I’m weighing anchor with a little boating and nautical fun!
A nautical insulated picnic tote, plates, and glasses set sail to me for a belated birthday gift a month ago. I broke them out for their maiden voyage last week when we had a slight reprieve in the weather and the mercury moved down from sweltering to hot. :)
Towels provide a tablecloth and absorbent seating while a pillow keeps us anchored for a little picnicking on the pontoon!
Rope cocktail plates purchased a couple of years ago from Pottery Barn are first mate to Tommy Bahama melamine anchor plates.
Wheelhouse Chardonnay is chilling for our picnic. . .
And I packed an orzo salad that’s ideal for summer. You can make this salad in advance and chill it or serve it warm after assembling. Best of all, it can be thrown together in 9 minutes, the time it takes for the orzo to cook!
Cook your orzo according to box directions and drain. While orzo is cooking, chop or shred some chicken, (I use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for a short cut), add some chopped sundried tomatoes and chopped baby spinach. Add pine nuts, sliced black olives, capers, and shredded or grated Parmesan cheese. Mix your ingredients together and together with a Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette or Italian dressing. I like Newman’s Own Parmesan & Roasted Garlic Dressing.
For a little boating-inspired food fun and we’re setting sail with Deviled Egg Boats!
This is a cousin to a BLT Deviled Eggs, with basil instead of lettuce for Bacon, Basil & Tomato Deviled Eggs!
Makes 12 deviled egg halves
Ingredients
6 hard-boiled eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (+ more for garnish)
2 tablespoons chopped tomato (+ more for garnish)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (+ more for garnish)
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
Peel hard-boiled eggs and halve lengthwise, removing yolk. Set whites aside. Place yolks in a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard salt & pepper, stirring to combine. Stir in bacon, tomato, and basil, mixing well. Fill egg white halves with yolk mixture. Top with additional bacon, basil and tomato if desired to serve.
You can find a printable recipe, here.
You can hoist sails with scrapbook paper squares, folded into triangles. Seal the triangles together with double-sided tape or a glue stick. Bamboo knot picks make a handy mast (you can find knot picks at World Market).
For more food that might float your boat, help yourself to. . .
Lemon Basil Shrimp Salad
Watermelon, Pecan, and Gorgonzola Salad
Cobb Salad Boats with Basil Leaf Sails
Watermelon Fruit Boat
Caprese Stacks with Basil Leaf Sails
Red Velvet Cupcake Sailboats
Hope you’re staying cool as you sail through summer!
Thank you for your visit, I’m joining:
Metamorphosis Monday
Looks like you had a fun day Mary! Lovin’ your little deviled egg boats:@)
What a lovely and delish way to spend a cruise! As always, total eye candy that delights…you are so clever.
Your husband is the wonderful benefactor of your creative spirit but I’m not sure mine wouldn’t tease me if I served him an egg with a flag! lol Great job!!
Always look forward to enjoying your creativity!
Now where did you find those toothpicks for making those little sails?
Wonderful!! I bet it was a fun day on the boat!! Don’t you just love Red, White & Blue? Those colors are so versatile. Gotta try your orzo salad. Thanks for sharing😍😎😍😎⚓️⛵️⚓️⛵️
Hello,
Today, I try to write you in English, I dare….in French, we have an expression : Je me jette à l’eau ! I hope you will be indulgent !
I like your nautical picnic ambience.
Yours towels make a very pretty tablecloth and make more confortable yours seats.
Your menu is very appetizing and the small boats very original;
OUF !!! I stop because I am exhausted….no, I am joking !
Friendly.
Martine
Martine, Your English WAY better than my French! :)
Mary, love all the boats and great recipes. Can’t wait to try some of these. Thanks for the inspiration.
Happy belated birthday wishes, Mary! It looks like such a fun pontoon picnic that you’ve prepared. I’m loving those darling deviled egg boats, and the orzo salad sounds like the perfect accompaniment. You sure know how to enjoy boating in style!
All so DARLING but I am hungry already at 5am and it shall be a scary start to my day!
What a boat load of fun and fabulous Mary! I am crazy over your nautical towels, pillow and dishware! What a delicious picnic, your deviled egg boats are a great pairing with the orzo salad~ all your boat creations look very yummy, who can resist anything topped with a colorful sail! Your post is so refreshing during this heat wave, a picnic on the water sounds like a perfect way to beat the heat~
Jenna
Oh, my goodness…all of this just looks magical! How can you have so many gorgeous table settings? Ahhhhhhh…I love it!
Blessings,
Gert
Ohhhh my wordddddd..I just love it!!!!
Love it all, Mary! I think you’re the queen of tabletop decor!
