Belly Up to the Bar With Bendy and Her Friendies!!! Button Pics & New Thread Started!

[oybolshoi]

Brenda, no one minds if you vent here... it's your thread, after all. As far as Grimace goes... I can relate in so many ways... so, you are not alone! Hope you feel better today.

Thanks Michelle. I do feel a little better today. And Grimmie must have felt bad because she showed up at the house today with a sandwich I love from a shop near her house (45 miles away from us). She always says "I love you" with food.

Glad the sleep helped and don't try to overdo because the paid can really flare up even after a few weeks.

Thanks for the advice, Deb. Good to know so that I can avoid this in the future.

On an exciting note, Rick told me to go ahead and book my airfare for October I'll be there 10/16 - 10/18. Not sure if I'm coming alone or maybe Mom will want a quick getaway.

Yippee again!

So sorry honey! Glad to hear you're feeling better this morning

Thanks, friendie!

FEEL BETTER

Thanks, friendie!

Its okay Brenda, we're here for you so vent away. I can only imagine how crazed you must be. I get severe bouts of eczema and the itching is so unbearable that I cannot sleep or pretty much function at all. It lasts for weeks and I want to tear my own skin off...unfortunately, it kinda sounds like your in the same place. I hope your able to find some comfort and relief very soon.

Thanks very much my friend. I just didn't want to be a whiner ... after all, there's no crying in foodie-ville.

Mucho hugs you you with the eczema ... . My step-dad fights with that too and I always feel so bad for him because I know he's miserable.

Yay! I'm off to read!

Hope you enjoy it. Drew's blog is great - fascinating to read and he's getting to do so much cool stuff.

I second what she said and DEFINITELY if it helps please vent! You have provided me with SO MUCH HAPPINESS! I bet I'm not the only one who'd like to think that we helped you out, too, when you needed it.

Keep it in your pants, banana boy!

Thanks so much, my friend! You never fail to make me laugh and just thinking that I've made someone happy with the stuff I write makes me really happy, so thanks for that.

 

[oybolshoi]

In the old days Halloween would be out for PFTS - that was the night to go to the Adventurers Club in costume - sadly those days are over.

on Monday I intend to make bookings for the Food Network festival in New York. I have about five events I am thinking of booking. hope they are not sold out to the people who qualified for the presale. I don't work Monday so I'll be checking early to see if I can get into booking.

Good luck getting what you want. Be sure to come back and let the rest of us know what you'll be attending.

 

[ChelleinNC]

Just caught up on your blog Sounds pretty good! I'm with ya on the oysters

If anyone wants to see some pics and read about my trip/cruise, I've got some of it up on my blog (link in signature) Warning: I am not a writer, I am not talented like Bendy ; but maybe you'll enjoy it anyways

 

[oybolshoi]

Just caught up on your blog Sounds pretty good! I'm with ya on the oysters

If anyone wants to see some pics and read about my trip/cruise, I've got some of it up on my blog (link in signature) Warning: I am not a writer, I am not talented like Bendy ; but maybe you'll enjoy it anyways

I like your blog so far and I enjoy what you've written ... selling yourself short is not allowed, young lady!

And thanks for taking the time to read our blog while you were working on your own.

 

[oybolshoi]

Since I've had some extra time on my hands to finally start thinking about ADRs for October (we can make them in 30 days!) I have my first line-up put together.

I've got my fingers crossed that there will be a couple of F&W events during our dates that will be appealing to us but since we won't know about that for a while we've got to have a Plan A before we can have Plan B, C, D, E, and F.

I've also decided that I'm making reservations for the things Jay and I really want to do, and am still waiting to hear back from Guest X and Y about what they want. I have a couple of ideas for them and will make those couple of ADRs to "hold them over" but if they can't be bothered to tell us what they do and don't want then they can eat CS during their trip while Jay and I stuff ourselves like usual. I'm done worrying about making their trip as good as I can when it appears to mean more to me than it does to them - that's how it feels anyway, but maybe that's the the itchy, burny, owies talking right now.

