The Menu
Pirate cuisine generally fell into one of two categories - plentiful or starvation. While at sea for long periods of time, fresh food would be scarce. But once the ships docked in the Caribbean, then the pirates would have plenty of food on which to feast. For your theme party I recommend a combination of shipboard and island dishes.
Salmagundi - This pirate stew, based on a British recipes, was essentially a conglomeration of whatever they had on hand. This Americanized version of the dish has the easiest ingredients to locate. Pirate Salmagundi might include turtle meat among other uncommon ingredients.
Hardtack - This type of non-perishable biscuit was a staple aboard pirate ships. You can serve these with your Salmagundi, but they're not too exciting on their own.
Codfish Fritters - Seafood would most certainly be part of a pirate's diet.
Jerk Chicken - When pirates landed on an island in the Caribbean, the eating was good. Barbecue was a common method for preparing food. This recipe will give you one of the popular, although spicy, flavors from the islands.
Puerto Rican Rice with Pigeon Peas - This is a very hearty side dish, and if you leave out the salt pork, it would serve as a main dish for any vegetarians at your party.
Sweet Potato Bread - This dessert bread incorporates many of the ingredients the pirates woul enjoy on the islands such as sweet potatoes, coconut and bananas.
Coconut Balls - You could rename these little sweets "canon balls" to tie in with your party theme.
Planters Punch - This punch will capture the spirit of pirate grog with the rum and citrus flavors, but a few other ingredients make it much more interesting than that.
Fruit Punch - Here's a punch for your friends who don't indulge in alcohol. Sadly, they'll probably win all the prizes for walking the plank without falling.
