I AM SPIRITLESS

With Super Bowl only a day away, I was not surprised that the public relations company that handles the Spirit Cruises informed me of a "Sailgate Party" and invited me to partake.  I had previously been on a few of their cruises which involved a sailing around the New York Harbor, food, drinks, and dj.

Living in New York, a sightseeing cruise is more than a "been there, done that".  But for anyone who has not experienced one, it should be done.  Some have themes, such as the time I went to see Spiro Gyra perform.

Let's begin with what was supposed to happen according to the public relations company that handles Entertainment Cruises.   I first thought that I would be going on the ship called the Bateaux, a more elegant boat that's mostly glass so that you can see everywhere and basically no body blocking the view....great for photos, too.   The boat was to be boarding at 11:30 a.m. and it was "first come, first serve" regarding seating.  I checked on all of this that day before, just to make sure.

The Bateaux was not sailing, but rather the Spirit of New Jersey and the seats were reserved.  I had to board up the ramp and then climb down a flight of stairs.  When I entered, I saw a handicapped bathroom.  WHAT?  How does one who is more handicapped than I get on board?  If there was a way to board directly to that main floor, why was it not suggested for me?

The theme of this party is Super Bowl, yet other than my wearing an outside Giants jacket, there was one couple that had a shirt or whatever that bore the name of the team they were rooting for.

So, what did this all have to do with Super Bowl.   The buffet had "tailgate" food.

I had met a staff member who said that she ran the food.  The food did start with hor's d'oeuvres being passed around and we were then served a shrimp cocktail. The shrimp was pretty tasteless.  Like it was cooked, frozen and then thawed out.  Okay, I have to admit that having Fairway's no-chemical shrimp spoiled me.

No problem with drinks...I tried a few of their signature drinks and they were quite tasty.

Prior to the buffet opening, we sailed over to the New Jersey side to pick up more passengers.  So, I guess it was the first time that I saw the New Jersey port. 

We sail and the "food" woman came over and offered to go to the buffet and get a plate of food for me.  I thought that was just nice of her.  She told me what was on the menu asking if I wanted....I turned down having a pretzel.  I asked as to whether they had chicken wings.  She asked how many did I want. I asked her if the wings are whole wings or wing parts.  She said that they were parts and very large.  I wondered why she thought that my asking for 5 wings seemed a lot until she brought over the plate.

It was a chicken breast.  (There was a pretzel on the plate as well). I asked if they had wings and she said that this is what they had.  I told her that I do not care for the white meat and she offered to get me another plate.  Now, my friend had a chicken leg.  Does this woman not know the difference between white meat and dark meat of  a chicken, let alone a wing.  No chicken was brought over. You would think she'd bring over a thigh, at least.

A bit later we saw a nearby person eating chicken wings.  My friend went up there to get them for me.  I also had spare ribs and an awful macaroni and cheese.   I think the use of Velveeta would have been far better than what was on it.  Not sure if it was the cheese as much as it being overcooked...not like the crunchy kind of overcooked....just overcooked.

All of the food was tepid....you know...on the warm side, but not quite warm enough.  I was not interested in building my own hot dog or having sausages.  Where is the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile when you need it?

People were dancing and it certainly appeared that everyone was having a fabulous time.  Birthday celebrations were announced.  It was a success for others.

I'm making my own Super Bowl party at home! 

DOES YOUR SUPER BOWL FEVER COST TOO MUCH?

Imagine that many people spend more money to be at the Super Bowl game than their entire allowance for Christmas gifts.   That one day ticket to the New Jersey venue, with all the trimmings, can cost as much as a week’s vacation on a cruise ship or even a new car. 

