Taste of the World ~ The Food and Flavors of Oceania Cruises

Taste of the World ~ The Food and Flavors of Oceania Cruises, copyright 2010. Massive coffee table style book filled with gorgeous photos. There are 100 recipes  scattered throughout the pages which tell the tale of a 24 hour day in the galleys, wine cellars and dining rooms of the Oceania Cruise lines.  The introductory sections provide background on how dishes are chosen, the culinary dream team of five chefs (most lines usually employ just two) and mentions the food budget per passenger is higher for Oceania than others.

The first chapter gets the ball rolling with Morning recipes consisting of potato pancakes with gravlax, leek quiche and a brioche loaf, followed by Mid Day and ceviche with sun gold tomatoes, gazpacho Andaluz, duck cassoulet, grilled lamb & feta cheeseburgers and a Cajun mahi mahi sandwiches with Cuban mojo sauce.

Afternoon focuses on "tea at sea" and offers a Victorian Sandwich Cake (a round cake with the texture of pound cake - sliced on half, filled with whipped cream and jam), scones and tartlets (lemon curd, caramel cream or almondine).

Moving on, Evening is the final chapter and runs the gamut from appetizers to desserts. We begin with goat cheese & balsamic apple tatin, tiger prawns with remoulade, mushroom crostata, crab cakes with roasted tomato cream sauce and then settle down for a few salad options ~ baby greens with apples & panchetta or watermelon & duck confit. Soups include creamy sweet potato with chorizo, French onion and chicken coconut, with Entrees encompassing linguine cioppino, farfalle with truffle cream sauce, stuffed chicken breasts with creamy polenta & truffle sauce, steak au poivre with cognac sauce & creamed spinach, curry beef short ribs, lamb curry, sea bass in miso plum sauce and vegetable tagine with couscous & onion marmalade.

Finishing up, a few of the desserts are Baba au Rhum, crepes souffle, banana macadamia nut pudding and bittersweet chocolate fondant cakes.