What was your best eating experience on an airplane? Your worst?

David Lebovitz recently reposted a nostalgia piece on his food blog about airline food of yore (posted below) and it got me thinking about my food experiences on airplanes.

Today, you are lucky to get a bag of honey-coated peanuts, but it wasn’t always like that. Sometimes airline dining could be sublime.

http://www.vintag.es/2016/07/when-airplane-food-was-first-class.html

My best airplane meals were served on an international flight on Olympic Airways many years ago. Olympic was a Greek carrier and Aristotle Onassis owned the airline at the time. Onassis was a Greek shipping magnate–one of the richest men in the world. He was also the man who broke Maria Callas’ heart, and he was (briefly) the husband of Jacqueline Kennedy. His pride was the stuff of legends.

Olympic Airways, under his ownership, was famous for the luxury that came with the purchase of a ticket (in whatever class).

On our flight, no detail was missed. The plane, decorated in Aegean blues, sparkled. The cabin crew wore stylish Pierre Cardin-designed uniforms. Live piano music drifted into the economy cabin from the first class section. (Guests ate by candle light in first class, by the way.)

When it came to the food we were served in economy class, there were no tiny bags of honey-coated peanuts. The food was wonderful and portions were generous. Onassis knew how to treat his guests!

I remember being served quality wines and champagnes– liberally poured and without charge. The cuisine was strictly Mediterranean, with lots of tomato, oregano and eggplant in the dishes.I had my first baklava on that flight, my first demitasse of potent Greek coffee, and my first glass of Metaxa brandy. Wow!

That flight and our subsequent travels in Greece opened my food world up to all sorts of new delights– tart feta, kalamata olives to die for, sublime fasoulada (white bean) soups, creamy pastitsio casseroles and on and on.

I’m sitting here writing this and thinking I need to prepare some Greek dishes soon. Very soon. Stay tuned.

On the flip side (There is always a flip side in life. Right?), our worst eating experience on an airplane was a flight from Delhi to Srinagar, Kashmir (India). Our Indian Airlines flight was jammed with passengers who, by the time we took off, were pretty surly. The flight over the Himalayas was sick-to-your-stomach rough–a fact that was not lost on the babies on board whose hysterical cries added to the sense of chaos on the flight. Then, when it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse, an incredible thing happened. Just a few minutes before landing, the harried cabin crew decided to serve dinner–a decision I’m sure they (and the cabin clean-up crews) came to regret.

I remember that we had savory Indian fried donuts called vadas soaked in yogurt. I like vadas. I like yogurt. I didn’t like them served together.

About half way through the meal, the captain announced that we were beginning our descent into the Kashmir Valley. There was no time to collect the meal trays and we were told to stick them under the seats in front of us and buckle up for landing.

Trust me. It wasn’t pretty.

The yogurt slopped out of the trays onto the floor and we waded through soggy yogurt soaked donuts as we deplaned.

As we walked into Kashmir’s Srinagar terminal, a security guard asked me if I had any aspirin. That made me laugh. After that flight, I was the one who needed an aspirin!

One of my favorite cooking magazines, Cook’s Illustrated, runs a quirky “Quick Tips” column that I love.

In a two-page spread in each issue, cooks around the country send in ingenious “hacks” they have developed to get around some of cooking’s daily annoyances. (Did I use the term “hacks” correctly? I’m a boomer. It’s. Not. Easy. I’m still struggling to understand what a “hashtag” is and what you do with one–sounds like a cooking term to me. Am I wrong?)

I’m not totally uncool, however. On a redemptive note, I did understand Joe Biden’s reference to malarkey at the Democratic Convention. Did you? Apparently there have been a whole lot of people looking up the term in recent days. Let’s just say, I know malarkey when I hear it.

Meanwhile, back on the subject of quick tips, Cook’s magazine’s August issue has a genius suggestion to store ripe peaches in a muffin tin to keep the peaches from touching each other and spoiling quickly. Boy could I have used that idea last week. Also in the August issue, another cook, in a moment of clarity, has discovered that he can core a jalapeno pepper with an apple corer and avoid the dreaded consequences (like touching your eyes) of handling jalapeno seeds. (Am I the only one so careless as to do this? Repeatedly, I inflict “jalapeno eyes” on myself–after which I lie in bed with an ice pack on my face and vow never to be so careless again? Until the next time, of course.)

I’m hoping against hope that one day Cook’s  will run a foolproof idea for managing one’s refrigerator. I have two refrigerators and my household is one person and a very small dog. Nevertheless, I never have any room in my refrigerators.

How can that be, you ask.  Answer: It is all those damn little jars that say “refrigerate after opening”–like the jar of sweet jalapeno slices I convinced myself I needed at my last Trader Joe’s shopping extravaganza. (They’re good.)  If I sound just a bit edgy about refrigerator space issues in my home,  the backstory is that  I just tried to refrigerate one of those mammoth Costco watermelons. Believe me, it wasn’t pretty.

Here is my adaptation of a recipe from the August issue of Cook’s. Influenced by Southern Italian cooking, this recipe uses red peppers and ricotta cheese to make a glorious pasta pesto. (I know. I know. Pesto is supposed to be made of basil leaves and pine nuts. Keep an open mind, people!)

The link to the original recipe is posted at the end of this post.

