“Hey bartender, let the whiskey fall” – 2010 F&W Report - 12/8 - 3D Dessert Party

[PixieDustandEeyore]

Great reviews so far...how was the All star resort?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Great reviews so far...how was the All star resort?

Thanks!

The resort is ok. When we are together, we really are deluxe people usually. Like right now - I kinda wish I was at Stormalong Bay with a drink in my hand as my husband relaxes in the room. The good things are we are located rather far back in the resort facing the woods/parking lot which makes it decent as its quiet in the evenings. We have our car so we aren't having to deal with public transportation. Our maid is quick and keeps the room clean. We've even gotten a real towel animal twice so far which is always nice unexpected magic.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

World Showcase Goodies​

After a morning in Future World, we started wandering over to the World Showcase to entertain ourselves before our Taste, Shake, Indulge @ 2:30.

I stopped at the long line at the China Booth to enjoy the Pork Potstickers, Xinjiang Barbecue Chicken Stick & Green Tea Plum Wine Cooler

(apparently I deleted my photo )

I enjoyed all of these items. The potstickers were basic. The chicken stick wasn't as good as last years chicken dish but it satiated my hunger until later on. I loved the Green Tea Plum Wine Cooler! I wish I had one of those right now.

Our next stop was suppose to be the new Caramel shoppe in Germany but the line was out of the door! I can wait until Wednesday to deal with my caramel craving than do that.

At this point we were thirsty & were walking up to Italy.

I thought about the booths but again the lines were way too long to deal with. The booth that sells the Italian Margaritas had no line so thats where I went. My husband wanted a Sprite which is boring.

Opening weekend on a Saturday Afternoon really was no time to get to check out any of the booths. Luckily it was getting closer to 2:30 so we headed our way to Bistro for our next event that made up for everything last year in my husband's eyes.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Taste, Shake & Indulge!

We got to the event about 15 minutes early and joined the growing group of people in the lobby. Redzinner spotted me and we said a quick hello as did Disbug1. My husband was in the corner so I went back to him until we were allowed to go wait on the stairs for a few minutes. At exactly 2:30pm, the doors to Bistro were open and everyone was led to pre-assigned seats in the dining room.

The place setting.

Close up of the mat with what we were going to be having today.

Snacks given to enjoy throughout the presentation. (The dried orange peel is nasty bitter though - everything else was great!)

Stuff for making our Grand Smash

Soon everyone was seated and we were sat with another Diser (B'rer Karen) & her husband.

They passed out Mimosas to enjoy while the history of Grand Marnier was given by Antonie.

The speaker for the history was great! He kept us entertained throughout the history with some well placed humor.

During this presentation, they handed out the shots of various varieties of Grand Marnier

He explained the making of each of them and blends made. We learned how to properly taste the liquor. Those of us at our table ended up just taking it as a shot after doing an initial sip. I wasn't quite sure if we were supposed to do that or not but I was having fun so it didn't really matter.

After these 3 shots were tasted, we were instructed on how to make our own Grand Smash. The presenter asked for a volunteer and picked a nearby big-chested female.

We were told to hit the mint leaf although I never quite understood what we were suppose to do with that individual leaf. I kinda just put it in my glass for when we had to muddle the leaves with the lemon pieces.

We got to then pour in our mini bottle of Grand Marnier and then shake it up in the shaker then strain it into a smaller glass to enjoy. This activity was enjoyed by most in the room as it kept getting louder as more people were shaking!

After our self-made cocktails, the waiters came out to talk about desserts!

Waiter showing how to make a crepe suzette.

After the demo - we were all given a plate with our desserts.

They were all so good. The souffle was a cold one and I think if I wasn't looking my husband would have tried to stolen mine.

Upon leaving we were given a cheaper plastic shaker & round cup to making cocktails at home. I would have rather had the one from the presentation though.

For the price of the event, it was a deal! It was such a fun way to spend the afternoon. The dessert were wonderful and there was tons of alcohol to be enjoyed.

As if we hadn't had enough alcohol already, the couple we were at the table with & us got a beer (Stella) and enjoyed the showing of British Invasion before parting ways as they were off to the Poly and my husband and I needed to sober up a little before Party of the Senses was to start for us an hour later.

​

 

[mstmp]

I am in - can't wait to read all your reviews!

