January 13, 2012 - Cozumel

The ship docked in Cozumel  around 8 this morning.  Since we had booked an excursion that would last most of the day, we went ashore right away to squeeze in one last shopping trip.

At 11 a.m., we climbed into a van and rode about 5 miles down the beach to Playa Mia for a “Mexican Cuisine” cooking class and beach party.  All of our excursions have been awesome, but this one might have been the most fun.

We made an appetizer (shrimp sope), a main course (grouper or chicken with tamarind sauce), and a dessert (caramelized plantains with chocolate-tequila sauce).  Luis, our cooking instructor, began the class by asking, “What is the first thing we should do before starting to cook?”  When we replied, “Wash our hands,” Luis shouted, “No!  Have a drink!”  He picked up a shot glass and tossed back a shot of tequila as his helpers began passing out margaritas, pina coladas, and rum punches.  THEN we washed our hands.

Since the dessert needed to chill, it was the first dish we made.  We sprinkled the plantains with sugar and cinnamon, browned them in butter, and added dark chocolate and tequila to the pan to make the sauce.  Luis showed us how to decorate our plates with chocolate sauce and sour cream and drag toothpicks through it to make pretty designs.  We wrote our names on our plates with chocolate sauce so we'd know whose was whose, then we sent our plates to the refrigerator.  "Salut!" Luis said.  "Time to start on the feeesh." 

We seared our fish (or chicken), sautéed some vegetables, made the sauce, and then wrapped the whole business in foil and sent it to the ovens to finish cooking.  Luis said we all did very well.  "Salut!"

The drinks kept coming.

           For the appetizer, Luis provided us with balls of dough which we mashed into small, thick discs using a tortilla press.  We cooked these little corn cakes on a griddle while we made filling to go into them, shrimp in tomato sauce spiced with chipotle paste.  When the corn cakes were done, we pinched the edges to make a rim to hold the filling, and then we spooned in the shrimp and sauce, garnished it with lettuce and sour cream, sprinkled it with grated cheese. 

          The drinks kept coming.

     

           I was peely roud of the way my sope turned out.  Salut! 
   
          We carried our plates upstairs to a sunny dining room.  After all those drinks, it is probably a miracle that we were able to navigate the steps.   Luis’ helpers put one last round of drinks on the table.  While we ate our sopes, Luis' helpers brought out our entrees and desserts.  Everything was delicious!  SAAAA-LUTE!!!!!

We are pretty confident that, despite all the saluting, we can recreate these dishes when we get home.

After the meal, we went outside to enjoy the beach.  The time passed too quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to get back in the van and return to the ship.  The four of us agreed that (1) this was the most fun excursion that we did, and (2) it was time for a nap.