After-Thanksgiving Caribbean Cruise

I will be heading out into the Caribbean after Thanksgiving and will be indulging in food, sun, water, and more food!

We'll board the Carnival Conquest in Galveston and visit 3 port of calls:
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Cozumel, Mexico

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving with a gigantic meal, so the idea of dieting after Thanksgiving isn't big in my family. However, this Thanksgiving, my friends are holding a potluck, so I'll have to watch myself this time!

Salon du Chocolat (Paris 2006)

I was fortunate to have been in Paris when they held a Salon du Chocolat Fall 2006. I thought that I would leave the salon with a bunch of chocolates, but instead, I came away with fruit cakes, spices, and one box of Madame Setsuko chocolates.

The Japanese Madame Setsuko chocolate vendor outshone all the other European chocolates at the salon. The artistry of the chocolate sculptures and the taste of the chocolates of Madame Setsuko were exquisite.

Chocolate covered Kimono

Setsuko Chocolate Floral Origami Sculptures

Chocolate Making at its Best-my favorite piece was the green tea one, bien sur!

The most impressive vendor was a Russian chocolatier. They managed to render chocolates into figurines that look like fine china.

Pig and Puss in Boots from a Russian Chocolatier

Another Chocolate Sculpture Vendor

A Couple of the Winning Sculptures


Chocolate Inspired Frocks (not very impressive)

Fabulous Fruit Cake Vendor

Colorful Spice Stand

Banquet Food Throughout Northeast China

As you can see, I am not done posting about food I've eaten in China! I think eating was my full-time job!

I attended many banquets throughout Northeast China, and could only steal a few shots from each. Some dishes were really awesome, others, not so much. I will refrain from long commentary and just categorize the dishes to give you an idea of the spectrum.

Delicious:

Steamed Egg Custard with Clams

BBQ Pork-Northeast China take on a Cantonese Star Dish

Sauteed Clams-the server actually plucked off the clam meat out of the shells one, by, one in front of us!

Simple Steamed Fish

Candied Fried Yams with Confetti Sprinkles! Nice use of the very American Betty Crocker-like sprinkles!

Fried and Steamed Sweet Buns with Condensed Milk as a Dip-Absolutely addictive! Unfortunately, I only had it once

Delicious But Appeared All Too Frequently:

Pot of Braised Potatotes, Pork Ribs, Clear Potato Noodles, and Corn Bread-It was awesome the first two times...then I grew tired of having meat & potatoes for every meal

MaLa (Tongue-Numbingly-Spicy) Sauteed Cabbage-Tasty but is the only vegetable dish at most restaurants in Northeast China (NE China is a very meat & potatoes kind of place)

Sauteed Spicy Eggplant-the best way to cook eggplant! But I had it for every meal!

And Of Course the Inescapable Dumplings-I was, afterall, in Northeast China, the home of dumplings

Dishes I Simply Didn't Care For (Very Few):

Spicy Jellyfish and Cabbage Salad (I like jellyfish salads, but the sauce they use in Northeast China just ruins this common Chinese banquet appetizer)

Spicy Cucumber Salad-I'm not fond of the vinaigrette

Most Memorable, Which I Would Like to Make Forgettable:

What I Call, "Papaya Surprise!"-A Sea Cucumber/Slug Floating in a Delicious Clear Broth in a Steamed Papaya-I give them props for creatively substituting the slimey dark brown papaya seeds with the slimey gigantic sea cucumber. Kudos! However, creativity, excellent broth, nor anything else, can ever make sea cucumbers taste delicious.

Soy Sauce Braised Whole Fish with Dried Bean Curd, Tofu Skin, Fried Tofu, and Eggs-Delicious and homey, but knowing that the 2 fish came out of polluted waters scared me. I had visions of walking out of the banquet all radioactive.

Calvados Seafood Rillettes Stuffed Mushrooms

Mushrooms stuffed with ginger, garlic, and lobster and salmon rillettes drenched in calvados

I love stuffed mushrooms. The bite-size balls just burst with savory and earthy juices and flavors. And I feel like you can stuff mushrooms with almost anything!

