Reliving my vacation...

It seems like forever ago, but my sister and I went on our "Sisters' Cruise" and had an amazing time.  I am officially addicted to cruising!  Since I can't go on another one yet, the next best thing was to try and re-create some of my favorites from our trip.  Enjoy!

Drink...

The Perfect Storm
My favorite bar on the ship was called Alchemy Bar.  I loved it because it had a cute theme (it was like an old apothecary) and had such delicious drinks!  These drinks were not just poured from a mix like the other bars on the ship, but were carefully crafted with a fiery show and all!  This drink was what I got one night when I asked the bartender to surprise me and it's now one of my favorite drinks.  I tried my best to remember what was in it and re-create it.  I didn't get it exactly right, but pretty close!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Me enjoying my drink!

Ingredients:

• 1 shot light rum
  
• 1/2 shot of dark rum (I only had light rum, so I just used that)
• 1 shot strawberry simple syrup
• 1/2 shot lime juice
• sprig of rosemary
• cinnamon

Directions:
for the strawberry syrup:

1. Make a simple syrup by heating and dissolving 1/2 cup sugar in 1/2 cup water.
2. Slice  1 cup fresh strawberries and add to the syrup.  
3. Simmer the strawberries in the syrup for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally and smashing the strawberries to get the flavor out. 
4. Strain the strawberries from the syrup and let cool.

for the drink:

1. Fill a shaker with ice and add the rum, strawberry syrup, and lime juice.
2. Shake and strain into a martini glass.
3. Light a sprig of rosemary on fire until toasted.  Place the toasted rosemary into the drink.
4. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top (if you want to be extra fancy like on the cruise, you can sprinkle the cinnamon over a flame so it sparks before falling into the glass).

Dinner...

Mushroom Cappuccino
I know...you're thinking: mushroom cappuccino?!?  Gross!  But, wait...this is not gross.  Actually, it's quite amazing.  We went to a cooking demo on the ship where one of the chefs made this.  It really has nothing to do with cappuccino, except that he served it in cute little cappuccino glasses that we could sip the mushroom soup out of.  I didn't have any cappuccino glasses, so I just served mine in a bowl.  Also, on the ship they served it with a garlic crouton which was amazing.  I forgot to make that for mine...oops!
Ingredients:
(serves 4)

• 1 lb. chopped assorted mushrooms
• 5 tbs onion
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2 oz butter
• 2 pints chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 pint cream
• few drops truffle oil (I didn't have this so I used truffle salt)
• 1 tsp chopped parsley
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 2 sprigs thyme

Directions:

1. Saute the onions and garlic in butter.  Add the assorted mushrooms.
2. Add stock and simmer.  Season with salt and pepper.
3. When mushrooms are cooked, blend in a blender and sieve through a Chinois.
4. Return the puree to the pan and add cream and a few drops of truffle oil.
5. Adjust the seasoning and consistency.  Serve hot with garlic croutons.

Enchiladas Verde
At our first port, Cozumel Mexico, Kate and I had a delicious Mexican lunch included in our beach package.  I had enchiladas verde, which were amazing.  I must admit, mine weren't quite as good as in Mexico, but they still were great and definitely worth making!
Ingredients:
(serves 4)

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• olive oil
• verde sauce
• manchego or pepper jack cheese
• 2-3 tbs sour cream
• tortilla shells

Directions:

1. Cook the chicken breasts and shred the meat.
2. In a pan saute the onion and garlic with olive oil.
3. Add the cooked chicken, 1/4 cup of verde sauce, and the sour cream.
4. Place the chicken mixture in the tortilla shells and place in a baking dish. 
5. Sprinkle with shredded or crumbled cheese.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Dessert...

Strawberry and Chocolate Frozen Yogurt 
*recipe from: Chocolate and Zucchini
One of our favorite things to do on the cruise was eat (which is probably part of the reason why I love cruises).  And one of the things we ate most was ice cream cones.  They had self-serve, soft-serve ice cream machines located throughout the ship and the ice cream was always there for us!  Our favorite flavor was the strawberry-chocolate swirl frozen yogurt.  My chocolate yogurt turned out pretty amazing with a great texture and good taste.  However, my strawberry frozen yogurt turned out a bit icy, but tasting great.  All I was missing was a cone!
Ingredients:
for the strawberry frozen yogurt:

• 2 cups strawberries
• 1 cup yogurt (full fat greek or plain)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
•  1/4 cup sugar

 for the chocolate yogurt:

• 3 1/2 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
• a good pinch of sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon natural vanilla extract 
• 10 1/2 ounces full fat plain Greek yogurt  or plain yogurt

Directions:
for the strawberry:

1. Blend the strawberries in a food processor until pureed.
2. Add all the ingredients into a bowl and stir.
3. Place in the freezer and stir every half our until it reaches the desired consistency (about 3 hours).

 for the chocolate:

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring frequently to ensure even melting.  
2. In the meantime, place the cream in a medium mixing-bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt until no lump remains.
3. When the chocolate is melted, whisk it into the cream. Whisk the sugar mixture into the chocolate cream. Add the vanilla and yogurt, and whisk until well blended. 
4. Place in the freezer and stir every half hour until it reaches the desired consistency (about 3 hours).

