Astoria, Oregon

Whenever I mentioned that our cruise would stop in Astoria, I consistently got a quizzical look and the question, "Why Astoria"?  To be frank, I don't really know why!  I think I would have preferred Seattle as a port call rather than Astoria but we really did enjoy our brief time in Astoria.

The welcoming committee of volunteers provided booths to provide information and roaming volunteers to answer questions and give directions.  Pierside, there were also lots of local venders with everything from art to local produce for sale. 

We had booked a seafood and wine tour and were escorted to a local school bus!  Yes indeed, our bus driver was the school bus driver for a local school!  How sweet is that?  We boarded and drove the shortish distance from the pier to downtown Astoria where our tour group of about 28 was split into two groups.  Half would enjoy the wine tasting first and half would partake in the seafood cooking class first and then we would reverse.  Unfortunately, we weren't with our traveling companions for this as they divided the bus in half and we were in the wrong half! 

I LOVED this tour.  We did the seafood class first and this was one of the highlights of our cruise for me.  We were lucky enough to join Baked Alaska restaurant’s Chef Christopher Holen (aka Chef Daddy) at the Oregon State University Seafood consumer center exhibition kitchen for a seminar, demonstration, and tasting of the foods of the Pacific Northwest. Chef Chris  filleted fresh chinook salmon and told us all about the seafood and foods of the Pacific Northwest.   

He next demonstrated the proper way to cook salmon and made a quick aioli sauce for accompaniment. While the salmon was baking, he made a vegetable souffle that was divine!  It's so easy that I couldn't believe it.  He says that you can make this with almost any veggie that you have on hand.  For our tasting, he used fresh northwest kale and mushrooms.  Once the salmon and souffle were ready, we had a tasting and I was smitten with Chef Holen and his recipes and the cuisine of the Pacific Northwest!

Chef Holen brought along some of his secret ingredients (I confess that I purchased Chef Daddy smoked salt and Chef Daddy fry salt!)   This was much more than just a cooking demonstration as we were entertained, educated and inspired!  This was another highlight of my cruise!

Next up was a wine tasting at Cellar on 10th... which was unbelievably nice.  We sampled a variety of red and white wines of Oregon and got a great education on the vineyards, growing conditions including soil type and climate, and tasted some wonderful wines!  Another hit!

Then back to the ship for sail away and dinner!