Great Cruising Memories

[marco]

Going back to Thanksgiving dishes, the ONLY thing that never was and never will be allowed at our Thanksgiving table is that "green bean casserole". As my grandmother would say "Mer-i-can"

[George C]

13 minutes ago, marco said:

Going back to Thanksgiving dishes, the ONLY thing that never was and never will be allowed at our Thanksgiving table is that "green bean casserole". As my grandmother would say "Mer-i-can"

Sounds like my grandmother she was born in Sicily in 1870 came to New York in 1890 and passed away in 1966, I think she learned one or two words of English in each of the 76 years she lived here.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

3 hours ago, marco said:

Going back to Thanksgiving dishes, the ONLY thing that never was and never will be allowed at our Thanksgiving table is that "green bean casserole". As my grandmother would say "Mer-i-can"

Agreed...trying to fit in a green vegetable at this feast is a futile gesture.  

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Agreed...trying to fit in a green vegetable at this feast is a futile gesture.  

 

Different families; different traditions.  I cannot remember, as a child or as an adult, when my Grandmother or Mother prepared our Thanksgiving dinner that the Green Bean Casserole with French's Fried Onions on top were not part of our feast.  The one time that I was responsible for preparing such a dinner for my Brother and his family, it was part of our menu.  

 

The negative of the casserole is when there are leftovers.  The thought comes to mind:  "will this never end?",

[rkacruiser]

On 12/2/2020 at 5:23 PM, rkacruiser said:

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (I recall that was the title with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell

 

What was the ship that provided the background for this movie?  I think it was a French Line vessel.  Maybe the Liberte?  Anyone remember?

[CGTNORMANDIE]

25 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

What was the ship that provided the background for this movie?  I think it was a French Line vessel.  Maybe the Liberte?  Anyone remember?

The CGT Liberte’ would be correct.  

Edited December 4, 2020 by CGTNORMANDIE

[CGTNORMANDIE]

30 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Different families; different traditions.  I cannot remember, as a child or as an adult, when my Grandmother or Mother prepared our Thanksgiving dinner that the Green Bean Casserole with French's Fried Onions on top were not part of our feast.  The one time that I was responsible for preparing such a dinner for my Brother and his family, it was part of our menu.  

 

The negative of the casserole is when there are leftovers.  The thought comes to mind:  "will this never end?",

My biggest problem with Green Bean Casserole would be trying to fit it on the dining table.  I seriously doubt that anyone in my family would touch it.  Whipped turnip, boiled onions, sweet Hubbard squash, sweet potato Kahlua casserole, sage stuffing, oyster dressing with Riesling and mashed potato is about all I can manage.  

[marco]

There would always be some green vegetable on the table,  but no matter what the occasion or holiday, they would always be prepared the same way.....sautéed  with olive oil and garlic. But alas.... we digress from "Great Cruising Memories". But reconnect....I do remember long ago, we took a cruise on the Greek line's "Queen Anna Maria" out of NYC.  The ship was nothing to write home about, but  to food served was WONDERFUL!  So many fantastic Greek specialties that I can pronounce, but wouldn't begin to try to spell!

Edited December 4, 2020 by marco

[rkacruiser]

22 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

The CGT Liberte’ would be correct.  

 

My memory was correct!  😁

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, marco said:

There would always be some green vegetable on the table,  but no matter what the occasion or holiday, they would always be prepared the same way.....sautéed  with olive oil and garlic.

 

Sounds delicious; a simple preparation.

 

9 hours ago, marco said:

But alas.... we digress from "Great Cruising Memories". But reconnect....

 

"Great Cruising Memories" include cuisine aboard as well as ashore.  How did we cruisers learn to come to appreciate good cruise cuisine if we had not learned what was "good" cuisine ashore before we ever embarked a vessel?  

 

22 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

My biggest problem with Green Bean Casserole would be trying to fit it on the dining table.  I seriously doubt that anyone in my family would touch it.  Whipped turnip, boiled onions, sweet Hubbard squash, sweet potato Kahlua casserole, sage stuffing, oyster dressing with Riesling and mashed potato is about all I can manage.  

 

What a menu!  Whipped turnips?  Never have heard of such.  It took a long time before I would eat turnips.  To this day, they are "OK".  If I could, I wouldn't choose them.  But, they would rank above parsnips.  