   

   Me eating frozen yogurt (and popcorn)

A Little Taste of Grand Cayman

The cruise is this weekend!!!!!!  The final port on the cruise with my sister is Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands.  I can't wait to swim with stingrays and snorkel there.  And hopefully, I'll get to eat food that is just as delicious as this meal was!

Drink...

Cayman Sunset Boat Drink
*recipe adapted from: Caribbean Escape Blog
This drink transported me right to the tropics.  It tasted just like something you would drink in the Caribbean! 
As usual, I didn't have all the ingredients, so I changed it up a bit.  The recipe calls for banana liqueur, which I'm sure would be delicious in it, but I wouldn't get good use of that, so I didn't buy it.  It also says to add a splash of dark rum floating on top of the drink.  I left this our because I only had light rum.  If you want your drink extra strong - go ahead and add those both.  I'm sure they would taste great too!
Ingredients:

• 1.5oz. Bacardi Gold
• 1oz. Amaretto
• Orange juice
• Pineapple juice
• Grenadine

Directions:

1. In a shaker with ice, add Bacardi Gold and Amaretto along with equal parts Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice (and Banana Liqueur if you use it). 
2. Shake. 
3. Pour into tall glass with ice. Add splash of Grenadine. 

Dinner...

Jerk Chicken with Plantains
This dinner was really simple, quick, and best of all it used very few dishes :)  Oh, and it tasted great too.

Cayman Jerk Chicken with Cayman Chow-Chow
*recipe from: food.com
This chicken was unlike any jerk chicken I have ever had.  It had a good amount of spice and I loved that all the ingredients were so fresh.  I would definitely recommend it.  Especially if you want to feel like you are dining on the Islands!   
Ingredients:
for the chow-chow:
(serves 3) 

• 1 cup sliced red peppers
• 1 cup sliced green peppers
• 1 cup sliced onions
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped Jalapenos
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme  

 for the chicken:
(serves 3)

• 1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts
• 1/2 to taste salt & pepper
• 1/2 to taste olive oil, for rubbing on chicken

 Jerk Spice Rub

• 1/4 cup scallion, cut in small pieces
• 1/2 small scotch bonnet pepper, chopped finely
• 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 lime, zest of, grind (rind)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

Directions:

 

for the chow-chow

1. In a sauté pan heat oil olive and sauté all ingredients until almost tender.
2. Place on large platter and serve under Jerk Chicken.

for the chicken:

1. Combine all ingredients in Food processor and mix thoroughly.
2. Rub the chicken with oil then sprinkle with salt & pepper.
3. Next, generously coat chicken with Jerk Spice and grill until done.
4. Serve over Cayman Style Chow-Chow.

Fried Plantains

*recipe from: allrecipes.com

I love plantains.  Every time I order them in a restaurant I am amazed by how good they are.  Little did I know that they are so easy to make!  These are a great side dish for the chicken and could even be a dessert.  I added a little cinnamon on mine which made it extra special :)

Ingredients:

• butter or oil (I used butter as recommended in reviews)
• plantains

Directions:

1. Preheat oil or butter in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat.
2. Peel the plantains slice them on an angle into thin pieces.
3. Fry the pieces until browned and tender. Drain excess oil on paper towels.

Dessert...

Cassava (or sweet potato) Cake
*recipe from Cayman Islands 
This is a popular dessert in Grand Cayman.  All the recipes I read said Cassava (which is a root vegetable) can usually be found in a regular grocery store (if not fresh, then frozen).  However, surprise, surprise...my grocery store didn't have it.  So then, recipes said you can replace it with yucca.  But, of course, my grocery store did not have yucca either.  So, I took matters into my own hands and used yams (hey - they're a root vegetable too, right?). 
After an hour of cooking my batter was still liquid.  So, I added some flour to thicken it and baked it some more which gave it more of the consistency I thought it should have.  That being said, I cannot attest to the authenticity of this recipe since I changed so much.  The recipe below is the original recipe if you're feeling adventurous.
I honestly was not really a fan of this cake.  Doug liked it though.  The texture through me off (it's almost more of a custard or like the filling of a pecan pie).  Also, I'm just not that into spice cake.  However, Doug loves spice cake.  He enjoyed this cake and is continuing to eat it.
Maybe when I am at Grand Cayman I can find some Cassava Cake and try it to see how mine compares.
Ingredients:

• 3 lbs grated cassava 
• 2 lbs light brown sugar
• 2 - 14oz cans coconut milk (wash cans out with a little water)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon Cayman Sea Salt
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• 1 stick of margarine or butter
• 4 heaping teaspoons cornstarch diluted in a little water

Directions:

1. In large mixing bowl add cassava and stir in coconut milk and vanilla. Then brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Stir well.
2. In small covered container add corn starch and just enough water to dissolve. Shake. Then add to contents already in bowl.
3. Now add melted margarine or butter. Stir well.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter glass baking pan and pour in the above mixture in pan.  Bake for at 350 degrees for about an hour or until a firm golden brown is achieved.

