Author: Canapes and Chocolate

A short visit to Helsinki and Tallinn

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So we are now truly on our way – we have seen the sites of Stockholm, tested the waters there, had a little lox and some swedish meatballs and started cruising our way to Helskinki (known as the City of the Sea) in Finland and then onto Tallinn in Estonia.  It is so wonderful to leave one country at night and wake up in another country the following morning.   In fact, we noticed at dinner the evening we left Helsinki (on our way to  Tallinn) that we were moving quite slow, very slowly, and then uh oh, we were stopped.  What had happened on our ship?  Did we hit something?  Did we forget something or someone back in Helsinki?  Nope, apparently it is only takes about 2-1/2 hours to cross between Finland and Estonia

A first for me – the Nobel Prize

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I was overjoyed to visit Stockholm and home of the Nobel Prizes which are awarded in a ceremony each year at the Stockholm Concert Hall, as this was an item on my Bucket List. To cross off my list that I had seen the Nobel Prize “up close and personal” would have been a first for me, as most of my bucket items to cross off are non-travel related so far. I had previously read the biography of Albert Nobel and was very excited to know I would be walking the same halls that countless distinguished and accomplished award winners had previously walked.  You need to know that Stockholm has a lot of construction going on – just about every corner you turn there is a building being demolished and replaced, or new construction, or some type of building resurfacing – we encountered the latter when we passed by the Concert Hall, so actually didn’t get to go inside and tour the building.  Big disappointment and I will just have to schedule another trip to Stockholm in the future!

Is this any way to run a cruise line?

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  You bet it is!   As I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently took a cruise along the Baltic Sea (Crystal Cruises) and visited the following ports: Stockholm, Helsinki, Estonia, St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Copenhagen.  Each city had their own distinct personality, some delightful and others not so much, but all interesting and a journey to places I had never visited before. I took a ton of photos on my iPhone and will post a tiny fraction of them, mostly of the meals I photographed and some interesting museums or attractions.  And to start I will share some meals on the ship.  Let me preface this by saying I took a cruise about two years ago to Alaska (won’t say the name of the ship, but Tulips they are not) and the food was very disappointing. 

Garlic bread with cream cheese

Insanely good garlic bread with cream cheese and herbs

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  If you enjoy garlic bread, and I mean really, really like garlic, then you will adore this recipe. Because the garlic is very prominent I don’t use regular sized slices of french bread, but rather demi baguettes, (slices are a bit larger than a long baguette loaf.) The flavor of the garlic is toned down by using the cream cheese and the slice of grape tomato.   Unfortunately these breads don’t hold their crispness to the next day, but if tossed in a fry pan with olive oil for a minute or two, (don’t put in microwave) they bounce back and work well broken up and used as garlic croutons in a salad. They are the best!

Deviled eggs with olive and pimento

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My Mom made the best deviled eggs (that and her spaghetti sauce were my two favorites of her recipes).  She frequently changed what she put on top (sometimes capers, or bay shrimp, thin slice of dill pickle, black olive slices, etc.) but the basic recipe stayed the same: eggs, mayo, bacon, and onion powder.  I have adapted it a bit by adding green olives with pimento, because that is how I make my egg salad sandwiches and I like the brininess of the green olives with the smooth creamy taste of the chopped egg yolks – these flavors just work for me – hope you like it too.

Flat Iron Steak Argentine Style – Chimichurri Sauce

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  Flat Iron steak is my new best friend – at least for this month.   Talk about scads of flavor – and it costs less than a NY steak or tenderloin.  I generally like a steak with a lot of fat (as I think it provides so much flavor, even though it isn’t so great for your heart or figure.)  The flat iron steak is flavorful because of the significant amount of marbling in the meat – if it’s Wagyu or Kobe beef, even better.  It can sometimes be a little tough (similar to skirt or flank steak), so marinating the steak will go a long way – shoot for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight if possible.  Toss it on the grill – it takes to the grill like wild fire!

Strawberries Romanoff

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I was recently on a cruise in the Baltic Sea and spent three days in St. Petersburg where we toured the Hermitage Museum known for its collection of more than three million works of art among five buildings, one of which was the Winter Palace of Czar Nicholas II, a member of Russia’s Romanov family. While many people think Strawberries Romanoff was created for the Romanov family by their royal chef, they would be wrong.  This dessert was originally created by Auguste Escoffier and known as “Strawberries Americaine Style” when he was Chef at the Carlton Hotel in London in the 1920s.  Around the mid 1940’s Escoffier’s recipe was “borrowed” by Prince Michael Romanoff (he was actually an actor and considered a “professional imposter” as there was no royal blood in his family).  But he did know how to publicize his restaurant and promote a wonderful dessert, Strawberries Romanoff.  The recipe lives on long after his death in 1971 and is still considered a classic when it comes to summer entertaining.

Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad

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  Did you know that May is National Salad Month?   I didn’t, but I did know that when we have sunny weather like we did this weekend, I crave salads.  On Sunday the temperature reached 86 degrees in Seattle and it seemed fitting to fire up the BBQ, grill a burger, and serve Macaroni Salad, along with a beer.    Growing up in the Bay Area we had family and friends over just about every weekend to enjoy the pool and sun – to make the macaroni salad a little fancier, my Mom would add Bay Shrimp on top (about 1/4 cup).  It definitely made it more special – here is my Mom’s recipe.

Jamocha Mocha Mousse with Creme de Cacao

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Jamocha Mocha Mousse is definitely not Low-Carb, but tastes wonderful and I will be bringing it to a Bridal Shower later this week.   There are hundreds of recipes in cookbooks and on blogs for chocolate or mocha mousse, but this is the recipe I have used since I was a teenager.   I think I originally wrote it down when watching one of Julia Child’s TV shows, but have tweaked it here and there over the years, and turned it from Chocolate Mousse to Mocha Mousse as I love coffee-flavored desserts.  

Blood Pudding Sausage and Fried Egg (Low Carb)

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Yum – a Sunday breakfast treat, especially tasty when one has been soooooo good throughout the week.  Since I am avoiding potatoes at all costs I can’t have hash browns, yet I still want something special for breakfast on the weekend  – and this dish is it!  I have fond memories of my Father making Blood Sausage for us on Sunday morning after Mass – it was such a treat for us (although for him this was served most days as part of an Irish breakfast growing up in San Francisco).  Blood sausage (which is also referred to as Black Pudding or Blood Pudding), is generally made from pork blood and a high proportion of oatmeal and sometimes barley, in addition to pork.  I realize this might not be to everyone’s liking just from the name of the dish, but if you try it, you will be delighted that you did.