We Smelled It ... It Had To Be Eaten! Christmas Eve Food Porn posts #1170 & #1171!!

[DisneyMom5]

To be totally fair I really didn't give Jay much of a choice. When I found out over the summer that Amazon was releasing the book I went online to pre-order it and saw the Collector's edition and said to myself, "Self, that is just too cool to pass up. Order it now and tell Jay he just took care of your Christmas gift for the year."

And I did.

And like a good husband when I told him about it he said, "I'm so nice."

:rotfl2:

And your hubby sat through the release party? Double-jointed thumbs up to him! :thumbsup2

I loaded up my wish list on Amazon with stuff I wanted, saved my credit card info, and then instructed my dd14 on how to use Amazon.

Then I sent her int he direction of her father with instructions to not let him near a store, but to show him what I wanted online instead.

Yup, like you, I'm not above shopping for myself to get what I want.
[Having a teenage dd helps with the surprise though!]

:thumbsup2

[DisneyLaura]

I just read Thanksgiving and everything looked so yummy. I love apple pie, it's my favorite. Oh and I'm giving you enough notice, set an extra table for 5 next year, we're coming :lmao: Ok now to read more.

[zweihund]

Collector's ediction: jealous! :thumbsup2

[DizWisher]

I love Beedle. I covet Beedle. :yay:
Husband reading this I HOPE that will be brought by Santa on YOUR card. I will share.
Brenda, how is the binding (although, we have no kids and can hide Beedle from accessory child relatives.)?
I have a 1st edition Sorcerer's Stone through Dream Street and it is my precious. And none of my nieces and nephews have ever been near it. Well, one positive of having a trach-- I can claim cold season and see the kids at THEIR house, not mine.
Hmmm. Turns out I have major selfishness issues, and will share only so Husband can put Beedle in MY lap. MINE!
How will they film Deathly Hallows? Sixty percent of it is thought. And camping.

Excellent geek interval.

Miri
aka
DizWisher

[travelmel]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOkay.

That elephant statue is DEFINITELY NOT RIGHT. ::NO::

:scared:

Then add Jay, sweet, innocent Jay.... and wow. IT's all kinds of wrong. :rotfl2:

I love your book! I saw it at the store, it's beeudeeful!

The person before me said, "I love beedle, I covet beedle"

Before I went back and read about the new book, I thought he/she was saying that there was yet a new nick name for you! But then I couldn't figure out why they were coveting you. :rotfl:

[Prinny27]

Love the pictures of the Collectors Edition! I had to settle for the standard version... :sad2:

[Jennifer48]

I'm so regretting not buying the Collectors Edition now! Thanks for sharing those pictures B!:goodvibes

[disneyfav4ever]

I love that collector's edition, I couldn't justify buying it for myself though. I bought the cheap version, and it's a good read. I know my sister wants the collector's edition as well. It is really cool looking.

[bensonmum]

Glad I found your latest thread. Can't wait for more.

[Tink rules]

If I were a tag fairy (and I'm not ... I'm more of a fart fairy) I would give Joanne a tag that just reads STINKAH! :lmao:

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: FART FAIRY!!! :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Where's the darned tag fairy when we need her!!!

Ahhhh Haaaa Haaaa Ha Haaaa..... :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

Thanks Bendy... I needed that...

:rotfl: :rotfl:

[oybolshoi]

Hey everyone! :goodvibes

I'll be back tonight to reply to your posts and hopefully post the pics from PFTS ... not a lot of commentary (for me ... ;) ) since we didn't have detailed programs this year. We tried taking pictures at all the food station so that we'd remember later what the food was but well ... you know how that goes. My memory is so bad lately that on Sunday I tore the house up looking for a cookbook I ordered for a gift ... didn't I feel stupid when it showed up in the mail two days later? :headache: :lmao:

I think I may really be losing what's left of my mind ... :rolleyes1

Have a great day ... see ya tonight!

[Tink rules]

Ohhhhh Bendy...

I needed to laugh...

Thanks... :hug:

[ChelleinNC]

Would a certain book :wizard: be holding up the reviews??? :rolleyes:

Have you finished reading it yet? I'm jealous, I couldn't bring myself to splurge on it. Looking forward to hearing about the book & reviews :goodvibes

[MA pigletfan]

That book looks amazing!!!! Congrats on that one ! ;)
Thanks for the yummy recipe sharing as well Brenda..those tartlets will be MINE!

[HPHammer]

Loving your updates, Brenda!

And how cute is Handsome Pete?! Cowboy says hi. I always think of you around this time of year when we buy our plane tickets for Stinktown.

Please tell me there's no snow in the forecast for :santa: !

[oybolshoi]

Quick apologies ... I didn't get home from work until after 7PM the last couple of nights and just didn't have the energy to get all the PFTS stuff posted. We're headed out shortly for my work holiday party so it looks like late tonight or tomorrow is when the next update will hit.

Darn December with all its interruptions and shopping and stuff. ;) Hope you're all well ... I'm psyched because I walked in the mall today and the grocery store and hardly had any pain at all! :thumbsup2

We'll see how it goes tonight when I try to wear heels to this party. :laughing:

[Me&3]

Glad to hear your feeling better. Hope you had a good time at the party. We'll be here waiting to hear all about it.

[KristinAnne]

Glad your pain is subsiding a bit!

[Tink rules]

Darn December with all its interruptions and shopping and stuff. ;) Hope you're all well ... I'm psyched because I walked in the mall today and the grocery store and hardly had any pain at all! :thumbsup2

We'll see how it goes tonight when I try to wear heels to this party. :laughing:

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Glad to hear the pain is going away... I told you if you had planky walk on your back it would feel better.....

(but trying to explain those footprints... :rolleyes1 )

[PNO4TE]

Darn December with all its interruptions and shopping and stuff. ;) Hope you're all well ... I'm psyched because I walked in the mall today and the grocery store and hardly had any pain at all! :thumbsup2

We'll see how it goes tonight when I try to wear heels to this party. :laughing:

I am glad you are finally finding some relief, Brenda! But, I suggest you search for a lovely pair of flats. I have some velvet ones that I wear when I am on stage singing... no way could I stand in heels that long.

[oybolshoi]

This is what I did too, only it was the Kindle.:cloud9:
I was going to order a super special Beetle as well, but I didn't.

I've caught up on your report, and am getting over some jet lag. I had a lot to mention about it, but apparently I've forgotten. Old age?:confused3

I'm too much of a traditionalist to use the kindle. I love the smell and feel of books ... I love the feel of the pages ... I love buying them and reading them and putting them in our many varied bookshelves scattered around the house. Heck, if my bathrooms were big enough I'd probably have a bookcase in them too. :lmao:

Thanks for taking the time to catch up on the silliness ... I'm going to be posting PFTS today but I've still got some stuff to finish around the house before that. And sooner or later you'll have much somethings to say, so I'm not worried. ;)

Brenda,

Thanks for sharing those SO COOL pics of the collector's edition!:thumbsup2 My DS is getting the regular version for Christmas from his grandparents, after I told them he would love it. They looked at it and said it's got big print and pictures and he'll be done reading it in 15 minutes.:rotfl2: Umm, yeah, but it was very instrumental in book 7, so please believe me when I say he'll want it!

My DS and I are complete Harry Potter geeks (just watched Goblet of Fire on ABC Family the other night, even though we have the DVD, we can't help ourselves;) ). He was so bummed when the HBP movie got pushed back to July '09, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait!:goodvibes

Hi Lori! The book is definitely an easy read ... big print and the individual stories are fairly short. But they're charming in their way and I love the commentary that's been provided by Professor Dumbledore!

We're the same way with the movies ... even though we own them all we'll still watch them on ABC Family whenever they're being shown. Although I have to admit it's getting very hard to sit through the first two movies since they're so plodding and pedantic - the other three are much better, IMHO. And we are very much looking forward to the release of the sixth movie this summer. :cool1:

And I was excited to get a new Stephen King paperback at Sam's Club Saturday...what's sad is that I didn't even know what you were talking about! :laughing:

Harry Potter stuff, my friend! :thumbsup2 Which new Stephen King book do you refer to? I really like some of his books and others bore me silly.

Loved the praline bread pudding, of course. Now I want to go make pralines.

Did you get a chance to try it while you were at the World in October? It was very good ... even eating around the pralines. :laughing:

I loaded up my wish list on Amazon with stuff I wanted, saved my credit card info, and then instructed my dd14 on how to use Amazon.

Then I sent her int he direction of her father with instructions to not let him near a store, but to show him what I wanted online instead.

Yup, like you, I'm not above shopping for myself to get what I want.
[Having a teenage dd helps with the surprise though!]

:thumbsup2

I'm all for helping out the man in my life to get the right gift - they all need a little help now and then!

Jay and I stopped trying to surprise each other years ago. We usually try to agree upon something that we both want ... do the same thing for anniversaries. Makes more sense to us that way.

I hope you receive lots of excellent readables! I'm in the middle of too many books right now and am going to have to start over and just focus on one at a time. But ... thanks to Wiggles (Kendra) I started The Book Thief, which is as amazing as she said it would be. Even though it's considered a book for young adults it strikes me as something that's really more of an adult book that happens to have a young protagonist. I'm also reading The Great Upheaval (history ... good but not as good as the other book I have by this author), and March, which is a novel that focuses on the father from Little Women ... perhaps my all-time favorite novel. That one book really started my love affair with reading. I was 8 the first time I read it and didn't understand half of it, but have read it many, many times over the years and probably own every movie version of the book.

It's true ... I'm a geek! :lmao:

I just read Thanksgiving and everything looked so yummy. I love apple pie, it's my favorite. Oh and I'm giving you enough notice, set an extra table for 5 next year, we're coming :lmao: Ok now to read more.

Hi Laura! Thanks for reading - glad you enjoyed it. Jen's apple pie was amazing and I'm not usually a big fan of apple pie so that lets you know just how good it really was. And if you're brave enough to face a Stinktown Thanksgiving, come on down! :goodvibes

Collector's ediction: jealous! :thumbsup2

:hug:

I love Beedle. I covet Beedle. :yay:
Husband reading this I HOPE that will be brought by Santa on YOUR card. I will share.
Brenda, how is the binding (although, we have no kids and can hide Beedle from accessory child relatives.)?
I have a 1st edition Sorcerer's Stone through Dream Street and it is my precious. And none of my nieces and nephews have ever been near it. Well, one positive of having a trach-- I can claim cold season and see the kids at THEIR house, not mine.
Hmmm. Turns out I have major selfishness issues, and will share only so Husband can put Beedle in MY lap. MINE!
How will they film Deathly Hallows? Sixty percent of it is thought. And camping.

Excellent geek interval.

Miri
aka
DizWisher

Hi Miri! The binding's not bad on the collector's edition, but I think it could be better. Seems like most publishers today just don't know how to use leather for books as well as they used to. Still, it's a way cool little book and so unique that I just love love love it!

You said the same thing that Jay and I did about the filming for Deathly Hallows ... how are they going to make a movie that doesn't bore the interest right out of most of us? It's short on action and long on prose ... but I guess that's why screenwriters get paid big bucks and schmoes like me are working with numbers instead of words. ;)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOkay.

That elephant statue is DEFINITELY NOT RIGHT. ::NO::

:scared:

Then add Jay, sweet, innocent Jay.... and wow. IT's all kinds of wrong. :rotfl2:

I love your book! I saw it at the store, it's beeudeeful!

The person before me said, "I love beedle, I covet beedle"

Before I went back and read about the new book, I thought he/she was saying that there was yet a new nick name for you! But then I couldn't figure out why they were coveting you. :rotfl:

:lmao: Mel, you post the best stuff ... ya know that, right?

First ... that picture of Jay and the elephant is really naughty looking, isn't it? But too funny not to share with my friends here!

Yes, beedle is a beeudeeful book indeed! And gawd help us all ... the last thing I need is another nickname. I can't even keep track of them all any longer! :rotfl2:

[oybolshoi]

Love the pictures of the Collectors Edition! I had to settle for the standard version... :sad2:

Thanks for letting me share the excitement. :goodvibes

I'm so regretting not buying the Collectors Edition now! Thanks for sharing those pictures B!:goodvibes

Hey Jennifer ... how ya been? I really do love that collector's edition ... it's just the coolest little thing I've ever seen (for now).

I love that collector's edition, I couldn't justify buying it for myself though. I bought the cheap version, and it's a good read. I know my sister wants the collector's edition as well. It is really cool looking.

I'm not even trying to justify it anymore ... I'm just glad to have splurged on it and some day will probably pass it on to my oldest neice who adores everything Potter.

Glad I found your latest thread. Can't wait for more.

Happy to have you here - I hope you enjoy these newest reviews!

:lmao: FART FAIRY!!! :lmao:

Where's the darned tag fairy when we need her!!!

Ahhhh Haaaa Haaaa Ha Haaaa..... :rotfl2:

Thanks Bendy... I needed that...



Ohhhhh Bendy...

I needed to laugh...

Thanks... :hug:

Always happy to provide a laugh, and I know it's been a tough week for you. So have a hug, too. :hug:

Would a certain book be holding up the reviews??? :rolleyes:

Have you finished reading it yet? I'm jealous, I couldn't bring myself to splurge on it. Looking forward to hearing about the book & reviews :goodvibes

Nope, the book didn't get in the way as much as work and holiday stuff. I promise that PFTS will be posted today. I haven't finished reading it ... I just skimmed through some parts of it ... it's charming.

That book looks amazing!!!! Congrats on that one ! ;)
Thanks for the yummy recipe sharing as well Brenda..those tartlets will be MINE!

Hi Gina! we loves the new book ... it is our precious! :laughing:

I hope you enjoy those tarts ... we thought they were quite tasty. Depending on the kind of pears you use you may want to poach them for an hour or two to really soften them up.

Loving your updates, Brenda!

And how cute is Handsome Pete?! Cowboy says hi. I always think of you around this time of year when we buy our plane tickets for Stinktown.

Please tell me there's no snow in the forecast for :santa: !

Hey stranger - thanks for reading and for admiring our furbaby! There isn't any snow forecast yet, but it looks like we're going to get some freezing rain and sleet later today and overnight. Oh joy ... I'd rather have the snow.

When are you going to be in town? Maybe we can try to arrange a meet up at the Tap Room if that works for you two. Drop me a PM if you get a chance.

Glad to hear your feeling better. Hope you had a good time at the party. We'll be here waiting to hear all about it.

Thanks! The party wasn't bad ... typical company party in a year where lots of things have been scaled back. It was my 5-year anniversary with the company so I had to get my picture taken with the President and CEO ... sure hope I didn't have any food stuck in my teeth! :laughing:

Glad your pain is subsiding a bit!

Thanks so much! I'm glad too! :goodvibes

:banana:

Glad to hear the pain is going away... I told you if you had planky walk on your back it would feel better.....

(but trying to explain those footprints... :rolleyes1 )

Thanks Michelle! :goodvibes

I am glad you are finally finding some relief, Brenda! But, I suggest you search for a lovely pair of flats. I have some velvet ones that I wear when I am on stage singing... no way could I stand in heels that long.

Thanks Elin. I do have some black flats but they're not very dressy. And I wanted to show off my holiday pedicure ... vanity vanity. :rolleyes1 I did really well but I made sure that I stayed seated most of the evening. I think if I'd tried to stand or circulate too much I would have had trouble.

[wendym]

I am loving your reviews and your blog - I am sure Mum and I saw you both in Epcot in Oct but I was far to shy to come and speak to you.
Like you I loved The Book Thief; have you read Boy in the Striped Pyjamas? Also for young adults but so thought provoking.
Wendy

[oybolshoi]

I am loving your reviews and your blog - I am sure Mum and I saw you both in Epcot in Oct but I was far to shy to come and speak to you.

Hi there Wendy and thanks for the kind words - I'm glad you're enjoying our goofy reviews!

I do hope we were behaving ourselves when you saw us (read ... I hope I wasn't being a cranky crohn) and I do wish you'd said something. I really do get a pleasant little buzz from meeting people who've been reading along with us. And under normal circumstances we're usually quite friendly. :goodvibes

Like you I loved The Book Thief; have you read Boy in the Striped Pyjamas? Also for young adults but so thought provoking.
Wendy

I've not heard of that other book. Since we don't have children I usually rely on friends who teach or who do have them to recommend really good children's literature when I don't stumble across it by accident on my own.

I'll make note of that one and look for it after the holidays - thanks for the heads up and thanks for reading! :flower3:

[rentayenta]

Yankee Doodle came to town,
Riding on chicken;
Stuck a finger up its' butt,
And called it finger-lickin!

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:





:thumbsup2 That my friend is %^&$ing funny! :lmao: :rotfl: :rotfl2:

[wendym]

Hi there Wendy and thanks for the kind words - I'm glad you're enjoying our goofy reviews!

I do hope we were behaving ourselves when you saw us (read ... I hope I wasn't being a cranky crohn) and I do wish you'd said something. I really do get a pleasant little buzz from meeting people who've been reading along with us. And under normal circumstances we're usually quite friendly. :goodvibes

Of course you were behaving - mind you it was only about 1pm! Perhaps if I had spotted you later, after more alcohol myself I would have spoken!
I've not heard of that other book. Since we don't have children I usually rely on friends who teach or who do have them to recommend really good children's literature when I don't stumble across it by accident on my own.

I'll make note of that one and look for it after the holidays - thanks for the heads up and thanks for reading! :flower3:
I'm actually a teacher and one of my pupils was inspired to write a poem after reading the book. There has been a film adaptation of the book which has been released here but not sure if it made it to the States.

[oybolshoi]

:thumbsup2 That my friend is %^&$ing funny! :lmao: :rotfl: :rotfl2:

We aim to please on this thread! :lmao:

I'm actually a teacher and one of my pupils was inspired to write a poem after reading the book. There has been a film adaptation of the book which has been released here but not sure if it made it to the States.

