Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[aussielozzie18]

5 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Some food pics.  Not the best angles. We ate at Duke's last night.

 

 

 

After eating the waiter asked if we wanted dessert .  Hula pie I think.  The waiter asked how many and we said 4.  Waiter..... WHAT! He then said, let me bring one out first and then you can order more.  We had a hard time eating 2. Hard to see the size of the from the pics.

 

 

The food and pie was good.

That all looks so delish.  I assume that is Mac n cheese as a side?  Used to be my son’s favourite meal at home when he was younger.  We don’t see it often on dining out menus here but I gather it’s a staple of menus in the US?

[BonTexasNY]

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

I keep meaning to look up what the sous viding way of cooking entails, etc.  

 

 

Maryann, I've looked it up online and still don't get it even with @John&LaLa John's step by step photos.

[Coralc]

Sous Vide seems to require a lot of single use appliances. The cooker, the vacuum sealer, the pot or tray. I don't have room to store all those, and it seems to be more cooking steps than I am interested in. JMO. ☺️It is like recipes with more than about 5 ingredients and a lot of single use herbs. I shy away from those, too. 

Edited May 2, 2023 by Coralc

[Ourusualbeach]

Landed, all luggage accounted for, grabbing a pizza and then to grab some sleep.  While it's only 6:40 here its well after midnight on my body's time and I've been up since 3am, no sleep on the plane

[Ozark_Kid]

3 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

That all looks so delish.  I assume that is Mac n cheese as a side?  Used to be my son’s favourite meal at home when he was younger.  We don’t see it often on dining out menus here but I gather it’s a staple of menus in the US?

Yes, that is a side of Mac n cheese with the ribs.  Funny thing is I didn't notice it until you mentioned it. 

Yes, it is common in the US restaurants that serve American food to serve Mac and cheese.  Often Sharon will order Mac n cheese as a side when we are sharing a main meal.  She did that when we ate in California the other day.

[Ozark_Kid]

Some random pics taken yesterday of trees and a plant I thought looked cool.

 

 

 

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

2023 Spam Jam Festival from Saturday 4/29

 

 

May 1, Lei Day Celebration

 

 

 

 

Some random picture- Surfer on Wave at Waikiki Beach

 

Parrot on beach

 

Bird keeping an eye on that big fish

[Ozark_Kid]

We were at Lei Day celebration  too!  We first went to Pearl Harbour a then arrived at Lei Day towards the end.  When we first got there we got some bacon wrapped shrimp and teriyaki beef skewers.  We took them over to eat where Helen took the stage pic.  We just missed each other!

 

After we sat down they had some good entertainment.   He was singing How Great Thou Art.

 

Going to 😴.   I will be catching up all week.  BTW, we stopped by Duke's again and got more pie!

[Sunshine3601]

8 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Thanks.  It is actually the soda and water that I am wondering about.  I did not get a refreshment package since I was going to just get bottled water in the SL.  DH got a refreshment because he lives on the diet root beer in the Freestyle machine plus he likes mochas.  We never use all of our vouchers, so I was just going to use one voucher for my daily mocha.  It isn't a deal breaker for us, I can just stock up on water bottles during happy hour if necessary.  I was just cheaping out and not buying a refreshment package this time and now it is $10/day more than what we paid for his.  I am going to wait and see what the concierge says and maybe I just buy a case of water.

 

 

Save your money and just get your bottled water from the SL.   Worst case, get a couple during happy hour each night.

We are both casino prime members and usually grab several bottled waters from the casino every night for the next day.

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

We were at Lei Day celebration  too!  We first went to Pearl Harbour a then arrived at Lei Day towards the end.  When we first got there we got some bacon wrapped shrimp and teriyaki beef skewers.  We took them over to eat where Helen took the stage pic.  We just missed each other!

 

After we sat down they had some good entertainment.   He was singing How Great Thou Art.

 

Going to 😴.   I will be catching up all week.  BTW, we stopped by Duke's again and got more pie!

Hi John and Sharon,  Beautiful photos.  I'm so happy y'all made it safe and sound.   Visiting the many islands of Hawaii has been on my bucket list for many years, someday!!

Please have a piece of Hulu pie for me and Eric🥰

[Sunshine3601]

5 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Landed, all luggage accounted for, grabbing a pizza and then to grab some sleep.  While it's only 6:40 here its well after midnight on my body's time and I've been up since 3am, no sleep on the plane

Excellent news Ken, except for lack of sleep. Hope you and your Son have an awesome trip!!

[bobmacliberty]

9 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Not happening.

 

7 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Same here I am a grill guy. Something about "Man vs Fire." I hear great things about Sous Vide but I like hanging at my grill cocktail in one hand and pair tongs in the other.

 

[bobmacliberty]

9 hours ago, Luckynana said:

I keep meaning to look up what the sous viding way of cooking entails, etc.  

 

 

 

7 hours ago, Coralc said:

Sous Vide seems to require a lot of single use appliances. The cooker, the vacuum sealer, the pot or tray. I don't have room to store all those, and it seems to be more cooking steps than I am interested in. JMO. ☺️It is like recipes with more than about 5 ingredients and a lot of single use herbs. I shy away from those, too. 

 

Sous Vide cooking is very easy.  It's a french phrase that means under a vacuum.  You seal food in a bag and then put it in water that is controlled to a specific temperature.  The food slowly heats to be exactly the same temp as the water...not a degree more.  Vacuum sealing ensures that the food is in contact with the water (other than the thin film of the vacuum bag) and cooks evenly.  No air to act as a thermal insulator.  It's great for cooking meat so that it's the same temperature throughout, i.e. perfect medium rare steaks all the way through.  Food comes out very tender.  It's also very flexible in that you can leave the food in the water for several hours and it won't overcook.  Just take it out of the water when you're almost ready to serve.  I saw almost because steaks in particular taste (and look) great when cooked on a grill because of the sear on the outside.  You don't get that sear when using the sous vide method so you typically want to sear over a hot flame, or in a hot pan with butter, for a minute on each side before serving.