Without further ado ... Dining Plan A:

October 14th ... arrival at BCV requires lunch at Beaches & Cream! We plan on winging the rest of the day but think that we're going to have sushi at Kimonos and then head back to Epcot for dessert around the world.

October 15th ... breakast in the villa, snacking around the F&W booths, and dinner at Citricos.

October 16th ... breakfast in the villa ... as yet undetermned day-time plans and a Bluezoo Redux for dinner!

October 17th ... breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe ... not sure about lunch; dinner is tentatively (for now) at Flying Fish. Foodie Friendie Cake Bash at the Beach Club at 9:30PM!

October 18th ... lunch at Rose & Crown with Guest X and Guest Y. Jay and I plan on having dinner at Narcoosee's while our guests will go to Tokyo Dining. Speculation is rampant that the four of us will be found at Beaches & Cream later that evening eating the Kitchen Sink.

October 19th ... breakfast at Kona Cafe and a wide open day. There has been interest expressed on the part of our guests in dining at Tutto Italia. And we will go there if that's what they want even though we know we can get better Italian food here at home. At least we can get 20% off the bill with the DDE (I hate the new name) and this will be a new restaurant for us.

October 20th ... Jay and Bendy drink around the world today! Lunch for four will be at Chefs de France and then everyone is on their own. Depending on how we feel we may try to sneak into Yachtsman Steakhouse for dinner or we may just stagger over to Bluezoo and munch in their bar. I think X and Y will head to Cirque and dinner somewhere at DTD.

October 21st ... Raglan Road for a late dinner in order to see the band. Wide open other than that.

October 22nd ... breakfast at Boma and then we're taking X & Y to dinner at CA Grill for their last night. It wasn't the place that Jay and I really wanted to take them but one of their party doesn't like seafood ... or much in the way of meat ... and so we thought this was the nicest place with the widest variety of food to not like that we could take them.

October 23rd ... wide open day for Jay and Bendy and we're wrapping the trip up with dinner at Bistro Paris.

October 24th ... bawl like a baby because we're going home and will not be back in 2010.

What do you guys think?

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

October 24th ... bawl like a baby because we're going home and will not be back in 2010.

What do you guys think?

It all sounded good until that last part about no trip in 2010! How are we supposed to go on without our F&W ringleader?

 

[oybolshoi]

It all sounded good until that last part about no trip in 2010! How are we supposed to go on without our F&W ringleader?

Oh, I think you guys will do just fine. And we do have a transatlantic cruise planned for 2010 so I can't be too sad.

Jay has also said that he really does want to do Vegas for his birthday in 2010, so I'm playing around with that, too.

I could quote JFK ... "the torch has been passed" ... the question is who wants it?

 

[blissventure]

Oh, I think you guys will do just fine. And we do have a transatlantic cruise planned for 2010 so I can't be too sad.

Jay has also said that he really does want to do Vegas for his birthday in 2010, so I'm playing around with that, too.

I could quote JFK ... "the torch has been passed" ... the question is who wants it?

Brenda--rest up! Hope you're feeling much better,soon!!
I don't know what our 2010 plans will be, likely won't be a F&W year for us, but there 's always 2011.
Lots of trips planned. We're going to Vegas in Nov., Dec, and Mar 2010. All our neighbors must think we have a gambling problem.
Two of the trips are in conjunction with DH's upcoming convention, the Dec one we're meeting old friends--and the 4 of us are going to dine to our hearts content.....And see Jersey Boys.

Looking forward to hearing more about your transatlantic cruise!!! And I always love to hear other's experiences in Vegas.

 

[Tink rules]

Bendy...

What do you mean there are "yet to be undetermined plans" for the 16th????

I know EXACTLY what you're doing...

BTW... on the podcast... the results should be on next week... I'll let you know...

 

[oybolshoi]

Bendy...

What do you mean there are "yet to be undetermined plans" for the 16th????

I know EXACTLY what you're doing...

BTW... on the podcast... the results should be on next week... I'll let you know...

you may know but I don't know and that makes it a little hard for me to plan. Like ... do Jay and I have time for breakfast and a theme park? Perhaps I should just send you a PM ...

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Not going back in 2010?! Oh dear. But a transatlantic cruise and Vegas do sound fun.