Good to know we weren't being too obnoxious when you spotted us ... I'd have been embarrassed and probably would end up in a shame spiral. ;)

I wondered if you might not be a teacher! :goodvibes I don't think that it's been released here but I might have missed it. Sometimes I don't pay much attention to things going on around us ... :rolleyes1

[oybolshoi]

A quick interlude ...

just wanted to share a couple of pictures and a drink recipe - it's been a while since we've given you a new tasty beverage to sip on!

Thanksgiving family portrait:

Grimace has her eyes closed in the first one, but Handsome Pete looks cute, doesn't he?

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/DSC03848.jpg


This second picture is much better ... and Grimace is smiling!!!!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/DSC03849.jpg


And here's a picture of Jay and me last night before leaving for my holiday party!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/DSC03850.jpg


Holiday Cocktail!!!

Amaretto-Cranberry Kiss

2 cups cranberry juice
1 cup vodka
1/2 cup amaretto

Pour ingredients into a pitcher and stir gently. Keep chilled in refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve over ice.

This recipe is supposed to be for 8 servings but Jay and I say it's really 4 ... guess it depends on how generous your drink servings are! Also, you could add about 3 tablespoons of orange juice if you want to make this a bit more tart, but we like it just as it's listed above. It's a tasty drink and oh-so-pretty!

Enjoy! :goodvibes

[TinkerBelle_325]

Thank you SOOOOO much for posting pictures of the collector's edition of Tales of the Beetle Bard! I'm a diehard Harry Potter fan and can't wait to read it to get more insight into Book 7!

My favorite book is Little Women as well! I simply adore it and it was the first book I read as a child :)

Looking forward to your PFTS posts! :thumbsup2

[A fat english gent]

Wow Mrs Bendy has a dwelling with pillars...:worship:


ps...An address unknown to us.....:rolleyes1

[A fat english gent]

Is that Jason's shooter i spot stood there Mrs Bendy...:rolleyes1

[oybolshoi]

Thank you SOOOOO much for posting pictures of the collector's edition of Tales of the Beetle Bard! I'm a diehard Harry Potter fan and can't wait to read it to get more insight into Book 7!

My favorite book is Little Women as well! I simply adore it and it was the first book I read as a child :)

Looking forward to your PFTS posts! :thumbsup2

My pleasure to share the pictures! It's dawned on me that the folks who hang on my food porn threads have exceptionally good taste in books!

Nothing will ever replace Little Women in my heart ... I wish I had a daughter to share it with but it's not meant to be. I'm hoping to be a bad influence on my eldest niece when it comes to books ... seems to be working so far! ;)

Wow Mrs Bendy has a dwelling with pillars...:worship:


ps...An address unknown to us.....:rolleyes1

Check your mailbox, luv. And our pillars are only half pillars ... they "break" the space between our great room and our little dining room.

Is that Jason's shooter i spot stood there Mrs Bendy...:rolleyes1

Yep, that's our American unCivil War musket that I gave Jay as a wedding gift. It's an 1863 Springfield musket with bayonet ... probably worth waaaay more than I paid for it. These are the things that history geeks do for each other when they get married. :lmao:

Jay actually had relatives who fought for the Union and one of them was captured at the battle of Chickamauga (Tennesseee - 1863) and then died at Andersonville (one of the most notorious of all prisoner of war camps established by the Confederacy). We went there several years ago and found his grave marker and prison records ... it was a very sad place.

It probably goes without saying that I had family who fought for the Confederacy. We were losers then and we're still losers now. ;)

[Tink rules]

Is that Jason's shooter i spot stood there Mrs Bendy...:rolleyes1

I'm not commenting on what I thought you said (my brain's a bit fuzzy... ) but I've got to admit... nice tie... ;)

[oybolshoi]

I'm not commenting on what I thought you said (my brain's a bit fuzzy... ) but I've got to admit... nice tie... ;)

:lmao: It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about too! My brain was automatically in the gutter as soon as I read it! :rotfl2:

[Tink rules]

Great minds???? :lmao:

[DisneyMom5]

I'm too much of a traditionalist to use the kindle. I love the smell and feel of books ... I love the feel of the pages ... I love buying them and reading them and putting them in our many varied bookshelves scattered around the house. Heck, if my bathrooms were big enough I'd probably have a bookcase in them too. :lmao:

I'm all for helping out the man in my life to get the right gift - they all need a little help now and then!

Jay and I stopped trying to surprise each other years ago. We usually try to agree upon something that we both want ... do the same thing for anniversaries. Makes more sense to us that way.

I hope you receive lots of excellent readables! I'm in the middle of too many books right now and am going to have to start over and just focus on one at a time. But ... thanks to Wiggles (Kendra) I started The Book Thief, which is as amazing as she said it would be. Even though it's considered a book for young adults it strikes me as something that's really more of an adult book that happens to have a young protagonist. I'm also reading The Great Upheaval (history ... good but not as good as the other book I have by this author), and March, which is a novel that focuses on the father from Little Women ... perhaps my all-time favorite novel. That one book really started my love affair with reading. I was 8 the first time I read it and didn't understand half of it, but have read it many, many times over the years and probably own every movie version of the book.

It's true ... I'm a geek! :lmao:





I agree. I LOVE books. I always say I could just go into Barnes and Nobles and roll around in the books, but that might be frowned upon.

We use a literature based homeschool curriculum. We're about ready to install the bathroom book shelves. We don't need that second bathtub, right?

I love Little Women too. Have you ever read her "Jack and Jill"? I like that one too.

My list on Amazon included a lot of Jane Austen. Also a prequel to a book that the kids are reading this year that I just LOVED! The book is called "A year down yonder" and the prequel is called " A long way from Chicago."
A year down yonder takes place during the great depression, and a teenage girl from Chicago is forced to go live with her Grandma in southern Illinois (I think) and her grandma is a bit of a rebel. Hilarious!

Ok, off to make dinner now. Been baking cookies all day. Whew.

[oybolshoi]

When I was in the fourth grade my mom bought me a set of Louisa May Alcott's works when she figured out that I was in love with Little Women. I have Little Men, Jo's Boy's, Eight Cousins, Jack and Jill, and Under the Lilacs. When I was older I managed to get my hands on Rose in Bloom, which is the sequal to Eight Cousins.


I loved them all except for Under the Lilacs - that one just didn't do much for me.

[DisneyMom5]

When I was in the fourth grade my mom bought me a set of Louisa May Alcott's works when she figured out that I was in love with Little Women. I have Little Men, Jo's Boy's, Eight Cousins, Jack and Jill, and Under the Lilacs. When I was older I managed to get my hands on Rose in Bloom, which is the sequal to Eight Cousins.


I loved them all except for Under the Lilacs - that one just didn't do much for me.

Wow. You are the only other person I have met whose ever HEARD of Jack and Jill, let alone OWN it. No wonder we get a long so well. LOL
:goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Wow. You are the only other person I have met whose ever HEARD of Jack and Jill, let alone OWN it. No wonder we get a long so well. LOL
:goodvibes

Great minds, right? ;)

Jack and Jill was one of my favorites from the first time I read it. Eight Cousins, too. :thumbsup2

Like I said ... with no daughter of my own to push down the right path, I've got to work extra hard on my niece. :laughing:

[oybolshoi]

I owe everyone an apology again because I had 50+ pictures and my PFTS review waiting to post here on the DIS and when I hit the submit button the whole thing crashed and the boards were no more (at least in my browser windows). I'm not happy because I spent the better part of the evening working on it and now I've got to start over from scratch. Add that to the the freezing rain and sleet that we're currently getting and maybe I can try again tomorrow night and maybe I can't.

I'm very sorry but this one was out of my hands. :headache:

[Briarmom]

I'm too much of a traditionalist to use the kindle. I love the smell and feel of books ... I love the feel of the pages ... I love buying them and reading them and putting them in our many varied bookshelves scattered around the house. Heck, if my bathrooms were big enough I'd probably have a bookcase in them too. :lmao:

Thanks for taking the time to catch up on the silliness ... I'm going to be posting PFTS today but I've still got some stuff to finish around the house before that. And sooner or later you'll have much somethings to say, so I'm not worried. ;)


I, too, am a big fat book geek. I think half the weight of our household goods is books!! That's why I was hesitant to get the Kindle as well. When I heard Oprah say that she loved it and didn't miss the feel and smell of books....well that was what I needed to hear. A reader who loved it. Plus, less trees cut down and all.

March is a good read. I read it a couple of years ago. My copy of Little Women is broken into several pieces, but I can't get myself to replace it.:cloud9:

I owe everyone an apology again because I had 50+ pictures and my PFTS review waiting to post here on the DIS and when I hit the submit button the whole thing crashed and the boards were no more (at least in my browser windows). I'm not happy because I spent the better part of the evening working on it and now I've got to start over from scratch. Add that to the the freezing rain and sleet that we're currently getting and maybe I can try again tomorrow night and maybe I can't.

I'm very sorry but this one was out of my hands. :headache:

:hug: That stinks!

[Tink rules]

I owe everyone an apology again because I had 50+ pictures and my PFTS review waiting to post here on the DIS and when I hit the submit button the whole thing crashed and the boards were no more (at least in my browser windows). I'm not happy because I spent the better part of the evening working on it and now I've got to start over from scratch. Add that to the the freezing rain and sleet that we're currently getting and maybe I can try again tomorrow night and maybe I can't.

I'm very sorry but this one was out of my hands. :headache:

Oh Bendy I think the God's are angry this week... :headache:

Take a small break my friend, re-group... grab some wine and cheese and settle in and let the words just flow out naturally... (and then you can edit all the stuff you know we'd love to hear about but would get tossed off the boards for...:upsidedow )

[whogirl'smom]

Harry Potter stuff, my friend! :thumbsup2 Which new Stephen King book do you refer to? I really like some of his books and others bore me silly.



Did you get a chance to try it while you were at the World in October? It was very good ... even eating around the pralines. :laughing:



I got Duma Key in paperback, but have only read 3-4 pages so far! I like all of Stephen King's stuff except for the Dark Tower series, which I could never get into. What I really miss are Anne Rice's novels....I used to always get a new one every Christmas.

And as for the pralines, I did not get a chance to try it b/c I think I was usually eating or drinking something else as we went by. Oh, yeah, and the day it rained all over Epcot, I don't think we ate much at all that day except for Le Cellier.

However, I do have a wonderful fresh box of pralines we got in Charleston this weekend! :cool1: I think that trip is the best Christmas present we've ever given each other. If I could have taken pictures, I'd post them of our dinner at Charleston Grill--OMG if I hadn't read your reviews of "fancy" places and watched a little Top Chef I would have been in trouble! It was a wonderful meal, though, and we managed not to look like hicks! :rotfl: If you get back to Charleston, it is a definite you should try.

P.S. You guys looked very nice for your Christmas party!

[Tink rules]

Whosgirl... River Street for the Prailines???

Sorry I didn't get back to you on restaurant ideas... it got a bit crazy around here...

Glad you liked it... did you go to the market???

[oybolshoi]

Saturday, October 11th - We are Famished, Yes! Famished We are, Precious!!!

After our late morning snacking spree at Epcot, Jay and I spent the afternoon soaking up the sun and the margaritas at the pool. We starved ourselves in anticipation of the evening's main event: Party for the Senses.

Every Saturday evening during the F&W Festival, Epcot hosts a fabu cocktail party with all you can eat and drink taste treats ... it's not cheap to attend at $135 per person plus tax, but our experience in the past has been that it's a terrific event well worth the splurge.

Here is exactly how Disney pimps the event in the 2008 Festival Guide:

Feast on this tribute to the sensory arts! Begin your evening with a reserved seat at the Eat to the Beat concert series at the America Gardens Theatre. Following the show, World Showplace Pavilion becomes the setting for a sensational evening showcasing the talents of more than 25 eminent chefs along with the diversity of over 70 wines and beers. Wander among tempting tasting stations in the midst of imaginative decor and live entertainment.

On the stages, extraordinary artists from Metropolis perform feats of balance, strength, agility, and mayhem throughout the evening, while other remarkable characters interact with the guests to their surprise and delight. Between acts, unique music by Mechanical Soul will provide a stylish world-beat accompaniment to the party.

Ummmmm, how best to respond?

Errrrr,

ARE YOU F&W PLANNERS SMOKING CRACK???

Imaginative decor? It looked an awful lot like last year's decorations.
Feats of mayhem? What the hell is that even supposed to mean?
Remarkable characters interacting with guests? Mayhap we missed that along with the mayhem.
Stylish world-beat accompaniment? We felt like we were trapped in an episode of Sprockets. You may not eat my monkey.

A few other comments before I get down to the good stuff, which is really nothing more than a whole lotta food porn with me keeping my mouth shut for once.

1) I think that Epcot is going to have to start re-thinking how they admit guests for this event because the crush of people is getting to be too much. There is very little real crowd control and my fear is that someone is going to end up getting hurt over something (I can't believe I'm going to say this) as inconsequential as food.

2) We weren't the only people disappointed by the lack of a full program guide for the evening. While it's nice to know the names of the chefs and wineries being featured for the evening, it's far more nice to know what the hell it is you're eating and drinking ... especially when you try to share the event with your cyber food-friends two months after the fact. I read here on the DIS that later parties beginning with the one held on October 18th were given full programs, but that doesn't help us much, does it?

3) I hate it when a winery runs out of something more than an hour before the event has ended. Rosa Regale is not an expensive wine, but when Jay and I were ready to have some along with our dessert selections we were told that they were already out. Are you kidding? You folks from Banfi can't afford to share the fizzy pink joy with more than a handful of people? We're not talking about a $300 per bottle beverage; it's $20 per bottle ... retail. Poor planning or tightfistedness ... or maybe a little of both?

4) Can someone please tell me why there was a woman standing in the PFTS crowd, pre-admittance, with an infant in a stroller? We spotted her again a few times throughout the night and we also saw a handful of young children hanging out rather despondently on the stage at various times during the evening. They weren't eating ... they certainly weren't drinking ... and they looked miserable. I can see bringing teenagers with a foodie bent to this event, but I can't see why someone would bring a child under the age of ten if he/she doesn't want to be there. Have a heart mom and dad - get a babysitter or smack 'em in the kids club and let them have some kid fun while you have a few hours of grown up fun. And don't try to tell me that your offspring washes down caviar with Chateau Yaquem, because I'm not buying it. :laughing: There is a time and a place for young kids and I, for one, don't think that most of them belong at this kind of F&W event.

Having said all that ... let's get on with the show!

Here we are getting ready to leave for the party ...

Bring on the feasting!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/158.jpg

A shot of the crowd waiting for the magic gates to open.

Crowd #1
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/161.jpg

And now the crowd waiting to enter the pavilion ...

Crowd #2
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/163.jpg

As an aside, I'd just like to thank those people who cleaned up in advance of the evening. My sensitive nose really appreciated not having to stand shoulder to shoulder with you and your stinky theme-park armpits. Here's a picture of the hubba and me putting a good face on the wait, and hoping against hope that the rain would hold off until after we were indoors.

I hope there are some crunchables birdses for eating!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/162.jpg

Once inside we were spotted by the only DISer that I knew for sure would be in attendance: Kabuki - my cheese-loving pal from the west coast!!! She's married to a Jason, too, and they're just the cutest, friendliest couple. We're looking forward to running into them on another trip where we can share a good meal and good conversation together. Here's a picture ...

Kabuki's Jason, Kabuki, and Brenda the toothy
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/164.jpg

I hate it when I smile like that ... all my teeth end up showing and I feel like someone is going to start calling me Chompers. I have twelve molars .... yes, that's right; I said twelve molars. My wisdom teeth started to make an appearance when I was 14 just as I was being outfitted with braces. Rather than dig them out, Dr. Walrus-Man pulled out some other teeth and created lots of space - the result being that by the time I was 17 all four of my widsom teeth were firmly entrenched in my mouth. I could probably chew through metal if I had to ... :laughing:

This next picture is Jay and me showing off the wonderful wine lanyards that our DISfriend Jeanne sent us earlier in the year just for PFTS! These were awesome and came in very handy during the evening. Thanks again Jeanne!!!

These glasses sure could use some wine...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/165.jpg

Once the main doors to the venue were open it was pretty much a free-for-all. Lots of people were focused on finding a table where they could come back and sit and enjoy their food and drink. We didn't do that this time, but I can understand the appeal because it's hard to eat and drink standing up while a glass of wine sways dangerously between your bewbies. Our plan was to start in the back of the hall and work our way forward. I hope that I've got the food listed properly in the pictures to come ... I had to use pictures of the signs from the different food stations and it's possible that something is mis-labled. For that I apologize, but I hope you enjoy the pics anyway.

Pepperberry-Crusted Wild Boar Tenderloin
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/167.jpg

Pan Roasted Petit Lamb Chop
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/169.jpg

Roasted Hiramasa Kingfish with Mussels and Poached Oysters
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/171.jpg

The mystery plate! Wait ... it might be Grilled Ostrich Tenderloin with Sweet Potato and Yukon Mash
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/172.jpg

Two way Tuna with Voodoo Drizzle
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/174.jpg

Grilled Shrimp with Thai Red Curry Beurre Blanc Sauce
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/176.jpg

Unknown #1
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/180.jpg

Smoked Pulled Pork over Smashed Taro
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/182.jpg

Yep, that's my finger pointing at the cheese ... glorious cheese!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/184.jpg

More cheese!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/185.jpg

Still more cheese!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/186.jpg

Unwind me some cheese, will ya?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/187.jpg

One glorious plate of cheesy goodness!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/188.jpg

Lamb Loin with Berbere-Spiced Lentils
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/191.jpg

Unknown #2
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/194.jpg

Unknown #3
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/197.jpg

Continued in the next post ....

[oybolshoi]

Saturday, October 11th - We are Famished, Yes! Famished We are, Precious!!

Apple Marinated Ostrich Tenderloin
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/203.jpg

Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Truffle-Infused Goat Cheese Spuma
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/199.jpg

Chicken Paprika with Roasted Cauliflower
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/208.jpg

Apple Bourbon Veal Tenderloin
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/211.jpg

Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with California Strawberry Chipotle Chutney
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/213.jpg

A few random pictures before dessert ...

