QUICK BITE:. Hot sauce on salad?

Want to spice up your salad?   My trick is to drizzle a little Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce onto the salad after you have tossed it with your favorite dressing. You can substitute your own favorite hot sauce.   For today's lunch I added chopped chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken we bought at Publix, added Marie's blue cheese dressing and then tossed it.  Added some blue cheese crumble for extra flavor.  The addition of the hot sauce gives it some punch and in this case you get close to a true buffalo wing experience.

#BuffaloWings #HotSauce #FoodBlog

Horchata!!

We may not be able to travel to Mexico, but we can make one of our favorite Mexican beverages!!  Second perhaps only to mezcal. Horchata!!

If you have not tried Horchata, put it on your list!!  It is a delicously creamy, refreshing, vanillary and cinnamonny (yes - I am saying both of those are words) experience.   We got this bottle when we were in Cancun in the beginning of March. I mixed one part concentrate (1/2 cup) to six parts water (3 cups), added half a cinnamon stick and simmered for about 20 minutes. The directions may vary by brand. It is also non-alcoholic.   I think they would sell it at many International markets or possibly in the international aisle of your local grocer.  

Dinner on the Edge!!

It is our first night in Celebrity Edge and we are eating in the Cyprus restaurant.  Celebrity Edge has a concept where there are four main restaurants you can eat in that are included in your cruise fare.  Cosmopolitan is 

International.  Tuscan is Italian.  Normandy is French.  Cyprus is a Mediterranean themed restaurant.  Each restaurant has three sections to their menu.  One section is Classics.  These are items that will be available to order each night in all four restaurants. Theae are items like caesar salad, escargot, broiled salmon and NY strip steak. 

Then there is a section that will change each night.  Like the classics, these items will also be available in each restaurant. Examples from tonight we're cappuccino mushroom soup, beet and feta salad, prime rib and seared salmon.  

The last section is exclusive to the restaurant you are in.  These will be the same each night so you can order them each night.  Here is that section from Cyprus. 

For tonight's dinner I had three starters and one main. All the appetizers came from the rotating menu.  

This is the cappuccino mushroom soup.  This has been a signature item on Celebrity for as long as I have been sailing.  It is not offered every night - but should be.  

The soup has a "crema" like a good cappuccino or espresso does that adds some additional creaminess.  The soup itself is the embodiment of a mushroom.  Rich, savory and meaty. The kind of soup where you just have to go back for more.  The addition of some rosemary on too adds a little freshness.  

Next was the Thai spring roll with beef 

This was super crispy on the outside and jammed full of seasoned beef.  The sauce looked like it was going to be super sweet like a duck sauce but had a surprising and welcome spice.  The rice noodles were a nice addition so you could sop up the remaining sauce.  

Next was a beet and feta salad. 

This as equal sizes cubes of roasted red beets and mild feta cheese.  If you have read my other blogs, I am particular about beet dishes and whether they showcase beets or hide them.   This dish did a good job at respecting the beets.  Fork tender with a slight sweetness.  I think a touch of vinegar would have helped bring out more sweetness.  Some feta cheese can be overpoweringly salty.  While this one wasn't that way, there was simple too much of it on the plate.  I would have liked more beets.  

For my main, I chose something from the Cyprus Exclusive menu.   This is the grilled sea bass.  

Sea bass is one of those fish where I think restaurants assume the diner may think they are ordering something they are not.  What do I mean?  You have to go back many years ago when you would see Chilean Sea Bass on many menus.   Diners thought this was some exotic species and were willing to pay a premium.  In reality it was just another type of codfish specifically known as Patagonian.   Chilean Sea Bass sounds more marketable on a menu. Was it tasty?  Yes.  But not really special.  And then there were the issues with overfishing so any "real" Chilean Sea Bass was even rarer - and  even more expensive.  

So that brings me to this menu.  Sea Bass by itself is a generic name for all kinds of bass.  But I think many restaurants hope that a diner see "Sea Bass" and automatically assumes it is "Chilean Sea Bass". Perhaps the ultimate "bait" and switch. 

