A Little Something

It began innocently. 

A little taste. 

Isn't that how most addictions obsessions begin?

On one of the first days of our cruise the Daily Program listed a cooking demonstration, "A Little Something" and a wine pairing. Why not? What else is there to do at that time? So, Mr. Dreamy and I made our way to Deck 7 and the Culinary Arts Theater. There we met Kaitlyn,  a delightful, bubbly "Party Planner" who demonstrated how to make a quick appetizer. As Kaitlyn finished 'plating' the appetizer, offering tips to make it look especially attractive and appealing, the wine steward arrived. He brought a wine he thought would pair well with the appetizer. He described the wine, its taste, a bit about the grapes used in making the wine, and any other information he thought would be entertaining and informative. We could purchase a glass for $4.00, a shipboard bargain. Then, the audience was given the opportunity to taste the appetizer while sipping the wine. We received recipe cards, so we could recreate the recipes at home. We were hooked.

Yeah, we collected just a few recipe cards!

Each evening we would look through the program for the next day and mark the cooking activities.  This is not something we have ever done before! Almost every evening had the appetizer demonstration and wine pairing. "At sea" days had a morning cooking demonstration with one of the chefs.

Kaitlyn and Manuel 'plate' our special luncheon

Often they demonstrated something that was available at one or more of the ship's restaurants. In addition to the demonstrations, three different cooking classes were offered.

 Mr. Dreamy and I went to school. We earned our aprons :)  The class was limited to 10 people. We cooked a fabulous luncheon that included:

• Dungeness crab cakes with Thai sweet chili sauce
• Grilled lamp chops with oregano and apple chutney
• Le Cirque chocolate souffle

Mr. Dreamy sears the lamb chops

After we finished cooking our portion of the meal, our meal was 'plated' and taken to a restaurant on Deck 8. We proceeded to the restaurant where we had the opportunity to enjoy the product of our labors.... and some extras.... and some wine. Yummy!

And the best part of the cooking class? We didn't have to clean up the mess!