[CGTNORMANDIE]

10 hours ago, marco said:

There would always be some green vegetable on the table,  but no matter what the occasion or holiday, they would always be prepared the same way.....sautéed  with olive oil and garlic. But alas.... we digress from "Great Cruising Memories". But reconnect....I do remember long ago, we took a cruise on the Greek line's "Queen Anna Maria" out of NYC.  The ship was nothing to write home about, but  to food served was WONDERFUL!  So many fantastic Greek specialties that I can pronounce, but wouldn't begin to try to spell!

The food on the Greek ships was always good.  The Amerikanis was a special small ship with a big heart and great food and service.  There was always a Greek specialty...usually at lunch...unfailingly good.  They had lots of lamb, moussaka, pastichio, Greek stews, salads, fabulous fish and desserts...all very enjoyable.  In those days we could really eat the entire menu.  
 

 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

55 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Sounds delicious; a simple preparation.

 

 

"Great Cruising Memories" include cuisine aboard as well as ashore.  How did we cruisers learn to come to appreciate good cruise cuisine if we had not learned what was "good" cuisine ashore before we ever embarked a vessel?  

 

 

What a menu!  Whipped turnips?  Never have heard of such.  It took a long time before I would eat turnips.  To this day, they are "OK".  If I could, I wouldn't choose them.  But, they would rank above parsnips.  

Can’t have a great turkey dinner without the rutabaga.  We peel, chop and boil it then whip it in a bowl with butter and cinnamon with an electric mixer.  We use some of the cooking water to make the pan gravy.  Parsnips are spicy and have their rightful place but not at a turkey dinner.  🙂

[Heidi13]

10 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Parsnips are spicy and have their rightful place but not at a turkey dinner.  🙂

 

I enjoy Roasted Parsnips with a Roast Beef dinner. 🙂 Never had them with Turkey.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

4 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I enjoy Roasted Parsnips with a Roast Beef dinner. 🙂 Never had them with Turkey.

Parsnips are great roasted...especially with a beef main course.  I always felt that parsnips should stand alone.  I would never mix them in a stew or with other vegetables.

[rkacruiser]

5 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Parsnips are great roasted...

 

9 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

I enjoy Roasted Parsnips

 

Gentlemen:  If a grocery ever has the last crop of parsnips ever to be harvested, you won't me as a competitor to grab any!

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Soooooo...the next question would be...

 

Are there any cruise memories you bring back from a cruise that you employ at home?? Any special recipes, drinks etc.??  I know I developed a yearning for German beer and German food after cruising onboard the TS Bremen.  I also appreciated Greek food after our cruise on the Amerikanis.  I learned how to make great pizza onboard the Leonardo da Vinci.  
 

Your thoughts and experiences??

[marco]

We have a Homes Lines ***** book. Again....a wonderful "thank you for traveling with us" gift.  We make dishes out of it frequently.  Also, the Princess magazine that comes (I think every 6 months?) has had some good recipes in it.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Soooooo...the next question would be...

 

Are there any cruise memories you bring back from a cruise that you employ at home?? Any special recipes, drinks etc.??  I know I developed a yearning for German beer and German food after cruising onboard the TS Bremen.  I also appreciated Greek food after our cruise on the Amerikanis.  I learned how to make great pizza onboard the Leonardo da Vinci.  
 

Your thoughts and experiences??

 

Although I don't make them at home, I developed my love of curries sailing with the Indian crews of P&O and British India Lines.

 

 

[marco]

5 hours ago, marco said:

We have a Homes Lines ***** book. Again....a wonderful "thank you for traveling with us" gift.  We make dishes out of it frequently.  Also, the Princess magazine that comes (I think every 6 months?) has had some good recipes in it.

I have no idea why "Cook" was changed to "****"!

[rkacruiser]

10 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Are there any cruise memories you bring back from a cruise that you employ at home?? Any special recipes, drinks etc.?? 

 

My cruising experiences have broadened my appreciation for different cheeses.  Having the opportunity to sample different kinds of cheeses on a cruise, I have found many more that I now enjoy that would never have been considered by me when I first started cruising.  My Happy Hour is often accompanied with some type of cheese/crackers.

 

If I am going to buy beer, the choice is more likely to be Heineken, Foster's, Tiger, Labatt's, or Tsingtao rather than an American brand.  Of the list, Labatt's is #1 and Heineken is #2.  Would never have discovered them if I had not traveled.  

 

The major alcoholic contribution to my life as a result of my cruising has been my distinct preference for Sauvignon Blanc.  New Zealand's are excellent!  Australia's are very good.  Villa Maria is my favorite, but, because of its cost, I tend to save it for special occasions.  (Other New Zealand wines of that type are also more expensive where I live than what I purchase for daily imbibing.)  Much more inexpensive for daily use is Vandange--which my wine store's distributor is having difficulty obtaining for some reason--and Yellow Tail.  Both are Australian.  I realize that these are "cheap" wines.  But, to my palate, they don't taste cheap.  I drink what I like as I am sure you do as well.  