Looks like last year to me!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/204.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/205.jpg

Yes, that's more cheese!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/214.jpg

Brazilian Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Banana Mousse Croquant & Raspberry Foam; and a big honking plate of truffles!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/215.jpg

They told me that I had to take one of each truffle ... how could I disappoint those hard working pastry chefs by declining their generosity?

Rose and Pink Champagne Cake with Creme Fraiche and Rose Ice Cream
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/218.jpg

This was our favorite dessert of the evening! So pretty and such delicate, unique flavors ... yum!

A Cannoli
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/219.jpg

Maybe it's unfair, but after that rose / champagne cake the cannoli was laughably uninspired and downright dull. Next time try harder!

WOW!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/217.jpg

The above desserts were all prepared by one chef from the Ritz Carlton. He must have been trying to make up for the cannoli-man.

Here's what we have on our plate: Pink Champagne Truffle, le Petit Antoine, Red Berries and Lemon Macaroons, Chestnut, Orange Verrine Pistachio Lady Finger, Chocolate and Coconut Cremeux, Chinese Spices, Banana Foster Tartlet.

It was all so good ... I wish I was eating it right now!

And last but not least, Jay and me pleasantly stuffed and happily squiffed waiting for the SSR bus to take us away.

Can we go to Ghiradelli's for second dessert?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/227.jpg

Final thoughts: It was a good evening but not as good as last year in my opinion. There was too much of the same thing ... how much ostrich does one person need to eat in less than three hours? I was disappointed that there were no soup offerings or specialty cocktails and I would have liked more seafood and less meat.

Most people that we approached were very generous and kind about sharing table space with us for a few minutes. There were a few who were rather rude, but we moved on ... leaving a trail of noxious fart gas in our wake. The final couple that we ended up with for quite some time was very nice (they were from Michigan but I can't recall their names) and they were even kind enough to share with Kabuki and her friends when they happened upon us while we were stuffing our faces full of dessert. To those kind people, thank you very much and I do hope we weren't too obnoxious. :flower3:

Would we do it again next year?

Man, that's a tough question. If the price goes up again we would be hard pressed to justify the cost for this kind of event as opposed to spending nearly the same amount on dinner at Victoria and Albert's.

We did have a good time but I think 2009 will find us spending our funds on a different event (I hope).

Thanks for reading ... next up will be our French Regional Lunch at Bistro Paris - the best F&W event of our trip! :thumbsup2

[Mocharilla]

To be totally fair I really didn't give Jay much of a choice. When I found out over the summer that Amazon was releasing the book I went online to pre-order it and saw the Collector's edition and said to myself, "Self, that is just too cool to pass up. Order it now and tell Jay he just took care of your Christmas gift for the year."

And I did.

And like a good husband when I told him about it he said, "I'm so nice."

:rotfl2:

And your hubby sat through the release party? Double-jointed thumbs up to him! :thumbsup2

I would so do that, except I already did that with our honeymoon to Disney next year. I did DxDDP when I booked, and then let him know it was my Christmas present from him.

Yes, he did. He's awesome for it! :) He even got me some Starbucks (We did it at B&N) and a snack while we waited, since I was 7 months preggers at the time. (Don't worry. It was a creme frapp. No caffeine for my baby!) I guess I can sit through the "Why don't you just go *insert words meaning dirty things* Harry Potter, then?!" if he does stuff like that! :rotfl:

[Tink rules]

Saturday, October 11th - We are Famished, Yes! Famished We are, Precious!!!



This space intentionally left blank...for now

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! !!

Oh... never mind...

[Tink rules]

Saturday, October 11th - We are Famished, Yes! Famished We are, Precious!!




Do I need to repeat myself??? :lmao:

No Bendy.. I heard you the first time...

[Tink rules]

Things to do while Bendy is rethinking her report from yesterday...

[Tink rules]

:jumping2: :jumping2: :jumping3: :jumping2: :jumping2:

We could do aerobics...

[Tink rules]

:surfweb: :surfweb: :surfweb: :surfweb: :surfweb:

Go and read something educational on the web...

Or play computer games... :thumbsup2

[Tink rules]

We could go see Bolt in 3D...

:3dglasses :3dglasses :3dglasses :3dglasses :3dglasses

But it hasn't hit the Cheapie one plex in town yet and probably won't until at least MARCH...

[Tink rules]

But nope...

We're gonna sit here... http://www.super-smileys.com/images/smileys/337.gif[/url]http://www.super-smileys.com/images/smileys/337.gif[/url]http://www.super-smileys.com/images/smileys/337.gif[/url]http://www.super-smileys.com/images/smileys/337.gif[/url]

And we're gonna wait very patiently....

[Tink rules]

And I'm going to go and hide before she throws something at me... :lmao:

:duck: :duck: :duck: :duck: :duck:

[oybolshoi]

stop! you're distracting me! :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl: :laughing:

[Tink rules]

Sorry Bendy... :upsidedow

[oybolshoi]

Sorry Bendy... :upsidedow

All done ... go look at pretty pictures and let me know if I was able to make you laugh! :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

I, too, am a big fat book geek. I think half the weight of our household goods is books!! That's why I was hesitant to get the Kindle as well. When I heard Oprah say that she loved it and didn't miss the feel and smell of books....well that was what I needed to hear. A reader who loved it. Plus, less trees cut down and all.

March is a good read. I read it a couple of years ago. My copy of Little Women is broken into several pieces, but I can't get myself to replace it.:cloud9:

I suspect that almost everyone on this thread is a book geek of some kind. ;)

I think the kindle would be too hard on my eyes after spending 10 hours per day on the computer working for those fiends in finance. But I hope you enjoy it!

I'm looking forward to reading March ... I'm not sure how I managed to miss it when it was first published.

All my Alcott books are falling apart ... the sign of a truly loved book. :goodvibes

:hug: That stinks!

Thanks! I think the posts I did tonight may be funnier but that might depend on whether or not you've been drinking when you read them.

Oh Bendy I think the God's are angry this week... :headache:

Take a small break my friend, re-group... grab some wine and cheese and settle in and let the words just flow out naturally... (and then you can edit all the stuff you know we'd love to hear about but would get tossed off the boards for...:upsidedow )

They're not pleased with me, that much is obvious. ;) I did have some wine last night but not tonight and the cheese has to wait until Christmas (waaaah). And then come the beginning of the year this girlie is on a mega-diet.

I got Duma Key in paperback, but have only read 3-4 pages so far! I like all of Stephen King's stuff except for the Dark Tower series, which I could never get into. What I really miss are Anne Rice's novels....I used to always get a new one every Christmas.

And as for the pralines, I did not get a chance to try it b/c I think I was usually eating or drinking something else as we went by. Oh, yeah, and the day it rained all over Epcot, I don't think we ate much at all that day except for Le Cellier.

However, I do have a wonderful fresh box of pralines we got in Charleston this weekend! :cool1: I think that trip is the best Christmas present we've ever given each other. If I could have taken pictures, I'd post them of our dinner at Charleston Grill--OMG if I hadn't read your reviews of "fancy" places and watched a little Top Chef I would have been in trouble! It was a wonderful meal, though, and we managed not to look like hicks! :rotfl: If you get back to Charleston, it is a definite you should try.

P.S. You guys looked very nice for your Christmas party!

I could never get into the Dark Tower series either. My favorites by King are his early stuff - The Stand and It are his two best in my opinion, although he has some terrific short stories, too.

I'm glad you had a good time in Charleston ... yum Charleston Grill! Can you at least tell me what kind of "fancy" food you had there? Please? :flower3:

Things to do while Bendy is rethinking her report from yesterday...

Send buckets of money to Stinktown to subsidize Western Transatlantic Cruise in 2010???

[Tink rules]

Yes Bendy... you made me laugh... :hug: :hug: :hug:

I think we do V&A's Chef table next year...

And maybe I'll try the PFTS, but do I HAVE to take pictures???

Can you see the little green guy commenting on the Ostrich? :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: (I hear it would have something to do with chicken fingers... )

[Tink rules]

Send buckets of money to Stinktown to subsidize Western Transatlantic Cruise in 2010???

EASTERN!!!! Oh why would you want to cruise during better weather and miss our Edwardian themed tribute to the Titanic??? (we sail on the very same day it did and we're thinking of something ice related for our FE gifts...:lmao: )

[oybolshoi]

Yes Bendy... you made me laugh... :hug: :hug: :hug:

I think we do V&A's Chef table next year...

And maybe I'll try the PFTS, but do I HAVE to take pictures???

Can you see the little green guy commenting on the Ostrich? :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: (I hear it would have something to do with chicken fingers... )

Hooray for laughter!

Chef's Table! And you don't have to take pictures as long as I can take pictures of your food for you! :laughing:

EASTERN!!!! Oh why would you want to cruise during better weather and miss our Edwardian themed tribute to the Titanic??? (we sail on the very same day it did and we're thinking of something ice related for our FE gifts...:lmao: )

We like the western better ... it fits into our plans and budget better and we like the idea of hurricane dodging for two weeks. :rolleyes1

As for your ice-gifts ... why not buy a bunch of those glow cubes like the ones that Disney puts in kids drinks? Then people have ice that floats with the added benefit of a light that can be turned on ... they can pretend it's a rescue flare. :rotfl2:

[PNO4TE]

Thanks for the PFTS update, Brenda! Hmmmm... maybe I didn't miss it as much as I thought I did. ;) I know I would have been very upset to have no program letting me know what there was on each chef's table. Bob and I are not going until a week later for F&W next year, but I am thinking we won't be booking the Party again for a while. We will have to see what we might want to spend that money on!

[oybolshoi]

I would so do that, except I already did that with our honeymoon to Disney next year. I did DxDDP when I booked, and then let him know it was my Christmas present from him.

Yes, he did. He's awesome for it! :) He even got me some Starbucks (We did it at B&N) and a snack while we waited, since I was 7 months preggers at the time. (Don't worry. It was a creme frapp. No caffeine for my baby!) I guess I can sit through the "Why don't you just go *insert words meaning dirty things* Harry Potter, then?!" if he does stuff like that! :rotfl:

You snuck in last night while I was updating and I didn't see this until now.

For what it's worth, DxDDP is a darn fine Chrimble giftie. Good food, good booze, good times at WDW ... who could ask for anything more? :goodvibes

As for your HP comments ... :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: I'd never heard that little word game before! My brain is going to be thinking bad things all day now! ;)


Thanks for the PFTS update, Brenda! Hmmmm... maybe I didn't miss it as much as I thought I did. ;) I know I would have been very upset to have no program letting me know what there was on each chef's table. Bob and I are not going until a week later for F&W next year, but I am thinking we won't be booking the Party again for a while. We will have to see what we might want to spend that money on!

Hi Elin, thanks for reading!

PFTS was good, like I said, but not nearly as good in our opinion as the year before. Some of it is timing I think ... there was just a lot of food being offered on our night that I wasn't really crazy about. It just didn't seem like there was as much variety and all the chefs were offering just one item unlike last year when they were offering two or even three at some tables.

For us, deciding whether to attend next year will really come down to whether or not we think we're truly getting value for our money ... right now I'm just not sure.

Kinda sad, really, because after we attended PFTS in 2007 we couldn't wait to come back and attend another one.

Oh well, we still had a good time! :goodvibes

[cntkg1]

And you alway make me laugh too B. But, I'm a sicko...anything that relates to a good all-american queef in the direction of a rude guest makes me giggle beyond one's imagination. Chuck just shakes his head and tells me that I'm one sick monkey. It's true, I am.:rotfl2:

Loved the update. I'd skip right to the desserts but then I'd miss something hilarious in between. Thanks for the laughs kiddo. :)

[TigerKat]

Great update on PFTS Brenda! This was our first and probably last year doing PFTS. While we thoroughly enjoyed the evening, I can spend my $$$ better someplace else......V&A perhaps......:thumbsup2

[Me&3]

Thanks for the pictures of PFTS. YUM Your review was perfect they needed more seafood! It all looked good but one can only eat so much meat bring on some seafood. The deserts looked delish:cool1: . We went last year and loved it they had this great washbi crusted tuna that was to die for. I really want to try the cranberry kiss. Maybe tonight we are going to decorate the Christmas tree that sounds like a good drink for that. Can't wait to hear and see more:goodvibes

[zweihund]

The PFTS looks fun, but I admit the price tag has been enough to deter us year after year. I think I could justify it with the amount of cheese and dessert they had to offer, yum! But being vegetarian, well......there's not much else for me there.

Except, of course, the booze. :thumbsup2

Great installment! And would you believe we STILL have another layer of chocolate mice? What the heck is wrong with us? I might have to remedy that this morning.....

[kabuki]

Hey Brenda!

That is a great picture of ALL of us! Despite my new bangs that the hair cutter thought I should have! Can you say "hello .. I am going to Florida and I don't need that amount of forehead exposed to the sun!". I felt like I should be on the Good Ship Lollypop!:rotfl2:

We had fun at PFTS but I agree with the amount of Ostrich served. It was like they had a sale at Big Game super center.:confused3 I think they should talk and find out ahead of time so maybe you get a better variety. Both weekends for us the ran out of any traces of Sparkling Wine an hour before closing and again agreeing that they should be required to pour till then end at these prices.

We will still be up in the air about another PFTS until we see the events for next year but hope they get control of the crowds a bit. We loved meeting you and Jay and yes, we would love to do a proper dinner/drinks when we meet again and not just the PFTS drive by!:yay:

[Jennifer48]

Hey Jennifer ... how ya been? I really do love that collector's edition ... it's just the coolest little thing I've ever seen (for now).

I've been well. Just got back from WDW for my first Christmas visit and got engaged! :lovestruc Yes all very exciting! Plus we drove from MA to FL, that was an adventure in itself! :rotfl:


Jay actually had relatives who fought for the Union and one of them was captured at the battle of Chickamauga (Tennesseee - 1863) and then died at Andersonville (one of the most notorious of all prisoner of war camps established by the Confederacy). We went there several years ago and found his grave marker and prison records ... it was a very sad place.

It probably goes without saying that I had family who fought for the Confederacy. We were losers then and we're still losers now. ;)

This is very interesting. My relative is none other than the drunk of the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant! HAHA. He married into my family tree.

I have to say those desserts at the PFTS looked so darn yummy! I think I would have paid that price just to eat those all day! :rotfl2:

[winkers]

Most of the meats make me:scared: I like to stick with cow, chicken & pig. You throw in ostirch and lamb and ick!
But the desserts!!!!:thumbsup2

[njprincess]

Rose and Pink Champagne Cake with Creme Fraiche and Rose Ice Cream
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/218.jpg

Boy, this would have gone really nice with some Rosa Regale!

I gotta tell ya Bendy, I would have a really hard time eating anything called 'spuma' - it conjures up some really unpleasant images. So, I looked it up in the Food Dictionary and here's what it said: see SPOOM (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=4712) OK, so spoom is a little easier to deal with, but here's the definition for spoom: A frothy type of SHERBET (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=4541) made with a light SUGAR SYRUP (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=4802) mixed with a liquid such as fruit juice, CHAMPAGNE (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=1789) or SAUTERNES (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=4430). Halfway through the freezing process, the mixture is combined with uncooked MERINGUE (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=3472), which gives spoom its airy texture. The Italians call this frozen specialty spuma, which means "foam" or "froth."

Now SPOOM sounds like a litte slice of heaven! Maybe the Italians should have stayed out of this one!

[njprincess]

Brenda - thank's so much for sharing the descriptions and pictures of your 'fancy-schmancy collector's edition of Beedle the Bard' with all of us peons who couldn't afford it! From your description, it is definitely worthly of the hype, especially to a true fan like you.

I had to settle for the Barnes & Noble, pick-one-off-the-stack version with the 'Members Receive 10% Off' sticker that is almost impossible to remove without ripping the cover. I am saving it for the plane ride to Florida on Saturday, but I couldn't help peeking...

[BoosGram]

I suspect that almost everyone on this thread is a book geek of some kind. ;)

Another member of the book geek squad here. When we move, half of what gets packed is my collection of books. And when I was a kid, I wanted to be one of the little women.

Send buckets of money to Stinktown to subsidize Western Transatlantic Cruise in 2010???

Bendy, are you and Jay going on the WBTA? As you can see from the logo in my siggie, DH and I are booked for that one. That would be soooooo cool!

[disneyfav4ever]

I think the guy from the Ritz Carlton was there last year, and did a lot of mini desserts then as well. That rose and pink champagne cake is so pretty, and so pink. I love pink.

[whogirl'smom]

Whosgirl... River Street for the Prailines???

Sorry I didn't get back to you on restaurant ideas... it got a bit crazy around here...

Glad you liked it... did you go to the market???

Absolutely River St.! We had gotten some there in Savannah so I knew that's where I had to find them! Don't worry about the restaurant ideas, we managed to eat and drink ourselves right into a Tums commercial :rotfl2: with no help whatsoever. We tried Social wine bar the first night and that is really our kind of place---good wine, good food, casual and fun.

We did go to the market on Sat. and froze our butts off! A high of 50 and lots of wind, which was not what I was planning on, but it was still a great time.

[whogirl'smom]

That was a wonderful review, Brenda! I think the pink cake was my favorite--actually all of it looks good. I will try just about any kind of meat as long as it is cooked and removed from any offensive looking body part (like a frog leg). :laughing:

Ok, here is what we had at the Charleston grill; I think it was the atmosphere and having 6-7 waiters (yes, no female waitstaff here) more than the actual food choices.

Amuse bouche: this was the first time either of us had even been to a restaurant where one was offered. This was blue cheese, fennel, mystery round berry/sour thing and frissee of green salad stuff with a cracker and vinaigrette (I really did listen to the little guy, but I was actually busy smiling and nodding like I was looking forward to tasting this-not). We were not fans of the chef's offering this evening, but appreciated his efforts. I don't care for fennel or blue cheese, and now I don't care for round/berry sour things, either.

Appetizers: DH had Charleston Grill crab cake, creek shrimp, lime tomato vinaigrette that was to DIE for. We jousted over this.
I had truffled mushroom soup, which was wonderful. I don't usually care for mushrooms, but this was gooood stuff. The soup guy said as he poured the soup over the mushrooms at the table, "Everytime I pour this, it's like a little smell of heaven." This sent me into giggles as soon as he left the table.