Your plans look great. Of course arrival at BCV requires lunch at Beaches 'n Cream. Without question.

And if I may say, BCV is just the perfect place to stay for F&W. So convenient!

X and Y.

Love all of your selections! And looking forward to drink around the world part II!

So wish I was going to be there at the same time as the you and the rest of the gang! But as I said, am happy to do any investigating for you while I'm there. Even if it involves personally tasting everything, I'll take one for the team.

 

[Me&3]

Grimace has a heart after all

 

[oybolshoi]

Brenda--rest up! Hope you're feeling much better,soon!!
I don't know what our 2010 plans will be, likely won't be a F&W year for us, but there 's always 2011.
Lots of trips planned. We're going to Vegas in Nov., Dec, and Mar 2010. All our neighbors must think we have a gambling problem.
Two of the trips are in conjunction with DH's upcoming convention, the Dec one we're meeting old friends--and the 4 of us are going to dine to our hearts content.....And see Jersey Boys.

Looking forward to hearing more about your transatlantic cruise!!! And I always love to hear other's experiences in Vegas.

Three Vegas trips ... woohoo indeed! That sounds like so much fun! And I love the dining part. Since Jay's birthday falls around the same time that Taste of Vegas seems to take place we're going to try to hit up a couple of those event. And we are determined to dine at Robuchon's Mansion for Jay's special day ... which means we're going to be eating donuts and hotdogs for the remainder of our stay because we'll be wiped out after that meal.

We're starting to get more excited about the TA cruise ... only 15 months to go. I think we're going to try to report live on that one if we can.

Not going back in 2010?! Oh dear. But a transatlantic cruise and Vegas do sound fun.

No complaints here ... and I think we may need to give F&W a break anyway after this year.

Your plans look great. Of course arrival at BCV requires lunch at Beaches 'n Cream. Without question.

And if I may say, BCV is just the perfect place to stay for F&W. So convenient!

Thanks! We adore Beach Club during F&W ... gotta love that international gateway.

X and Y.

Jay and I think it's kind of funny now, so we're going to stick with it.

Love all of your selections! And looking forward to drink around the world part II!

We're excited about the plans we've laid out so far. Looking forward to the festival programming to help fill in some gaps.

As for Drink Around the World ... we're pumped! We think we have a really funny idea for how to write it up and we've got a good strategy in place for success. There will be no failure this year, so serve your worst China ... we dares you!

So wish I was going to be there at the same time as the you and the rest of the gang! But as I said, am happy to do any investigating for you while I'm there. Even if it involves personally tasting everything, I'll take one for the team.

Wish our dates were going to coincide, too. We will all be waiting and reading your TR anxiously since you're part of the advance guard. I will probably rely on you to warn us away from any nasty drinks ala Poland.

Grimace has a heart after all

It's true she does ... it's just hard for her to show it; I have the same problem ... it's genetic.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Sounds like a grand trip full of "good eats", Brenda! (don't you just love that show?) Maybe it will be good to let XandY do their own thing some of the time and the appreciation for you will come back. Was your sandwich good yesterday?

I thought I remembered you saying last year that there would be no trip this year, but I could be wrong....but Vegas and a cruise are nothing to sneeze at!

I have to tell you all how excited I was to make our one adr at Disneyland today!!! Dial...press 4...two rings and a live person came on! Got Minnie and Friends breakfast at Plaza Inn and we had our choice of times all morning. This was so refreshing since we're only six weeks out. Also, no confirmation number to keep up with; I asked the CM if there was one and she just said you first name and last name are your confirmation. I think I can remember that!

Ok, I'm off now to read Chelle's blog and the latest gastropod installment.

 

[oybolshoi]

Sounds like a grand trip full of "good eats", Brenda! (don't you just love that show?) Maybe it will be good to let XandY do their own thing some of the time and the appreciation for you will come back. Was your sandwich good yesterday?

I thought I remembered you saying last year that there would be no trip this year, but I could be wrong....but Vegas and a cruise are nothing to sneeze at!

Hi Jamie! We're hopeful that there will be plenty of good eats and no sickies in October. And I agree ... X and Y need to do their own thing for our sanity as well as theirs.