Recipe: Penne with Red Pepper Pesto

3 red bell peppers (stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch wide strips (about 5 cups–it took 3 1/2 peppers for me to get the required 5 cups)
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 small onion (chopped)
1 tomato (cored, seeded and chopped)
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (I used a combination of Italian basil and Thai basil)
1 t. garlic (minced to a paste)
1/2 t. red pepper flakes (omit if you don’t like spicy food)
1/2 C. whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for serving)
1 t. white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1 pound pasta (I used rigati but the recipe calls for penne)

Directions:
In a large non-stick pan, combine 2/3 of the red pepper strips with 1 T. olive oil and 1/4 t. salt. Cover and cook over medium heat until the peppers are soft and begin to brown. This should take about 15 minutes You should stir occasionally.

Add the chopped onion, tomato, basil and the pepper flakes to the pan with the peppers. Also, add 1/2 t. garlic paste. Cook (uncovered) until the onion is soft and beginning to brown at medium heat. This should take about 5 more minutes. Remove your pan from the heat and let is sit and cool for 5 minutes.

Using your blender or food processor, puree the ricotta, Pamesan, remaining one-third of bell peppers, remaining 1/2 t. garlic, 3/4 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper until smooth. Add your cooked bell pepper mixture and puree for about 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and, with the blender running, add vinegar and remaining 2 T. oil and puree for another 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and blend one more time for 20 seconds. Pour the sauce back into the pan.

Boil pasta in 4 quarts salted water until pasta is al dente. This took me about 14 minutes in boiling water. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Drain pasta and pour it into the pot with the pureed sauce. Toss to combine and, if necessary, add some of the reserved cooking water to get the consistency of sauce you like. (I didn’t add any water.)

Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Serve with grated parmesan and sprinkled with a bit of chopped basil.

Cook’s Notes: The pretty black pan pictured in this post is an All-Clad pan. It is beautiful and makes a great presentation on your table. This pan was a generous gift from my good friend and fellow cooking enthusiast, Sarah. This dish is a bit spicy. Omit the red pepper or reduce it if you don’t want your pasta to be spicy.

I served this with a small dollop of ricotta on top of each serving. I suspect that a bit of heavy whipping cream added to the sauce would also be a nice addition.

Here is the link to the original recipe:

Cook’s Illustrated recipe for Red Pepper-Ricotta Pesto Sauce for pasta

If my friend Marion recommends a recipe, I pay attention.

Just trust me. Marion knows.

That was why I was a little taken aback recently when Marion sent me a photo and a rave review of a watermelon and tomato salad. Watermelon? Yes. Watermelon and tomato? I wasn’t sure.

Marion sent me the recipe from her vacation. She is spending several months at her family’s lake cottage in Michigan. Her family has been vacationing there for over 100 years and they have come together yet again this year to enjoy good times and good food.

I could only imagine how beautiful and relaxing Marion’s Michigan idyll must be until she sent me photographs. I hope she won’t mind my sharing one of them  here. Can’t you just imagine sitting on that dock in a gentle breeze on a cool summer evening–a glass of Malbec in hand and a faithful pup by your side?

Back to the salad.

I consider myself a food adventurer. My pulse quickens when I come across a recipe with unusual ingredient combinations. So I decided to see if watermelon and tomato could indeed complement each other. I’m happy to report that the combination is delicious. The salad also presents beautifully–a gorgeous combination of colors accented with flecks of chopped green mint and basil.

Way to go, Marion! How could I have doubted you for even a second?

Recipe: Tomato-watermelon Salad with Feta and Toasted Almonds

4 C. watermelon chunks (1 1/4 inch chunks)
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes(seeded, cored and cut into 1 1/4 inch chunks)
1/2 t. (or more) fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt (I used Maldon)
2 1/2 T. extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
3/4 T. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 T. chopped assorted fresh herbs (I used basil and mint)

3 C. fresh arugula leaves, small watercress sprigs or baby spinach leaves
1/2 C. crumbled feta cheese
1/4 C. sliced almonds (lightly toasted)

Directions:
Combine watermelon chunks with tomato chunks in a large bowl. Sprinkle 1 1/2 T. oil, vinegar, and herbs over melon mixture. Sprinkle salt over top and mix thoroughly. Grind pepper over mixture. Mix well and let mixture sit on your counter for about 15 minutes to let the flavors blend. Refrigerate to chill.

Toss greens in remaining oil. Arrange greens on a platter. Top greens with melon-tomato mixture. (Drain the melon-tomato mixture before putting it on your greens. It will have collected a lot of liquid.) Top with crumbled feta cheese and toasted almonds and serve.

Cook’s Notes: The original recipe calls for using heihad

San Marzano tomatoes and used those but I think the heirlooms would be wonderful in this dish and the added color would be pretty. Also, I used spinach as a base for my salad because that is what I had on hand. I’m intrigued by the idea of using arugula or watercress next time. I think the peppery bite of those greens would be quite good in this salad.

What temperature to serve this salad. The original recipe calls for serving the tomato-watermelon mixture at room temperature. I chilled mine in the hope of bring out a bit more of the sweetness of the watermelon. I was pleased with the outcome.

The original recipe for this salad appeared in Bon Appetit in 2006. Here is a link:

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/tomato-watermelon-salad-with-feta-and-toasted-almonds