Yucatán Mayan Culinary Class

During our Sea Day and throughout the night we made our way from CoCo Cay, Bahamas, past Cuba and down to Cozumel, Mexico.

As you can see, Cozumel is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.

And today, unlike a few years ago when we visited this island with our grandson JASON, we opted out of the dune buggy ride and chose to do a cooking class. (It was a good decision too because it poured buckets today while we were in port.)
We disembarked from our ship and went in search of some new Ostrich boots for Jeff but were out of luck. We were also in search of a post card for part of our world "collection" but I guess nobody sends postcards anymore! So we waited at the meeting point at the end of the dock to meet the group of fellow "foodies."

A couple from Australia, Greg and Jill, joined us and became our fellow "chefs" at our cooking station once we got to our destination. We had an amazing time cooking, plating, and eating some authentic dishes from this part of the world.

First we made our dessert - Plantains covered with choclate and some heavy cream. Jeff swears that's a wooley caterpillar that decorates the lower portion of his dessert plate.

The next dish was our main dish - Tilapea in a red sauce with chipolte. We pan seared our fish, placed it in foil then cooked a medley of vegetables and butter which we added to the fish before sealing and sending off to the oven.

Finally, our appetizer - which involved pressing corn tortillas to some exact dimensions, pinching them to form a wall (lots of jovial remarks from our Mexican chefs about a "wall" .. we were informed that if the wall on our tortilla shells didn't work out, not to worry, because supposedly you can just "put a tunnel under it!"} After finishing work on our walled corn tortilla, we filled it with shrimp which we had prepared, as well as a fine sauce and then we covered it with shredded lettuce, heavy cream and finely some crumbled cheese.

I personally LOVED the appetizer. Well, to be honest, I also devoured the fish. Along with our fabulous Yucatan meal we were treated to a number of Mexican beverages. Some very unique with a dusting of chili powder and salt along the edge of the glass. Surprisingly delectable.

Thanks to our Great Instructor and his team .. it was a fulfilling and entertaining way to spend a rainy day in Cozumel!