CSI: NA Reloaded (Nieuw Amsterdam 11/30 to 12/14/14)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank You!!

[superoma]

I am beginning to think it's personal. I don't know what I ever did to the cheese guy, but it must be something pretty bad. ;) I don't know if anyone else is getting prunes, or it's just me. The smart people ordered the peanut butter silk pie last night. It was really good.

 

 

POA, have you tried the Supposed prunes? They really do look like dates but if you tried one you would know for sure. Dates would be great, prunes not so much.

 

 

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[kazu]

In case you're wondering, it's "Frizz Ease" moisture barrier hairspray by John Frieda. Huskerchick has a convertible and has given this particular hairspray high marks for both humidity and wind resistance.

 

thanks :D I just was impressed with how thoughtful you were :D but I'll happily take the tip. I think we may even have that here in the middle of nowhere:p

[shrimpboat123]

Last night's entertainment was Recycled Percussion. They handed out ear plugs before the show, because it was going to be very loud. We didn't attend, but I heard that it was good - but extremely loud.

 

I attended and didn't use the ear plugs. It was loud. Brought back memories of my university days sitting in the music room at the Student Union Building listening to Black Sabbath at full volume. Maybe that's why I can't hear so good anymore. Eh!!:D

[shrimpboat123]

Tonight, as we entered the dining room for early fixed seating, there was a gentleman at the entrance being refused entry because he was wearing short pants. He seemed a bit upset. The DRM stood his ground.

 

So it would seem they do enforce some sort of dress code at times.

[cruz chic]

Tonight, as we entered the dining room for early fixed seating, there was a gentleman at the entrance being refused entry because he was wearing short pants. He seemed a bit upset. The DRM stood his ground.

 

So it would seem they do enforce some sort of dress code at times.

 

Good to see they do once in a while.

[POA1]

Here's a "rush report" of the Pinnacle Grill tonight. With caviar. And foie gras over apple tart tatin, and an exquisite melting chocolate ball dessert. Apologies for not getting the chocolate ball pre-melt. We'll try again on Saturday.

 

KK - the caviar was excellent, as was the presentation. The blinis were hot off the griddle. You would have loved this dinner.

 

If you don't hear from me again, it's because I sunk while snorkeling.

 

When you look at the link, please notice the Chef Rudi Selections. We had the foie gras and Huskerchick had the melting chocolate ball. We skipped the Florida lobster.

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/l/AFjXeLr2UMpD4IMkvcRC640ZuUjfSSgo1t0A

/

[cruz chic]

What, no prunes a.k.a dates:D?

[SilvertoGold]

Outstanding photos!

 

The food presentation is the best I have seen for the Pinnacle on any ship.

 

Looks as if it may pay to be on a ship with the bigwigs from Seattle!

 

Thanks a lot, POA1.

[POA1]

The Pinnacle dinner exceeded our expectations in almost every way. We booked the Pinnacle for Saturday night and are canceling Tamarind. There's nothing wrong with Tamarind, but my father in law said that he liked the Pinnacle better, and we do our best to accommodate.

 

The chance to have more caviar, goose liver, and the chocolate ball have nothing to do with it. ;)

 

We've reached the point in the cruise where we're running dangerously low on wine. The pairings are going to be mostly hit & miss from this point forward. We had the Mollydooker Two Left Feet (Shiraz, Cab, Merlot blend tonight) as well as the leftover Antinori Tuscan blend from last night. (First time we carried wine over from day to day in... um... well... ever.) Huskerchick and I decided to pair our caviar and foie gras with Veuve Clicquot. There are some really good Sauternes and some half bottles of Far Niente Dolce back at the Institute's headquarters that would have been amazing the the foie. (Blast you, 750 ml carry on restriction!)

 

Chef Rudi departed the ship today. He left behind a Chef Rudi Bobblehead Doll in the Pinnacle* and we're hoping that he left a few melting chocolate balls as well. DW has graciously offered to get it again on Saturday so we can get a "before" photo, and maybe even a movie of the hot, luscious, chocolate on chocolate, melting action**. What a team player!