After I bought a jar of Calvados-spiked lobster and salmon rillettes from La Mere Poulard in Mont Saint Michel, France, I couldn't think of a way to eat it. The smell of seafood and calvados was too strong for me to eat the rillettes right out of the jar on a baguette, so I knew I would have to somehow cook the rillettes.

Thus, the stuffed mushroom idea came along.

Ingredients

cleaned mushrooms (with the stems out)

chopped stems (trim off and discard the bottom of the stems first)

minced garlic

minced ginger

any kind of rillettes

olive oil

Mix the chopped stems, garlic, and ginger into the rillettes. I like to use ginger to balance out strong flavors, especially with seafood. Scoop the filling mixture into the mushrooms, place in a baking dish, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and bake until the mushrooms are cooked. Drain the juices before plating. I like to keep the juices in a separate dish to dip or use in cooking something else.

Smoked Salmon Pinwheels

A while back, I worked in an office where we would hold pot lucks practically once a week. I made these savory pinwheels as a quick solution.

Red Onion and Dill

Ingredients

Red Onion (diced)

Dill

Smoked Salmon

Dijon Mustard

Honey

2 cans of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls Dough

Unroll 2 cans of Crescent Rolls Dough into a rectangular strips.

Whisk honey and mustard together and spread the mixture onto the flat dough. Don't put too much on the dough.

Sprinkle dill, then the onion and salmon.

Roll up the dough and cut.

Place the pinwheels onto a baking sheet, and bake according to can instructions.

Smoked Salmon, Dill, Red Onion, Honey mixed with Dijon Mustard, and Crescent Roll Dough

Smoked Salmon Pinwheels

Pure Luck Farm and Bella Vista with Tasty Touring and a Hill Country Fall Picnic

Fickle Foodie and I went on our first Tasty Touring to Pure Luck Farm and Bella Vista Ranch to learn about rearing goats for goat milk and chevre and the difficulties of growing olive trees for olive oil in Texas.


A big "thank you" to Jodi of Tasty Touring for organizing this charming Hill Country tour!

Pure Luck Farm

Fickle Foodie and I were immediately drawn to the smokey chipotle goat cheese and the aromatic basil pesto goat cheese. We bought one of each to add to our picnic basket for later.

Goat Cheese Tasting: Chipotle and Basil Pesto Chevre

I learned quite a lot from the Bella Vista tour, and the olive oil and vanilla fig balsamic vinegar tasting left a lasting impression.

Bella Vista Ranch Olive Grove

After touring both farms, Fickle Foodie and I drove through Wimberley and had a picnic at Devil's Backbone, a scenic spot overlooking a gigantic valley in the Hill Country.

Devil's Backbone

Our picnic consisted of:

Chilled Green Tea Soba Noodles

Herbes de Provence Chicken Legs

Orzo Salad with Cucumbers, Onions, feta cheese and lemon vinaigrette

Baguette

Pure Luck Farm Chipotle Goat Cheese and Basil Pesto Goat Cheese

Thai-style Salsa with Tortilla Chips

Grapes
Chocolate Chip Cookies and Ginger Cookies

Sweet Tea Leaf Honey Mint Green Tea

Frank Hot Dogs and Beer

Frank

I recently met up with Fickle Foodie and our friend, Sara, for hot dogs at Frank, seeing how the joint is the talk of the town right now.

All of us enjoyed the chili cheese waffle fries, and I liked my corn cup.

Corn Cup; Chili Cheese Waffle Fries

I really can't say much about the crawfish boil hot dog (pork, crawfish tails, and corn sausage topped with potato salad). I waited more than a week to try it, and when I got it, I was sorely disappointed. The sausage lacked Cajun seasoning. C'mon. If it's called crawfish boil, I better feel like sneezing because of the spices and seasonings. There was no "bam" to this dog; instead, I got bland.

Crawfish Boil

My friends enjoyed their dogs, so maybe my choice was a blip on the menu.

Diablo Verde; Notorious P.I.G.

I'm not sure if I will return. I enjoyed the texture of the sausage on a crusty bread, but I can pretty much re-create anything on the menu I really want to try at home with the help of some interesting sausages at Central Market.