The wind is blowing my hair all over my face while I am trying to write about my cruise on the Queen Elizabeth from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale via the Panama Canal. I am sitting on a balcony in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, sailing by the coastline of Colombia, passing the towns and cities of Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta before reaching the Guajira Peninsula. This peninsula is split between northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela and is the northernmost peninsula in South America. Every day of our cruise, we get a ship program with information like this from our navigator. It is an adventure, but a comfortable one because I am on a beautiful ship with excellent food, exquisite surroundings, and British flair. Every night, I am entertained by different artists, or favorite music and can dance the night away. The day is filled with dance classes, exercise, reading a book from the 3000-book library, or relaxing on a  deck chair. I am ten days into my 15-day journey and it has been wonderful. There are people on this ship who have gone around the world.

Unfortunately, I didn't do much writing. I just had too much fun while cruising. Now, several months later, I have to rely on my memory. The highlight of this cruise was going through the Panama Canal, which was on my bucket list. Our speaker was Richard Wainio, who was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the canal and anything else you want to know about Panama. He had many personal stories to tell because he lived and worked as the director of the canal board during the transition from the American to the Panamanian government, which took many years. It was a privilege to transit the Panama Canal after a lifetime of hearing about it. 

We embarked in Puntarenas, Costa Rica for a day. Even though I only saw it for one day, I got a feeling for the island. We hiked through the jungle and I had a great conversation with an American who had lived in Costa Rica many years and owned a botanical garden. 

An earlier stop on our journey was Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. While, there we took a  small boat ride through Lovers Beach and Los Arcos, a natural archway. 

How can I describe the Queen Elizabeth. It is sassy, elegant and relaxing. I loved the talks, the food, the dress standards, the shows, and the service. I enjoyed mingling with different people from all around the world. I rarely, if ever get to dress for special events at home and on this ship I finally had the opportunity. It was so much fun. I only wish I was a better dancer. I apologize to all the people that I stepped on. However, if you want to relax and unwind, this is the perfect place. I fell in love with cruising, and I am fortunate that I am about to embark on another cruise on this beautiful boat. Stay tuned. 

Last week, my girlfriend Diane surprised me with a bag of chanterelles she found on her mountain in Corralitos. Corralitos is in Santa Cruz County’s southern region. It is an idyllic area known for its orchards and redwood-covered hillsides, a tranquil place to enjoy the countryside. 

I was in cook’s heaven when I saw these freshly picked chanterelles. I thought about sautéeing them in a little butter with shallots and cream, and have them with a crusty sourdough bread. What a treat! Chanterelles are great in a creamy pasta dish or in an omelet for breakfast. There are so many possibilities to create a dish with these beautiful and delicious mushrooms. I chose a galette from Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook Everyday Dorie. I have used this book for several recipes and have not been disappointed yet.

The galette was a culinary treat with the filling full of different flavors complemented by a flaky crust. It is an all-butter crust which I like and comes together quickly in a food processor. Of course, it can also be made by hand. I put the butter in the freezer for about 25 minutes. Instead of chanterelles, you can substitute other mushrooms. When the chanterelles are no longer available, I might try a mixture of shiitake and button mushrooms. The galette is delicious warm or at room temperature. Serve it with a salad and you have delicious lunch, dinner or snack.

Life on Sunny Cove has been good. We have been busy with visitors and enjoyed  reminiscing about old times and contemplating whatever future we have left. It has been raining on and off, so it's time to curl up in front of a fire and slow down. 

Don't omit any of the ingredients, Dorie Greenspan did a wonderful job creating this dish. The walnuts add an extra crunch to the galette.
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Ingredients:
The crust:
1 ½ cup ( 240 grams ) all-purpose flour 
½ tsp. fine sea salt
2 TBS sugar
8 TBS (4 ounces, 113 grams ) cold (almost frozen) butter, cut into 16 pieces
¼ cup (60ml) ice water

Directions for the crust:
Put flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times to blend the ingredients. Scatter the pieces of butter over the mixture and pulse until you have small-sized pieces with some larger ones. Add more of the water and pulse again, continuing with more water scraping down the sides of the food processor. Pulse until the dough comes together. Turn the dough onto a piece of plastic food wrap, flatten it to a disc and roll the dough into a 12-inch circle between two pieces  plastic food wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours. 

The filling:
1 TBS olive oil 
½ pound (227 grams) mushrooms 
4 slices bacon
2 leeks, white and light green part only
1 garlic clove finely chopped
 fine sea salt
3 TBS dry white wine
2 TBS heavy cream
3 TBS walnuts 
¼ cup (24 grams) finely grated parmesan 
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves 
Freshly ground pepper 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Center the oven rack in the middle. Roast the walnuts for about 10 minutes. 
Cut the leeks in half and thinly slice them. Wash them and let them drip dry in a sieve. 
My chanterelles were very dirty, so I rinsed them quickly under cold running water and patted them dry with a paper towel. Cut off the bottom of the stem and slice the rest of the chanterelles into bite-sized pieces.
Cut the bacon into ¾-inch slices and sauté over medium heat until crisp. Transfer the bacon to a platter covered with a paper towel. Pour off all but 1 TBS of bacon fat from the pan. 
Pour the olive oil into the frying pan with the bacon fat. Heat on medium, toss in the leeks and fry for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for about five minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. The mushrooms will release water but it will evaporate as you continue to cook. Season with salt and add the wine, stirring and scraping the pan until the wine has evaporated, about two minutes. Pour in the cream and cook until it is mostly absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat and add the bacon, walnuts, 2 TBS parmesan, thyme and pepper. Taste for seasoning. You can make the filling ahead and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days. 
Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit for a few minutes. Peel off the plastic wrap and put the dough on a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet. Scrape the filling into the middle of the dough, and spread into a 9-inch circle. Fold the bare border over the filling. As you fold the dough it will pleat on itself. Bake the galette for about 30 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the galette and enjoy this special treat.

​Guten Appetit!
Recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook Everyday Dorie
Posted by the ©Sunnycovechef 
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Think stuffed mushrooms with an Asian twist. The shiitake mushrooms are stuffed with ground pork, water, chestnuts and ginger. Your football fans might like these little morsels. Click here for the recipe.

This is one of the first recipes I posted on my blog. It could be a special treat for Valentine's Day if you have a vegetarian sweetie. The crepes are filled with shiitake mushrooms and goat cheese.  Click here for the recipe. 

I have always loved this chocolate tart. It doesn't have a lot of sugar and the chocolate and crust complement each other nicely. Click here for the recipe