Entrees: Dh had Prime Beef Tenderloin with baked potatoes. He declared it as better than ***. It was melt in your mouth good. I had the Sauteed Flounder with shrimp and tasso-okra corn cake. Oh, my, it was good. We shared a side of fried macaroni and cheese. Don't you just love southern food???

For dessert we shared vanilla creme brulee. We were both about to bust we were so full, but I love creme brulee and can't get it anywhere here. This was the only dish that was a little off. The sugar was a little too browned on top and the creme was a little thin, for lack of a better word. It tasted pretty good, though. I wouldn't have bothered with dessert if I had known that the pastry chef would be sending out....

a whole plate of little goodies!!!! There was a sponge cake with lemon curd and buttercream, a dark chocolate truffle, a pecan praline and two other things I can't remember because all the blood had drained from my brain to my stomach to try and digest all this food!

With this I had my now new favorite riesling--Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz. Sweet without being cloying and very smooth and gulpable!

So, there you have it; our first foray to a fancy restaurant!

[KristinAnne]

Everything looks really good! I'm not sure how I would handle the crowds though. Once everyone is in, are you still packed as tightly? I tend to end up spilling all over myself in those situations. :lmao:

[Tink rules]

Hooray for laughter!

Chef's Table! And you don't have to take pictures as long as I can take pictures of your food for you! :laughing:



We like the western better ... it fits into our plans and budget better and we like the idea of hurricane dodging for two weeks. :rolleyes1

As for your ice-gifts ... why not buy a bunch of those glow cubes like the ones that Disney puts in kids drinks? Then people have ice that floats with the added benefit of a light that can be turned on ... they can pretend it's a rescue flare. :rotfl2:

Ohhhhh.... We're gonna get tossed from the Chefs Table... You'll be taking pictures of my food and I'll be taking pictures of you taking pictures and Jay will be drinking everyone's wine telling the pastry chef that no... he's never seen us before... :rolleyes1 And Planky will be running through the main dining room with toilet paper stuck to his foot... :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Our only saving grace will be that my brother's best friend Jack is a server there....(as long as we don't get him fired...)

Oh and the Glow cubes... You got it!!! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Thank GOD there won't be 400 Disers on this cruise... those alone could sink the ship...

[Tink rules]

Absolutely River St.! We had gotten some there in Savannah so I knew that's where I had to find them! Don't worry about the restaurant ideas, we managed to eat and drink ourselves right into a Tums commercial :rotfl2: with no help whatsoever. We tried Social wine bar the first night and that is really our kind of place---good wine, good food, casual and fun.

We did go to the market on Sat. and froze our butts off! A high of 50 and lots of wind, which was not what I was planning on, but it was still a great time.

http://www.riverstreetsweets.com/

Try the bear claws... :goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes Dk Chocolate is the best!!!

50???? That's downright tropical!!! :rotfl: (says one who saw -4 last week!!!)

[ChelleinNC]

Brenda, great review :thumbsup2 well worth waiting for :goodvibes The food all looked wonderful and the desserts :faint: oh my :cloud9:

I've never been to PFTS (or F&W for that matter) but my problem would be that for that price, I want to be waited on not schlepping my food around trying to find a place to sit :sad2:


Ok, here is what we had at the Charleston grill; I think it was the atmosphere and having 6-7 waiters (yes, no female waitstaff here) more than the actual food choices.

Amuse bouche: this was the first time either of us had even been to a restaurant where one was offered. This was blue cheese, fennel, mystery round berry/sour thing and frissee of green salad stuff with a cracker and vinaigrette (I really did listen to the little guy, but I was actually busy smiling and nodding like I was looking forward to tasting this-not). We were not fans of the chef's offering this evening, but appreciated his efforts. I don't care for fennel or blue cheese, and now I don't care for round/berry sour things, either.

Appetizers: DH had Charleston Grill crab cake, creek shrimp, lime tomato vinaigrette that was to DIE for. We jousted over this.
I had truffled mushroom soup, which was wonderful. I don't usually care for mushrooms, but this was gooood stuff. The soup guy said as he poured the soup over the mushrooms at the table, "Everytime I pour this, it's like a little smell of heaven." This sent me into giggles as soon as he left the table.

Entrees: Dh had Prime Beef Tenderloin with baked potatoes. He declared it as better than ***. It was melt in your mouth good. I had the Sauteed Flounder with shrimp and tasso-okra corn cake. Oh, my, it was good. We shared a side of fried macaroni and cheese. Don't you just love southern food???

For dessert we shared vanilla creme brulee. We were both about to bust we were so full, but I love creme brulee and can't get it anywhere here. This was the only dish that was a little off. The sugar was a little too browned on top and the creme was a little thin, for lack of a better word. It tasted pretty good, though. I wouldn't have bothered with dessert if I had known that the pastry chef would be sending out....

a whole plate of little goodies!!!! There was a sponge cake with lemon curd and buttercream, a dark chocolate truffle, a pecan praline and two other things I can't remember because all the blood had drained from my brain to my stomach to try and digest all this food!

With this I had my now new favorite riesling--Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz. Sweet without being cloying and very smooth and gulpable!

So, there you have it; our first foray to a fancy restaurant!

A second (unrelated) review on the same day is like "a whole plate of little goodies" :woohoo: Thanks for the bonus :flower3:

[whogirl'smom]

A second (unrelated) review on the same day is like "a whole plate of little goodies" :woohoo: Thanks for the bonus :flower3:

You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it--I tried not to hijack the thread. :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

And you alway make me laugh too B. But, I'm a sicko...anything that relates to a good all-american queef in the direction of a rude guest makes me giggle beyond one's imagination. Chuck just shakes his head and tells me that I'm one sick monkey. It's true, I am.:rotfl2:

Loved the update. I'd skip right to the desserts but then I'd miss something hilarious in between. Thanks for the laughs kiddo. :)

Hiya Nancy! I'm glad I could come through with some laughs for you my friend! Thanks for reading and you can fart all you want around here ... it's natural. :laughing:

Great update on PFTS Brenda! This was our first and probably last year doing PFTS. While we thoroughly enjoyed the evening, I can spend my $$$ better someplace else......V&A perhaps......:thumbsup2

Hi Kathy - thanks for reading! We did have a good time at PFTS but we also think the money is probably better spent somewhere else, too. I'm glad to hear that you guys enjoyed your first PFTS, though. :goodvibes

Thanks for the pictures of PFTS. YUM Your review was perfect they needed more seafood! It all looked good but one can only eat so much meat bring on some seafood. The deserts looked delish:cool1: . We went last year and loved it they had this great washbi crusted tuna that was to die for. I really want to try the cranberry kiss. Maybe tonight we are going to decorate the Christmas tree that sounds like a good drink for that. Can't wait to hear and see more:goodvibes

Thanks for reading - glad you enjoyed the review! Yep, definitely needed more seafood! Where were the scallops? The crab? The lobster? :confused3

I hope you like the cranberry kiss - I thought it was terrific! Can't wait to make it again for Christmas ... and maybe this time we'll share it instead of drinking it all ourselves in the course of one afternoon. :laughing:

The PFTS looks fun, but I admit the price tag has been enough to deter us year after year. I think I could justify it with the amount of cheese and dessert they had to offer, yum! But being vegetarian, well......there's not much else for me there.

Except, of course, the booze. :thumbsup2

Great installment! And would you believe we STILL have another layer of chocolate mice? What the heck is wrong with us? I might have to remedy that this morning.....

Hi Erica! I hear you on the PFTS price tag, especially since you're vegetarian ... they don't usually have a lot of options to choose from if you don't eat meat or fish. But the booze selection does make up for it ... a bit. ;)

You still have mices? Go forth and eat, and perhaps wash that yummy chocolate down with a nice cold glass of milk. :goodvibes

Hey Brenda!

That is a great picture of ALL of us! Despite my new bangs that the hair cutter thought I should have! Can you say "hello .. I am going to Florida and I don't need that amount of forehead exposed to the sun!". I felt like I should be on the Good Ship Lollypop!:rotfl2:

We had fun at PFTS but I agree with the amount of Ostrich served. It was like they had a sale at Big Game super center.:confused3 I think they should talk and find out ahead of time so maybe you get a better variety. Both weekends for us the ran out of any traces of Sparkling Wine an hour before closing and again agreeing that they should be required to pour till then end at these prices.

We will still be up in the air about another PFTS until we see the events for next year but hope they get control of the crowds a bit. We loved meeting you and Jay and yes, we would love to do a proper dinner/drinks when we meet again and not just the PFTS drive by!:yay:

Hi Chelsi! I thought it was a good picture, too, especially of you and your hubby. I thought you looked terrific!

I was really surprised by the repeats at our PFTS ... and I agree with you completely - they should work a little harder to ensure more variety each week so there's not so much overlap. And don't get me started on the wine issue again. ;)

Hope we get the chance to meet up next October! :hug:

I've been well. Just got back from WDW for my first Christmas visit and got engaged! :lovestruc Yes all very exciting! Plus we drove from MA to FL, that was an adventure in itself! :rotfl:

Congratulations!!! :hug:

This is very interesting. My relative is none other than the drunk of the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant! HAHA. He married into my family tree.

Awesome ... you've got Uncle Sam on your family tree!

I have to say those desserts at the PFTS looked so darn yummy! I think I would have paid that price just to eat those all day! :rotfl2:

Dessert was terrific but it usually is at PFTS. YUMMY!!!!

Most of the meats make me:scared: I like to stick with cow, chicken & pig. You throw in ostirch and lamb and ick!
But the desserts!!!!:thumbsup2

I'm not a big fan of lamb or ostrich either, but it was good to try them before handing my plates over to Jay to finish! :laughing:

And yes ... dessert was wonderful!

[BoosGram]

Thanks for the PFTS update, Brenda! Hmmmm... maybe I didn't miss it as much as I thought I did. ;) I know I would have been very upset to have no program letting me know what there was on each chef's table. Bob and I are not going until a week later for F&W next year, but I am thinking we won't be booking the Party again for a while. We will have to see what we might want to spend that money on!

Here's what you can spend it on: the 2010 WBTA :woohoo: . (Well, at least think about it :thumbsup2 .)

[oybolshoi]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/218.jpg

Boy, this would have gone really nice with some Rosa Regale!

Yeah, it sure would have. It would have tasted good with the Rosa and it would have been a lovely color match, too!

I gotta tell ya Bendy, I would have a really hard time eating anything called 'spuma' - it conjures up some really unpleasant images. So, I looked it up in the Food Dictionary and here's what it said: see SPOOM (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=4712) OK, so spoom is a little easier to deal with, but here's the definition for spoom: A frothy type of SHERBET (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=4541) made with a light SUGAR SYRUP (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=4802) mixed with a liquid such as fruit juice, CHAMPAGNE (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=1789) or SAUTERNES (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=4430). Halfway through the freezing process, the mixture is combined with uncooked MERINGUE (http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=3472), which gives spoom its airy texture. The Italians call this frozen specialty spuma, which means "foam" or "froth."

Now SPOOM sounds like a litte slice of heaven! Maybe the Italians should have stayed out of this one!

I also was a bit leery of the spuma ... all I could think of was sputum. :lmao:

And ... you might not want to use the word spoom, either. It's slang for something kind of naughty. :laughing:

Brenda - thank's so much for sharing the descriptions and pictures of your 'fancy-schmancy collector's edition of Beedle the Bard' with all of us peons who couldn't afford it! From your description, it is definitely worthly of the hype, especially to a true fan like you.

I had to settle for the Barnes & Noble, pick-one-off-the-stack version with the 'Members Receive 10% Off' sticker that is almost impossible to remove without ripping the cover. I am saving it for the plane ride to Florida on Saturday, but I couldn't help peeking...

Thanks you for letting me share the joy of Beedle ... it was my Christmas giftie from my hubby. It is really cool. And the tales are charming ... I'm sure you're going to love them!

Another member of the book geek squad here. When we move, half of what gets packed is my collection of books. And when I was a kid, I wanted to be one of the little women.

Hooray for book lovin' foodies! It took us four months to pack all of our books when we were waiting for our house to be built. The day we moved in all the neighbors were sort of peeking into the house from the street and the first thing I unpacked were my books ... I heard one of them say, "All I see is furniture and books ... how do you read that many books?"

:rotfl2:

Bendy, are you and Jay going on the WBTA? As you can see from the logo in my siggie, DH and I are booked for that one. That would be soooooo cool!

We are discussing it and giving it serious consideration. How fun to "know" someone already who's booked. :cool1:

I think the guy from the Ritz Carlton was there last year, and did a lot of mini desserts then as well. That rose and pink champagne cake is so pretty, and so pink. I love pink.

All I know is that guy and his desserts were awesome!

And I agree ... that pink cake was gorgeous; almost too pretty to eat. Almost. ;)

Absolutely River St.! We had gotten some there in Savannah so I knew that's where I had to find them! Don't worry about the restaurant ideas, we managed to eat and drink ourselves right into a Tums commercial :rotfl2: with no help whatsoever. We tried Social wine bar the first night and that is really our kind of place---good wine, good food, casual and fun.

We did go to the market on Sat. and froze our butts off! A high of 50 and lots of wind, which was not what I was planning on, but it was still a great time.

Sounds like you had a good time! :thumbsup2

That was a wonderful review, Brenda! I think the pink cake was my favorite--actually all of it looks good. I will try just about any kind of meat as long as it is cooked and removed from any offensive looking body part (like a frog leg). :laughing:

Thanks - glad you liked it!

Ok, here is what we had at the Charleston grill; I think it was the atmosphere and having 6-7 waiters (yes, no female waitstaff here) more than the actual food choices.

Amuse bouche: this was the first time either of us had even been to a restaurant where one was offered. This was blue cheese, fennel, mystery round berry/sour thing and frissee of green salad stuff with a cracker and vinaigrette (I really did listen to the little guy, but I was actually busy smiling and nodding like I was looking forward to tasting this-not). We were not fans of the chef's offering this evening, but appreciated his efforts. I don't care for fennel or blue cheese, and now I don't care for round/berry sour things, either.

Appetizers: DH had Charleston Grill crab cake, creek shrimp, lime tomato vinaigrette that was to DIE for. We jousted over this.
I had truffled mushroom soup, which was wonderful. I don't usually care for mushrooms, but this was gooood stuff. The soup guy said as he poured the soup over the mushrooms at the table, "Everytime I pour this, it's like a little smell of heaven." This sent me into giggles as soon as he left the table.

Entrees: Dh had Prime Beef Tenderloin with baked potatoes. He declared it as better than ***. It was melt in your mouth good. I had the Sauteed Flounder with shrimp and tasso-okra corn cake. Oh, my, it was good. We shared a side of fried macaroni and cheese. Don't you just love southern food???

For dessert we shared vanilla creme brulee. We were both about to bust we were so full, but I love creme brulee and can't get it anywhere here. This was the only dish that was a little off. The sugar was a little too browned on top and the creme was a little thin, for lack of a better word. It tasted pretty good, though. I wouldn't have bothered with dessert if I had known that the pastry chef would be sending out....

a whole plate of little goodies!!!! There was a sponge cake with lemon curd and buttercream, a dark chocolate truffle, a pecan praline and two other things I can't remember because all the blood had drained from my brain to my stomach to try and digest all this food!

With this I had my now new favorite riesling--Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz. Sweet without being cloying and very smooth and gulpable!

So, there you have it; our first foray to a fancy restaurant!

Oh, yum! That sounds like a wonderful meal ... I'm so glad you enjoyed it! If we ever make it back to Charleston it's on the top of my list.

Everything looks really good! I'm not sure how I would handle the crowds though. Once everyone is in, are you still packed as tightly? I tend to end up spilling all over myself in those situations. :lmao:

The night that we attended the crowds weren't too bad once we got inside the main venue. But I did hear that a few events later in the month were packed with people. So it's really hard to say for sure how it would be if you were to attend.

Ohhhhh.... We're gonna get tossed from the Chefs Table... You'll be taking pictures of my food and I'll be taking pictures of you taking pictures and Jay will be drinking everyone's wine telling the pastry chef that no... he's never seen us before... :rolleyes1 And Planky will be running through the main dining room with toilet paper stuck to his foot... :lmao:

Our only saving grace will be that my brother's best friend Jack is a server there....(as long as we don't get him fired...)

Oh and the Glow cubes... You got it!!! :thumbsup2

Thank GOD there won't be 400 Disers on this cruise... those alone could sink the ship...

Sounds like a fine evening at V&A to me! :lmao:

Brenda, great review :thumbsup2 well worth waiting for. The food all looked wonderful and the desserts :faint: oh my :cloud9:

I've never been to PFTS (or F&W for that matter) but my problem would be that for that price, I want to be waited on not schlepping my food around trying to find a place to sit :sad2:

A second (unrelated) review on the same day is like "a whole plate of little goodies" :woohoo: Thanks for the bonus :flower3:

Thanks! All in all it was a good event - not great but good. And the desserts were terrific (except for the cannoli which was boring).

I also like Jamie's review ... I like reading about fabulous places that our tastebuds and tummies would be interested in!

You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it--I tried not to hijack the thread. :goodvibes

You know I don't mind! We have a cool group hanging out here who all enjoy food and fun - I'm sure they enjoyed reading all about it! :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Here's what you can spend it on: the 2010 WBTA :woohoo: . (Well, at least think about it :thumbsup2 .)

I know we're thinking about it ... thinking real real hard! :thumbsup2

[PNO4TE]

Here's what you can spend it on: the 2010 WBTA :woohoo: . (Well, at least think about it :thumbsup2 .)

OK, Joanne... I will bite... what is the 2010 WBTA???

ETA: WestBound TransAtlantic?

[Tink rules]

Great installment! And would you believe we STILL have another layer of chocolate mice? What the heck is wrong with us? I might have to remedy that this morning.....

I'm rationing mine between snow storms... :goodvibes :goodvibes

I know we're thinking about it ... thinking real real hard! :thumbsup2

& Erica and I MIGHT forgive her for ditching us and going on the WB... :rolleyes:

[BoosGram]

OK, Joanne... I will bite... what is the 2010 WBTA???