 

I have a Princess cookbook as well as a set of HAL's  Rudi Sodamin's cookbooks.  I look at the photos; I read the recipes, and I remember.  Cooking for one, most of the recipes are too involved and challenging for me to try.  

[CGTNORMANDIE]

4 hours ago, marco said:

I have no idea why "Cook" was changed to "****"!

Auto Spell strikes again!  I have to proof read everything and even then some things slip by.  

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Hi RK,

 

Beer...I love beer and have not had a beer for more than 2 years now...dialysis.  Must have been the 10,000 beers I drank that got me to where I am today...kidney failure....LOL.  I can’t wait to get a new kidney.  I’ll take it for a test run,  A big Stella Artois to start.  Then on to Heineken draft and especially Heineken Light...that’s one of the reasons I like MSC.  Then we have Amstel and some of the Belgian lagers.  Then we go on to Germany...Becks and about a dozen others but not Lowenbrau.  American beer...anything Sam Adams especially Sam Light.  Blue Moon with an orange slice comes to mind.  I still think the best American regular draft is Pabst.  Then we have a slew of artisan beers but I find most do not appeal to me...no lagers.🙁

[George C]

On 12/6/2020 at 5:19 AM, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Soooooo...the next question would be...

 

Are there any cruise memories you bring back from a cruise that you employ at home?? Any special recipes, drinks etc.??  I know I developed a yearning for German beer and German food after cruising onboard the TS Bremen.  I also appreciated Greek food after our cruise on the Amerikanis.  I learned how to make great pizza onboard the Leonardo da Vinci.  
 

Your thoughts and experiences??

My love for German beer came 50 years ago while being stationed in Germany while serving in the army . Luckily I got Germany and not Vietnam. Also best pizza I ever had was visiting Naples on a cruise 20 years ago, we had to miss our annual New York trip this year where we have pizza multiple times .

[Heidi13]

14 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Hi RK,

 

Beer...I love beer and have not had a beer for more than 2 years now...dialysis.  Must have been the 10,000 beers I drank that got me to where I am today...kidney failure....LOL.  I can’t wait to get a new kidney.  I’ll take it for a test run,  A big Stella Artois to start.  Then on to Heineken draft and especially Heineken Light...that’s one of the reasons I like MSC.  Then we have Amstel and some of the Belgian lagers.  Then we go on to Germany...Becks and about a dozen others but not Lowenbrau.  American beer...anything Sam Adams especially Sam Light.  Blue Moon with an orange slice comes to mind.  I still think the best American regular draft is Pabst.  Then we have a slew of artisan beers but I find most do not appeal to me...no lagers.🙁

 

I am probably the classic beer snob, as I would not touch any of the mass produced North American liquid that they must chill to freezing point to make it almost palatable.

 

Fortunately, on the West Coast we have a booming craft beer industry, with our small suburb town having 4 small breweries. The entire Metro Vancouver area has about 100 breweries. My favourites are IPA's, Stouts, Porters, Scotch Ales, etc. Basically anything dark or with tons of hops.

 

Heading on the Viking World Cruise, I was somewhat concerned on having no beers for 100+ days, but Viking had a Norwegian IPA and a Double Dark.

 

Used to enjoy rich, full bodied red wines, but unfortunately wine doesn't agree with one of my new medications, so beer is now the tipple of choice.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I am probably the classic beer snob, as I would not touch any of the mass produced North American liquid that they must chill to freezing point to make it almost palatable.

 

Fortunately, on the West Coast we have a booming craft beer industry, with our small suburb town having 4 small breweries. The entire Metro Vancouver area has about 100 breweries. My favourites are IPA's, Stouts, Porters, Scotch Ales, etc. Basically anything dark or with tons of hops.

 

Heading on the Viking World Cruise, I was somewhat concerned on having no beers for 100+ days, but Viking had a Norwegian IPA and a Double Dark.

 

Used to enjoy rich, full bodied red wines, but unfortunately wine doesn't agree with one of my new medications, so beer is now the tipple of choice.

I agree...most mass produced American beer is awful.  I do make exceptions and one of them is Pabst draft beer.  The recipe goes back to the 1800’s and it is a real lager.  I can taste variations of flavor in most beers.  I used to be quite good at it...good enough to place bets in barrooms...LOL.