It was Caribbean night at supper club. The day had started unpromisingly with a dense spring snowstorm, but by evening it was clear and almost warm. We ate and drank and admired the incredible view across Bellingham Bay.

Jon mixed up a batch of Hemingway Daiquiris. I like classic daiquiris, but these are even better: tart, refreshing, and with a nice depth from maraschino and fresh grapefruit juice (recipe at the bottom of the post). Cocktail umbrellas were a must.

To go with our cocktails, Roger and Mary made a platter of jerk chicken bites on pieces of fried plantain. The jerk marinade had been reduced to a thick sauce and added extra heat for those who wanted it.

We also had jerk pork (just called “Oink!”) made by Georgiann. These were marinated overnight, skewered with pieces of bell pepper, broiled and served with a mild mango dipping sauce.

Eventually we proceeded to the table and had bowls of squash and corn soup from Linda. A slight mixup between varieties of cayenne meant the soup was a little beyond perky, which created a lot of red faces, but it was delicious.

Jon and I made crab sliders, from Marcus Samuelsson’s book The Soul of a New Cuisine. I baked sweet potato dinner rolls, which were topped with a mixture of Dungeness crab, black beans, jalapenos and cilantro, then adorned with pickled cabbage, chile mayonnaise and rum-pickled habaneros and jalapenos. The pickled chiles were pretty awesome, but I forgot to take a picture of them before they were gone. We did save the pickling liquid, though, and packed it with onion slices to use later.

Jenise made two astonishing dishes, one with eggplant and one with shrimp, which went splendidly together (I really don’t know what was in either of them). The crowning glory was the sprinkle of deep fried pickled ginger on top. So, so good.

To go alongside there was a Haitian slaw from Mike, which was bright and cooling after all the spice.

And to finish, Roger and Mary presented little pavlovas topped with banana, mango and kiwi. I love meringue, so I was all over this.

Many beverages were drunk.

Hemingway Daiquiri

• 1 1/2 oz white rum
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/4 oz maraschino liqueur
• 1/4 oz fresh grapefruit juice
• cherry and lime wheel, for garnish

Combine the rum, maraschino and fruit juices in a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass (or a rocks glass if you like) and garnish with a lime wheel and a cherry. Drink on a sunny deck on a warm evening.