The Bistro- Off topic and fun posts!

[KenzSailing]

Beav,

 

I'm an 11.

 

Your turn to step to the plate.  I have complete confidence in you:

 

(You too, exotica Vince)

 

 

[CptBoatface]

26 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

Beav,

 

I'm an 11.

 

Your turn to step to the plate.  I have complete confidence in you:

 

(You too, exotica Vince)

 

 

11 too

[Texas Tillie]

1 hour ago, KenzSailing said:

Beav,

 

I'm an 11.

 

Your turn to step to the plate.  I have complete confidence in you:

 

(You too, exotica Vince)

 

 

20 and there are things on that list that I wouldn’t eat for a week in the CP!!

 

Patty

[audobon_tx]

2 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

Beav,

 

I'm an 11.

 

Your turn to step to the plate.  I have complete confidence in you:

 

(You too, exotica Vince)

 

 

 

28

 

Born and raised....

[santos949]

8 hours ago, flyingshoes said:

 

28

 

Born and raised....

30    Born, raised and still reside in New Orleans

[rafinmd]

2, and surprised grits was not on the list.

 

I am posting a sunset instead of a sunrise today.  On May 3,  2019 the Nieuw Statendam was in Cherbourg:

 

 

Roy

[Roland4]

14 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

Beav,

 

I'm an 11.

 

Your turn to step to the plate.  I have complete confidence in you:

 

(You too, exotica Vince)

 

 

Heck, I got 12 and I have never lived further south than Toronto!🙂

[BWIVince]

15 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

Beav,

 

I'm an 11.

 

Your turn to step to the plate.  I have complete confidence in you:

 

(You too, exotica Vince)

 

 

 

I’ve got 33, but some of them I’ve only tried once…. Many of them were checked off during long work trips to the south.  
 

One of the things I’ve never had was livermush, but that surprised me they included livermush and not scrapple.  I grew up on scrapple, and that has to be the living illustration of my earlier comment about getting kids acclimated to foods before you become conditioned to reactions.  That, and that anything is edible if you pan fry it and serve it with syrup.  😏

 

Along the same lines, I was grateful to have tried frogs legs on my first cruise, before I got into junior high and associated frog parts with the smell of formaldehyde and a cured texture.  🤢 

 

Vince

[KenzSailing]

14 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 

I’ve got 33, but some of them I’ve only tried once…. Many of them were checked off during long work trips to the south.  

 

 

Is fried squirrel one of the 33? "Tastes just like chicken..."

[BWIVince]

4 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Is fried squirrel one of the 33? "Tastes just like chicken..."

It wasn’t…. Sadly, squirrel is one protein I haven’t tried in ANY preparation method yet.  A couple more months on unemployment though, and that might have changed…. It’s one of the few animals I can hunt right from my doorstep all day long — and be celebrated for it by my neighbors.

 

Vince

[mskatiemae]

19 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

It wasn’t…. Sadly, squirrel is one protein I haven’t tried in ANY preparation method yet.  A couple more months on unemployment though, and that might have changed…. It’s one of the few animals I can hunt right from my doorstep all day long — and be celebrated for it by my neighbors.

 

Vince

I am reserving squirrel for my menu only in the case of apocalypse, along with rabbit (both multiply in my yard).

 

If you need a guide to the preparation, complete instructions starting from whole animal are in Joy of Cooking!

[KenzSailing]

And in somewhat related food world news, Eleven Madison Park in NYC, one of only 14(?) Michelin three star restaurants in the US has announced it is going vegan: no meat, no fish.

 

I'm going to hold a wake at the Chez.

 

[BWIVince]

1 hour ago, mskatiemae said:

I am reserving squirrel for my menu only in the case of apocalypse, along with rabbit (both multiply in my yard).

 

If you need a guide to the preparation, complete instructions starting from whole animal are in Joy of Cooking!

Sure enough, page 412!  😀 Illustrated and everything!  (At least in my copy, which is from the 50’s.)

Both in my yard too…. The rabbits eat things that either grow back or are cheaper to replace.  The squirrels shred things that are more expensive, like vehicle wiring.  😡 

 

Vince

[mskatiemae]

6 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

And in somewhat related food world news, Eleven Madison Park in NYC, one of only 14(?) Michelin three star restaurants in the US has announced it is going vegan: no meat, no fish.

 

I'm going to hold a wake at the Chez.

 

Do not despair, EMP is merely going to be meatless, not full on vegan. Vegan is to exclude any animal product, so the vegan would not have eggs, dairy, etc. I know this because for me vegan products such as bakery items proxy for "free of cow dairy" as I am allergic. It is easier than requesting a list of all ingredients! Also had a wonderful group dinner in Vienna on the Danube Mozart cruise in 2017 at TIAN, which is a gourmet vegetarian restaurant. We did have assorted cheeses (mine from sheep, goat, or water buffalo) so that is vegetarian but not vegan. Some have gone vegan to the point of not wanting wine that has been treated with egg white or shrimp stuff, but that to me is too far to go. My complaint is that the website Epicurious.com apparently is removing all beef recipes. So now no more beef brisket recipe, my favorite.

[KenzSailing]

1 hour ago, mskatiemae said:

Do not despair, EMP is merely going to be meatless, not full on vegan. Vegan is to exclude any animal product, so the vegan would not have eggs, dairy, etc. 

 

Well, I will admit to not knowing the precise demarcation of veganism.

 

Also, I am not an allergy skeptic, as OLoPP is allergic to shellfish(no plateaus on the Chez's menu.)

