Silversea Water Cooler: Part 3, Welcome!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Will be thinking of you Soaps.

 

It does look good.

 

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[ShotsnCruises]

I am at the start of a 3 day weekend, and found the energy to put dinner together.

 

NY Strip steak on a bed of tomatoes and fresh greens with a bit of Gorgonzola and a balsamic vinaigrette. Can't forget the wonderful California Zinfandel I've had stashed away!

 

 

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[Lois R]

Busy week here with both of us working on-call but have had a little time here and there to cook. Welcome back to Shots with her food pics. We've tried a few new recipes.

 

Chicken thighs (boneless, skinless) baked with mushrooms and lemon slices until nicely browned. Then served with a "parsley sauce" (olive oil, wine vinegar, garlic, parsley). The description sounds weird but the dish was yummy.

 

 

Then some poached cod fillets, simply served with beurre blanc. Always good for a hot summer day.

 

 

Cheers all. Off to work.

 

JP, the description does NOT sound weird.......I LOVE food with mushrooms and olive oil......and it looks fantastic:D

[Lois R]

I am at the start of a 3 day weekend, and found the energy to put dinner together.

 

NY Strip steak on a bed of tomatoes and fresh greens with a bit of Gorgonzola and a balsamic vinaigrette. Can't forget the wonderful California Zinfandel I've had stashed away!

 

 

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This looks amazingly delicious:D

[Lois R]

Hello foodies:D.....all of your food photos look sooooooooo good:D

 

Living alone, sometimes I enjoy cooking and sometimes I don't......just depends on my mood but I am not into picture

taking so no food photos from me.

 

I did have an excellent lunch today (I get an hour), as most of us worker bees do here on this side of the pond;)

I went to a local place I eat at quite often........they have a great menu and today I had a stuffed avocado.....with

chicken salad and it is on a big bed of spring greens........lettuce, tomatoe, cucumbers, sprouts and pita bread on the

side.......oh and fresh fruit comes with it. ......it was very good:)

[Camillus112]

Lois, though I did not get a photo, your lunch reads delicious! I really appreciate all food pictures shared by Coolers...due to two factors: first, I don't cook (husband does) and, like Lois, I don't do photos. I get a lot of satisfaction from all creativity dispensed in this thread!!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Today was moussaka. What is the point of aubergines?

 

 

 

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[Lois R]

Aubergines? You mean Eggplant? That has always been a part of Moussaka:D........I LOVE IT:)

[jpalbny]

Some tasty food today! Everything looks (and that which has no visual proof, sounds) delicious. Tonight it was a salmon fillet on the grill with rice.

 

 

I made a quick sauce inspired by Tzatziki with greek yogurt, garlic, and fresh herbs mint and dill. Thinned with a little milk, and decorated with a sprinkle of sumac.

 

 

It went well with a few tomatoes, balsamic, and fancy olive oil. Lots of sea salt for crunch, as we'd been running before dinner and needed to replenish.

 

 

Unfortunately I think I need a snack before bed because it wasn't very big!

[Camillus112]

Beautiful food photos!! Moussaka is a favorite, and the tzatziki should be very tasty. Keep them coming, still hungry.

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

Miss S....Thanks for the "enjoying the sunshine" wish! Unfortunately more rain today! Bumper crop of mosquitoes though! Thoughts are with you this weekend!

 

Yummy food pics all! Pizza night here. :) Dough made last night is waiting for the magic.

 

Went out to the driving range with Myster yesterday. He loves golf and I am willing to learn so that we can play together. I am not athletically inclined so expectations were quite low. And I did not exceed the low expectations. I will not give up just yet. :)

 

Perusing our national news this morning I tripped over an item that gave me pause. Apparently one of the members of Canada's elite Joint Task Force 2 special forces unit made a record-breaking kill shot. A Canadian sniper working alongside Iraqi forces in their fight against ISIS successfully struck a member of the militant group from a distance of 3,540 metres. The kill shot disrupted an ISIS attack on Iraqi security forces. Seriously????? Is this really something to brag about in the media? I know that war means death, however, I am very uncomfortable with this "celebration" of a record-breaking kill. This does not really make me proud of our military. It is not like winning an Olympic medal! Is it just me?

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sniper-world-record-canadians-1.4174155

 

Despite the rain and the discomfort over news items I plan to enjoy the day and hope the Coolers enjoy theirs!

Edited June 23, 2017 by mysty

[spinnaker2]

I too will be thinking of you Sophia on this weekend. May good memories sustain you.

 

 

 

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[UKCruiseJeff]

Good afternoon Coolers ...... lovely pics and posts all.

 

M, totally agree with your sentiments. Killing people isn't a sport, it is something that should always be done with regret rather than celebration.

 

I have got to know Soapy well over the last few years and she is an exceptional person, who has a lot to be proud of with enormous and exceptional achievements in the extreme, that she is far too private and modest to share, and it is horrible that this weekend she will reflect on the terrible loss. Pecker up Soapy ol' gal ... we're all with you this weekend. You are far from alone both with your real family and friends and your cooler buddies. :)

 

Today was a burger.

 

 

 

 

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[ShotsnCruises]

Jeff, your fried potatoes always look amazing.

 

 

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[Camillus112]

Hello Coolers,

 

Fried potatoes in olive oil are delicious. I'd like to ask, do you have a way of preparing them in the oven, in order to cut down on fat? I've tried the commercial ones that are "oven fried" but the taste is not as good.