Pizza Party

Pizza is one of those things that everyone loves and is really easy to make.  Next time you have a pizza party, or just feel like eating something delicious, try these variations on the original!
Drink...

Dark and Stormy

I really wanted to make a pizza drink, but I just couldn't think of anything that contained pizza ingredients and would be drinkable.  So, then I started thinking about what you drink with pizza...
My first thought was beer.  However, as much as possible, I try not to take the easy way out and just post a beer or a glass of wine.  All the beer cocktails I could find either didn't sound good or didn't seem like they would go with pizza.  
So, then I decided that another drink which goes well with pizza is soda (or pop for all my Chicago readers :).  Recently my friends Alex and Ashley introduced me to a Dark and Stormy, which contains ginger beer (a soda).  It's a popular drink in British Commonwealth countries such as Bermuda and Australia.  I had a little bit of a hard time finding ginger beer (well, a hard time finding reasonably priced ginger beer), but the search was well worth it, because the drink is delicious and enjoyable with a slice of pizza.
Ingredients:

• dark rum
• ginger beer
• lime for garnish 

Directions:

1. Fill a glass with ice.  
2. Pour 2 oz of rum and 8 oz of ginger beer into the glass.  Stir it up and make is stormy :)
3. Garnish with a slice of lime.

Dinner...

Goat Cheese and Pesto Pizza

*recipe from PBS
I don't know if I have mentioned this in previous blog posts, but I LOVE cheese, and goat cheese is one of my favorites.  If you haven't tried goat cheese before and are thinking, "eww, gross, goat cheese??", you should stop saying that and try it.  It sounds gross because it's from a goat, but actually goats are probably less gross than cows, and it is really good.  So, try it if you haven't already.  If you have had it, then you know how good it is and will love this pizza.  
The original recipe says to grill the pizza, which would be really good, but I don't have a grill, so I did it in the oven and it was still delicious.  If you are using a raw pizza dough like I did, I would pre-bake the dough before putting any ingredients on it so it will be nice and crispy when finished.
Ingredients:

• Pizza dough for one pizza (make your own or grab some prepared dough from your favorite pizza place - Trader Joe's has great pre-made pizza dough)
• Pesto (the original recipe gives directions on how to make your own, but I just bought pre-made pesto)
• 5 oz fresh goat cheese
• Toppings of choice: I just used tomatoes, but you could add other stuff like mushrooms or olives

Directions:

1. To prepare your pizza, heat up your grill (either gas or charcoal is fine) and spray the grates well with non-stick spray. Also, spray the BACK of a cookie sheet well with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. If you are using the oven, preheat your oven according to the directions on the dough package.
2. Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to roughly about 12” in diameter. It doesn’t have to be perfect! Carefully transfer the pizza dough to the back of the greased cookie sheet and carry outside to the grill.(or into the oven)
3. Gently, lift the dough off the back of the cookie sheet and onto the grill. (or keep it on the cookie sheet and place in the oven.  A pizza stone would be even better if you have it) Close the grill and cook for about 5 minutes, checking occasionally. The dough should be starting to bubble up and if you check the bottom, it should be looking a little charred.
4. Slide the dough off the grill and back onto the back of the cookie sheet. (Or, remove the dough from the oven)
5.  Flip pizza so the charred side is on top then spread pesto all over the top. Add toppings of your choice (I used thin tomato slices and it was great) followed by soft mounds of goat cheese.
6. Carefully slide dough back onto the grill (or into the oven), close top and cook for another 5-6 minutes, checking often. When done, the crust should be puffy, the bottom slightly charred and the cheese melted.
7. Slide your finished pizza back onto your cookie sheet (Or remove it from the oven), let cool and slice up! 

Dessert...

Apple Dessert Pizza

*recipe from: Us Girls...Our Views
When I was a kid, we used to go Pizza Hut's lunch buffet on the day we registered for school.  My favorite part of the buffet was the dessert pizza.  They had apple or cherry and both were delicious.  This recipe is really similar to that pizza, and I can't wait to also try it with cherry!
Ingredients:
Dough: 
(Recipe yields 3 pizza crusts..using 12 inch pizza pans.  Freeze extra pre-baked pizza crusts if not using right away.  You need 1 crust for this dessert)

• 1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons warm water
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• Mix and knead until well blended.
• Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise till doubled in bulk.
• Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out to fit 3 pizza pans.
• Let rise 40 minutes. Pre-bake crust at 425º for 8 minutes.
• Now you are ready to spread on the filling and streusel.

Apple Filling:

• 4 apples, (approx 4 cups) peeled, cored, and sliced..I used McIntosh
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Saute apples in butter until tender.

Streusel:

• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• Mix dry ingredients and cut in the butter with a pastry blender or by hand until mixture is crumbly.

Glaze:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Blend well until smooth.

Directions:

1. Spread apple filling over pre-baked pizza crust.
2. Sprinkle streusel over top and bake at 425º for 15 minutes or until crust is golden in color. If you like the crust a bit crunchy like we do, bake it a little longer.
3. Cool for 10 minutes, then drizzle with glaze.