ETA: WestBound TransAtlantic?

You got it. The itinerary looks wonderful (and ends at Castaway Cay. Sigh.). Considering the cost of the Baltic and Med cruises, the TA is a real bargain (if anything Disney could be called a bargain, that is :rotfl: ).

[oybolshoi]

OK, Joanne... I will bite... what is the 2010 WBTA???

ETA: WestBound TransAtlantic?

That's the one!

I'm rationing mine between snow storms... :goodvibes :goodvibes

Whatever you gotta do. ;)

& Erica and I MIGHT forgive her for ditching us and going on the WB... :rolleyes:

Humbug! I told you we're looking for a hurricane chase! :lmao:

You got it. The itinerary looks wonderful (and ends at Castaway Cay. Sigh.). Considering the cost of the Baltic and Med cruises, the TA is a real bargain (if anything Disney could be called a bargain, that is :rotfl: ).

We totally agree! :thumbsup2

[Tink rules]

Humbug! I told you we're looking for a hurricane chase! :lmao:


We were originally going to be doing that cruise, but several from our group need to be home to celebrate the Jewish holidays...

BUT...

There are alot of the cruisers from the WB PC Repo who will be onboard with you and I am POSITIVE that you will have a wonderful time. You will absolutely love them (Angie and Dennis will spoil you... and Jackie will have to do the WB version of the Champagne Girls - I'll loan you my tiara...) There are others... I'll have them take good care of you (and don't believe a word they say about the little green guys behavior (or mine for that matter)) on the cruise... :rolleyes1

[TheDISneyFamily]

Excellent Party for the Senseless reporting, Brenda! :thumbsup2 It looks like you had a good time overall. I agree, there needs to be some changes for us to consider going back. We LOVE the food & wine... but the rest needs work. The 'entertainment' this year was a joke - I don't care so much, but I don't want to pay extra for it, ya know? (It adds up x5 :eek: ) Just keep the price at around $100 a person and nix the live entertainment altogether. And how about more seating around the edges, so you can just sit for a moment, without having to find a table to share? I saw people plopped on the floor and sitting on the edge of the stages. Not acceptable, if you ask me. As always, the food will be a fond memory. :cloud9: Thanks for refreshing that memory. :hug:

We're off to our next WDW adventure today! (If we can't get past this monster storm system crossing the Midwest!) I will report back on all of our dining delights, especially Christmas Eve at V&A. :santa:

Cheers, my friend!
-Michelle

[oybolshoi]

We were originally going to be doing that cruise, but several from our group need to be home to celebrate the Jewish holidays...

BUT...

There are alot of the cruisers from the WB PC Repo who will be onboard with you and I am POSITIVE that you will have a wonderful time. You will absolutely love them (Angie and Dennis will spoil you... and Jackie will have to do the WB version of the Champagne Girls - I'll loan you my tiara...) There are others... I'll have them take good care of you (and don't believe a word they say about the little green guys behavior (or mine for that matter)) on the cruise... :rolleyes1

Well, I thank you in advance for offering to hook us up. :hug: I will keep you posted as to whether or not we take the plunge (although I think we will ... :rolleyes1 ).

Excellent Party for the Senseless reporting, Brenda! :thumbsup2 It looks like you had a good time overall. I agree, there needs to be some changes for us to consider going back. We LOVE the food & wine... but the rest needs work. The 'entertainment' this year was a joke - I don't care so much, but I don't want to pay extra for it, ya know? (It adds up x5 :eek: ) Just keep the price at around $100 a person and nix the live entertainment altogether. And how about more seating around the edges, so you can just sit for a moment, without having to find a table to share? I saw people plopped on the floor and sitting on the edge of the stages. Not acceptable, if you ask me. As always, the food will be a fond memory. :cloud9: Thanks for refreshing that memory. :hug:

We're off to our next WDW adventure today! (If we can't get past this monster storm system crossing the Midwest!) I will report back on all of our dining delights, especially Christmas Eve at V&A. :santa:

Cheers, my friend!
-Michelle

Happy Winter Solstice my friend! :hug:

Thanks for taking a read - glad you enjoyed our PFTS recap. I think your suggestions are excellent ... especially as regards the entertainment. I never really care that much if there was any in the first place ... the food and the wine are the draw, not the people on stage.

Have a great trip to WDW - can't wait to hear all about it! Safe travels and many hugs to you all! :hug:

[Tatania]

Thanks for a funny and very enjoyable PFTS update. I'm a dessert nut and the champagne cake looked to die for. Do you remember which Chef did it as one might be able to track down the recipe if he has a cookbook out or something?

However, I do have a wonderful fresh box of pralines we got in Charleston this weekend!

I still can't believe how many boxes of fresh pralines my sister and I blew through while in Charleston and Savannah last summer. It's like eating a bit of heaven.

[TPCShauna]

When I was in the fourth grade my mom bought me a set of Louisa May Alcott's works when she figured out that I was in love with Little Women. I have Little Men, Jo's Boy's, Eight Cousins, Jack and Jill, and Under the Lilacs. When I was older I managed to get my hands on Rose in Bloom, which is the sequal to Eight Cousins.


I loved them all except for Under the Lilacs - that one just didn't do much for me.

I leave for 2 weeks and come back to 15 pages of witty Bendy banter. Who woulda thunk it?

I LOVE Eight Cousins and rarely meet anyone who has read it. So happy to see that you are a fan. I will definitely have to check out Rose in Bloom.

It's nice to know that my reading has a term associated with it - greader. I have a voracious appetite for books as I read them so quickly. I was out on a leave of absence for knee surgery for 2.5 months earlier this year and read 63 books. It was nice.

Loved your PFTS review. I'd love to do this but am afraid it would be too crowded. Besides, we have several similar events here with fabulous food and wine (since we're next door to Napa Valley) that are much cheaper so I'm not sure I could justify the price tag. Either way, glad to see y'all at least had an OK time.

Looking forward to more reviews!

[whogirl'smom]

I still can't believe how many boxes of fresh pralines my sister and I blew through while in Charleston and Savannah last summer. It's like eating a bit of heaven.

We have two left, there are three of us.....methinks dd is going to lose out after she goes to bed.

[oybolshoi]

Thanks for a funny and very enjoyable PFTS update. I'm a dessert nut and the champagne cake looked to die for. Do you remember which Chef did it as one might be able to track down the recipe if he has a cookbook out or something?


I still can't believe how many boxes of fresh pralines my sister and I blew through while in Charleston and Savannah last summer. It's like eating a bit of heaven.

Glad you enjoyed our PFTS recap. The chef who made the pretty pink cake was Nicholas Lodge: I think he's been on some Food Network Challenges before...usually as a judge. He looked familiar and Jay said it was because we'd seen him on Food Network.

I don't know if he has cookbook or not ... I got the impression that he specializes in sugar art. :confused3 Let me know if you do find something because I wouldn't mind trying my hand at that gem of a dessert either!


I leave for 2 weeks and come back to 15 pages of witty Bendy banter. Who woulda thunk it?

I LOVE Eight Cousins and rarely meet anyone who has read it. So happy to see that you are a fan. I will definitely have to check out Rose in Bloom.

It's nice to know that my reading has a term associated with it - greader. I have a voracious appetite for books as I read them so quickly. I was out on a leave of absence for knee surgery for 2.5 months earlier this year and read 63 books. It was nice.

Welcome back Shauna - hope you had a wonderful trip with lots of tasty food!

Oh yes, Eight Cousins has always been one of my favorite Alcott works. I like the sequal but it's not as charming as the original, probably because I was already in my mid-twenties when I found it ... by that time I was already a hardened cynic. :lmao:

Greader ... that's what Jay's been calling me for years (greedy reader); but I think you've got me beat. 63 books in just under three months ... :worship:


Loved your PFTS review. I'd love to do this but am afraid it would be too crowded. Besides, we have several similar events here with fabulous food and wine (since we're next door to Napa Valley) that are much cheaper so I'm not sure I could justify the price tag. Either way, glad to see y'all at least had an OK time.

Looking forward to more reviews!

I can understand your hesitance to try PFTS, especially in light of some of the things that have been reported on the DIS this year. And if you can participate in something similar that's equally as good but less expensive while at home, then why get gouged in order to do it a WDW? It's one reason why we don't usually eat at Steakhouses while vacationing anywhere ... beef is king in the armpit of the Midwest. ;)

And we did have a good time that night, we were just disappointed that it didn't meet the expectations we had based on our experience the year before and I was especially disappointed in the seafood to meat ratio. Oh well ... it happens. :goodvibes

We have two left, there are three of us.....methinks dd is going to lose out after she goes to bed.

Your pralines would be safe with me! :lmao:

[Tink rules]

You may get her Prailenes... but you ain't getting my bearclaws until winter is over!!! :lmao:

[Tatania]

The chef who made the pretty pink cake was Nicholas Lodge: I think he's been on some Food Network Challenges before...usually as a judge. He looked familiar and Jay said it was because we'd seen him on Food Network.

I don't know if he has cookbook or not ... I got the impression that he specializes in sugar art. Let me know if you do find something because I wouldn't mind trying my hand at that gem of a dessert either!

You're right. His specialty is sugar art and cake decorating and though is cookbooks have basic cake recipes the focus is on using gumpaste and edible glue to make fancy decorations. Guess he didn't so that for PFTS. :confused3:

[oybolshoi]

Tonight my department went out for a holiday dinner ... yum yum in my tum! Just got home a pfew .... er, few minutes ago and I ordered seared foie gras as my appetizer!!! :banana:

And I even took a picture and will post it here tomorrow for all you lovers of fatty liver ... ah, there is joy in Stinktown tonight! :thumbsup2

I only had two drinks but I forgot that I shouldn't take all my meds at the same time with booze and well .... let's just say I can't feel my face. :lmao:

It was a fine evening ... lots of fun and good food with no picture taking by yours truly (other than the foie gras). I posted a review of this restaurant on my blog back in February when we treated Jay's parents to dinner there one night (Annie Gunn's ... go read my blog if you want to know about their food).

Anyhoo ... enough tipsy rambling from me. I'm going to bread ... uh, bed. :rotfl2: I hope to post an update later this weekend but it's really going to depend on how much of the other stuff (holiday and work related) that I get done first.

Hugs to you all, because who couldn't use an extra huggle? :grouphug:

[TigerKat]

Anyhoo ... enough tipsy rambling from me. I'm going to bread ... uh, bed. :rotfl2:

You are too funny woman!:laughing:

[oybolshoi]

You are too funny woman!:laughing:

Awww, thanks! I aim to please. ;)

[TDC Nala]

Tonight my department went out for a holiday dinner ... yum yum in my tum! Just got home a pfew .... er, few minutes ago and I ordered seared foie gras as my appetizer!!!

And ya can't get that at Disney World, unless you know Todd English.

[DisneyMom5]

Tonight my department went out for a holiday dinner ... yum yum in my tum! Just got home a pfew .... er, few minutes ago and I ordered seared foie gras as my appetizer!!! :banana:

And I even took a picture and will post it here tomorrow for all you lovers of fatty liver ... ah, there is joy in Stinktown tonight! :thumbsup2

I only had two drinks but I forgot that I shouldn't take all my meds at the same time with booze and well .... let's just say I can't feel my face. :lmao:

It was a fine evening ... lots of fun and good food with no picture taking by yours truly (other than the foie gras). I posted a review of this restaurant on my blog back in February when we treated Jay's parents to dinner there one night (Annie Gunn's ... go read my blog if you want to know about their food).

Anyhoo ... enough tipsy rambling from me. I'm going to bread ... uh, bed. :rotfl2: I hope to post an update later this weekend but it's really going to depend on how much of the other stuff (holiday and work related) that I get done first.

Hugs to you all, because who couldn't use an extra huggle? :grouphug:

Sounds yummy.

And, the huggle is appreciated, because at a wind chill of 4 deg., I need all the hugs I can get.
:santa:

[Tink rules]

Tonight my department went out for a holiday dinner ... yum yum in my tum! Just got home a pfew .... er, few minutes ago and I ordered seared foie gras as my appetizer!!! :banana:

And I even took a picture and will post it here tomorrow for all you lovers of fatty liver ... ah, there is joy in Stinktown tonight! :thumbsup2

I only had two drinks but I forgot that I shouldn't take all my meds at the same time with booze and well .... let's just say I can't feel my face. :lmao:

It was a fine evening ... lots of fun and good food with no picture taking by yours truly (other than the foie gras). I posted a review of this restaurant on my blog back in February when we treated Jay's parents to dinner there one night (Annie Gunn's ... go read my blog if you want to know about their food).

Anyhoo ... enough tipsy rambling from me. I'm going to bread ... uh, bed. :rotfl2: I hope to post an update later this weekend but it's really going to depend on how much of the other stuff (holiday and work related) that I get done first.

Hugs to you all, because who couldn't use an extra huggle? :grouphug:

We love tipsy rambling... especially when we're tipsy reading... :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[travelmel]

Two way Tuna with Voodoo Drizzle

You made that up, didn't you? that sounds like a San Francisco-Creole Dish. Friscreole. It's a new food concept

Lamb Loin with Berbere-Spiced Lentils

At first I thought it was Lamb Lion. Lamb Lion? Is that like Turduckin? Stuffed Lamb eaten by a lion shoved inside a zebra for good measure?

It sounds like you weren't thrilled with the "ambiance" this year. The food looks like alotta fun though! That price makes my senses wanna run and hide under the bed though. :scared1:

[travelmel]

[ leaving a trail of noxious fart gas in our wake.


Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I wish that were true! But, I have a feeling you're pulling my leg. :laughing:

That rose/champagne cake looked amazing. THat was my favorite thing that I saw/imagined you ate. LOL

I bought a white chocolate with blueberry bits for my own stocking to be stuffed with. That's as close to exotic as I'll get this year. :rolleyes:

We have a swanky chocolate place that I have been to and enjoyed lavendar white chocolate and the mexican stuff with a bit of a spicy kick. I love exotic stuff!

[oybolshoi]

And ya can't get that at Disney World, unless you know Todd English.

Oh sure ... rub it in! :lmao:

Our Friday night foie gras was good, but nowhere near the taste or presentation that we received at V&A ... but at least we were able to order some. And we managed to convince three people at our table of eleven (yes ... it goes to eleven) to give it a try and they were all pleasantly surprised by how good it was. :thumbsup2

Sounds yummy.

And, the huggle is appreciated, because at a wind chill of 4 deg., I need all the hugs I can get. :santa:

We feel your cold pain ... we're in the single digits with wind chills well below zero thanks to an obnoxious wind that is rattling the house. You guys probably have lots of snow to at least make things look pretty ... we've just got lots of "sleeping" trees and dead grass.

Here's another huggle for the holidays! :hug: :grouphug:

We love tipsy rambling... especially when we're tipsy reading... :rotfl:

Ya know ... as much as I tipsy write I'm not sure if I've ever actually done any tipsy reading. I think I usually end up sleepy if I try to read too much while gently buzzing. :laughing:

You made that up, didn't you? that sounds like a San Francisco-Creole Dish. Friscreole. It's a new food concept

At first I thought it was Lamb Lion. Lamb Lion? Is that like Turduckin? Stuffed Lamb eaten by a lion shoved inside a zebra for good measure?

It sounds like you weren't thrilled with the "ambiance" this year. The food looks like alotta fun though! That price makes my senses wanna run and hide under the bed though. :scared1:

Sadly, no, I didn't make up the voodoo tuna. I wish I had because it's a great name, isn't it?!

Lamb lion ... :lmao: ... if you add the zebra you could call it zeblaloin - ze-bla-loin. :rotfl2:

As for the party ambience ... it was OK. I just get annoyed when Disney "talks it up" like the event is going to be the most awesome thing anyone has ever seen and then it's just ... a repeat of the previous year's decorations. And the fact is that the event description shouldn't even be about the entertainment or decor ... it should be about the food. We don't pay that price to spend two-three hours being wowed by the weird performance art or colorful banners hanging from the ceiling. We want to be wowed by the food and the drink and I'm willing to bet that most attendees feel the same way.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I wish that were true! But, I have a feeling you're pulling my leg. :laughing:

That rose/champagne cake looked amazing. THat was my favorite thing that I saw/imagined you ate. LOL

I bought a white chocolate with blueberry bits for my own stocking to be stuffed with. That's as close to exotic as I'll get this year. :rolleyes:

We have a swanky chocolate place that I have been to and enjoyed lavendar white chocolate and the mexican stuff with a bit of a spicy kick. I love exotic stuff!

Actually, Jason has reached a point where he can almost fart on cue ... almost. So in one instance where the people were very rude indeed, he managed to leave them a little gas cloud as a parting gift (or should I say farting gift?). :rotfl2:

The rose / champagne cake was lovely - both to look at and to eat! As for your swanky chocolate place ... do they have a website? I know that my hubby would love some dark chocolate with spice ... :lovestruc

[Tink rules]

Ya know ... as much as I tipsy write I'm not sure if I've ever actually done any tipsy reading. I think I usually end up sleepy if I try to read too much while gently buzzing. :laughing:


I just like to keep reading over and over the same Mr. Darcy paragraphs...:lovestruc

Oh and just so you know...

I'm in the middle of reading a very, well shall I say, what's a good word... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ripoff... of yet another Pride & Prejudice sequel - this time from Lydia's point of view... It's just a bit higher than a harlequin romance, but since my brain is seriously fuzzy this week... it's about as high an intelligent read as I can manage... :upsidedow

[oybolshoi]

I've finished all my chores except for washing the dishes and the stuff I was supposed to review for work. BUT ... I have managed to work out our holidays menus so I thought I'd share them with ya here!

Christmas Eve

Jay and I both have to work on Wednesday so we're keeping the evening to ourselves (we tried inviting Jay's parents over for dinner but they said they have to go to Church instead ... wow ... I had no idea being around us was a sin ... :rotfl: ).

