Rich Vargo is refreshingly honest in explaining why, back in 1995, he got his first boat.
"Like everything a guy does, it helps us get women," he says, laughing.
Well, that's only half true. The Munhall, Pa., mortgage broker also loves being on the water when snow and rain give way to balmy weather and Pittsburgh's boating community floats back to life after its long winter nap. So much so, that four nights a week from May through October, Vargo and his girlfriend overnight on his latest acquisition, a 34-foot Cruisers Yachts 3470.
"We use it as a summer home," he says of the boat, which he purchased three years ago and docks at Silky's Crow's Nest in Sharpsburg.
Seeing that one can't live on hot wings alone (Silky's serves some of the best in the city, Vargo says), the couple has become pretty proficient at the tricky art of galley cooking -- no small task considering how the kitchen in a boat is a tiny slice of an already tight space.
Not only must every drop of water for coffee, drinking and cooking be carried on board, but also any dish one or the other whips up has to be nuked in a microwave, cooked on a small two-burner electric stove or grilled on charcoal. Perishables and leftovers, meanwhile, have to fit into a fridge a quarter of the size of a typical house refrigerator, while dishes get washed in a camper-sized sink.
And did we mention that the boat is continually moving with the Allegheny River's current, even when it's docked?
Like all smart boaters who cook while they're on the water, Vargo, 43, and his girlfriend have adopted this familiar mantra: Keep it simple and easy.
One of their favorite meals is filet mignon, which they cook on a small charcoal grill they keep on deck (she likes hers "mooing" while he likes his incinerated). They're also partial to a simple dish of lump crabmeat mixed with garlicky noodles. Total prep time: about 10 minutes.
Larger, more upscale boats often come with separate ovens, refrigerators with built-in freezers and plenty of granite countertop space. Not so with small cruising boats (defined as less than 40 feet). So you have to be organized and plan every single meal, beverage and snack down to the last sprinkle of salt, toasted crouton or teaspoon of sugar, says professional sea cook Kathy Farron, author of "The Gimbaled Gourmet," a cookbook for the boating life. The most efficient way? Put pen to paper.
With counter and cabinet space so often an issue -- boats are like old houses in that there's never, ever enough storage -- it also doesn't hurt to do all your chopping, slicing, measuring and marinating beforehand. A smart galley chef also knows to repackage staples like sugar, cereal, coffee and spices into Tupperware containers, empty pill bottles or small plastic vials or resealable plastic bags.
"My father told me early on I should have bought stock in Ziploc because they're invaluable," says Farron, who also pens a monthly food column for Northwest Yachting magazine.
Smarter still is bundling those packages together into individual meals and labeling them with marking pens, so you don't have to think too much when people get hungry.
To reduce the amount of time you'll actually spend in the galley, pre-cook whatever you can so all you really have to do when you're on board is reheat, mix or finish a meal. Or choose meats and fish that are packaged in pouches and require no refrigeration.
Vargo makes the noodles and garlic marinade for his crab dish at home and then brings it aboard in containers, so all he has to do at mealtime is toss the ingredients together in an electric skillet. That leaves plenty of time for socializing with fellow boaters over a coconut shell (or two or three) of his wicked Pirate Punch.
But what if you actually don't mind cooking?
The easiest option is simple one-pot meals that employ what Don Jacobson calls "straight-line cooking." Jacobson, co-author of "The One Pan Galley Gourmet: Simple Cooking on Boats" (McGraw Hill, $16.95), which is something of a Bible among boating foodies, explains that you start with this, throw in that and keep adding different items until you've got a tasty dish.
Boaters, he says in a phone interview from his home in Chicago, are not dissimilar from campers and hikers in that they're limited by what they can carry. "But when it comes right down to it," he continues, "not that many meals are terribly complicated."
These simple recipes are geared to floating kitchens, but they will taste just as good on land.
PIRATE PUNCH
Rich Vargo gleaned the recipe for this powerful grog from a man from Nepal who worked at the Pirate Museum in Nassau, Bahamas.
1 ounce Bacardi O orange rum
1 ounce Bacardi Gold rum
1 ounce Captain Morgan rum
1 ounce raspberry-flavored rum
4 ounces orange juice
4 ounces pineapple juice
Dash fresh lime juice
Dash grenadine syrup
Fill a tall glass with ice cubes. Add liquor, juices and grenadine syrup. Shake. Enjoy.
Makes one drink.
-- Rich Vargo
CRABBY NOODLES
The key to this succulent dish is to not skimp on the seafood. Vargo insists on colossal lump crabmeat.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2/3 cup Alice White chardonnay, or other white wine
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound corkscrew pasta, cooked
1 pound canned crabmeat
2 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Heat oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until garlic browns. Add wine, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and red pepper. Bring to boil and cook for 4 minutes or until lightly reduced.
Add pasta, and stir until heated through.
Gently stir in crabmeat and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Makes 4 servings.
-- Rich Vargo
STICKY CHICKEN
This quick chicken dish can be served with quinoa or another grain or atop a bun.
1/2 pound boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup water
1 tablespoon ketchup
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a pan, and cook over medium flame until chicken is cooked.
-- "The One Pan Galley Gourmet" by Don Jacobson and John Roberts
(Gretchen McKay can be reached at gmckay(at)post-gazette.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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