 

[DisneyJen]

My Dh and I are HUGE fans of Grand Marnier. Love a splash of it in our Mimosas

Sounds like we would really enjoy the Taste, Shake and Indulge. Unfortunately we are only in the world for 4 days and couldn't fit it into our schedule

Kind of kicking myself now that we scheduled the Regional Lunch at Tutto for Saturday instead of the Taste, Shake and Indulge

 

[disneyfav4ever]

The Grand Marnier event looked fantastic. I considered trying to fit it in on my last morning, (which would've been the same day you did it,) now I'm sorry I didn't.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I am in - can't wait to read all your reviews!

Thanks for stopping by!

My Dh and I are HUGE fans of Grand Marnier. Love a splash of it in our Mimosas

Sounds like we would really enjoy the Taste, Shake and Indulge. Unfortunately we are only in the world for 4 days and couldn't fit it into our schedule

Kind of kicking myself now that we scheduled the Regional Lunch at Tutto for Saturday instead of the Taste, Shake and Indulge

I bet the F&W Pairing at Tutto will be awesome too. I've done some F&W pairings before and have enjoyed all of those that I've gone to. There were definitely more events I wanted us to do this trip that just didn't work out. There is always next year for more fun!

The Grand Marnier event looked fantastic. I considered trying to fit it in on my last morning, (which would've been the same day you did it,) now I'm sorry I didn't.

It really was fantastic! Hopefully the offer it again next year, as we would so do it again.

 

[DisneyJen]

I bet the F&W Pairing at Tutto will be awesome too. I've done some F&W pairings before and have enjoyed all of those that I've gone to. There were definitely more events I wanted us to do this trip that just didn't work out. There is always next year for more fun!

I told DH that this year is a scouting event for next year's festival

Looking forward to your review of the PFTS as I did not schedule one this year ... just not enough time

I am thinking next year we will need 8 nights

 

[cdtommie]

Thanks so much for the Taste, Shake review - we are doing this event on Oct 16.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

joining in...

 

[2xcited2sleep]

You have me wishing we booked this... I may have to see if there is still availability!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I told DH that this year is a scouting event for next year's festival

Looking forward to your review of the PFTS as I did not schedule one this year ... just not enough time

I am thinking next year we will need 8 nights

Scouting? Thats awesome! I so wish I could have convinced my husband of more scouting time. Alas the real world doesn't let me have much of that as I'm out of vacation time for the year after this trip.

Hopefully I'll get to the review of PFTS tonight if not - I'll have it done tomorrow afternoon as our Animal Kingdom day.

Thanks so much for the Taste, Shake review - we are doing this event on Oct 16.

You will have so much fun on the 16th!

joining in...

Thanks for joining!

You have me wishing we booked this... I may have to see if there is still availability!

Hopefully they'll have availability. In the F&W pamphlets there is no description of the event. Its on the calender under the days its held but other than that no info is around. Makes me think its sold out.

 

[DisneyJen]

Scouting? Thats awesome! I so wish I could have convinced my husband of more scouting time. Alas the real world doesn't let me have much of that as I'm out of vacation time for the year after this trip.

Well we used to be marching along ... we're adventurers ... but they closed down our favorite club

So now we are scouting ... not quite the same but anything in the name of Disney and drinks (can you say kungaloosh)

We have some dear friends who are from Brazil and love Disney as much as we do ... and they are bigger foodies than we are ... so they will be our guests next year (just two of them ... no tour groups thank you!) at Food and Wine. Then we have neighbors who don't get Disney but are HUGE food and wine types so we are dragging them along next year as well.

Then of course we need to add three couple who live in Orlando and hardly get to WDW


So ... for my big birthday next year I am thinking a Grand Villa at FW ... hence the reason for the scouting trip...

Just saying

You are doing lots of the legwork for me Thank goodness!!

 

[onelilspark]

Just signing in so I can come back and catch up when I get home from my trip! Hope you're enjoying this perfect weather too!

 

[butiflfeet]

Great reviews so far! Enjoy your trip!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Well we used to be marching along ... we're adventurers ... but they closed down our favorite club

So now we are scouting ... not quite the same but anything in the name of Disney and drinks (can you say kungaloosh)

We have some dear friends who are from Brazil and love Disney as much as we do ... and they are bigger foodies than we are ... so they will be our guests next year (just two of them ... no tour groups thank you!) at Food and Wine. Then we have neighbors who don't get Disney but are HUGE food and wine types so we are dragging them along next year as well.

