How one Grand Circle traveler recreates dishes from her travels around the globe
Sally Schwab, 8-time traveler & Vacation Ambassador, San Antonio, Texas
November 18, 2011
Since our retirement in 1994, my husband Dick and I enjoy entertaining our friends—especially now that we have time to do things like that. We usually invite close friends and neighbors to our home, and host special dinners featuring dishes and foods we’ve enjoyed while on our past trips. I have even hired my granddaughter and her friends to help serve and clean up afterwards—I usually have aprons from the featured countries for them to wear! If I plan far enough ahead, I also try to bring favors home for my dinner guests from the country we’re incorporating into the dinner.
“Now that my husband Dick and I have the time to do so, we enjoy hosting our friends at our home for dinners inspired by foods we've enjoyed on our past trips.”
When I travel, I enjoy collecting cookbooks. It drives my husband crazy as I have 32 feet of bookshelves full of them. I generally look for a bookstore in each country or city I visit, and try to find English translations of local cookbooks. My Program Directors are most helpful in directing me to the right place. When we were on our The Great Rivers of Europe trip in 2008, we stopped in Nuremburg and sampled their gingerbread cookies. I decided then and there that I needed to make these for my German dinner I was already planning upon my return home. Our Program Director helped me find Back-Oblaten (baking wafers) for the base, and even supplied me with a recipe. He went over it with me to make sure I understood what to do. The Program Directors on all of our River Cruises have made recipes available from the ship’s chef, and I always enjoy a tour of the ship’s kitchen. Here’s the menu I used for my German dinner:
Menu for German Dinner
Drinks:
Gluhwein (mulled wine)
Vorspeisen (Appetizers):
Regensburger Bratwurst mit Susser Senf (little canned sausages purchased in Regensburg with mustard)
Kaaese und kracker (Cheese and crackers)
Entree:
Butterglace (chicken soup with dumplings—similar to matzo balls. A recipe from my mother-in-law, who immigrated from a German settlement in Russia)
Gruner salat mit Preiselbeeren (green salad with cranberries)
Loeffeln (spoonfuls of smoked salmon, cream cheese, or caviar. We had this on the ship between courses)
Rouladen (beef rolls)
Spaetzel (a type of noodle)
Rotkohl (red cabbage)
Lutheranische Wackelpeter Auf Einen Salatblatt (Lutheran red jello with bananas. A traditional German Lutheran dish—handed down in our family)
Nachspeisen (Dessert):
Nuremburg Lebkuchen (gingerbread cookies)
Eis Schneeballen (ice cream snowballs)
“After our Great Rivers of Europe River Cruise, I tried recreating the gingerbread I sampled in Nuremburg—served here alongside a snowball dessert (ice cream rolled in coconut).”
I have many dinners I’ve hosted that rank among my favorites, but one of my very favorites was a re-creation of a traditional Williamsburg Christmas menu. Back in the 1960s, Dick and I went to graduate school at William and Mary, and since we had two small children, I stayed home and learned to cook southern foods (We were originally from Ohio). I saved a newspaper article from that era that had an entire menu for an authentic, traditional Williamsburg Christmas dinner—which I always wanted to duplicate. So in 2005, I decided it was now or never. Since I was unable to cook a whole suckling pig, I substituted a standing pork roast. I made invitations, place cards, and even a booklet with the menu and recipes for each guest. This was one of my favorite parties because it turned out to be so elegant and each dish was perfect. We had three desserts—plum pudding with rum sauce, brandied peaches, and rum cream pie. I used recipes from my news article and also from some cookbooks I purchased on our last visit to Colonial Williamsburg.
“I often take pictures of food served on the river ships to remind me of dishes that I would like to replicate. Here is one of my inspirations from our Eastern Europe to the Black Sea trip—duck l'orange—which I plan to recreate for my next dinner party.”
We tend to host many holidays at our home, and one New Year’s I decided I was tired of the same old menu and decorations—so I tried to find what foods different countries served on New Year’s Eve. This proved not to be so simple. I resorted to calling some of my friends who live all over the U.S. and have a variety of ethnic backgrounds. One friend even sent me Italian foods for the party. I supplemented my international menu with some American foods, too—I was afraid the children might be put off by some of the items served. I then made place cards for each dish with the flag of the country, native name of the dish, and an English translation. Here’s the menu I used for my International New Year’s Eve dinner:
Menu for International New Year’s Eve Party
Drinks:
Champagne
Margaritas
Wine & Beer
Soda
Food
Italy:
Antipasto (salami, olives, artichokes, tomatoes, and mozzarella balls)
Panettone
Focaccia
Pignoli cookies
Ukraine:
Tsvitly (a beet and horseradish condiment)
Pickled herring in sour cream with rye bread
Southern U.S.:
Black-eyed pea salad
Greece:
Vasilopita (St. Basil’s Cake)
Switzerland:
Cheese plate with semi-firm Emmentaler; hard, cave-aged Gruyere; semi-soft Tomme de Savoie; and Mostkaese (a semi-hard, apple cider, artisanal cheese)
Spain:
Grapes (You are supposed to eat one grape upon each stroke of midnight)
Germany:
Grebbles (small donuts)
Norway:
Smoked salmon with dill mayo
Other Foods:
Bread tray
Crab appetizer sandwiches
Deviled eggs
Caviar and crackers
Pesto artichoke dip
Meat tray (roast beef, deli meats)
Butter, mayo, mustard
Pickles
Cookies
Chocolate-covered cherries
“I find inspiration almost everywhere I go during my trips—including my Home-Hosted Dinner on my Spain vacation.”
What I love most about these dinner parties is the fact that I can share the tastes and atmosphere of another country with my family and friends. I often tell my guests about the first time I had the dish while visiting the country, and the circumstances surrounding it. For example, on our overnight trip to Morocco during our Classic Costa del Sol vacation, we had a Home-Hosted meal, and I tried to duplicate the salad we had—it was very similar to the one I used for my Spanish dinner. During the dinner, I described the home we visited and the customs I observed while there. I often take pictures of the dishes … after asking permission, of course. My friends really enjoy these dinners. In fact, they are now asking when I am going to host an Eastern European dinner since I recently returned from Eastern Europe to the Black Sea. They expect it this Christmas!
Do you enjoy recreating meals you’ve enjoyed while on your past vacations? I’d love to hear about it. Email me your stories—and of course, any photos you might have—at harriet@gct.com..