 

Although you can put herbs in the vacuum bag with the meat, I've found that doesn't result in as much taste as other cooking methods.  That's about the only negative that I've found.  You do need a larger sized pot, which we have anyway for cooking crab, lobster, and large amounts of pasta.  The Sous Vide machine (the thing you stick in the water to control the water temp) is about 3-4 inches in diameter and 12-15 inches long.  Doesn't take up much cabinet space but isn't exactly small either.  A vacuum sealer is nice to have but not required.  You can put your food in an unsealed ziplock bag and slowly lower it into the water.  The water pushes out the air.  When it's lowered almost completely in the water and the air has been pushed out, seal the bag.

 

Lots more info here: Sous Vide Cooking: How to Get Started (seriouseats.com)

 

 

[John&LaLa]

13 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I've been considering sous vide ribs but haven't tried it yet.  Looks great. 

 

Foolproof

[John&LaLa]

11 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Not happening.

 

Embrace the inevitable

[John&LaLa]

11 hours ago, Luckynana said:

I keep meaning to look up what the sous viding way of cooking entails, etc.  

 

 

 

Ridiculously simple

[h20skibum]

So one of the things that happened over the last few days, is that I have doubled the number of prescription medications I now have to take.  Of course, I read through all the disclaimers that came with these two new drugs, and was excited to read things like there may be deadly, fatal reactions, or that there may be more severe reactions if you are 65 or older.  Why does it make you feel like you are playing some form of Russian roulette?

 

One of the most concerning things was the bullet that said “Talk to your doctor before drinking alcohol.”

 

 I know now that it doesn’t mean to call them before EACH drink!

[John&LaLa]

11 hours ago, derorim said:

I like the idea of vacuum sealing smaller portions and then freezing after the sous vide.  I have one but don’t often use it.  I think I will get some ribs and give your method a whirl.  

 

Simplest way is to prep them before cooking, then pop them in water still frozen. Takes a little longer, but no need to thaw. Less planning

 

 

[John&LaLa]

10 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Same here I am a grill guy. Something about "Man vs Fire." I hear great things about Sous Vide but I like hanging at my grill cocktail in one hand and pair tongs in the other.

 

Finish on the grill😉

[John&LaLa]

10 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Maryann, I've looked it up online and still don't get it even with @John&LaLa John's step by step photos.

 

Really is simple way to cook. Lots of restaurants use it for consistency 

[John&LaLa]

10 hours ago, George C said:

Just read that the great Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot just passed , I saw him in Billy Bobs in Texas about 40 years ago , loved his song “if you could read my mind” which was covered by Dylan and Streisand and others.

 

Here's my memory 

 

[John&LaLa]

9 hours ago, Coralc said:

Sous Vide seems to require a lot of single use appliances. The cooker, the vacuum sealer, the pot or tray. I don't have room to store all those, and it seems to be more cooking steps than I am interested in. JMO. ☺️It is like recipes with more than about 5 ingredients and a lot of single use herbs. I shy away from those, too. 

 

Vacuum sealer is optional, zipper bags work

Any semi large pot will work

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

 

Sous Vide cooking is very easy.  It's a french phrase that means under a vacuum.  You seal food in a bag and then put it in water that is controlled to a specific temperature.  The food slowly heats to be exactly the same temp as the water...not a degree more.  Vacuum sealing ensures that the food is in contact with the water (other than the thin film of the vacuum bag) and cooks evenly.  No air to act as a thermal insulator.  It's great for cooking meat so that it's the same temperature throughout, i.e. perfect medium rare steaks all the way through.  Food comes out very tender.  It's also very flexible in that you can leave the food in the water for several hours and it won't overcook.  Just take it out of the water when you're almost ready to serve.  I saw almost because steaks in particular taste (and look) great when cooked on a grill because of the sear on the outside.  You don't get that sear when using the sous vide method so you typically want to sear over a hot flame, or in a hot pan with butter, for a minute on each side before serving.

 

Although you can put herbs in the vacuum bag with the meat, I've found that doesn't result in as much taste as other cooking methods.  That's about the only negative that I've found.  You do need a larger sized pot, which we have anyway for cooking crab, lobster, and large amounts of pasta.  The Sous Vide machine (the thing you stick in the water to control the water temp) is about 3-4 inches in diameter and 12-15 inches long.  Doesn't take up much cabinet space but isn't exactly small either.  A vacuum sealer is nice to have but not required.  You can put your food in an unsealed ziplock bag and slowly lower it into the water.  The water pushes out the air.  When it's lowered almost completely in the water and the air has been pushed out, seal the bag.

 

Lots more info here: Sous Vide Cooking: How to Get Started (seriouseats.com)

 

 

 

My sous vide is miniature. Less than 2 inches diameter.  Fits in a drawer.

 

FYI, stopped by Publix recently for their gouda mac n cheese in deli. It comes in a vacuum bag. They heat it in water and dump in the tray😉

[derorim]

My older son who is a sous vide fanatic is now raving over his newest appliance, also made by Anova the sous vide people, a combination convection/steam oven:  

https://anovaculinary.com/products/anova-precision-oven

 

It's rather pricey, but he swears by it, and my younger son is planning to buy one also, after he had ribs that his brother made in it.  I like the idea that it does the sous-vide-like cooking and browns the food as well.  Anybody heard of this type oven?

[Ocean Boy]

29 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Embrace the inevitable

The force is strong Luke Skywalker...