A little boat time sounds perfect, Mary. Your details make it all the more so. Love the PB rope edged plates. Your picnic brings back memories of all the picnics I packed through the years during our sailing days. Makes me long for our Hyacinths once again. It’s been far too many years since those bygone carefree days!
I ADORE a theme. Really. That’s why I am utterly smitten with all of the things in this post! I love how even your food fits the boating/nautical theme. You do a wonderful job of putting things together.
Best,
Michelle from simplysantabarbara.blogspot.com
Thank you for your continued creativity. I look forward to all of your posts with such anticipation. ~m
Love the nautical theme! Also I’m going to try your Orzo salad, sounds perfect for a beach day with my gal pals!
You are so clever, Mary!! Always an exceptionally beautiful and delicious feast … for the eyes and the stomach!! Thank you for always including the recipes. I will definitely make the orzo salad this summer!
Thanks again!
PS: Mary, I have a confession. I am not a deviled egg fan. I haven’t even tried one since my youth but yours look so good, I am going to be making those soon, too!!
Too cute and so many yummy recipe ideas. I’m excited!!
What an awesome post. I love the nautical theme and the scrumptious looking food! Your pontoon outing must have been so relaxing…I would love to have been a stow-away! I’m in awe of your talent and endless energy! I so look forward to each and every post…..thank you.
Wow! I want to take a twilight cruise with you and the girls on the Crest! Lovely picnic. Everything tastes better on the lake, doesn’t it!
BTW You won my Mad Tea Party giveaway (a copy of Everything Alice). Please email me your address!
xo,
RJ
How fun!
Always love your nautical themes… heck, always love ALL of your themes!
May you continue to sail in joy, Mary!
Fabulous!! Love the plates and the sails. I need to make a run to World Mkt for some of those bamboo knots….among other things.
Mary, the boat decor is perfect and the food delish looking…I got hungry just looking at it all. You always come up with such creative ideas…I’ve learned a lot of unique and inspiring things from your blog, so thank you so very much. Also, I hope you had a terrific birthday!
Love, love, love your nautical touches. And oh my gosh, the food looked delish!
Jeanine
Ahoy!! Salute!! franki
Love all these recipes and nautical ideas. Looks like a great picnic on the water :-) Bwg ~~~
What fun! From the deviled egg boats to your nautical china, you’ve created a memorable cruise. Love all of your ideas. Happy belated birthday! xxoo
JUST BEAUTIFUL, Mary……Love all your post. I wished I lived near you. You are one talented lady!!!!!!!!!
Seriously! I cook and bake aLOT ! I just want to know when you have the time to put all that together! Really! I would love to watch you in action! I’m tired just thinking about it! It’s fabulous! Great job!
You continue to amaze and inspire me! I love this!
I love it all!! I want to come along. :)
I just love those little sail boats – you have managed to change everything into the cutest little boats!! I love them all.
Am I the only one dying to know where you got that fabulous picnic tote? I’ve Googled myself silly and found not one darn thing! Care to share? Pretty please.
Thanks for any info. Your blog is soooooo very special!
Hi, it was a birthday gift but she told me it came from HomeGoods :)
>
Thank you so much for the reply! You can’t beat HomeGoods. And your friend who gave you such a cute gift is a keeper, too. Ha!
Thanks again.
Absolutely fantastic post with so many ideas! Love the beach towels as tablecloths. The plates/dishes are wonderful and so perfectly themed. Basil leaf sails – another fun idea. All of your salads look scrumptious and the boat bowls are lovely. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Mary! I adore EVERY pontoon post and picture myself on there with you. ALL the food looks delicious; I made the orzo salad last summer and we loved it. I have to make that shrimp soon!! What a great gift the tote is! Perfect. I have been a little crazy, my Joe is having hip replacement on Mon., the 27th so there have been alot of pre surgery appts to get to. We both can’t wait til the surgery so he will get RELIEF! He is in terrible pain right now. Have a beautiful weekend. We have had HOT and HUMID but now it is glorious here: low 80’s and NO humidity. Wish it would stay like this. XO, Pinky
This looks so inviting on the boat. The tote is cute and I love the Tommy Bahama plates. Those deviled eggs look yummy- the bacon crumbles are a great addition. :-)
Mary all of your food styling is fantastic! Thanks for sharing with Home Sweet Home!
Absolutely LOVE the dishes. Did you buy them online? I would love to know where, if you did!
Hi Gail, They came from HomeGoods last spring :)
These are really great ideas for decorating and eating during a fun-filled holiday out on the water. Even if you are renting a party boat that can host a lot people, doing something like this is not unreasonable. In fact, most boat rentals include fun features like biminis, platform decks, stereo equipment, and safety gear, but not food. And, adding in the holiday decor just makes your party a little more festive. Thanks again for sharing, I am sure your readers are sure to be inspired!