 

After we get back from our snorkel charter tomorrow, I'm going to have to visit the new Admiral's Wine Packages and see what we need to make it safely home. (If I sink from the weight of tonight's dinner, DW & DFIL will be fine on wine. :D)

 

*I'm not making this up. We'll get a photo.

 

Bottom line: Chef Rudi's smiling visage, looking out from the menus, has been good to us.

 

**Sounds dirty, but it's merely chocolicious.

[Lizzie68]

POA, apart from your exquisite photos, you should really get a job as a food and wine critic onboard! They should be paying you for this.:D

 

PS - We actually caught a glimpse of DFIL's hand, too!

Edited December 11, 2014 by Lizzie68

[RuthC]

You do realize you are driving me insane with all this talk about a melting chocolate ball, don't you? I don't have a cruise coming up soon, and I don't know if I can last until my next one for a taste of this delicacy.

[POA1]

You do realize you are driving me insane with all this talk about a melting chocolate ball, don't you? I don't have a cruise coming up soon, and I don't know if I can last until my next one for a taste of this delicacy.

 

We have to find out if it's (1) going to be a regular item, or if it's part of the Master Chef Dinner only and they had extras, and much more importantly (2) will they save one for DW to have again on Saturday night. (Solely for the purposes of photographing it pre-meltiness. Time to suck up to the Pinnacle manager!)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have to find out if it's (1) going to be a regular item, or if it's part of the Master Chef Dinner only and they had extras, and much more importantly (2) will they save one for DW to have again on Saturday night. (Solely for the purposes of photographing it pre-meltiness. Time to suck up to the Pinnacle manager!)

 

 

That sounds delicious. I hope it becomes part of the Pinnacle dessert menu.

We have done the Chef Rudi's dinner quite a few times on various ships (including the Nieuw Amsterdam) and that was not part of the dessert. So far the menu has not changed in a few years. I have made suggestions for some changes. So maybe part of the dessert has been changed.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Here's a "rush report" of the Pinnacle Grill tonight. With caviar. And foie gras over apple tart tatin, and an exquisite melting chocolate ball dessert. Apologies for not getting the chocolate ball pre-melt. We'll try again on Saturday.

 

KK - the caviar was excellent, as was the presentation. The blinis were hot off the griddle. You would have loved this dinner.

 

If you don't hear from me again, it's because I sunk while snorkeling.

 

When you look at the link, please notice the Chef Rudi Selections. We had the foie gras and Huskerchick had the melting chocolate ball. We skipped the Florida lobster.

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/l/AFjXeLr2UMpD4IMkvcRC640ZuUjfSSgo1t0A

/

 

 

Thank you POA1.

Glad you had the good caviar on your ship.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Tonight, as we entered the dining room for early fixed seating, there was a gentleman at the entrance being refused entry because he was wearing short pants. He seemed a bit upset. The DRM stood his ground.

 

So it would seem they do enforce some sort of dress code at times.

 

 

Wish they would enforce the code all the time on all the ships.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Outstanding photos!

 

The food presentation is the best I have seen for the Pinnacle on any ship.

 

Looks as if it may pay to be on a ship with the bigwigs from Seattle!

 

Thanks a lot, POA1.

 

 

I was thinking the same thing.

[POA1]

 

 

 

On this Day in History - December 11th - It's the 95th anniversary of the Boll Weevil monument in Enterprise, Alabama. Nearly a century after its unveiling, the monument remains "the world's only monument built to honor an agricultural pest."

 

By my calculations, we have now hit four star Mariner status. We're delighted that two caviar supplements put us over the top. We can only hope that the committee in charge of handing out Mariner ponies uses sturgeon egg purchases as a factor.

