Thanksgiving Chat & A Slice of Advice from Charter Yacht Chef Shelly

Today, either you are cooking or traveling in preparation for Thanksgiving festivities with family and friends. This week for us all is about pondering gratitude. I'm all for it. I'm all for putting focus on the things that we're grateful for in our lives. We need to take time out to be grateful for all the silly annoyances we endure, all the itches and aches and heartbreaks and mundane difficulties, all the tricks and rationalizations we serve ourselves in order to distract ourselves, just to survive.  Its a great time to flirt with the "meaning of it all". To invite love in. To create a positive connection. To let go of something toxic. To embrace something raw or something tender. To risk something wonderful. Or scary. Because the risk gleams with promise for a better future.

It's a great time to "just let it all go"…allow in the love of friends and family around you…even those that make you nuts…..and simply eat cake!

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving, small or quiet or big & boisterous. Be "well fed", in every aspect of your life! And enjoy a slice and the flavors of the Caribbean from the galley of yacht Three Moons!

Chef Shelly Tucker
s/v Three Moons

Tipsy Caribbean Cruzan Chocolate Chip & Pumpkin Cake

1 pkg. (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 can (15oz) pumpkin pie filling
1/4 cup Cruzan Blackstrap Molasses Rum
2 large eggs
1 tsp. almond flavoring
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup finely chopped pecans

1. Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.

2. Place the cake mix, pumpkin, rum, eggs, flavoring, spices and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake until lightly browned about 42-50 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Carefully pour the following warm glaze over the cake while it's hot:

GLAZE: Mix together and microwave at 1 minute intervals until very warm: 1/4 cup Cruzan Blackstrap Molasses Rum, 1/8 cup granulated sugar, 2 TBS. butter and 1 TBS. semisweet chocolate chips.

4. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The longer it sits in the fridge, the better it gets!

A Little Bird Told Us...

We recently heard at our USVI Charter Yacht Show from several brokers that clients are beginning to book more monohulls than catamarans because guests have learned they can book a large monohull for about the same price as a mid-sized catamaran.

"Foot per foot, a monohull is a better value for you"! What do you think?
 
It's interesting to learn that due to the economy, most industry leaders agree that the charter trends in hiring a private yacht & crew for a sailing vacation are leaning toward monohull yachts.
 
Upcoming Weeks in 2012 Available:

    •    Feb. 19 - Mar. 31
    •    Apr. 1 - May 23
    •    Jun. 9 - Jun. 30

Lots to Be Thankful For...Like This Comment from a Yacht Charter Broker:
"I have always ‘pushed’ monohulls (I’m a traditionalist!), and love educating my clients to the fact that a catamaran is simply a floating hotel with very little sensation of being on the water. They’re noisy, and yes, Virginia, you CAN get seasick on a catamaran. Do you want to slice through the waves, or hobby horse to windward...pound & pound...turning on the engines just to tack through the wind?  Okay, that's a bit tough; but I do say that while a sailboat heals, the degree of healing can be modified with shortened sail and falling off the wind a bit. I also tell clients that their crew are there for your comfort, not to race with the rail under. The heavy keel keeps you from tipping over AND..."
 
"Have you ever seen a famous painting of a catamaran?  There’s no romance!  No beauty.  No charm."  

(Wow, I'll bet you never expected all that, did you? Neither did we!)

Fifteen years ago this month, we purchased s/v Three Moons in Ft. Lauderdale, not quite knowing what we had gotten ourselves into! We have been blessed with amazing support along with years of happy repeat clients.

To those of you who've experienced the "romance of sailing" with Three Moons, we heartily say Thank you! If you haven't sailed with us, then join our adventures via Facebook or Twitter.
 
Cheers to All and Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Capt. Randy & Shelly Tucker

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