Cruise Cuisine – Supper in Sapphire

On our third day of the cruise, we were back in Sapphire for dinner. Things were pretty relaxed, and while there was a dress code, no one was really enforcing it.

We were getting more into the swing of things and finally noticed this little addition to the menu that featured an unusual appetizer: “Rare Finds”. My partner in food was much more willing and able to take advantage of this particular little gem. While I returned to the shrimp cocktail, he adventurously ordered the Escargots Bourgignonne (snails in Burgandy). They were not presented in shell, but on a special plate with numerous cups around the rim, each holding a snail. The flavor of the sauce they had been cooked in was outstanding, the heartiness of wine mixed with spices and butter. I was at least brave enough to try that, if not the gastropods themselves.

Sadly, in our excitement, neither of us remembered to take photos of the appetizers.

Our main courses were more mainstream, being beef and chicken, but were as delicious as everything else we had been served to date.

Chicken Milanese with charred lemon, sautéed green beans, and steamed vegetables.

Flat Iron Steak with au jus, a baked potato and steamed veggies.

On we went, after a measured pause, to dessert. One of the selections truly surprised me, being lower calorie and having no added sugar. Of course I had to try it and I was not disappointed.

Chocolate Panna Cotta. A deliciously chocolate dessert with lowered calories and no added sugars.

Cheese Plate with whole grain bread, blueberries and strawberries, A Swiss-type cheese, a bleu cheese, a Gouda, a Cheddar and a Brie.

If for nothing else, time spent together with excellent food readily available made this trip more than worth the price.

— Ann Cathey

Cruise Cuisine – the Lido Collection

No matter what sort of cruise you are on, some things are included in the price package – like food. While some of the fancier establishments come with an upcharge, like Fahrenheit 555 on the Carnival Breeze, many are part of the experience.

The Carnival Breeze offers a lot of food, and we tried out some of the offerings on board during our sea days.

 

The Captain’s Pasta Bar

This lovely lunch option is hosted in the Cucina del Capitano. You are given a printed from upon which you mark your choices of pasta, sauce, meats, and vegetables. What comes back to you is nothing short of delicious.

The Build Your Own Pasta Bowl from Cucina del Capitano. Chicken, shrimp, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, bowtie pasta and Alfredo sauce topped with grated Parmesan.

 

Guy’s Burger Joint

That’s right – Guy Fieri has a burger joint on several of the Carnival line ships. Not only was the staff great about leaving the buns off, the condiments bar had bacon and sautéed mushrooms in addition to lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions, mayo mustard, ketchup, chipotle mayo, and a list of hot sauces and salsas.

Two patties with cheese, chipotle mayo, fries and ketchup.

Two patties with cheese sautéed mushroom, bacon, pickles, mayo and fries.

 

Mongolian Wok

Step right up and pick your veggies and noodles, putting however much you like in a bowl. give it to the chef who will cook it up in a wok for you, adding your meat or meats of choice, and your choice of mild, medium or hot sauce. What he hands back to you is a steaming bowl of customized stir-fry that made our day.

noodles, zucchini, yellow squash, bamboo shoots, baby corn, mushrooms, chicken, and Szechuan sauce (hot).

Glass noodles, green peas, green beans, baby corn, mushrooms, zucchini, bean sprouts, chicken with black bean sauce (mild).

 

Fat Jimmy’s C-side BBQ

While not BBQ in the Texas sense, this was some wholesome chow served grilled or chilled as tradition calls for.

Pulled pork on toasted bun, roasted eggplant and sweet potato, baked beans, habanero aioli, coleslaw, and hidden in the back is some grilled sausage.

Coleslaw, Italian sausage (mild), Kielbasa (medium), pulled pork, and roasted eggplant and sweet potato. Forgot the mustard…

 

We also breakfasted at the BlueIguana Cantina, nibbled a bit of Pirate Pizza, took in all day meals in the Lido Marketplace, and partook of the Seaday Brunches in the Blush dining salon. Some meals were decidedly better than others, but very little let us down.

