Lobster Cakes and Coconut Profiteroles Recipe
Are these the best
alternative restaurants afloat? We went aboard Viking Star and Sea to find out
Jun 1, 2016 | 3:59 pm
By
Monte Mathews
Staff Writer
Manfredi's was magnificent, but was it our favorite on the ship? Photo Credit: Viking Ocean Cruises
Every cruise ship has
one of these, if not two or three. They go by various names depending on what
cruise line you’re sailing. But what they have in common is an elevated
“gourmet” experience that lures passengers from their assigned seat in the
dining room to an extra-charge restaurant where, for $30 and up, they can dine
in a more refined setting with higher quality food. Only on the most expensive
cruises does the food come free in these alternative venues. Even premium lines
like Celebrity and Holland
America charge their paying guests a premium. Not so on the recently launched Viking Ocean Cruise Ships, Viking Star and Viking Sea. Here, the rules
have changed and passengers can choose to eat in not one, but two specialty
restaurants without shelling out so much as a sou. They’re part of an
array of inclusions that make Viking Ocean stand apart from its competitors:
free excursions, free access to the spa, free wine and beer at every meal, and
not an inside cabin on the ship — or, for that matter, a cabin without a
balcony.
The Chef's Table Photo Credit Viking Ocean Cruises Side by
side, Manfredi’s and The Chef’s Table are situated in beautiful rooms with
large windows overlooking the sea, plenty of tables for two, and some of the
best food we’ve ever eaten onshore or off.
Manfredi’s
is Viking’s entry into the “Italian
restaurant at sea” category. Virtually every cruise line from Princess
(Sabatini’s) to Disney (Palo) has one, but Manfredi’s stands apart, and not
just for its complete lack of a surcharge. The restaurant walls are lined with Italy’s
most famous movie stars, the club-like room is loaded with atmosphere, and
there’s an entire open kitchen that produces sublime plates of antipasto. The
choices in every course make it impossible to leave hungry. Do not miss the
pasta selection, which changes frequently and is reliably delicious. Or choose
the crispy
calamari with an-out-of-this-world balsamic dipping sauce. Then there
are the meats. Viking just went from choice to prime in all its dining venues,
and it also upped the portion size on steaks from seven ounces to nine ounces.
This means your Bistecca
Fiorentina will not just be better, but bigger. The fish is also
perfection, the veal outstanding, and, if you can, leave room for dessert —
including a Nutella panna cotta,
a simply phenomenal tiramisu,
and a pistachio torta so good that we’re sharing
the recipe for it. The restaurant is open every day from 6 p.m.
to 9 p.m.
A palate cleanser is featured between courses.
Right
next door is The Chef’s Table. If I had to choose the finest restaurant at sea,
this would be it. Every three days a new menu appears. Five courses are served
around one of seven themes, all of which are carefully explained on each menu.
These menus cover an extraordinary amount of culinary geography. From a menu
called “Asian Panorama” and a new entry called “Xiang” (which salutes China’s
Cantonese and Huaiyang cuisine), the chef’s menus take diners along the
Silk Road in “La Route des Indes,” to Venice
and to Western Europe, ending in the brand new “Erling’s Scandinavian
Bistro,” which is a proud salute to the line’s Norwegian
roots. In between, there’s an amusing menu called “Sweet & Salty,” which
pairs those two flavors on every plate. With each course, a new wine is
presented and paired with whatever is being served. The food is remarkable and
consistently excellent. “Venice Carnival” presented us with a roasted pepper
and tomato jelly amuse bouche, followed by beef
carpaccio, a bellini granita, cod filet, and finished with a mascarpone
mousse filled with passion fruit. Sweet & Salty lived up to
its name with a tomato and watermelon gazpacho,
and grilled scallops with
beets and passion fruit. Even the dessert delivered
on its sweet and salty components: A Grand Marnier Bavarian cream was
accompanied by basil jelly and strawberry sauce finished with black Hawaiian
lava salt. To sample everything on offer at The Chef's Table would require staying on the ship for 21 days, something that undoubtedly sorely tempts passengers after just one meal at this remarkable sea-going spot. Note: While initially open for two seatings a night, diners can now make reservations for any time between 6 and 9 pm.
While
initially the menus were served at two separate seatings, now guests can
reserve a table for anytime they choose between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
-->
Don’t forget
to check out this recipe for a phenomenal pistachio torta.
Top of Form
More
Stories by Monte
Mathews
Monte Mathews is the
proprietor of Brick Kiln Kitchens located in Bridgehampton, New York. You can
read more of his work at www.chewingthefat.us.com. Read more
Recipe for Pistachio Torta
After trying a
phenominal pistachio torta on a recent Viking Ocean Cruise, we just had to post
the recipe
Jun 1, 2016 | 3:38 pm
By
Monte Mathews
Staff Writer
Italy is the world’s seventh largest producer of
pistachios, primarily grown in Sicily where the trees flourish in the volcanic
soil near Mt. Etna. Most of Sicily's pistachio production is now used either in
pistachio ice cream or in pastries. This moist and flavorful cake is incredibly
fragrant thanks to the frothy orange blossom whipped crème fraîche that matches
perfectly with the distinctive panache of pistachio.
This recipe is courtesy of Viking
Ocean Cruises.
Ingredients For the torta
1/3 Cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting 1/2
Teaspoon baking powder Pinch of salt 3/4 Cups pistachio paste
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
4 Ounces unsalted butter, room temperature 2
Tablespoons honey 3 Large eggs
2
Tablespoons Amaretto liqueur 1/2 Cup toasted pistachios, shelled and chopped Confectioners sugar as needed For the orange-blossom water whipped panna acida
8 Ounces crème fraîche
1
Teaspoon orange blossom water,
or to taste For the honeyed oranges
2
Tablespoons unsalted butter 1
Tablespoon granulated sugar 3 Oranges, peeled and cut into ¼-inch rounds 1/3 Cup honey
Pinch of salt Directions
For the torta
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease an 8-inch springform pan and line bottom with a
piece of parchment cut to same size. Grease parchment and dust entire inside of
pan with flour, tapping out excess.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder,
and salt, and reserve.
Place pistachio paste and granulated sugar into bowl of an
electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until paste is
broken up and sugar is well combined.
Then add butter and increase the speed to medium. Beat
until light and fluffy, approximately 3-5 minutes, then drizzle in honey.
Add eggs one at a time, beating each one until completely
combined before incorporating next. Pour in Amaretto.
Add flour mixture and beat only until it is just combined.
Pour batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth
the top with a spatula.
Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes. When the cake is
ready remove from oven, pop latch on side of pan and remove ring.
Allow cake to cool completely.
For the
orange-blossom water whipped panna acida
In a clean bowl, whisk together crème fraîche and orange
blossom water. Continue whisking until crème fraîche just begins to get stiff.
Refrigerate until needed.
For the honeyed
oranges
Melt butter and sugar in a frying pan over medium heat
until butter begins to foam and brown slightly.
Add orange rounds and cook for about 1 minute or until
edges begin to just caramelize.
Add honey and pinch of salt, swirling pan.
Remove from pan and serve immediately, or allow to cool to
room temperature before serving.
Top cake with the chopped pistachios and dust with
powdered sugar.
Serve with the orange blossom water whipped panna acida
and the honeyed oranges.