So onto his dish.  This was an amazing piece of fish.  While the three fillets were thin, they had only been grilled a short time skin side down.  The skin was remarkably crispy and the flesh still moist.  The fish had been very simply seasoned with salt.   I believe when they were in the pan, capers were added which gave the fish an additional needed brininess. And there was a drizzle of olive oil after plating.  It was one of the best pieces of fish I have ever had on a cruise or land.  I would order it again.  

QUICK BITE: Hamachi Sashimi

Today's lunch at Raw on Five: Hamachi sashimi. It was served on top of a creamy corn soup which by itself was so savory that I would have ordered just that and have been satisfied.  But let's not be crazy.   The fish was topped with brunoise cucumber which was quick pickled and a thin slice of fresh jalapeno.    Siracha  and avocado oil dotted the creamy sauce for some added heat and savory flavor.  

#Sushi #Sashimi #CelebrityCruises #FoodBlog

The Importance of Attention to Detail

I am always impressed to see true craftsmanship from a chef and a fine attention to detail.  I can't recall a better example than the food display at Live Aqua in the Aqua Club.  For today's late morning snacks they had a display of seated tuna and salmon. By itself maybe not much different than I have seen elsewhere.  Although the individual marble slabs were a nice touch.  

What set this apart was the fine detail that went into each of the condiments.  And something I had never seen.  Here you see some wasabi, a mustard  capers and some onions.  

And here we have egg white, egg yolk, parsely and lime.  But I have never seen where a sous chef has taken a lime wedge and sliced out only the pulp.  

You get all the flavor of the lime without having the "bother" of squeezing.  Definitely a first for me.  Have you seen this?  Let me know in the comments.  

Italian Feast at Varenna at Live Aqua

If you have been to an all inclusive hotel in Mexico , you will agree that they always seem to feature four main reataurant types.  There is an Asian one that may also have teppanyaki tables.  Then there is French, a Mexican one and a standard steak house.  You also tend to see Italian restaurants. When I first started coming to Mexico the Italian restaurants would always be low on my list for dining.  I just always felt that the food would not be authentic and be closer to an Olive Garden.  Now before anyone who is a top fan of Olive Garden gets in a wrinkle, I am not saying their food is bad.  I have enjoyed a meal or two in the past.  I am just saying the food they serve is American-ized versions of Italian dishes.  If I am going to enjoy a meal, I'd like it to be close to authentic.  Or even with some new twists.  So back to the all inclusive Italian restaurants.  Until we stayed at Secrets Maroma a few years ago, I had never even gone to the featured Italian restaurant.  That turned out to be one of the best meals I ever had and it changed my whole view of what Italian food could be.  So since that meal, Italian restaurants at all inclusives have loved up the scale where I make it a priority to eat at them.  

So that brings us to the Italian restaurant at Live Aqua which is called Veranna.  They are open for lunch and dinner, although based on occupancy they will close one or two nights each week.  The lunch menu has pizzas, pastas and paninis and as of this blog post I haven't tried it but will be before we leave.  This blog is about the dinner menu which features several appetizers, salads and pastas and then some much heartier main dishes.  I started with a seafood soup.  

This soup had a very mild onion flavor along with a deeper flavor of seafood which I think had to come from a hearty shellfish stock.  The broth had some well cooked pieces of scallops, shrimp and calamari as well as potato and carrot.  I was so impressed how each piece of seafood had been cooked properly.  Shrimp, scallops and calamari all have different required cooking times.  If you cook them all for the same amount of time you would get dry shrimp, rubbery calamari and scallops like pencil erasers.   So the chef's took alot of care to respect the seafood.  

Next up was a trio of pasta dishes.  They all sounded so good, it was hard to choose only a couple.  

I won't save the best for last.  My favorite dish of the night was the Bolognese lasagna.  