–Ann Cathey

Cruisin’ Cuisine

My partner in crime and I were treated to a Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Breeze earlier this month. Along with some other WanderingTexans, we visited Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

Carnival Breeze at Grand Cayman. Shown here with two tenders who ferried passengers back and forth to the mainland.

While this may not be a big deal to some folks, it was a lifetime achievement event for us. We not only ate local at each stop, we also enjoyed the creative talents of the Breeze’s Executive Chef Joaquin R. Dias. The man is a genius to be able to do what he does for as many people as are served aboard ship.

Dos XX daft beer in Cozumel

 

We managed to get photos of most of the delectable treats and exquisite main dishes we sampled on this trip, and I will be posting them in groups for your viewing pleasure. From the simple to the elaborate, it was a foodies’ delight!

I truly hope you enjoy the upcoming posts about the things we were able to see and eat/drink while on this wonderful adventure.

–Ann Cathey

Food Porn Episode 6

This episode of Food Porn is brought to you by my kitchen. The food photos were, as they have been in this series, culled from stock photography. I’ve added a little info about each one, though I’m told they speak for themselves, especially the ones that scream, “BACON!”

Bunless bacon cheeseburgers! Broiled beef patties, hickory smoked bacon, shredded colbyjack cheese, and kosher dill slices.

 

Okay this one is not from my kitchen, but from a campout we enjoyed a month or so ago. Chicken Enchilada Lasagne with fresh diced tomatoes, a corn and black bean mix, with a side of French bread and butter.

 

Yellow curried chicken over white rice with mini pita on the side.

 

Scrambled ham with spices and ham sandwiched on a fresh butter croissant.

 

A heart attack on a butter croissant with coarse mustard, three layers of maple bacon, kosher dills, and colbyjack cheddar cheese.

 

Let’s get another look at that bunless bacon cheeseburger, shall we?

–Ann Cathey

Simple Wine Pairings

A lot of people enjoy wine, but have not yet learned how best to pair wines with food for the maximum enjoyment. While I am not a big wine drinker, my father made sure I was at least educated in the basics. In his honor I will share some of what he taught me.

We start with the simplest of rote teachings that I grew up with: Red wines for red meat (beef, venison, buffalo, etc), white wines for white meat (fowl, pork, etc). That is merely a starting point – there are so many delicate variations to explore that wine enthusiasts, each with his or her own opinions, abound. Let’s just stick with some basics.

There are so many more varieties of grapes being grown around the world that to try to cover them all at once would take a really long time and likely confuse many readers.

All of the wines mentioned below are readily available from numerous vineyards, and consequently from vine to vine are a little different. You may find that you prefer the flavor of a wine from California or Texas over that of the same type of wine produced in Europe, or vice versa. Experiment with the differences and find the wines that you like best.

Personally, there is little difference between a table wine and a cooking wine. A little for me, a little for the pot, as it were. On the opposite end of the spectrum, many people consider wines to be categorized as only to be savored from the glass, while others are good only for cooking, and yet others are only good for making vinegar. As with any taste experience, personal taste is everything.

 

RED WINES

Cabernet Sauvignon is a red wine that often sports hints of cherry or blackberry. It has a  full-bodied, but firm flavor, quite gripping when young. With age, rich currant qualities come forward. Vanilla notes, if present, come not from the fruit but from the oak treatment.
-Food-wine pairing: best with simply prepared red meat.
-Cheeses: Cheddar, Gouda, Edam, Havarti

Merlot is the go-to for most people starting to experiment with wine. It is wasy to drink and excellent for most cooking projects. Most often it will sport black-cherry and herbal flavors.
-Food-wine pairing: any will do
-Cheeses: Gouda, Camembert, Gorgonzola, Brie, Cheddar

Pinot Noir is very unlike it’s cousin, Cabernet Sauvignon. The structure is delicate and fresh with very soft tannins. This is related to the low level of polyphenols. The aromatics are very fruity (cherry, strawberry, plum), often with notes of tea-leaf or damp earth
-Food-wine pairing: excellent with grilled salmon, chicken, lamb and Japanese dishes
-Cheeses: Swiss, Port Salut, Gruyere, Feta