 

MissS., here are more good thoughts going your way!!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Obviously the less fat and oils the less flavour. I feel it better to compromise on the frequency and amount I eat and make no compromise at all with fats and oils. Even when down at Seaside, if we buy a bag of chips, we feel that it is the first few chips that you really enjoy and after those basically you are simply eat it as "food" and not a special treat, so we eat just a few and bin the rest.

 

Today's potatos were deep fried chips. Maris Piper was used although any floury rather than waxy does. I chipped the potatos and boiled them for ten minutes. Then allowed all the moisure to evaporate off. It is moisture on the surface that pulls the oil into the center of the chip when you deep fry. Surface moisture causes oil absorbtion, and not cooking chips at low temperarure as the urban myth says. So if you remove as much surface water as possible by evaporation until the potato is cold then that is the least unhealthy way of making chips. You then fry at a low temperature for ten minutes or until they are cooked and floating. You then remove and turn up the oil to high say 185 or so and crisp up. I taught a certain chef on SS named David this technique many years ago as it came from a New Zealand phd thesis on healthy chips ...

 

I also like pan frying ie sauteeing. I prefer to use waxy for these, I prefer charlottes. I par boil until cooked. I then allow them to evaporate and cool and then slow fry in butter and thick cloudy virgin olive oil with salt and pepper sprinkled on them just before the end.

 

I've also used an airfryer with great success. Parboil potatos again and shake them around in a bowl with olive oil until coated and put into the airfryer at say 160 for as long as it takes.

[Camillus112]

Very, very useful information, Jeff! I'm afraid I was doing it all wrong: first placing them in salty water to coat, and from there throwing them into oil, adjusting temps to first cook and then fry. No way did I know that I was letting them absorb all the oil! You can tell how much cooking I do.... I'm sure we'll enjoy the next batch!

[MissSophia]

G'Day All.....

 

Jeff....many many thanks for your lovely kind words and special thoughts.......and thanks also to those of you that send your thoughts and wishes, it means a lot and l am very touched and so lucky to have such kind and caring cooler friends.

 

I've had a lovely day out with DD...we both managed to find some holiday bargains at the outlet and after walking around for a mile or two 😳 we stopped for lunch at a very cool Mexican restaurant where some quite delicious Fajitas were enjoyed and rather than having a pud l opted for a tiramisu martini to finish which was delightful......down side being l was dragged orff before l could order another!!

 

Happy Day

 

S 😊

[UKCruiseJeff]

Pleased you found it interesting/helpful.

 

Hot oil "wants" to replace all water wherever it finds it. Once it finds the surface water it sort of accelerates and gets sucked into the chip. Surface water also reduces the oils temperqrure. The less water it replaces, and the more heat it retains, the more it can use it's remaining higher heat to caramelise the sugars on surface rather than simply evaporate off surface water. So the sum total of the process is less fatty, crisper chips with a fluffy relatively fat-free interior.

Edited June 23, 2017 by UKCruiseJeff

[ShotsnCruises]

Morning Cruisers!

Last night DH told me he wants to book a Mediterranean cruise. He wants to see Greece and Italy.

I am thrilled. I never thought he would agree to that, let alone WANT to do it himself. We are looking at September 2019, which isn't released from SS yet... but getting ideas from current itineraries. This will be very new territory for me (us), and I'm wondering if a travel agent isn't the way to go here? We have time to research and plan, but feeling excited and unsure at the same time.

Thoughts and advice are appreciated.

 

 

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[MissSophia]

Hi All.....quite a dull day here but still warm....my lunch date was sadly cancelled as my friend was called into work...hey ho!

 

Shots....what great news and the Med at that time of year is lovely. I would strongly advise a good independent travel agent who can steer you in the right direction...it's sad that we can't recommend on the boards as l know there are many of us on here who have excellent agents who also offer extra perks! I'm doing Athens to Venice on the Spirit this September along with Spins so plenty of advice to help you out....just ask away.

 

Chilli for lunch today....I seem to yet again crave for some spice after the Mexican taste yesterday!!

 

Happy Weekend.......

 

S☺️

[spinnaker2]

Shots

Highly recommend using an agent.

So many perks.

We can't refer on this board.

Only privately.

[Lois R]

Good morning:)..........I was in Italy and Greece back in 2012 ( I sailed on CELEBRITY)......I am sure SS does a marvelous

job;)........the countries/cities in each place I visited were fantastic:D.........not sure what itinerary you are looking at......

I LOVED that cruise:D....Santorini was one of my favorite places. A good Travel Agent can be helpful but I knew what

I wanted and just booked it myself. But again, an agent who specializes in cruising can be a good thing.

Have fun researching:D

[MissSophia]

Shots

Highly recommend using an agent.

So many perks.

We can't refer on this board.

Only privately.

 

Great minds again Spins 😉 maybe if Shots could give us an email addy we could help more....both sides of the pond!

[spinnaker2]

Sophia,

100% agree with you. Travel agents can offer so much more than booking direct thru the cruise line. If we could get an email address for Shots we could refer off this board.

 

On another note I did book excursions yesterday, I do want to go to some places with the Silversea booking. I am also looking into a wine tasting in Taormina.

 

 

 

 

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