This had thin layers of fresh pasta.  I counted at least five layers.  The sauce was meaty and slightly acidic.  Some pasta sauces can be overly sweet and I appreciated they kept some of the true taste of tomato.  It also wasn't overwhelmed by cheese.   There was enough ricotta to keep the layers together and a salty parmesan on top along with some fresh herbs including basil and oregano.  Truly one of the best lasganas I have ever had.  

Next up was a carbonara.  

This had thick ribbons of fettuccine in a slightly smoky sauce full of savory pancetta.  The sauce was a bit thick which was my only minor complaint. But it was so creamy and rich that is perfectly coated each strand of the pasta.  

The final pasta dish was ravoli.

These were thin pillows of goodness stuffed with spinach and what I think were pine nuts. 

It took talent to keep the pasta so thin yet to still have it hold the stuffing.   The sauce was a very basic marinara which didn't overpower the spinach.  And you could drag each bite though the drizzle of basil oil and olive oil for some extra richness.  

For the main dish I ordered the ossabuco.  If you haven't eaten this before it is a veal shank which has been braised so that the meat falls off the bone.  

This meat was so tender and lots of flavor.  The texture is much like a short rib. While the meat was tasty, the highlight of this dish was the wild rice which the veal was served on. I think the chef had taken the braising liquid and reduced with some butter and probably shallots and onions to make a rich, slightly salty gravy which had been incorporated into the rice.  While I enjoyed the veal, I would like to go back to Veranna and see if you can just get this rice dish.  It was that good.  

I had not been ordering many desserts at the restaurants but had heard from another guest that the tiramisu was the best dessert at this resort.  With that high praise, I had to try it.  If only for science. 

This was cleverly served like a trifle. Alternating layers of the espresso soaked lady fingers and silky smooth marscapone cheese which also.had a coffee flavor.  Topped with a fresh dusting of cocoa powder and a chocolate "straw".   There is nothing quite like the consistency of marscapone cheese.   It gives you a truly satisfying feeling while eating it. Think of the best ice cream you have ever had and put an exponent next to it.   It is so decadent.  And the slightly bitter espresso flavor kept the dessert from being too sweet.  It was a perfect way to end the meal. And became my favorite dinner at this resort.   

So don't be like me and think that the Italian restaurant at your next resort should be avoided.  There are some great chefs out there waiting to show you perhaps your next favorite Italian meal outside of actually visiting Italy.  

Chef's Table at Hard Rock Riveria Maya

During my recent stay at the Hard Rock Riveria Maya, I had the chance to enjoy the chef's dinner.  This is available for an extra charge and usually held a few nights during the week.  Check with your travel professional or guest services at the hotel for information on booking. 

One of the entertainment staff hosted the evening and introduced the chef who prepared each plate in front of us.  

First course was a tuna appetizer with tomato.    Nice chunks of red tuna which had marinade of sesame, soy and orange.  Twirls of seaweed salad, sesame seeds and alfalfa sprouts added some nice cruch.

Next course was a beet salad.   

There were slices of red beets, a cheese which was somewhat like marscopone and an orange wedge for a bit of acid.  This was my least favorite dish since it didn't respect the beets.  The beets were very dry and lacking flavor. And there was nothing in this dish to really bring it altogether.  Perhaps that was that purpose of the cheese, but it needed more like a traditional vinaigrette.  

 While you await the best course, I will tell you one of the most exciting parts of the dinner.  Each of the first four courses was paired with a Mexican wine.  Now usually you would ever think of Mexico as having notable wines.  That is (and has been) changing.  These were two of my favorites from the night. 

The first was a Grenache style rose from the Guadeloupe region.  Fruity and refreshing.   

Next was a Chenin Blanc from Casa Madero which is in Coahula. 

Next course was a soup.  But not any ordinary soup.  This has the flavors of Mexican street corn which if you haven't had, you should.  Sweet, savory corn with a hint of cheese.  Topped with a crunchy radish and thin slide of Serrano pepper.  

And to top it all off, the chef provided a perfectly cooked lamb chop as the "spoon".

Next course was an amazing plate of short rib.  