 

The ship continues to grow more and more festive with each passing day. We're going to devote some time to getting some photos of the Christmas decorations tomorrow. The ship is really quite pretty all bedecked with boughs of holly. (Sing "Fa la la la la la la la la." You know you want to.*)

 

It's time for us to give our proper respect and shout outs to everyone who has made our cruise an excellent one. We're making a list, and checking it twice. Gonna include those who give Bourbon and ice.**

 

We don't want to leave anyone out, so we're going to convene a special meeting of The Committee on Gratitude & Attaboys later today. After much deliberation, and possibly some Pepperidge Farms Goldfish Crackers***, we'll announce our list.

 

*You literally cannot type that sentence without singing the song. Try it. I dare you.

 

**I don't want to give you the impression that we're the kind of people who think that $1,000 beverage cards would be completely reasonable. (We do.) We're not going to be thanking only beverage department employees. We will also be thanking our truly outstanding room stewards, Ari & Ari, as well as the nice guy who gives us pizza even though it's a little after midnight. (Cut us off. We're starting to get puffy.) You'll have to wait for the whole list, because I'm awful with names and we have to run around the ship and surreptitiously write down people's names.*****

 

***We never have Goldfish crackers at home. We only have them here on the ship. If fish are so good for you, maybe we should have them more often. Or, we could cruise a lot.

 

****There is no four asterisk footnote. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention.

 

*****You know who's not on the list? The cheese guy and the person who prints the stationery. That's who. Like I said, send me a dozen pieces of stationery and some envelopes, and make sure there's a plate of Humboldt Fog & Stilton at table 9 for the eight o'clock seating tomorrow. If so, we can let bygones be bygones. Buddies for life. Pals to the end.* Otherwise, we give the bear my Leatherman tool. You saw what he did to that Heffalump with the little scissors. Imagine what he'll do to you with a pliers, a metal file, a saw, and a fish scaler. You may think yourself fearless, but just wait until you face Poohby Joe with a stainless steel mutitool. :D

Edited December 11, 2014 by POA1

[sapper1]

You do realize you are driving me insane with all this talk about a melting chocolate ball, don't you? I don't have a cruise coming up soon, and I don't know if I can last until my next one for a taste of this delicacy.

 

I was talking to POA in the Lido this morning and the chocolate ball was all he could talk about. He has me re thinking the ice cream I usually:D order in the Pinnacle.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love it!!

Hope you get your new 4 Star pins soon.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Question

In the Pinnacle at the end of dinner, they bring out the sugars and cream for coffee. And there are also chocolates.

What kind of chocolates have you been getting?

[pamelabrown53]

Loved the Pinnacle Food Porn pix. Question: what sauces were served with the steaks? One looked like bearnaise; the other looked like butter?

 

Have a terrific day and look forward to your updates.

 

(Note to self: Buy box of Thank You notes prior to next week's cruise).:)

[superoma]

 

 

 

On this Day in History - December 11th - It's the 95th anniversary of the Boll Weevil monument in Enterprise, Alabama. Nearly a century after its unveiling, the monument remains "the world's only monument built to honor an agricultural pest."

 

 

. :D

 

 

I have seen and photographed this monument. Unfortunately, the picture got thrown out in my great photo album purge about 10 years ago. What are the odds that you would post this obscure piece of knowledge and someone from Canada reading your blog, with great enjoyment I might add, had been there and done that.

 

I am also loving the wine info and have made notes for my Total Wine visit in January. Thanks for that, too

 

 

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[superoma]

And you can see I am still having problems using my iPad with CC. Sorry, did not mean to copy the graphics and the quote about the boll weevil got lost.

 

 

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[POA1]

Question

In the Pinnacle at the end of dinner, they bring out the sugars and cream for coffee. And there are also chocolates.

What kind of chocolates have you been getting?

Dark chocolate covered marzipan with a walnut on top, dark chocolate crisp, and hazelnut crisp. The marzipan had more of a coconut flavor, but they were all good.