Syrah, or Shiraz, is a very popular wine for both drinkability and table pairings. The shiraz variety gives hearty, spicy reds. While shiraz is used to produce many average wines it can produce some of the world’s finest, deepest, and darkest reds with intense flavors and excellent longevity. It offers aromas and flavors of wild black-fruit (such as blackcurrant), with overtones of black pepper spice and roasting meat. The abundance of fruit sensations is often complemented by warm alcohol and gripping tannins.
-Food-wine pairing: meat (steak, beef, wild game, stews, etc.)
-Cheeses: Sharp Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, Roquefort

Zinfandels are sporty wines offering raspberry, blackberry, black cherry, raisin, and prune flavors. For decades zinfandel was California’s grape, though now it is grown all over the west coast of the United States, in Australia, Italy, and elsewhere, and its ancestry has been traced to Croatia. California zinfandel remains the model for all others, and it grows well and vines distinctively all over the state.
-Food-wine pairing: any will do, though very acceptable with fruits
-Cheeses: Double Gloucester, Asiago, Bleu, Feta, aged Gouda or Cheddar

 

WHITE WINES

Chardonnay is often wider-bodied (and more velvety) than other types of dry whites, with rich citrus (lemon, grapefruit) flavors. Fermenting in new oak barrels adds a buttery tone (vanilla, toast, coconut, toffee). Tasting a moderately priced Californian Chardonnay should give citrus fruit flavors, hints of melon, vanilla, some toasty character and some creaminess.
-Food-wine pairing: it is a good choice for fish and chicken dishes.
-Cheeses: Brie, Asiago, Havarti

Riesling wines are much lighter than Chardonnay wines. The aromas generally include fresh apples. The riesling variety expresses itself very differently depending on the district and the winemaking. Rieslings should taste fresh. If they do, then they might also prove tastier and tastier as they age.
-Food-wine pairing: dry versions go well with fish, chicken and pork dishes.
-Cheeses: Bleu, Colby, Brie, Edam, Gouda, Havarti

Pinot Grigio creates light, zippy, food-friendly white wines that do not clobber the palate with oak and alcohol. Its alter ego, pinot gris (same grape, different name), has become the white wine of Oregon, where it produces lively, pear-flavored wines that may carry an additional fruity sweetness. The California version  is a bit heavier, while vintners in Washington make intense, tart wines that match well with seafood.
-Flavors: Citrus, fresh pear, melon, Fuji apples, seafood
-Cheeses: Goat cheese, Muenster, Gouda, Edam, Asiago

Sauvignon Blanc is generally lighter than Chardonnay. It tends to show an herbal character suggesting bell pepper or freshly mown grass. The dominating flavors range from sour green fruits of apple and pear through to tropical fruits of melon, mango and blackcurrant. Quality unoaked Sauvignon Blancs will display smokey qualities. They offer bright aromas with a strong acid finish.
-Food-wine pairing: a versatile food wine for seafood, poultry, and salads.
-Cheeses: Gruyere, Mozzarella, Asiago, Neufchatel

For the host or hostess who does not wish to keep a cellar of wines, simply keeping one red and one white that are versatile on hand will cover most casual occasions. A good Zinfandel is also a catch all for a lot of people as it goes with so much.

There are tons of information out on the internet for those who wish to develop their wine palate. One sight of particular interest is Wine Enthusiast [http://www.winemag.com/], which offers Wine for Beginners [http://www.winemag.com/wine-for-beginners/]. The article offers some valuable information up to and including storing wines and investing in them. This site was a primary source for material used in this blog.

My primary investment in wine is what it will do to a roast or add to chicken or duck when cooking, and I freely admit it. Your relationship with wine will develop to suit you.

Happy Sipping!

