Highlights from Mediterranean Cruise....Four Months Later

Somehow my energy level went from about a ten to a two in the last few weeks (which may have something to do with carrying around a 16 inch baby all day) and so I am finally getting this post up. There is just SO much to write about that I spent oodles of time thinking about how I wanted to go about sharing all of it and eventually decided I couldn't just choose to blog about my favorite dishes. It just wouldn't do justice to the many eating and tasting experiences we had. So I decided to briefly share the things I learned and loved from all the places we visited. I usually have too much to say about things food related so in case my definition of brief doesn't match yours, just look take a look at the pictures. I think they pretty much deliver the message that the food was awesome and we had a blast eating all of it. 

Sorento and Pompeii, Italy

Somehow I missed the "please do not touch sign" but how could anyone resist! 

My cheese and tomato pizza that was literally made in minutes

•  Never in my life had I seen a city and people that loved all things lemon as Sorento. The lemons were literally the size of cantaloupes and baskets and baskets of lemons lined the busy streets.
• Their lemon covered almonds were so creamy and delicious. I was in heaven. 
• Pizzas do not come with all the toppings we are used to in America. My choices were literally tomato, cheese, or tomato and garlic. However, as I had hoped for and expected, they used the freshest ingredients and everything tasted amazing. 

Mykonos, Greece

• I think all cities in the states need to grow more produce locally and have vegetable and fruit stands like the ones in Mykonos.
• Really good olive oil made everything on our plates taste even better.
• I had the grilled calamari that our waiter had caught fresh that morning from the beach we spent most of the day lounging at. 
• I am so sad I didn't get a picture of it but the grilled haloumi cheese with tomatoes was so good. It was my first time trying haloumi cheese and it was very crisp on the outside but then a bit gooey on the inside. Definitely a sharp cheese a lot like the texture of feta.
• The Souvlaki (on the left) that Zac ordered was doused in an oregano marinade that truly made it a "joy from the mountain."
• My first time having french fries cut flat a smart alternative, I think, from the matchstick cuts. 
• Zac and his dad also scarfed down a bowl of mussels that I regret to have not taken a picture of quickly enough! They were so sweet, and fresh. The tarragon and white wine combo for the sauce is one that I will not forget!

Athens, Greece

  

•  A gyro done right. The meat (chicken I believe) was so tender, moist, and well flavored. 
• The greek salad's of ordered before were nothing like this. The vegetables were so fresh and I am not usually an olive fan but these were so salty and briny that I loved them. The best part of this salad was the feta. I thought it was so genius that they placed a giant slice of it on top of the salad so that you could just cut away at it and include a piece of salty, creamy, tangy goodness with every bite. SO good.
• Athens reminded me a lot of New York City with its shopping centers, underground trains, tall buildings and small food vendors parked on street corners. It was super busy too and was a huge metropolis in comparison to the smaller towns we had visited in Greece.

Princess Cruise Ship Dinner

• While we frequented the the buffets in between meals and during lunches we usually opted for the sit-down meals for dinner. They cuisine usually highlighted ingredients that were local to the places we had visited for the day so it was always a nice continuation of our daytime food adventures. 
• We Also quickly learned that while we loved the exotic foods nothing hit home quite well as having chocolate milkshakes, New York thin crust style pepperoni pizza, cheeseburgers, and chocolate chip cookies. We found the open bars on the ship that had all of these goodies and visited almost every day. 
• Our waiter seemed to really like feeding us and often brought extra entrees for Zac and his Dad and we were able to try almost everything on the menus each day. In this case, small portions were great and made it totally enjoyable to continue eating. 
• The menu's changed everyday but the dessert menu usually stayed the same with exception of a few that were only available on some days. The souffles which cam in passion fruit, orange and vanilla, were by far our collective favorite. They were so good that I've been wanting to make some at home ever since the trip!

Dubrovnik, Croatia

 

 

• We quickly learned that ice, and drink refills were not customary at the places we were visiting. Their soft drink bottles were also smaller, and tasted a little different from what we were used to. I loved the Fanta orange sodas though. They tasted like freshly squeezed valencia oranges mixed with agave-sweetened carbonated water, heavenly with the mussels.
•  At the center of the walled city was a farmers market. Fresh fruit, especially strawberries, were lined in clear baskets on long tables. It was beautiful! They weren't the strawberries on steroids we often see in grocery stores in the states too. I had a taste of a few and they were so sweet and juicy.

Perhaps the quintessential Italian treat, the gelato--though these were from the Dubrovnik

Venice, Italy

 

Cute little piggie shaped salamis

 

• I was told the best pizza would be in Naples, but my favorite pizza was from a small shop in Venice. The crust appeared to be thick but it was so airy and light and crisp on the bottom. 
• Venice was full of clothing and leather shops but I spent my time in all of the spice shops and found great deals on vanilla beans, red chili flakes, and a spaghetti spice blend.
• On our last night in Venice we had dinner at a hotel restaurant where I was determined to eat  spaghetti in a Bolognese sauce. It wasn't on the menu but I wanted it so I asked the waiter for it and he first looked at me very confused. I guess in Italy meat sauces do not go with spaghetti but rather with pastas like a ziti or rigatoni since Italians match their sauce with the type of pasta that can best hold up to it. He reluctantly complied with my request and brought me what I ordered. The meat was extremely lean and gamey, which was quite different from what I am used to but whenever I make pasta now I think about that night and try make my pasta match my sauce --like the Italians do. I guess spaghetti in meat sauce is a very American thing and almost unheard of in authentic italian cuisine.
• Pepperoni in Italy is 100 times better than any packaged Hormel or whatever other brands of pepperoni we usually find in the grocery store. This stuff was the perfect balance of spicy, sweet, cured pork. It was also thickly cut. We ordered a second pizza after having our first just for the pepperoni. 

Santorini, Greece

•  These banana chocolate crepes were so yummy. We went pie crazy and also had a spinach pie, a traditional milk pie that looked like it was enveloped in a golden haystack, and a tomato and feta pie. All of these were wrapped in filo dough.
• I saw bags and bags of dried herbs, garlic chips, onion skins, peppers, and dehydrated mushrooms, and pastas. All spice sections in American grocery stores need to offer a selection like this! I think it was change all of our lives for the better. An impulse cook's dream come true for sure.

Cesme, Turkey

• Zac ordered the chicken pot with peppers and tomatoes. It was quite possibly one of my very favorite things I tried throughout the trip. The smoked paprika was so comforting and warm.
• Eating here has made me want to serve all my meals on wooden boards and mini wok like pans.
• The addition of blanched slivered almonds to rice was also an idea I took from this meal.

By the end of our trip, I think it was safe to say I had enough food adventures to inspire meals and meals to last us forever! The food in the Mediterranean was as fresh, local, and full of flavor. Unfortunately, by the time we got back to Utah I was beginning to experience some early pregnancy symptoms that put some of my ideas to rest for a time, but now (four months and a move to Texas later) I am finally feeling settled and familiar with markets in our town so I will be using some of those ideas in our future meals.

Happy Thursday!