Then of course we need to add three couple who live in Orlando and hardly get to WDW


So ... for my big birthday next year I am thinking a Grand Villa at FW ... hence the reason for the scouting trip...

Just saying

You are doing lots of the legwork for me Thank goodness!!

That sounds like a wonderful birthday plan! I'm jealous! I'm glad I'm getting some of your scouting done for you. Food & Wine is such a great time to take people that aren't huge Disney fans but foodies! Its easy to get people to love it that way. I know it made my husband love it more!

Just signing in so I can come back and catch up when I get home from my trip! Hope you're enjoying this perfect weather too!

I hope you are having a great trip too. This weather has been amazing this whole trip. This morning at the Animal Kingdom was great as the animals were actually extremely active all morning long.

Great reviews so far! Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for stopping by! My trip has been awesome so far.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Party of the Senses​

I’m going to apologize here for the picture quality of the event – my normal camera apparently wasn’t charged& thus only had my iphone for pictures. With the low lighting, not many of them of them turned out well.

As we left England, it was right at 5pm. That’s when you could start checking in for the event. We were given our wristband (different color than non-Wine View Lounge members) and a magnetic tag to wear on our clothing.

We put them on and decided to visit Martin Short at O’Canada.

Around 5:50pm, we headed back to the area outside of World Showplace Plaza. Shortly after 6:00pm, those in the Wine View Lounge were lead into the lobby area of the Showplace & given a glass of Champagne until we were led to our tables in the middle of room which were directly in front of the stage for the band and the Cirque acts that played throughout the evening.

Our waitress quickly greeted herself and asked if we would like an alcoholic beverage and that the booths would be open for us shortly & in the mean time we could visit the cheese station in the back of the gated area. Well, as soon as I got up to get us some cheese, the chef for the amuse bouche station was like “Where are you going? I have something for you!” Ok! Works for me!

It was Sable Fish that was wrapped in this rice paper and cooked. It was amazing!






After we enjoyed our fish, I went up to the cheese booth for the Wine View Lounge members. Here, I was kinda disappointed as the cheese was kinda well plain. It was a brie, cheddar, blue and some other common cheese. For the money we were paying for this lounge, I wanted something better.

The outside booths were serving food & wine at this point so I decided to show my husband how you got food at the Party and visit the nearby booth.

Last time I was at Party for the Senses – the stations were set up with 6 colors. This time you had both colors and a cooking utensil to designate each section of stations.

The first section we visited was the Orange Whisk

We got King Crab Ravioli Infused w/ Truffles from Pascal Oudin of Pascal on Ponce in Miami, FL.

This had to be my husband’s favorite dish of the night. He went back for seconds and maybe thirds. The later part of the party is a bit of a blur as I had a bit too much to drink.

We also got Braised Veal Short Ribs topped w/ a Pear and Cherry Chutney w/ Parnsip & Yukon Gold Potato Mash from Javier Pareja of Disney’s Yachy & Beach Club Resort Catering.

To me, it just tasted like my pot roast I make at home. >< Still tasty though!

The other option for food at this station was the Braised Beef Cheeks w/ Cabernet Dijon Mustard Reduction from John Sarich the Culinary Director of Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. We never did get over to try that over the course of the evening.

The wineries present in this section were Domaines Barons de Rothschild, Red Newt Cellars, & Chateau Ste Michelle.

The second section we visited was the Yellow Wine Glass

We started here with Wagyu Beef Short Ribs Braised w/ Red Wine Pan Seared Boniato, Potato Cakes, Sour Cream, Chives, Sweet Onion & Wild Mushroom Ragu from Dylan Schauwecker of The Wave & Disney’s Contemporary Resort.

This was amazing! Much better than the short ribs from the first station.

The other treat we had here was Butternut Squash Risotto, Baby Frisee, Aged Balsamic w/ Pumpkin Seed Brittle from Frank Vega at Mama Melrose in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

This was awesome as well. I had a couple more over the course of the evening.

The other option which we didn’t try was Tagine of Lamb from Samad Benzari at the Morocco Pavilion in EPCOT.

The wineries present in this section were Fairview, Florida Orange Groves, & Radeberger Gruppe.

The third section we visited was the Pink Wine Bottle

Here we had Duck Veracruz from Jamey Fader at the Big Red F Restaurant, Denver, CO.

I was a bit disappointed in this dish. The duck was a bit overcooked and thus really tough to eat. I could have just gotten a bad plate of it but I never went back to try again.

