Who’s in the kitchen Confections small enough to fit in an inside cabin

Seems like I was just writing my last article about my impending cruise and here I am back on my computer in my den…a far cry from the 4,000 passenger cruise liner I was on. For those of you who were never on a cruise ship, there are a variety of cabins you can choose from, the best being suites, then balcony cabins followed by cabins with portholes you can view the ocean through, and, finally, the “inside” cabin, with no sign of daylight, along with no room to move around in. Those who know me know I’d rather save the money on the room and spend it somewhere else. How much time do we spend in the cabin anyway? Well, on this new ship, the inside cabin was smaller than those I’ve been on in the past. I could live with the fact that my husband and I couldn’t both walk around the room at the same time, that every time I was in front of the closet and he exited the bathroom I basically got a concussion. I got him back though, when he happened to walk out of the bathroom as I entered the cabin and he got sandwiched between the bathroom door and the cabin door. What made me crazy was, there was no room to put all our clothing. I put my underwear in the magazine rack, my bathing suits in the safe, and I actually emptied out the mini bar and put my gym clothes in there. Any other available space after our clothing was put away was filed with Jerry’s favorite All Bran cold cereal. There was a shortage on the ship, so each morning he made it his business to score a few extra mini boxes. I wasn’t giving up any of my valuable storage spaces so the boxes basically lined every possible flat surface. Needless to say, as we left the cabin for the last time this morning, there was enough cereal to feed a small country. Though it’s good to be home and have room to actually put all my clothes away, it does take a bit getting used to. Take for instance, dropping my wet towel on the floor after showering. When I use the bathroom next, it will still be on the floor and not have been replaced by a fluffy clean one. No one will make my bed, there will be no “towel animals” left on my “turned down” bed when I enter my room to go to sleep, no one will be waiting to take my order for dinner and there won’t be a huge garden café offering hundreds of options for breakfast and lunch. Granted, being kosher, we couldn’t partake in most, of the choices of food options offered, but fear not. We ate, and we ate, and then we ate again. (Kosher airline meals, boxed cereals, packaged baked goods, fruit….) We finished breakfast about 10:30 AM and in the same breath that our group of friends said, “Oy, we are not eating till tomorrow,” we asked when and where we were meeting for lunch. After lunch we all lamented the fact that we weren’t hungry, but still managed to eat for an hour and a half, and made sure to know when we would meet in the dining room for dinner. In our defense, it was a transatlantic cruise and we were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for seven days. The weather wasn’t conducive to sitting out on deck, so eating was the next best thing. We did manage to sit out for a few hours on two consecutive days toward the end of the cruise. We found an area on the 17th deck which on future cruises will be reserved for presidential suite passengers, but lucky for us, we were able sit out during this cruise. Of course we needed six lounges together, and half wanted to sit in the sun and half in the shade. I moved coffee tables and side tables, rearranged the lounges, and dragged a few from a different area. One couple looked at us in amazement. I could tell by the look on their faces they couldn’t believe what we had done. They were sitting half in shade half in the sun, they were basically hanging off their lounges so they could tan evenly. Not us; we were situated perfectly. I had to refrain from doing my Jackie Mason routine. Really, haven’t they heard that just as Jews walk into a restaurant and they want the table not in the front, or the back not near the kitchen, not in an area too noisy or drafty or warm, etc. Well, that was us, pool deck version. Mr. Mason would have been proud of me!

Getting back to the food options…while we couldn’t eat the baked goods, I did get to meet the father in law of “Buddy, The Cake Boss.” He was on board setting up “Carlos’ Bakery,” which is the bakery that started and still remains in Hoboken. He was so down to earth and friendly. He actually asked to see some of my creations, which I happened to have on my cell phone. While I couldn’t taste anything, I did ogle the rich chocolate truffles and decided at that moment to make a cheesecake version of them for Shavuot.

Chocolate Cheesecake Truffles

Makes approximately 70

Ingredients:

•12 Oz. cream cheese

•6 cups powdered sugar

•8 ounces bittersweet dark chocolate, melted

•1 1/2 Tsp. vanilla

Coatings for truffles:

Bittersweet cocoa, chopped nuts, coconut, sprinkles or anything you desire.

1.Using an electric mixer, slowly add powdered sugar to cream cheese mixing well after each addition.

2.Add melted chocolate and vanilla and mix until smooth.

3.Refrigerate at least 6 hours. I like to prepare this the night before.

4.Shape into 1” balls.

5.Roll in coatings, place in single layer, cover and keep refrigerated till serving.