Lately there is just not a lot of difference from one day to the next. The temperature around us is fairly constant, hovering between 23 and 25c every day. The sea itself is relatively calm (maybe a little less so yesterday, but it really was only one day). Our course varies little, almost due west to Florida. The speed of the ship holds steady at 19 knots. A noticeable change is the water depth, today at a little over 20,000 feet. Not that I’m going to jump over and swim down with a tape measure just to check. The captain’s word is good enough as far as I’m concerned.
One other…change…is where we’re eating this morning. Being so nice, eating outside seemed like a right and proper thing to do. So we did along with a good number of other passengers.
While not our last day, there are precious few left to do this. Home will NOT afford us the same view. I’ve seen the deck in our backyard lately. Not much to look at other than snow and a few bumps where covered outdoor furniture hides until spring.
No internet still so uploading posts has become more a wish than an accomplishment. It does allow more time to do more work on the text which I do.
Now it’s time for a little interruption. Once again, the Princess Live TV room is hosting another culinary food show. Today it is about pasta. Kinda got a fondness for most things Italian and pasta falls heavily into that category so I need to go.
Onboard a number of Princess ships is a speciality dining area called Sabatini’s Restaurant. As the name implies it is very Italian forward in its menu and there is no shortage of pasta. On two of the newest ships, the Enchanted and the Discovery (and soon to be launched Sun), Sabatini’s has been reduced a little in size to accommodate a pasta room. Essentially a room dedicated to the making of pasta for the passenger menus. Even on the other ships, a lot of pasta is made by hand/machine each day but the new dedicated room will allow for All the pasta to be made onboard. With the Sun Princess (which is also going to be a new class of ship for the Princess family – Sphere Class), this room will be even bigger allowing all the pasta, for not only the passengers but the crew as well, to be made fresh.
The Executive Chef is here again explaining things as only he can (very witty Italian chef!). All flour used in a kitchen has some degree of ash in it. One thing with pasta making is paramount however. Less ash is better. Using regular flour (that you may use for bread for instance) will turn the dough brown on the outside the longer it is left out. To get the nice yellow color of pasta, flour with less than 0.05 % ash is the best way to go. Even less is better yet.
He is going to show us how to make potato gnocchi. Boil new red skinned potatoes until almost completely done. Crush them through a bowl full of holes (a ricer would work well). Combine enough low ash flour to provide a 30/70 flour/potato mix, salt, pepper and 1 egg. You might end up adding one more egg if necessary. Mix well with a spatula then take out and use your hands. Knead on a wood board (or stainless steel – other surfaces don’t let go of the dough as nicely). Don’t overwork the dough as you don’t want it to be gluey. And use the potatoes while still hot…or wait till totally cold. Not warm.
Cut into chunks and roll each into a long rod about ½” thick. Cut those with a knife at about 1 inch intervals and then use a fork to roll over each one making little indents for the sauce to adhere to. Put into boiling water till they rise at which point they are done. And that will not take very long. Serve with your sauce of choice.
Show us, you cry out. NEVER…it will remain My secret!
Ok…maybe I got a little absorbed and neglected to take pictures…it was hard enough taking notes. If you follow the above, I cannot be held responsible for the results. Unless they’re outstandingly delicious. Then I will take all the credit you’re willing to give.
Today is sushi lunch day. With a little luck maybe, I can get some good pictures before hungry hoards begin their feeding frenzy. Truth be known, I will be one of them.
Spent the rest of the day wandering about, making use of my EBook reader, touching up a few blog pages along with a libation or two just to keep up with my daily allowance.
A quick stop to the casino produces limited but nonetheless unexpected results. I turned $20 into $60. And managed to walk away!
My good deed done for the day I return to the room to get ready for Vines and supper.
So many challenges each and every day….
See you tomorrow.