The next dish was Spicy Quince-Glazed Grilled Pork Tenderloin w/ Chilean Salsa Verde & Creole-Style Quinoa Salad from Ruth Van Waerebeek of Concha y Toro Winery in Chile.

It wasn’t spicy enough for me but too spicy for my husband. Different strokes I guess.

The third dish in this section was listed in the menu booklet as Pan Seared Diver Scollops over Sauteed Fennel and a Pear Tomato, Caper and Opal Basil Butter from Bob Waggoner of PBS Ucook!

The dish I received was actually lamb though. Either way it was tasty & pleased with it.

The wineries present in this section were Emiliana Winery, Trivento Winery, Choncho Y Toro, Chandon Winery.

The fourth section we visited was Purple Fork & Knife

The first dish we tried here was the Halibut en Escabeche from Juan Carlos Rodriguez of the Ford Plantation Club in Richmond Hill, GA.

It was great.

The second dish was Pan Seared Palmetto Squab Breast, Shrimp Okra Pilaf w/ Plum Glaze from Frank Lee at Maverick Southern Kitchen, Charleston, SC.

I found this to be a bit tough to eat. The pilaf was good though.

The last dish in this section that we didn’t try was Pecan Shortbread w/ Roasted Fig Goat Cheese, Micro Arugula & Crispy Pancetta from Sondra Bernstein & John Toulze from the girl & the fig from Sonoma, CA

The wineries in this section were Mouton Cadet, Macmurray Rancy and The Boston Beer Company.

The fifth section was the Green Corkscrew

Here we had Wild Boar Agnolotti Stuffed Ricotta & Portobello Mushrooms from Andrew Turner at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom.

I enjoyed this.

There was also Braised Venison and Truffle Ravioli, Roasted Forrest Mushrooms, Brodo and Parmesan Frico from Michael Reitzler from Disney’s California Grill.

Also tasty.

The last dish in this section was Seared Diver Scallops w/ Heart of Palm, Green Mango relish w/ Grapefruit Scotch Bonnet Mojo from Dominique Macquet at Dominique’s on Magazine in New Orleans.

We didn’t try this dish but it had the consistently longest line for the evening. I’m sure if I was a huge fan of scallops I would have been all over it though.

The wineries present were Rudera Winery, Les Vins Georges Duboeuf Romaneche, Ravenswood Winery and Kendrick’s Gin & Stoli Vodka

The last savory section was the Blue Plate

The only savory dish we tried here was Citrus BBQ Pork Ribs Slow Roasted from Paradiso 37’s Jose L. Camey.

So so good!

The other dishes that we never did try were Anthony Scott’s from Flying Fish Fragrantly-Spiced Local Day-Boat Ahi Tuna Fregola Sarda w/ Mediettanean Accentuations & Janess Freidel’s of the The Grill at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Grill Mediterrean Roasted Vegetables Farro.

The wineries/etc present were Champagne Nicolas Fueillate, Caymus Conundrum, Inniskillin, Stella Artois, Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea, Twinings Gourmet Tea Bar.

Now onto the desserts!
The desserts present were

Baby Charmel – Keegan Gerhard, Food Network Challenge d Bar Desserts, Denver, CO

So freaking good! I could have had more if I hadn’t been so full by the time I had it.

Vanilla Roasted Pineapple Lime Yogurt Sorbet – Macadamia Crumble – Vanilla Bean Custard – Lisa Bailey, d Bar Desserts, Denver, CO

Also really good.

Warm Chocolate Almond Cake w/ Black Currant Sorbet & Creamy Strawberry Verrine w/ Strawberry Vodka - Lothar Neumaier – Executive Pastry Chef, EPCOT

I didn’t’ have this but my husband did. He ate it all so it must have been good.

Tropical Fruit Pave – Kristen Farmer, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (V&A specifically I think)


Assorted Chocolates – Normal Love Confections, Ft. Meyers, FL

These were so amazing!

Overall the evening was great. My husband and I had a bit too much to drink to enjoy the full bar that was in the Wine View Lounge. We did like knowing we had a table we wouldn’t have to worry about losing though and it made it so that I could keep my tote there under the table cloth w/o having to carry it around all evening. My husband wasn’t completely thrilled with everything as the party like that he is out of his element but he is glad he went once. Next year he told me to go on my own though as he knows I enjoy it.

 

[vettegirl]

Great reviews of the dining events

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for the wonderful update...truely enjoying your food reviews.