— Ann Cathey

Culturally Speaking…

I just watched one of the most interesting videos on YouTube. This video reminded me how much is out there beyond my own little world. Culturally speaking. I think that we, as a society, get so wrapped up in our little slice of the world, that we can lose sight of what’s out there. There are things that are so ingrained in our culture that it is almost unbelievable that they are not available elsewhere. What started this journey was a series of videos where people from one country tried the snack foods of another country. US tasting UK foods. UK trying US foods. Aussies testing US junk food. US trying Japanese snacks. You get the program. While it was amusing to see the reactions (especially the US tasters), it made me thing about the vast cultural differences we have in a simple concept of food.

Now, after all of those videos, I came across one that just the title boggled my mind. Surely not! No! You mean, these people have never even *seen* a hamburger? Wow! With the vast reach of the Golden Arches Empire and the King-sized influence of its competitor, I thought that that was one concept that had reached everyone in civilization. Apparently I am wrong. Seeing their reactions and hearing their opinions of a food that was, pardon the pun, completely foreign to them was simply fascinating.

This is one of the main reasons I want to travel the world. I need to try their foods. I may not like all of it. In fact, I’m sure there will be many things I try that I will find disgusting, but I will have had a new experience and someone will have shared a little bit of their culture with me.

–Christopher

Preferred Cuisine

What is your preferred cuisine? From fast food to haute cuisine, there is an almost unlimited supply of foods in different styles. We would like to know what you like to eat.

What foods do you like to eat?

Inquiring minds want to know! Pick as many items as you please, and feel free to add options.

Medicinal Purposes Bar and Grill – Galveston, Texas

Medicinal Purposes is a bar and grill located on the eastern end of Galveston Island near the University of Texas Medical Branch.  Unlike many of the restaurants and bars in Galveston, Medicinal Purposes – or MPs, as they call it – boasts it’s own large parking lot.

Inside, MPs is spacious and comfortable.  The decor is eclectic and a bit eccentric – think med school meets Mardi Gras – the staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient, and the jukebox is just plain awesome (while I did not peruse the selections myself, a couple of staff members plugged an amazing array of songs in – everything from “Seven Spanish Angels” by Ray Charles and Willie Nelson to “Beautiful Disaster” by 311, which should tell you all you really need to know about the personalities of the folks who work at MPs).

We did not try the drinks, though there are some specialty cocktails on the menu that sound delightful.  We went there for dinner, and dinner we got.  My dining companion ordered the boudain sliders while I opted for the daily special, the Islander Burger (with two sides).  My dining companion couldn’t pass up dessert, either, so we ended up getting the weekly ‘sweet’ (Louisiana Crunch cake) to go.  Our total tab for dinner, dessert, and two Cokes came to $31.35 (not including gratuity).  We walked away with dessert for later and enough leftovers for another meal.

As for the food itself…divine.

The boudain sliders – hand-breaded and deep-fried boudain patties, bacon, jalapeno, and cheese on tiny buns – were spicy with a hint of barbecue taste (likely from the bacon).  Though I needed to keep a drink handy, the flavor was simply amazing.  The sliders come with chips.  These are not your typical potato chips but thick cut slabs of potato fried to a perfect crunch.

The Islander burger is a sesame-teriyaki burger topped with pickles, lettuce, tomato, grilled pineapple, and roasted red peppers.  It may not have been the best burger I’ve ever eaten, as I have eaten a LOT of burgers in my time, but it was at least in the top five.  The patty was perfectly cooked, the condiments and toppings were in the proper proportions, and the flavors melded together beautifully.  The special came with two sides, and I opted for double fries so I could split them with my dining companion.  Much like the chips, they were not what we expected.  Instead of the standard fare, they were thick wedges (or, as I like to call them, real potatoes).  They were cooked just right, too: done enough to be tasty when ordered but with a little wiggle room for re-heating later.

We have not yet tried the cake, but I can only assume it will be as wonderful as the rest of the food.

So, in summation, Medicinal Purposes gets an A+.  I’ll be recommending it to anyone who will listen.  The food, atmosphere, and people are all amazing, and as an added bonus, they deliver.  I’m very glad we decided to give it a try, and we’ll be going back soon.

-LB Clark