Our dinner will be:

sushi
brie topped with raspberry jam baked inside puff pastry
spinach salad
various chocolates (we are bursting at the seams with chocolate this year)
some kind of tasty beverage(s).

Christmas Day

For breakfast we'll be indulging in brandy milk punch and fresh croissants (thank you Williams Sonoma).

Dinner and snackable include the following:

Beef tenderloin stuffed with goat cheese
arancini stuffed with more cheese
several yummy artisan cheeses with bread and other accompaniments
asparagoose
bird rolls (thanks Jon - this time he's making a double batch!)
cheesecake ice cream
spiced gingerbread cake
eggnog bread
chocolate dominoes filled with caramel

more tasty beverage(s) as yet to be determined.

I even know what we're doing for New Year's Eve and hopefully for brunch on New Year's Day, but one week at a time! :lmao:

I will post the food porn on the blog this time and will let everyone know when it's ready ... probably some time on Friday because I have that day off from work! :cool1:

Happy Holidays to everyone!!! :grouphug:

[KristinAnne]

Ooh that meal sounds good!! Love that beef tenderloin! We have baked brie too, but I make mine with brown sugar and walnuts.

[Tink rules]

Cheese... Glorious CHEESE!!!

(who needs Xmas carols... we've got CHEESE!!!) :banana: :banana: :banana:

[oybolshoi]

Ooh that meal sounds good!! Love that beef tenderloin! We have baked brie too, but I make mine with brown sugar and walnuts.

The tenderloin has become a holiday favorite ... it's the one meat that everyone can agree on and digest easily. :lmao:

We've never tried baking our brie before but we had such tasty little raspberry / brie bites while we were enjoying Jay's anniversary trip in Florida in August that we thought we'd try it ourselves.

Cheese... Glorious CHEESE!!!

(who needs Xmas carols... we've got CHEESE!!!) :banana: :banana: :banana:


It's true ... all true! :lmao:

[whogirl'smom]

Wow, I'm a weensy bit jealous of your Christmas menu. I'd love to try something different, but nobody on either side of the family feels the same way (sigh). The one year I made lasagna for Thanksgiving my mom and my aunt both went home afterwards and baked a turkey anyway "just to have it to nibble on". Yeah, okay. ;) It's okay, we get plenty of alcohol at my parents' even if it's taboo at the inlaws'!

Side note: We bought our first bottle of sherry last night; it has become dh's favorite holiday relaxation assistant!

[MA pigletfan]

Brenda!!!
I have so much to catch up on me thinks!
First : i totally agree with what you said about books..i don't think i could really get into the kindle...i like the feel of books so much, and there is something satisfying seeing how far you have read via the wonderful bookmark. ;)

PFTS...hmmmm....i am still quite curious about this spectacle, but if the crowds are always so big like that, without a definite seat to be had, i am not so sure i could handle that without either dropping many a cheese or elbowing rude party guests. Your pictures looked great though, despite the questionable items ;)

Christmas menu sounds DE-Lightful! We are doing a 3 stop Christmas..:sad2: it will be a wild one with a mix o food i am sure..i will be sure to bring the tums. I am sure i will enjoy though, considering once the calendar turns i am going on Weight Watchers...i have a wedding to be in next year after all ;)

[oybolshoi]

Wow, I'm a weensy bit jealous of your Christmas menu. I'd love to try something different, but nobody on either side of the family feels the same way (sigh). The one year I made lasagna for Thanksgiving my mom and my aunt both went home afterwards and baked a turkey anyway "just to have it to nibble on". Yeah, okay. ;) It's okay, we get plenty of alcohol at my parents' even if it's taboo at the inlaws'!

Side note: We bought our first bottle of sherry last night; it has become dh's favorite holiday relaxation assistant!

I hear ya! It's taken me years to wean my mother from "Christmas dinner is always ham." I figure if we're fixing the food at my house then I get to decide on the menu ... but I'm nice and I do ask first if something sounds particularly disgusting. :lmao:

Oooooh, sherry! Yummy! We stocked up yesterday on booze and got ourselves some sake, and a whisky sampler, and a few bottles of wine, and the last two bottles of Rosa Regale in St. Louis (or so it seemed). We also bought boozie goodness for others, too. :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Brenda!!!
I have so much to catch up on me thinks!
First : i totally agree with what you said about books..i don't think i could really get into the kindle...i like the feel of books so much, and there is something satisfying seeing how far you have read via the wonderful bookmark. ;)

PFTS...hmmmm....i am still quite curious about this spectacle, but if the crowds are always so big like that, without a definite seat to be had, i am not so sure i could handle that without either dropping many a cheese or elbowing rude party guests. Your pictures looked great though, despite the questionable items ;)

Christmas menu sounds DE-Lightful! We are doing a 3 stop Christmas..:sad2: it will be a wild one with a mix o food i am sure..i will be sure to bring the tums. I am sure i will enjoy though, considering once the calendar turns i am going on Weight Watchers...i have a wedding to be in next year after all ;)

Hi Gina!

I know what you mean ... I loves me my books!

PFTS is fun but it can get a little overwhelming sometimes, especially if it's crowded. Food is usually tasty though. Yum!

Have fun with all your holiday meals and don't worry about it until January ... that's what we've decided to do. Besides, by then our wallets will be on a diet, too. :lmao:

[winkers]

If you offered me sushi for christmas eve, I'd probably go to church too!:lmao:
Raw fish just doesn't say merry Christmas to me.;)

Egg nog bread, huh? Do you have a recipe or is it bought?

[oybolshoi]

If you offered me sushi for christmas eve, I'd probably go to church too!:lmao:
Raw fish just doesn't say merry Christmas to me.;)

Egg nog bread, huh? Do you have a recipe or is it bought?

We weren't offering the in-laws sushi for dinner ... we were actually going to have roast pork loin if they came over. But since they don't want to we're going to have sushi instead. Guess I should have made that a bit more clear. :lmao:

I do have a recipe for the egg nog bread. And I also have the recipe for Jon's bird rolls that some people were asking for. I'll post them tomorrow ... I've gotta go work on some numbers for a loan request I brought him this weekend and have been putting off as long as possible.

I may be the ultimate procrastinator except when it comes to vacation!

[BoosGram]

Bendy, your Christmas menu sounds delicious; we'll be right over :rotfl: . I'm making Thanksgiving part II; one of my DDs has decided she's not eating mammals anymore :confused3 , so turkey is one thing I can get my clan to agree on (and I love stuffing and gravy, so it's all good).

TIA for the recipes; they sound terrific (love the little bird rolls).

This Christmas will be kind of tough for us. It's the first one without DH's or my mom (they both passed this summer within 3 weeks of each other, which is why you didn't see me around much). If you don't mind, give Grimace an extra squinch for me, just because. (I think an extra eggnog w/some Myer's Dark is in order at this point. Or some Grand Marnier. Or something.)

We did have the joy of a new DGD in May at least (another reason I wasn't on the boards since her mommy had a C-section and they stayed w/us for a month and change). Ah, well, life goes on and we should enjoy while we can, so more food porn, please.

[ChelleinNC]

Ooh that meal sounds good!! Love that beef tenderloin! We have baked brie too, but I make mine with brown sugar and walnuts.

My baked brie is with brown sugar, pecans & Kahluah :thumbsup2 Melty yummy goodness :goodvibes

Menu for Christmas Eve & Day sounds really good. Seeing as how I've only got a few days left, guess I better figure out what we're having this year :confused: We'll have Christmas Day at my house with my inlaws and on Saturday we'll do my side of the family since my brother will be driving down with his wife & baby girl :santa: I really should make something for Hanukkah this week too :rolleyes1

Happy Holidays everyone!

[BoosGram]

My baked brie is with brown sugar, pecans & Kahluah :thumbsup2 Melty yummy goodness :goodvibes

Happy Holidays everyone!

I love baked brie, but have only had it w/almonds and French bread. Yours sounds delish, yum.

[whogirl'smom]

Calling all cooks--I need your help!!!

My old boss just called about our yearly gathering at her home. She usually does all the cooking, but this year we are dividing it up--she is making a pork roast and I have been assigned a vegetable. Someone else already has salad and dessert, so......Let's hear all your ideas!

I thought about just a hash brown casserole (half of us have simple tastes, and half of us are more adventurous), but then wondered if it's too boring. There will be 6-7 of us, so it doesn't have to be a huge dish.

Thanks you guys!

[Sorsha]

Calling all cooks--I need your help!!!

My old boss just called about our yearly gathering at her home. She usually does all the cooking, but this year we are dividing it up--she is making a pork roast and I have been assigned a vegetable. Someone else already has salad and dessert, so......Let's hear all your ideas!

I thought about just a hash brown casserole (half of us have simple tastes, and half of us are more adventurous), but then wondered if it's too boring. There will be 6-7 of us, so it doesn't have to be a huge dish.

Thanks you guys!

Sorry to usurp your thread, Brenda! I will make it quick!

Here's my favorite recipe for hashbrown casserole. It is very rich and very yummy and very NOT low-calorie. Just as an aside, I have modified the recipe a bit, I now add a few slices of cooked, crumbled bacon as well. YMMV though.

> Cheddar-Sour Cream Potato Casserole
> Lemp Mansion Restaurant and Inn
> Yield: 12 servings.
>
> 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
> 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
> 2 cups sour cream
> 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
> 1/2 cup diced onion
> 1/2 teaspoon salt
> 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
> 2 pounds frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
> Paprika
> 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
>
> Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch
> baking pan.
>
> In a large bowl, stir together condensed soup, butter, sour cream, 1 cup
> cheese, onion, salt and pepper. Add potatoes; toss to combine. Press
> mixture into prepared pan. Bake until casserole begins to brown around the
> edges, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese, paprika
> and parsley; return to the oven until cheese melts, about 3 minutes.

Just wondering though, you say you have been assigned a veggie, and this just doesn't say "veggie" to me...

[whogirl'smom]

Just wondering though, you say you have been assigned a veggie, and this just doesn't say "veggie" to me...

Your recipe looks like the one I make! I know, I kind of wondered about the veggie thing, but I would hate to be too healthy! :rotfl: My boss just said she was sure anything I chose would be fine, which, as you know, just makes it more stressful to choose. (She is the gourmet cook, not me.) Thanks for your recipe!

[OurDogCisco]

I have one but it is very veggie like. I make it all the time. I cut up different vegetables like green zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, red onion, etc (you can be adventurous as you want here). I put it all in a bowl and add olive oil to coat (this you can do to your tastes). Salt and pepper. Then, I put it on a flat baking sheet with a slight rim. Bake at 400 for about 25 to 30 minutes. Comes out great and is a big hit everytime I serve it. If you only have the squash sometimes I add fresh basil and paramesan cheese at the of baking and put it back in the oven to melt the cheese. Yummy..

[OurDogCisco]

I also have a recipe for Curry Cabbage salad. When I saw it at first I thought gross but it is actually really good if you are interested in that one.

[whogirl'smom]

I like the idea of the roasted vegetables; I love zucchini and squash. I did need to add that whatever dish has to travel for an hour and a half and be able to be reheated a bit. Keep 'em coming!

[OurDogCisco]

I like the idea of the roasted vegetables; I love zucchini and squash. I did need to add that whatever dish has to travel for an hour and a half and be able to be reheated a bit. Keep 'em coming! Yep.. the roasted veggies don't travel well. Here's my Curry Cabbage. When I first saw it, it really didn't appeal to me but it really tastes good. It cold so, travels well:

Dressing:

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayo
2 TBSP cider vinegar
2 TBSP sugar
1 to 2 tsp curry (to taste)
1 to 2 tsp dry mustard (to taste)
Salt & Pepper

Salad part:

1/2 head red cabbage chopped like coleslaw
1/2 head green cabbage chopped like coleslaw
1/2 lb green grapes cut in half
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup peanuts (like cocktail peanuts)
10 oz frozen petite peas, thawed
1 bunch green onions

Make the dressing. Add the salad ingredients to a bowl. Toss together to serve. It is really good even though it sounds weird..

Another recipe that travels well that I've been making for years from Cooking LIght is Broccoli and Rice Casserole:

Broccoli, Cheese, and Rice Casserole

1 cup uncooked instant rice
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup fat-free milk
4 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)
2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of mushroom soup, undiluted


Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and spoon into a 2-quart casserole. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.



Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

CALORIES 137 (29% from fat); FAT 4.4g (sat 1.7g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.9g); IRON 1.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 8mg; CALCIUM 160mg; CARBOHYDRATE 19.2g; SODIUM 410mg; PROTEIN 6.6g; FIBER 2.2g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 1999

[A&A'sGrammy]

Who'sgirl,

I am always a big fan of veggies. How about broccoli casserole? So simple: Steam your broccoli about 10 minutes. Spread into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with thin slices of Velveeta or Light Velveeta. (If you are very ambitious, make cheese sauce.) Sprinkle crushed Ritz crackers on top. Drip with melted butter. Bake 350 for about 10-15 minutes until cheese has melted. Always yummy!

How about a few roasted veggies? Mix olive oil, 1/2 tsp crushed rosemary, salt, pepper and a little balsamic vinegar with any veggies you like: carrots, squash, turnip, brussel sprouts, onions. Anything!!! Roast about 45 minutes stirring every 10-15 minutes. They are done when a fork pierces easily.

I can't think of anything better!!!!

[oybolshoi]

Jamie ... do you like asparagus?

I have a recipe for aspargus bundles with prosciutto and parmesan cheese ... yummy and very easy to make. :thumbsup2

[Tink rules]

Jamie ... do you like asparagus?

I have a recipe for aspargus bundles with prosciutto and parmesan cheese ... yummy and very easy to make. :thumbsup2

So????

Where's the recipe???? ;)

[oybolshoi]

1) Eggnog Bread

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup dairy eggnog
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 cup flour

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees & grease bottom of bread pan.

Beat eggs and then add sugar, eggnog, butter, rum, and vanilla - beating well. Add flour, baking powder, and nutmeg - stir until just moistened.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pan - cool completely before serving with tasty ice cream or fresh whipped cream. :goodvibes

2) Asparagus Bundles Wrapped in Prosciutto

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/2 pounds asparagus (about 40 spears)
1/4 pound sliced prosciutto (about 8 slices)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 lemon, cut into wedgies ;)

Directions:

Bring a large skillet of water to boil over high heat. Meanwhile, trim ends from the asparagus and peel the lower half of the spears. Add the 'goose to the boiling water and cook, covered, for 2 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse under cold running water until the 'goose are cold. Drain again.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Gather abour 4-5 asparagus spears of similar size and thickness, line them up, and then trim the ends so they are all the same length. Place a strip of prosciutto on a clean work surface (who'd use a dirty one? :confused3 ), fold it lengthwise to make a long, thin strip. Arrange your spears in the middle of the prosciutto and roll the meat around the 'goose. Place the meaty little bundle in the bottom of a glass baking dish and repeat with process with remaining asparagus spears and meat.

In a small skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently until the garlic is soft but not brown. Remove from heat and season with pepper to taste.

Sprinkle cheese over all those waiting asparagus bundles in their baking pan and then drizzle with the butter mixture (the dish can be made several hours in advance up to this point - cover and refrigerate until ready to bake).

Bake the asparagus for 13-15 minutes - the cheese should be melted and the 'goose should be tender but not soft. Serve hot with lemon wedgies on the side.

My family ... even the rather picky Grimace ... loves this dish! :thumbsup2

[DisneyLaura]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[ChelleinNC]

I love baked brie, but have only had it w/almonds and French bread. Yours sounds delish, yum.

Thanks! It's yummy & really easy :thumbsup2

1 cup chopped pecans
¼ cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Kahlua
1 mini brie

Mix pecans, brown sugar & kahlua. Pour over brie. Microwave for 1 to 1 ½ minutes.
Serve with apple slices and ginger snaps (I know that sounds strange, but it really is good) I also serve bread/crackers with it.

[oybolshoi]

This is why I love the restaurant boards ... all these yummy recipes and food lovin peeps. :goodvibes

I start my baking / cooking tonight after getting home from work ... cheesecake ice cream is up first. Then I have to thaw dough for my croissants and take care of the early prep. for our beefy tenderloin. :thumbsup2

[ktmetke]

Do you mind posting your beef tenderloin recipe too?

[oybolshoi]

Do you mind posting your beef tenderloin recipe too?


I'll do it tonight ... I'm on my way to the office. :goodvibes

[ktmetke]

Thank you!!! :goodvibes

[OurDogCisco]

1)

2) Asparagus Bundles Wrapped in Prosciutto

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/2 pounds asparagus (about 40 spears)
1/4 pound sliced prosciutto (about 8 slices)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 lemon, cut into wedgies ;)

Directions:

Bring a large skillet of water to boil over high heat. Meanwhile, trim ends from the asparagus and peel the lower half of the spears. Add the 'goose to the boiling water and cook, covered, for 2 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse under cold running water until the 'goose are cold. Drain again.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Gather abour 4-5 asparagus spears of similar size and thickness, line them up, and then trim the ends so they are all the same length. Place a strip of prosciutto on a clean work surface (who'd use a dirty one? :confused3 ), fold it lengthwise to make a long, thin strip. Arrange your spears in the middle of the prosciutto and roll the meat around the 'goose. Place the meaty little bundle in the bottom of a glass baking dish and repeat with process with remaining asparagus spears and meat.

In a small skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently until the garlic is soft but not brown. Remove from heat and season with pepper to taste.

Sprinkle cheese over all those waiting asparagus bundles in their baking pan and then drizzle with the butter mixture (the dish can be made several hours in advance up to this point - cover and refrigerate until ready to bake).

Bake the asparagus for 13-15 minutes - the cheese should be melted and the 'goose should be tender but not soft. Serve hot with lemon wedgies on the side.

My family ... even the rather picky Grimace ... loves this dish! :thumbsup2 Okay... this one is on the list for Christmas Eve... Thanks...

[whogirl'smom]

Brenda, thanks for the asparagus recipe! I think that's just the ticket esp. if it's portable. My mind isn't very imaginative right now which is bad, because I have five places to cook for this week (not counting the brunch I made at my parents' today for my dad's cousin's visit.) So, I have to share the recipe for the sausage cheese bake I made; we had it at the Gov. Inn in Charleston and I liked it so much I bought the cook book!

