Cruise Food - Part One

Cruise Food.   To me, I am always amazed at the quality of food on cruises especially when you think that they are feeding 2,000 to 3,000 people six meals per day.

Everything is made from scratch and their breakfast pastries are hard to pass up (but we often do) and on Princess, they even make their own ice creams which is also hard to pass up (and we often don't).

We prefer to take all our meals in the dining room.    I  like being waited on and Husband Jim who was in the military doesn't like standing in a line for food!      Sometimes (like boarding day and port days) the dining room is closed -- we then resort to either room service or pizza or the grill.

We always like the traditional seating where we have the same dinner companions at the same time and with the same waiter.     This cruise it was a table for six and the six of us became fast friends in our two weeks of dining together.

Breakfast and Lunch we always ask for a big table for we enjoy visiting with other cruisers and sometimes we found ourselves on the same time schedule as other cruisers and would join them day after day.    We so enjoyed the three ladies traveling together who had been fast friends since high school.    They were most interesting and we were glad when they were seated at our table a second and a third time!

But as everyone knows, part of cruising is about the food and as everyone also knows, sea air causes clothes to shrink.    Sigh -- it's a fact of life!

I didn't take the camera with me to every meal but I did some and captured some of the great dishes we enjoyed the first two weeks of January!

My lunch -- Jim dined on the traditional fish and chips!

Cottage Pie

(The Coral Princess does an English Pub Lunch in one of its Speciality Restaurants -- it doesn't cost extra -- just a different venue than the dining room.    They did a great job with their Pub Lunch.)

Husband Jim chose this as his first course for lunch.

Vitello Tonnato

(A picture pretty dish as prepared by the Coral Princess kitchen -- thin veal with a tuna flavored creamy sauce)

While Jim had the vitello tonnto, I had this lovely soup.

Borsht

(a cold beet soup with a dollop of sour cream)

I forget how wonderful asparagus can be as a first course.

Asparagus as an Appetizer

(Covered with hollandaise and sprinkled with prosciutto)

I've only had this a couple of times in my life and I've never made it -- should I remedy that?

Beef Wellington

(Filet covered with pate and then puff pastry and baked)

This was different than what I make but loved the fresh clams in the dish -- and the garnish of fresh chives.

Linguini with Clam Sauce

(Tasty and good and eaten as a first course rather than a main course!)

I could have eaten another order -- I love mussels!

Mussels (from Brussels)

(Not really -- they were from Chile but they were yummy with a creamy garlic sauce and bread for sopping up that wonderful sauce!)

This would make a great summer lunch -- especially when one is working in the garden!

Grilled Vegetables and Romaine with Lemon Vinaigrette

(A salad course which was my favorite salad of the whole cruise)

We're at home -- dinner last night was angel hair with a warmed jarred sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.     We were both in the city today (on different journeys)  and dinner tonight will be Costco's chicken noodle soup.  

Reality!

It's Friday and I'm sharing Cruise Food -- Part One, with Michael at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.