 

I will merely let Daniel Humm, chef/proprietor of EMP explain what he is doing(this is an excerpt from his email of this morning):

 

"With that in mind, I’m excited to share that we’ve made the decision to serve a plant-based menu in which we do not use any animal products — every dish is made from vegetables, both from the earth and the sea, as well as fruits, legumes, fungi, grains, and so much more."

 

We've dined there twice.  It was perhaps our favorite restaurant in the country.  I shall mourn for a couple more days, then return to the stove at the Chez.  There's always another dinner rush to get thru, and the steak frites ain't gonna cook itself.

[BEAV]

17.

 

And that’s for a native Californian! 
 

I’m officially protesting since they didn’t include black eyed peas. They’re NOT just for New Years! 

[Spudd]

15 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

We've dined there twice.  It was perhaps our favorite restaurant in the country.  I shall mourn for a couple more days, then return to the stove at the Chez.  There's always another dinner rush to get thru, and the steak frites ain't gonna cook itself.

 

And then there's me, as a vegan, being extremely excited to hear this. Already planning a trip if/when we can get reservations and the borders open up. 

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2017 5-ship combination.   On May 4 the Crystal Symphony was at sea from Puerto Vallarta to Huatulco:

 

 

Roy

 

[rafinmd]

oday's sunrise is from my 2019 combination of Nieuw Statendam Eastbound Transatlantic combined with a return on Queen Victoria QM2.  On May 5 I disembarked Nieuw Statendam in Amsterdam:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

I was surprised to find that I don't have a sunrise from May 6, so I am going back to May 5, 2017, when the Crystal Symphony visited Huatulco:

 

 

Roy

[BEAV]

On 4/29/2021 at 1:15 PM, BWIVince said:

One of my first lessons of traveling (like under age 5), was that personal preference of taste aside, a lot of what we consider “normal” or “gross” is simply a matter of upbringing.  My friends act like I eat crazy, unthinkable things, but I really wish I had exposure to even more things before I developed a psychological response to things like insects.  It’s a LOT harder to get past my reaction to certain insects (for example) now, but I know that wouldn’t have been the case if I had learned to eat them before I feared them or they grossed me out.  😞 

The “what you don’t know” rule still works on me though, as long as I don’t know what’s in there (and bugs contaminate a lot of courted food naturally), then I’m fine with it!  Dining in insects as a featured protein is a whole different ballgame though…

 

Vince

 

Insects aside, my Grandmother used to make what she called “porcupine meatballs.” I was completely grossed out at the thought of ingesting them, despite the fact they were merely regular ‘ol meatballs with white rice inside. What I wouldn’t give to roll back the calendar a few decades and indulge in them now if for nothing more than bringing a smile to her face. 

 

But getting back to the here and now, I may just have to book a flight east to sample the Chez’s version of cicadas. Does the chef sauté them? Air fry them? Marinate? BBQ? Stuff ‘em inside a casserole to hide them from innocent patrons?  

 

I’d better hurry up booking that flight....

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/05/brood-x-cicadas-2021-15-states-us-trillions

[Texas Tillie]

1 hour ago, BEAV said:

 

Insects aside, my Grandmother used to make what she called “porcupine meatballs.” I was completely grossed out at the thought of ingesting them, despite the fact they were merely regular ‘ol meatballs with white rice inside. What I wouldn’t give to roll back the calendar a few decades and indulge in them now if for nothing more than bringing a smile to her face. 

 

But getting back to the here and now, I may just have to book a flight east to sample the Chez’s version of cicadas. Does the chef sauté them? Air fry them? Marinate? BBQ? Stuff ‘em inside a casserole to hide them from innocent patrons?  

 

I’d better hurry up booking that flight....

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/05/brood-x-cicadas-2021-15-states-us-trillions

 

Brian, the porcupine meatballs was a recipe in the famous cookbook "Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer!! I grew up on them. The difference from regular meatballs was rice instead of bread crumbs!!

 

Patty

[KenzSailing]

2 hours ago, BEAV said:

 

 

 

But getting back to the here and now, I may just have to book a flight east to sample the Chez’s version of cicadas. Does the chef sauté them? Air fry them? Marinate? BBQ? Stuff ‘em inside a casserole to hide them from innocent patrons?  

 

 

 

OK, by (un)popular demand, a sneak peek at the cicada menu.  It's a seven course tasting menu, title is "The 17 Year Itch":

 

Pate de Cicada

 

Cicadas en Croute

 

Cicada Consomme

 

Salade de Cicada Verte (pistachio crusted)

 

Cicada Supreme

 

Cicada Surprise (wouldn't you like to know)

 

Dessert: "On the Midway at the State Fair":

Deep fried, chocolate covered Cicadas on a stick (real crowd pleaser)

 

Beauty of it is, I don't even have to go to the market.  I can dig up (oops, forage) most of this right in the back yard (um, garden.)

[BWIVince]

2 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

Brian, the porcupine meatballs was a recipe in the famous cookbook "Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer!! I grew up on them. The difference from regular meatballs was rice instead of bread crumbs!!

 

Patty

Page 167!  Second time…. This thread is the first time since college that I feel like I have the appropriate reference materials in my possession.  😀

 

Vince

[KenzSailing]

I'll post this here, so as not to disturb the serious cruise posters, but I would bet cash money that there is no one in the Crystal home office with the institutional memory of the ships' decor/layout/etc like the proverbial "some guy" poster on CC.  Even if he's never eaten fried squirrel.