 Having made short ribs before, I can tell you how time consuming they can be. They take many hours to braise and to still keep them juicy, I always recommend making them a day before to let the braising liquid soak back into the meat.  It definy seemed like the chef used that truck here.  And the seasoning was with five spice powder, cranberry juice and maple syrup.  If you are not familiar with it, five spice powder is used in many Asian dishes and can have different recipes.   Traditionally it is ginger, cinnamon, fennel, peppercorn and star anise which has a licorice flavor.  Certainly ingredients I never would have considered putting together.   Such a smart combination of spice, sweet and tart - all working together    The rib was served over some velvety cauliflower puree.   I don't even want to think how much butter had been emulsified to make what ended up almost being like a buttery spread.  Roasted carrots and zucchini were nice additions to drag through the cauliflower.   

And finally the dessert course.  

This was a flourless chocolate cake served with a passion fruit ice cream, topped with a berry compote.  The cake had a slight flavor of Mexican chocolate which has a nice spice.  It was too dry, but the passion fruit ice cream and compote helped with that.  I also like the small pieces of fresh fruit.  I really liked the passion fruit ice cream and could have eaten that by itself.  

Overall it was a very good meal.  One misstep with the beet course.  Saved by the soup course.  And the short rib was a crescendo that put an exclamation point on the meal.  Two takeaways for me.  I will consider cranberry and maple syrup next time I make short ribs.  And lamb chops make great utensils!!  I suspect they change this menu and the winea frequently so your experience may vary from mine. But chef's dinners are a great way to expand your food comfort zone.  

QUICK BITE:. Jump Out Of Your Food Comfort Zone With Whole Fried Fish

Today's lunch!!   I always love a whole fried fish and this was a great one!!  Perhaps not as good as one I had in Belize several years ago.  But still tasty. Needs no seasoning on the fish.  Cooking it in the oil also provides a crispy texture surrounding the succulent white flesh.   Grilled lemon added some tartness along with fresh greens with a lemony vinaigrette.  Cilantro rice was seasoned perfectly.   

I know there are some who will be afraid of seeing the fish head and eye right there on your plate.  Unfortunately there is no way around that to make sure you get the full flavor of the fish.  Jump outside your food comfort zone!!

QUICK BITE:. What are Chilaquiles?

If you want to experience what I believe is the best Mexican breakfast, you have to try Chilaquiles.  What are they?   A simple descriptions would be breakfast nachos. But that does this great dish a diservice. This wonderful dish starts with flour tortillas that are cut into corners and then deep fried.  Then these are laid out in a frying pan and topped with either a green or red salsa which is more like an enchilada sauce.  Then pulled chicken (or sometimes pork), queso fresco, crema and thin sliced onions. Often you will get eggs in top, cooked to your favorite style   I prefer over easy or poached  since the runny yolks emulsifies with the salsa to create a savory gravy.  The merging of all these flavors into the chips is what makes it so special.  And some chips will still be crunchy, so you can eat those like nachos, dragging them through the gravy.  And some chips will have done their due diligence and absorbed all the flavors. 

Here is the version we had on Isles Mujeres at Rooster Cafe which has lots of there Mexican brunch and breakfast items.  But you really need to try these.  

QUICK BITE: Go outside your comfort zone!! Veal Sweetbreads!!

If you have been following along, I like to try interesting dishes. So when the MB restaurant at Live Aqua had Veal Sweetbreads I just had to order them!!  

The people would want to know.  What are Sweetbreads?   They are organ meat, more specifically the pancreas. I have seen them on menus before.  Typically they are either pan fried or deep fried as they were here.  

If I gave you some to try, you would think these were just morsels of pork in a light batter.   Maybe that is what pancreas is supposed to taste like?  They were served with a light potato foam which added some needed creaminess. And for texture they were topped with shavings of deep fried sweet potato which added a salty crackle to each bite.   It was a really thoughtfully planned dish.  I know they are not for everyone.  And just the knowledge of what they are turns many people away.  However I suggest going out of your comfort zone occasionally. Especially on a cruise or an all inclusive resort where the worst that can happen is that you don't like a dish and order something else.