Sausage Cheese Bake

1 lb. bulk sausage ------ 3/4 cup of milk
1 large onion, finely chopped ------ 1/4 cup oil
2 cups grated sharp cheddar ------ 1 can cream style corn
1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal mix ------ 2 eggs

Brown sausage and onion in skillet until sausage is crumbled and done; drain off fat. Let cool slightly and add cheese. In a bowl, combine cornmeal, eggs, milk and corn. Grease a 2 quart casserole (I used a 8x11 pyrex dish). Layer half the cornmeal mixture, then cover with the sausage and cheese. Pour the rest of the cornmeal mixture on top and bake at 425 for 30 minutes till slightly brown. Serve with sour cream. (I also made a mix of petite diced tomatoes, black beans and cumin to spoon on the side). A side of mixed fruit/fruit salad goes well with this, too.

This is good for any meal.

My mom asked me to pick up some brandy yesterday, so I think I'm going to try Brenda's brandy milk punch tomorrow evening at my parents' house! :banana:

[D&R love Disney]

19 pages later I'm finally caught up :cool1: You'd think it was the holidays or something :rolleyes:

Great reviews and pictures, especially the PFTS!

Looking forward to the beef tenderloin recipe and what about the aranchini? Do you make that from scratch?

I had a couple of the grand margarita's from the pool bar at SSR and they get a big :thumbsup2 We enjoyed the resort, we were in Congress Park. I did pack 2 bowls and plates :laughing: We did have glasses and mugs though. Busses were slow, good thing for the rental car as we drove all over the place this trip!

[TigerKat]

Brenda - The 'goose recipe looks great, can't wait to try it!:thumbsup2

[TinkerBelle_325]

I've finished all my chores except for washing the dishes and the stuff I was supposed to review for work. BUT ... I have managed to work out our holidays menus so I thought I'd share them with ya here!

Christmas Eve

Jay and I both have to work on Wednesday so we're keeping the evening to ourselves (we tried inviting Jay's parents over for dinner but they said they have to go to Church instead ... wow ... I had no idea being around us was a sin ... :rotfl: ).

Our dinner will be:

sushi
brie topped with raspberry jam baked inside puff pastry
spinach salad
various chocolates (we are bursting at the seams with chocolate this year)
some kind of tasty beverage(s).

Christmas Day

For breakfast we'll be indulging in brandy milk punch and fresh croissants (thank you Williams Sonoma).

Dinner and snackable include the following:

Beef tenderloin stuffed with goat cheese
arancini stuffed with more cheese
several yummy artisan cheeses with bread and other accompaniments
asparagoose
bird rolls (thanks Jon - this time he's making a double batch!)
cheesecake ice cream
spiced gingerbread cake
eggnog bread
chocolate dominoes filled with caramel

more tasty beverage(s) as yet to be determined.

I even know what we're doing for New Year's Eve and hopefully for brunch on New Year's Day, but one week at a time! :lmao:

I will post the food porn on the blog this time and will let everyone know when it's ready ... probably some time on Friday because I have that day off from work! :cool1:

Happy Holidays to everyone!!! :grouphug:

I *love* your christmas menus and thought I'd share mine :)

CHRISTMAS EVE
- Smoked Salmon with traditional accompaniments (cream cheese, capers, red onion & lemon)
- Shrimp Pastries (baby shrimp surrounded in pastry and rolled in parmesan cheese)
- Swedish meatballs
- Cheese Platter featuring
> Tete de Moine (ie the cheese at PFTS that used the cool wheel cutter and shaved the cheese into rosebud like shapes)
> Asiago
> Parmigiano reggiano
> Old Amsterdam Aged Gouda
> Soft unripened Goat Cheese
- Prosciutto, Dijon, & Parmesan Puff Pastry Pinwheels
- Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream
- Crudites
- Chocolate Truffle Yule Log
- Homemade Shortbread, Gingerbread & Assorted Christmas Cookies

We have done appetizers for dinner on both Christmas Eve & New Years Eve for the past few years :thumbsup2 I'll be sure to take some pics :)

[oybolshoi]

Brenda, thanks for the asparagus recipe! I think that's just the ticket esp. if it's portable. My mind isn't very imaginative right now which is bad, because I have five places to cook for this week (not counting the brunch I made at my parents' today for my dad's cousin's visit.) So, I have to share the recipe for the sausage cheese bake I made; we had it at the Gov. Inn in Charleston and I liked it so much I bought the cook book!

I think it's very easy to transport, especially if your pan has handles. I hope you like it!



Sausage Cheese Bake

1 lb. bulk sausage ------ 3/4 cup of milk
1 large onion, finely chopped ------ 1/4 cup oil
2 cups grated sharp cheddar ------ 1 can cream style corn
1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal mix ------ 2 eggs

Brown sausage and onion in skillet until sausage is crumbled and done; drain off fat. Let cool slightly and add cheese. In a bowl, combine cornmeal, eggs, milk and corn. Grease a 2 quart casserole (I used a 8x11 pyrex dish). Layer half the cornmeal mixture, then cover with the sausage and cheese. Pour the rest of the cornmeal mixture on top and bake at 425 for 30 minutes till slightly brown. Serve with sour cream. (I also made a mix of petite diced tomatoes, black beans and cumin to spoon on the side). A side of mixed fruit/fruit salad goes well with this, too.

This is good for any meal.

My mom asked me to pick up some brandy yesterday, so I think I'm going to try Brenda's brandy milk punch tomorrow evening at my parents' house! :banana:

Mmmm, your recipe sounds like something that Jay would like for sure.

And let me know what you think of the milk punch ... we're making ours tomorrow night, too! :cool1:

19 pages later I'm finally caught up :cool1: You'd think it was the holidays or something :rolleyes:

Great reviews and pictures, especially the PFTS!

Looking forward to the beef tenderloin recipe and what about the aranchini? Do you make that from scratch?

I had a couple of the grand margarita's from the pool bar at SSR and they get a big :thumbsup2 We enjoyed the resort, we were in Congress Park. I did pack 2 bowls and plates :laughing: We did have glasses and mugs though. Busses were slow, good thing for the rental car as we drove all over the place this trip!

Hey Deb! Glad to hear you had a good time at SSR and that the Grand Margarita didn't disappoint. As for the arancini ... there's no way on gawd's green earth that you'd catch me making those babies! I ordered them from Dean and Deluca ... I'm a lazy cook! :lmao:

Brenda - The 'goose recipe looks great, can't wait to try it!:thumbsup2

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

I *love* your christmas menus and thought I'd share mine :)

CHRISTMAS EVE
- Smoked Salmon with traditional accompaniments (cream cheese, capers, red onion & lemon)
- Shrimp Pastries (baby shrimp surrounded in pastry and rolled in parmesan cheese)
- Swedish meatballs
- Cheese Platter featuring
> Tete de Moine (ie the cheese at PFTS that used the cool wheel cutter and shaved the cheese into rosebud like shapes)
> Asiago
> Parmigiano reggiano
> Old Amsterdam Aged Gouda
> Soft unripened Goat Cheese
- Prosciutto, Dijon, & Parmesan Puff Pastry Pinwheels
- Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream
- Crudites
- Chocolate Truffle Yule Log
- Homemade Shortbread, Gingerbread & Assorted Christmas Cookies

We have done appetizers for dinner on both Christmas Eve & New Years Eve for the past few years :thumbsup2 I'll be sure to take some pics :)

Your menus sound yummy! Please do take pics and feel free to post them here if you'd like. I don't mind and hopefully the mods don't either. :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Here be the recipe for the tenderloin we're making for Christmas dinner. There is supposed to be a port wine sauce that goes with it, but we suck at making sauces and I seem to have mislayed that portion of the recipe. ;)

Ingredients:

1 beef tenderloin (2 1/2 - 3 pounds)
1 cup walnuts (optional ... we never add them)
1 log (6 ounces) goat cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
4 teaspoons herbes de Provence (divided)
1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper

Directions:

Trim excess fat and silver skin from beef. Cut a large pocket along the length of beef to within 1/2 inch of each end and opposite side (be careful not to cut all the way through).

In the work bowl of a food processer, pulse the walnuts (if you use them) to chop coarsely, Add the goat cheese, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the herbs - pulse to combine (it will be thick and sticky but trust me when I tell you that it's tasty).

Spread the cheese mixture in the beef pocket and then tie the tenderloin together with kitchen twine to keep it from falling apart while it cooks. **This may be covered and refrigerated overnight - if you do so let the meat stand at room temperature for ten minutes before roasting.**

In a small bowl, combine the remaining herbs, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture over the surface of the meat and then place in a shallow roasting pan.

Roast in 425 degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until thermometer inserted in the center of the meat registers 140 degrees for medium-rare. Remove roast from pan and loosely cover with foil. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into 1-inch thick slices and serve with a port wine sauce (if you can find a recipe for one ... ;) ).

Enjoy!!

[BoosGram]

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for sharing all the wonderful recipes and menus; you are certainly inspiring me to think about trying new things. DH and I love trying new foods, but DDs not so much :confused3 . How they came from the 2 of us I don't know sometimes.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and healthy new year. :flower3:

[oybolshoi]

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for sharing all the wonderful recipes and menus; you are certainly inspiring me to think about trying new things. DH and I love trying new foods, but DDs not so much :confused3 . How they came from the 2 of us I don't know sometimes.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and healthy new year. :flower3:

Have a great holiday yourself! :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Here is the recipe for those lovely little bird rolls that Jon made for Thanksgiving that so many of you wanted the recipe for. I copied it directly from his email - the recipe was handed down from his mother who passed away a few years ago.

Pigeon Rolls


Dough: Dissolve 1 crumbled yeast cake in 1 pint of lukewarm milk, add 6 Tbsp. sugar, 2 tsp. salt, 2 eggs, beaten, and 3 c. flour; beat until smooth and elastic. Beat in ¼ lb. butter, melted and cooled. Add 3 c. flour and work in well with both hands. Turn to lightly floured board, cover and let rest 10 min. Knead until smooth, elastic; cover and let rise in warm place until double in bulk.

Roll dough to ½-inch thickness and cut into ropes 9 inches long, ½ inch thick. Tie each rope into a loose knot, one end shorter than the the other. Pinch short end to resemble bird's head with beak; flatten long end and fringe with scissors. Place on greased pan, allow to double on bulk. Brush with beaten eggs; bake at 400 °F 15-20 minutes. Add two whole cloves for eyes.

Notes from the Mad Scientist:
1. I use Rapid-Rise yeast and add it to the dry ingredients. An alternative for the sugar and salt addition, see 2.
2. Warm the milk on low and add the stick of butter. When the butter is melted, the milk should be warm enough to add. The sugar and salt could be dissolved here as well.
3. Even with six cups of flour the dough can still be quite sticky. Well-floured hands and enough added flour on the kneading surface will get it so it can be easily kneaded.
4. To make the birds, I flatten one side of the dough ball to a half-inch or so thickness and begin cutting of the ropes, cutting off a half-inch or so width. This is cut into 3-4 sections. I then roll the ropes between my hands, or on the work surface to make them round before tying. I continue flattening, and cutting, and tying as the birds are made. When a pan is full I begin baking while the remainder of the birds are being made.

:goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Kare-Free Kwanza, and Wonderful Winter Solstice! I hope each and every one of you has a joyful holiday(s) with tasty food, cheerful company, good health, and much love from friends and family. :goodvibes :grouphug:

[whogirl'smom]

Brenda, can we please crash your party on Christmas Day? I just found out last night that we are not having a "meal" at MIL's, but SIL is making her famous ham in a crock pot (that turns brown with all the brown sugar and pineapple) for sandwiches. Dh said he would bring some sherry, to which MIL replied, "Please respect your BIL and leave your wine at home." BIL is a preacher.

DH said he is sneaking in a flask....:rotfl:

Everybody have a wonderful Christmas if I'm not back over here today!

[oybolshoi]

Brenda, can we please crash your party on Christmas Day? I just found out last night that we are not having a "meal" at MIL's, but SIL is making her famous ham in a crock pot (that turns brown with all the brown sugar and pineapple) for sandwiches. Dh said he would bring some sherry, to which MIL replied, "Please respect your BIL and leave your wine at home." BIL is a preacher.

DH said he is sneaking in a flask....:rotfl:

Everybody have a wonderful Christmas if I'm not back over here today!

Come on over ... we'll have plenty to go around and I made a double batch of milk punch last night. If I didn't have to drive into the office today while it dumps rain I'd be drinking it right now. :lmao:

A flask ... that's awesome! :thumbsup2 Fill it well my friend ... fill it well. :hug:

[D&R love Disney]

Thanks for the recipes. I think the tenderloin recipe will be perfect for New Years Eve dinner :woohoo: I am totally with you on the arancini and getting them from a good source. I love the bird rolls and as much as I love to bake I just haven't got the touch with bread. King Arthur Flour in Vermont offers bread baking classes and my Mom and I might take one or two this winter.

Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy all the "Good Eats"! :grouphug:

[Briarmom]

Merry Christmas Bendage!:santa:

[DisneyMom5]

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Kare-Free Kwanza, and Wonderful Winter Solstice! I hope each and every one of you has a joyful holiday(s) with tasty food, cheerful company, good health, and much love from friends and family. :goodvibes :grouphug:

And Festivus for the Rest of Us? LOL :lmao:

Merry Christmas Everyone! :santa:

[winkers]

Thanks for the recipes! Those asparagus bundles sound yummy. I'm now having to question my resolve to not go to any stores today.;)

[oybolshoi]

Ahhhhhhh.

The cheesecake ice cream is freezing as I type. The eggnog bread is already made. The gingerbread cake is baking ... Jay is marinating the tenderloin ... and I'm getting ready to bake that wheel of brie with some raspberry preserves.

We've already had some sushi tonight with some really tasty sake - not the sake we wanted, but still good.

The fireplace is crackling cheerfully and the lights on our tree are twinkling and A Christmas Story is playing on the idiot box. Does life get any better? :goodvibes

I'm taking lots of pictures again to share the food love! I hope you all have a lovely holiday! :thumbsup2

[kbmaggs]

Brenda,
Your beef tenderloin recipe sounds delicious..... is that the time per pound or for the whole stinkin' thing??? I would love to make this.....:goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Brenda,
Your beef tenderloin recipe sounds delicious..... is that the time per pound or for the whole stinkin' thing??? I would love to make this.....:goodvibes


I don't actually know ... :lmao:

We usually just monitor it by visual appearance and the meat thermometer ... but if we had to guess we'd say about two hours for a medium rare tenderloin, give or take depending on your oven.

Merry Christmas! :goodvibes

[TigerKat]

Merry Christmas to you both! Hoping your day is full of joy, love and especially good eats.:thumbsup2

We're watching the WDW Christmas parade!

[nts4wdw]

Merry Christmas!!

I've got to come back over when I can spend more time with your recipes. We are just having ham! :lmao:

[Circusgirl]

:santa: HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!! :santa:

[OurDogCisco]

Can't wait to see your pictures. I made the asparagus bundles last night. Yummy... We had Baked ham, Roasted Red Bell pepper soup with Polenta croutons, Cheesy potato casserole (I have munkins in the house), Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Asparagus Bundles & rolls. For dessert I made cheesecake and apple cake. Today, I'm making Rum cake for dessert.

I didn't take pictures... Silly me... what was I thinking? Now, I kinda wish I did. Sorry...

[BriarRosie]

Ah, I'm way behind! All those recipes sound wonderful!

I've been letting Trader Joe do some cooking for me. Last night he made me chipotle chicken skewers, and frozen veggies. The salad I took care of, with Romaine lettuce, sliced baby carrots, tomatoes, avocado, and crumbled some of Joe's Chevre goat cheese with honey. :goodvibes

I think I'm ready to update my report. It's about time I did! LOL!

[ChelleinNC]

Merry Christmas! :santa:

[BoosGram]

Brenda,

Just to show you how smart you were to purchase the special edition of Beedle the Bard when you did, note that Amazon is now selling used copies for $325! Waaaahhh. Now I'll never get it :sad2: .

[oybolshoi]

Brenda,

Just to show you how smart you were to purchase the special edition of Beedle the Bard when you did, note that Amazon is now selling used copies for $325! Waaaahhh. Now I'll never get it :sad2: .

:scared1: :scared1: HOLY MARKUP, BATMAN!!!! :scared1: :scared1:

[Tatania]

I didn't have time to check this thread in the last days so will have to make the asparagus recipe for New Year's. It sounds amazing.

Dh said he would bring some sherry, to which MIL replied, "Please respect your BIL and leave your wine at home." BIL is a preacher.
Having left all organzied religion behind in my mid-twenties I'm confused about this attitude - which I know is shared by other Christians. If memory serves me, didn't Jesus partake of alcohol (I mean after he changed water to wine he would have had some?) and during most of history, the assumption has been it was wine that was drunk at the Last Supper and then used in the communion ritual. I'm curious as to why a glass of wine is considered taboo. I know Muslim's don't allow alcohol but Christians?? Since when?

I used a lot of Disney recipes this year for Christmas dinner and posted my review on the Disney recipe thread. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1575103&page=172
The Garden Grill Cranberry Relish was the best ever and the The Walnut Poultry stuffing (Cooking with Mickey Around the World) was very, very good.
The Yam Casserole from Tusker House was one of the most popular dishes of the evening and I'll be making that again. I've been doing the Andrew Sutton (Napa Rose) turkey recipe for 2 years and it's everyones favourite turkey ever.

[BriarRosie]

Brenda,

Just to show you how smart you were to purchase the special edition of Beedle the Bard when you did, note that Amazon is now selling used copies for $325! Waaaahhh. Now I'll never get it :sad2: .

Wow I'm lucky I ordered mine 10 days ago. I had been on the fence about it, then caved in after seeing Brenda's photos. I'm really glad I did, but I'm sorry you missed out on it. :hug:

[oybolshoi]

December 24th: Let the Cooking and Mixing and Eating and Drinking Begin!!!