Super Bowl parties are a great option, especially with the electronics that almost make as if you were seated there, and most likely minus that warm gear you’ll need for protection from this wonderful frigid air.   Pre-celebrations are popping up as well including a Sailgate Party the days before.   On Friday, January 31^st and Saturday February 1^st, chow down on game day grub while taking in the New York skyline view on the elegant “glassy” Bateaux, one of many ships associated with Entertainment Cruises. www.entertainmentcruises.com

Times Square converted an area into Superbowl Way…a way to cash in on the New Jersey venue figuring on many people will go into Manhattan for entertainment.  Bobsledding?  They are calling it a slide.  Heard them talking about it all on Good Day New York with Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly. Rosanna hasn’t let up on her “injury” when members of the New York Sharks, women’s pro football team were there to demonstrate some football “moves” as she became the quarterback.  Greg had told the Nose Guard to rush her.  Oops!  Now, Rosanna is a bit reluctant to riding the slide. www.nysharksfootball.com

Vetro restaurant, in Howard Beach, is hosting a party the day of the game starting at 6 p.m. View the game on a ten foot screen and enjoy a buffet style dinner with all American favorites. Keep the celebration going with a cocktail from their Top Shelf open bar. Participate for prizes at halftime and at the end of the game. Price is $80 complete! www.vetronyc.com

My thoughts are at my home and a menu that a group of females into gourmet foods might prefer.  Time to shop at Fairway as I think about the grub.  With much of the food being protein, breakfast needs to provide both warmth and fiber.  Bob’s Red Mill has multi-grain hot cereals and Fairway has their brand on Greek Yogurt and Organic Milk.  

No Velveeta for me!  With all the variety of cheeses here I asked Ann for a combo that would do well on taste and melt.  “Australian Cheddar and New Zealand 12 month aged.”  Ben’s natural cream cheese and a Russian pot cheese conjured up thoughts of making blintzes as well. I will test Ann’s combo by making a grilled cheese sandwich on a challah bread roll.  Tested it out on the Pro-Bowl game and did not like the combo.

Finger food!  Fairway’s no-chemical frozen shrimp was on sale. Murray’s has a new brand of chicken with no GMO’s and sealed packaged with no foam thing on the bottom.  Chicken Wings! I’ll cut them into wing parts and marinate.  Fresh cod and organic salmon fillets. I’ll grind some up that will make for fabulous fish cakes.  Got the eggs and panko bread crumbs to make them mini-sized.  Sushi would also be a great item.  Hey, we can use the chop sticks as utensils!

Filet Mignon was also on sale.  I cut it up into small sizes for sliders.  Fairway steak sauce and cole slaw as I’ll be cutting up the rolls. Slaw is already washed and shredded.  Just need to add salt, mayo and sugar.  

Last week I attended one of Fairway’s delicious cooking events.  Australian Lamb chops that inspired me to make lollipop lamb chops.  A rack has 8 chops and already trimmed.  

Gotta have beer and no six-pack will do.  Have you ever seen the variety that Fairway has?  With the traveling and tasting that I’ve done in the past, there were two tall bottled beers that caught my eye and palate memory. Both Belgian, one is called Kwak.  The other, a framboise, Lambic ale brewed with raspberries. OMG!

Dessert.  While in the bakery dept I spotted a Fairway NY Style Cheesecake that was challenging Junior’s. For me the challenge would be against one made at La Cheesecake in College Point.  Hmmm…I have the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, almond extract…I just might create my own.  

As it happens I also attended a sneak peek Housewares Show, the preview to the annual one in Chicago.  What could be better than a Vita-Mix?  A Bellini Kitchen Master cooks…not just heats and is self-cleaning. I’ll follow up on this when it arrives. In the meantime check the product out on www.cedarlaneculinary.ca 

I asked Stephen, the GM of the Douglaston venue, for any particular recommendation.  “Fairway has their own torilla chips, salsa and guacamole”. Got the chunky style guac and it wasn’t chunky at all.  Let’s see. I have the cheeses, cilantro and a can of crushed tomatoes. Cheese combo may work better with this.  Perhaps someone may still be hungry since you never know how long that game will last.