake style. We’d pack a picnic dinner and some cold drinks, towels for the dog, and off we’d go. Dinner was always the same: excellently smoky bbq’d chicken thighs, veggies and dip, and crackers and cheese. Let’s not forget the chocolate for dessert . . . One night we decided to mix it up with some toasted baguette slices topped with Trader Joe’s bruschetta topping, and from then on that had a permanent place on the River Dinner menu.

I was inspired by this memory (and maybe echoes of Marge and Edith!) one day when faced with 3 half-baguettes. Slice them thin, add a quick brush of garlic-infused olive oil, a grind or two of hot pepper flakes, a sprinkle of salt . . . bake them for maybe 20 minutes at a low-ish oven (it’s a boat oven. Temperatures are sadly irrelevant.) then leave the trays in the oven while it all cools down. You want them crunchy and dry, ready to take a slice of saucisson sec. Or a slab of brie. Or even a topping of chopped up market-fresh tomatoes tossed with some basil.

*Sliced baguette, ready for topping and toasting*

Sundowner nibbles can be deliciously repetitive. There’s nothing at all wrong with a slice of baguette or a cracker topped with cheese. Adding these crunchy crostini to the offerings is taking the appetizer game up just a tiny notch.

Something Edith and Marge would be very pleased with.

***

A second uptick on the sundowner game involves some long-life ingredients. It’s different enough that people take notice, yet easy enough to bring to a last-minute invitation. No refrigeration required!

Silken tofu comes in aseptic packaging (think foil-lined waxed cardboard boxes, like you find with long-life milk), making it shelf-stable until opened. I’ve only really seen the, well, silken texture before: this works great in a blended sauce but is far too loose to cube up with any kind of success. When I saw the “extra firm” on the shelf in St Barths, I scooped up a box to try it. Finally, after a couple of months, I got around to breaking it out. The texture is a bit more silky smooth than the refrigerated kind, and it definitely breaks apart more easily than the other kind, but the extra-firm tastes and behaves much better than I expected.

Side note: Jeremy’s not a big fan of tofu. Still, I’m always on the lookout for decent, shelf-stable, easy-to-use protein: this can be added to a curry sauce, take the place of paneer in a yummy saag paneer, or serve as a simple bulk adder in a veggie stirfry. Sometimes it’s nice to have an alternative to beans.

I like to press as much water as possible out of any tofu; this is no exception. Open the box, drain out the water, then place the whole block onto either a couple of layers of paper towels OR a clean dish towel, then wrap the towel around the block and weigh it down (I use a plate with a couple of books on top) while you chop the other ingredients.

In a shallow bowl or reusable/sealable container suitable for serving mix:

2 cloves of garlic and a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, minced well
3 TBS (+/-) soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce or aminos
2-3 dashes sesame oil
1 TBS vinegar (NOT balsamic)

Remove wrapping from your pressed tofu, then cut into cubes big enough to be picked up with a toothpick. Gently toss the cubes of tofu into the dressing mixture and let sit, turning occasionally, for up to 3 hours. Much after that and the texture begins to suffer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced fresh scallions right before serving.

Serve with toothpicks. Any leftover tofu (hahaha) makes a great addition to salads.