Ahhhh, the holidays. Jay and I being the surly, uncommunicative types that we are, it's easier for us to show our love and affection by laying forth a bountiful spread of food and drink for people rather than by coming out and actually telling them how we feel.

Emotions can be so awkward. :laughing:

Jay was working from home on Christmas Eve and I had to work until 3PM ... it was close to 4PM by the time I got home and could get my baking started. But before I get into the food porn I thought I'd share a few pictures of our Far-Outhouse decorated all purty-like for the holidays.

Hey kids - watch Santa pull a six-foot tall pipe cleaner outta his butt!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC060003.jpg

It's only appropriate that we would have food-related ornaments on our tree.

Jay's spicy ornament
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC070019.jpg

Bendy's dilly of a pickle
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC070018.jpg

In our dining room we had just enough Dicken's Village pieces to cover the piano ... Jay's mom used to give me those for Christmas gifts until she found out that all we wanted to display were taverns. :rotfl2: Our village only has two taverns and one brewhouse ... looks like we need more!

It takes a village ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC060006.jpg

That cool little trunk we got from the WDW Florist really came in handy for some of my favorite, breakable ornaments. I can't hang them on the tree thanks to a certain four-legged furbaby but they're too pretty not to display.

Fra-gee-lay
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC060007.jpg

I loves me a fireplace! It's so "The Night Before Christmas ..."

Ah, toasty warm!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC060010.jpg


The first order of any holiday gathering is a double-batch of Brandy Milk Punch. Mmmmm, quite possibly our favorite holiday beverage.

I've got mine ... where's yours?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC230005.jpg

Breakfast drink of champions!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC250026.jpg

I was very fortunate late in November and came into a lovely gift card for Williams Sonoma and promptly went boffo ordering yummies for the holidays. First up ... a box of miniature croissants. They have to thaw / rise overnight and then can be popped into the oven to bake for about 15 minutes. These were incredible ... much better than they had any right to be coming out of the freezer. And the box of mini-croissants came with two dozen pre-formed flaky delights, so we've got plenty to last us over the next week or so.

Here they are right out of the freezer:

They kinda look like baby elephants...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC230007.jpg

The next morning after they've "riz"...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240008.jpg

Fresh out of the oven - delectable!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240010.jpg

The first thing I baked once I settled in at home was my eggnog bread. I'm not a big fan of eggnog but certain members of my family are and this seems like a good compromise that everyone can live with.

Eggnog-ie goodness!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240016.jpg

Have a slice why dontcha?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240017.jpg

And then it was time for me to bake my Gingerbread Spice Cake while my Cheesecake Ice Cream was getting all cold and frozen in the freezer. The recipe actually calls for a ginger-orange glaze but I opted not to make that - I think it would have been too much with the ice cream, which is really rich.

I love it when a cake bakes up just right!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240022.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240023.jpg

To be continued ...

[oybolshoi]

December 24th: Remorseless Eating Machines Never Stop Feeding Their Faces...

So what did we eat while all that baking was taking place? We started with sushi from a new place that's just opened up here in lesser Stinktown - we love their nigiri and their rolls. Nothing fancy, just really fresh, tasty fish.

I'll take the lot!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240011.jpg

And to wash down the fishies we had some nigori sake. Unfortunately it wasn't the one that we tried while in Florida dining with Erica and Lionel - we tried to order some and no one here in Stinktown could get their hands on it. So we asked for a recommendation and this is what we ended up with:

The Snow Maiden ... ever-so-good!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240013.jpg

Who-so-ever amongst you thinks that Mickey doesn't endorse drinking, take a gander at these glasses we picked up in October...

Fill 'er up!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240014.jpg

Sake Shots!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240015.jpg

Nigori is usually the sweetest of all sakes and its name roughly translated means "cloudy" for its appearance because it's unfiltered. We did not find this sake to be overly sweet, but it was very smooth and flavorful - not at all harsh like some sakes can be. We really enjoyed it and will probably buy it again when we have need of some sake.

And while this may not be the best accompaniment for sushi, we had lots of fresh bread and my favorite French cheese to munch on throughout the night: Fromager d'Affinois!

Cheesie does it!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240012.jpg

And then we played with our wheel of brie ...trying to re-create on a larger scale the fabulous brie / raspberry puff pastries we had in August while taking part in Jay's work anniversary trip.

Packaged brie...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240019.jpg

Raspberry preserves (seedless!)
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240020.jpg

All wrapped up waiting for the oven...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240021.jpg

Ain't it pretty all cooked up?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240024.jpg

Tasted better than it looks!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240025.jpg

The taste combination is wonderful but we think that the next time we're going to try small brie puffs similar to those pear / blue cheese puffs we made at Thanksgiving. For one thing we didn't use enough of the raspberry preserves and for another the whole thing was too much even for the two of us to eat in one evening. It would be a great serving size for a group of people but it's a bit much even for two gastropods like Jay and me.

And the final picture of the evening is actually from the prior week's work gathering at Annie Gunn's where my manager gave me the green light to order the foie gras appetizer.

This was Foie Gras with Pears and Duck Confit ... I wish I could tell you more about it but they don't list it on their website (cowards!). What I can say is that it was pretty darn tasty. Not on par with Vicky & Al's in preparation or presentation, but for a Stinktown establishment it was quite good. We let all those at the table who wanted to try it do so, and they all agreed that it was far better than they had expected it to be.

I like being at the top of the food chain!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC190002.jpg


Coming soon ... lots and lots of Christmas pics! :goodvibes

[ChelleinNC]

Making me hungry as always :laughing: Everything looks wonderful! Hope you had a very Merry :santa:

[oybolshoi]

Making me hungry as always :laughing: Everything looks wonderful! Hope you had a very Merry :santa:

Makes us hungry, too! :laughing:

We had a really nice holiday, thanks! And I hope you and yours did as well. :goodvibes

[DisneyMom5]

Love the trunk o breakables. I, when I still had usable flat surfaces not covered in kid stuff, used to put glass ornaments in a pedestal dish. I like the way off tree ornament arrangements look. :thumbsup2

LOL on the Tavern collection! :rotfl:

I have NEVER had a bundt cake turn out so beautiful! What's your secret??? :confused3

We're off to our final Christmas today. :santa:

Have a good one!

[oybolshoi]

Love the trunk o breakables. I, when I still had usable flat surfaces not covered in kid stuff, used to put glass ornaments in a pedestal dish. I like the way off tree ornament arrangements look. :thumbsup2

LOL on the Tavern collection! :rotfl:

I have NEVER had a bundt cake turn out so beautiful! What's your secret??? :confused3

We're off to our final Christmas today. :santa:

Have a good one!

Hiya MomofMany! :goodvibes

I never thought about putting the ornaments in a glass bowl ... I bet that would have been really pretty. Funny thing happened on Christmas day - my eldest nephew Dylan was over and he saw them on the table that we'd loaded down with snackables and thought they were spun sugar. :laughing: It's a good thing he didn't try to eat one. :lmao:

As for my secret on the cake ... I just make sure that the pan is really well greased and floured. I also sprinkle in some of the dry cake ingredients into the flour used to coat the pan so the cake doesn't come out looking "ghostly." But that's it ... I don't do anything else (nor does Jay when I ask him nicely to take care of the pan for me while I'm alternating wet and dry ingredients and a handmixer ... :laughing: ).

Have a good day and enjoy your upcoming Christmas!
:goodvibes

[whogirl'smom]

Beautiful Christmas pics! Everything looked so good--you must sit by the oven with a book to make sure nothing burns. :rotfl2:

I am off to make your asparagus bundles this morning for our party at my former boss' house. This is my favorite get-together of the whole season!(other than my parents' of course) Brenda, I have to say the milk punch was a HUGE hit! We made two batches for Christmas Eve and had one glass left the next day, which my mom called dibs on. I have never seen her drink two glasses of anything alcoholic, but she did of this!

And to Tatania re: the alcohol thing--you should have been there for the political discussion that erupted thanks to my smart a## husband! :rotfl:

[DisneyMom5]

Hiya MomofMany! :goodvibes

I never thought about putting the ornaments in a glass bowl ... I bet that would have been really pretty. Funny thing happened on Christmas day - my eldest nephew Dylan was over and he saw them on the table that we'd loaded down with snackables and thought they were spun sugar. :laughing: It's a good thing he didn't try to eat one. :lmao:

As for my secret on the cake ... I just make sure that the pan is really well greased and floured. I also sprinkle in some of the dry cake ingredients into the flour used to coat the pan so the cake doesn't come out looking "ghostly." But that's it ... I don't do anything else (nor does Jay when I ask him nicely to take care of the pan for me while I'm alternating wet and dry ingredients and a handmixer ... :laughing: ).

Have a good day and enjoy your upcoming Christmas!
:goodvibes

My dd5 ate a glass ornament when she was around 18 months. We still can't figure out why she thought it was a good idea to take a big bite out of it. It was my dd14's Piglet ornament too! LOL It didn't hurt her, it was some sort of non-sharp glass (???).

I am just a bundt cake idiot. [I also cannot hard boil an egg to save my life!]
Good thing I can cook other things.

Jay sounds talented. I'm teaching my boys to cook. I want their future wives to love me. :thumbsup2

[oybolshoi]

Beautiful Christmas pics! Everything looked so good--you must sit by the oven with a book to make sure nothing burns. :rotfl2:

I am off to make your asparagus bundles this morning for our party at my former boss' house. This is my favorite get-together of the whole season!(other than my parents' of course) Brenda, I have to say the milk punch was a HUGE hit! We made two batches for Christmas Eve and had one glass left the next day, which my mom called dibs on. I have never seen her drink two glasses of anything alcoholic, but she did of this!

And to Tatania re: the alcohol thing--you should have been there for the political discussion that erupted thanks to my smart a## husband! :rotfl:

BOOYAH! :banana:

I was wondering how your family reacted to the milk punch - I'm really glad to hear that everyone enjoyed it. Ours is gone ... Jay and I finished the last of it last night. We would have wiped it out Thursday night but we were all drinking impromptu power-nog instead. Power-nog, by the way, is what we started calling the Oberweis eggnog once I mixed in some whisky ... is there anything whisky can't do? :lmao:

I hope you have a great time at your work gathering - the asparagus bundles are tasty so hopefuly you'll have great party success with them.

And since our kitchen and great room are so close to each other I actually play on my laptop while keeping my nose turned toward the kitchen ... that's how I try to keep things from over-cooking. And after several years of crispy mistakes I realized that using dark baking pans seems to yield faster baking results so I adjust my cooking times to allow for that. Weird, huh?

[oybolshoi]

My dd5 ate a glass ornament when she was around 18 months. We still can't figure out why she thought it was a good idea to take a big bite out of it. It was my dd14's Piglet ornament too! LOL It didn't hurt her, it was some sort of non-sharp glass (???).

I am just a bundt cake idiot. [I also cannot hard boil an egg to save my life!]
Good thing I can cook other things.

Jay sounds talented. I'm teaching my boys to cook. I want their future wives to love me. :thumbsup2

Jay cooks well because his mom didn't teach him to cook. :rotfl2:

[oybolshoi]

Unrelated post ... just rambling ...

You guys want to know just how stupid the weather in Stinktown can be?

Last Sunday we had a high temperature of 18 degrees with a low of 3 degrees. As the week has progressed we've been on the receiving end of warmer temperatures and lots of rain as all these winter storms move to the north, south, and east of us. And now ... six days after a low of 3 degrees we are sitting at 67 degrees with a tornado and severe thunderstorm watch until noon. :rolleyes:

Winter thunderstorms are the worst ... very unpredictable. Some of the worst tornado damage we've ever seen has come from twister touchdowns in December and January. :scared:

Here's what we local yokels say about it all: Don't like the weather in St. Louis? Wait fifteen minutes and it will change. :rotfl2:

Have a good weekend everyone ... I'm going to get me some more coffee and talk Jay into diving into wii world. ;)

[ncsjodi]

Unrelated post ... just rambling ...

You guys want to know just how stupid the weather in Stinktown can be?
Here's what we local yokels say about it all: Don't like the weather in St. Louis? Wait fifteen minutes and it will change. :rotfl2:



Brenda, the weather in Indy is the same. It was down to zero on Sunday and it's going to be 66 today! And we say the same thing about Indy weather!:sad2:

[oybolshoi]

Brenda, the weather in Indy is the same. It was down to zero on Sunday and it's going to be 66 today! And we say the same thing about Indy weather!:sad2:

Isn't it crazy? The midwest is just one churning bowl of weather-related angst. :lmao:

[rentayenta]

:faint: You can cook too? I just thought you were a purdy face who knew how to order. ;)

Your dinner looks delicious and I love your holiday decor. :thumbsup2

[sunny04]

Hey, our weather is even stranger here in middle TN. We were at 70 last week, then a high of 30 the next day, now it's 70 again, and tonight we get the leftovers of your storms! Crazy weather!

But the REAL reason of my post...back to the food! Did you already post your recipe for the cheesecake ice cream? If so, where was it, and if not...please do! :)

[TigerKat]

Love your pics Brenda! Our weather is crazy down here as well. We had snow on Dec 11 and the past 2 days we've had record breaking heat. Stay safe during those winter T-storms.:hug:

[oybolshoi]

:faint: You can cook too? I just thought you were a purdy face who knew how to order. ;)

:lmao: Now you're being too kind. :goodvibes

Your dinner looks delicious and I love your holiday decor. :thumbsup2

Thanks very much! Wait until you see the real dinner on Christmas day! :thumbsup2

Hey, our weather is even stranger here in middle TN. We were at 70 last week, then a high of 30 the next day, now it's 70 again, and tonight we get the leftovers of your storms! Crazy weather!

It's been a weird weather year all-around, hasn't it? :confused3 Be safe tonight ... some of these have been real hummers with big winds.


But the REAL reason of my post...back to the food! Did you already post your recipe for the cheesecake ice cream? If so, where was it, and if not...please do! :)

I didn't post that one, but I will since you asked. I'll put a link to the recipe once I post it so that you don't have to go hunting for it. Give me a few hours after my wii fingers have un-cramped. :rotfl2:


Love your pics Brenda! Our weather is crazy down here as well. We had snow on Dec 11 and the past 2 days we've had record breaking heat. Stay safe during those winter T-storms.:hug:

Hi Kathy! That's right ... I forgot that you folks down south had measureable snowfall a couple of weeks ago. You guys stay safe, too. :hug:

[LiteBrite]

Brenda, your Christmas Eve yummies look fabulous, especially this -



Tasted better than it looks!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/Stuff/PC240025.jpg

Wish hubby and I could have been there to help you with that one - YUM!

The family Christmas Eve tradition I grew up with was oyster soup, but nobody in my family but me likes it, so I gave up on it years ago. Maybe I should start a new one with a baked brie instead! :yay:


Coming soon ... lots and lots of Christmas pics! :goodvibes

Looking forward to it!

[oybolshoi]

This recipe is courtesy of Emeril ... he actually made this ice cream and also has a Blueberry Syrup that he served it with. We don't make the syrup because the ice cream is perfect on its own, but I will include it in case anyone wants to try it that way.

Ice Cream Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup cold sour cream
1 cup cold heavy cream
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Chill a medium-to-large mixing bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer in the refrigerator. Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. **NOTE - Jay and I actually make the ice cream mix and then let it chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then make the ice cream. This recipe seems to work best when the mix is really cold and besides that, it takes 24 hours for our ice cream maker to freeze up anyway. END NOTE**

In the chilled bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until soft and smooth. Gradually add the sugar ... 1/4 cup at a time ... beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and the heavy cream. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat until just thick and smooth. Cover and refrigerate until very cold (at least 2-3 hours). Wash and re-chill the beaters from your electric mixer.

Once the mix is cold enough ... use the chilled beaters and gradually increase the mixer speed from low to medium, beating the mixture until creamy (about 2 minutes). Pour into ice cream maker and process according to instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

Blueberry Syrup Ingredients

1 cup fresh or thawed frozen blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice


Directions

In a saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened to desired consistency. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature before serving with the cheesecake ice cream. If a thinner syrup is desired strain through a fine mesh strainer while the mixture is still hot.

ENJOY!!! :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Brenda, your Christmas Eve yummies look fabulous, especially this -



Wish hubby and I could have been there to help you with that one - YUM!

The family Christmas Eve tradition I grew up with was oyster soup, but nobody in my family but me likes it, so I gave up on it years ago. Maybe I should start a new one with a baked brie instead! :yay:



Looking forward to it!

Hiya LiteBrite! That brie was really good and we would have been happy to share ... none of my family was very interested in the remnants so we still have some in the refrigerator to dispose of this weekend.

I've never tried oyster soup (I don't like oysters so no surprise there, right?), but I've heard that it's really really good and rich. I bet Jay would love it.

Hope you and yours had a good holiday! :goodvibes

[D&R love Disney]

Great pictures Brenda. That brie looks yummy :thumbsup2 Looking forward to seeing more pictures.

When I have a chance I'm going to tell you about the place Rick and I ate at last night. You and Jay would have LOVED it!

[oybolshoi]

Great pictures Brenda. That brie looks yummy :thumbsup2 Looking forward to seeing more pictures.

When I have a chance I'm going to tell you about the place Rick and I ate at last night. You and Jay would have LOVED it!

Thanks for the kind words on the pictures! It's a lot easier to get a good shot when we're at home ... in restaurants we try to take them quickly so that we don't bother others too much.

Waiting eagerly for a review of your yum-tastic dinner! :thumbsup2

[oybolshoi]

Humble apologies ... I will not be posting any more non-Disney food stuff here. I was trying to keep it easy because the blog can be a pain for people sometimes, but ... it ain't meant to be.

So, thanks for the great recipes and pictures and food fun ... I'll be posting Christmas pics to the blog later and will post here to let you know when you can take a peek.

Thanks .... I'll be posting the French Regional Lunch review in a few days.

B.

[Pumbaa_]

thanks for all the great reviews Brenda. We are enjoying living vicariously!

Since this thread has gotten so long, we are closing it and Brenda is starting a new thread with the rest of her trip review

can't wait to read the rest!!:thumbsup2