It was last year's trip that wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to take last year off from Disney and then changed our minds at the last minute. We can't do that for 2010 because we used up all of our points borrowing from that use year to provide a trip for X and Y.

The sandwhich was wonderful ... it's nothing all that special; just a plain old sub with meats and cheese, but they serve it on this soft, delicious sweetbread and for some reason that makes the whole thing sing. I always split it with Jay ... it's a 12-inch sandwich that I could eat by myself - it's that good.

I have to tell you all how excited I was to make our one adr at Disneyland today!!! Dial...press 4...two rings and a live person came on! Got Minnie and Friends breakfast at Plaza Inn and we had our choice of times all morning. This was so refreshing since we're only six weeks out. Also, no confirmation number to keep up with; I asked the CM if there was one and she just said you first name and last name are your confirmation. I think I can remember that!

Ok, I'm off now to read Chelle's blog and the latest gastropod installment.

Congrats on the DL reservations - glad to hear that it was such a smooth process. You guys will have such a great time - can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[Tink rules]

you may know but I don't know and that makes it a little hard for me to plan. Like ... do Jay and I have time for breakfast and a theme park? Perhaps I should just send you a PM ...

Make it a light breakfast and I promise to have you back in time to change for dinner...

 

[TigerKat]

Hey y'all.....been super busy, haven't read back to check on everyone yet. Today is DH's birthday and his requested dessert was White Chocolate Bread Pudding, super easy and good.....

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

This recipe makes 16 servings - I cut it by half. I didn't do the ganache, I made a rum sauce.

6 c. heavy cream
2 c. whole milk
1 c. sugar
1 1/4 lbs white chocolate morsels
4 large eggs plus 15 egg yolks
one 24 inch loaf stale french bread

White Chocolate Ganache

1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 lb white chocolate morsels

Bread Pudding:

Stir together the cream, milk, and sugar in a large heavy saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil then remove from heat and carefully add the white chocolate pieces. Allow the chocolate to melt for several minutes, then stir until smooth.

Whisk together the whole eggs and yolks in a large mixing bowl. Slowly pour the hot cream and chocolate mixture into the eggs in a steady stream, whisking constantly as you pour. Use a rubber spatula to scrape out all of the chocolate from the warm pot. Set the pudding mixture aside.

Preheat the oven to 350. Thinly slice the bread and place in a 9x13 metal baking pan. Pour half of the pudding mixture over the bread and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes. Use your fingers or a rubber spatula to press the bread into the pudding so that the liquid is absorbed and the bread becomes very soggy. Pour the remaining pudding over the bread and stir.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or golden brown.

Ganache:

Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and carefully add the white chocolate morsels. Allow the chocolate to melt for several minutes, then stir until smooth.


Bendy - keeping you in my prayers, hoping you're feeling better.

 

[oybolshoi]

Kat, that recipe sounds delectable!

Thank you for your kind words and please wish your hubby a happy day from those two weirdos in Missouri he doesn't even know.

And am feeling better still today ... the rash (ick) is a lot less angry, appears to have stopped spreading, and doesn't itch / burn nearly as much as it had been. Have only taken two pain pills all day, which is also a small victory. We'll see what happens once I go back to the office tomorrow but I'm hopeful that the worst is behind us.

 

[TigerKat]

Kat, that recipe sounds delectable!

Thank you for your kind words and please wish your hubby a happy day from those two weirdos in Missouri he doesn't even know.

And am feeling better still today ... the rash (ick) is a lot less angry, appears to have stopped spreading, and doesn't itch / burn nearly as much as it had been. Have only taken two pain pills all day, which is also a small victory. We'll see what happens once I go back to the office tomorrow but I'm hopeful that the worst is behind us.

He knows y'all! I talk about my DIS buddies regularly. Not having any family makes my friends mean so much more to me.

I'm happy to hear you're progressing, continued good thoughts and prayers coming your way.

 

[hmgray95]

Hi all.....my name is Heather and I'm a long time lurker on what seems like's everyone here's reports. I just came across this thread while re-reading Brenda's F&W review from last year and was immediately sucked in!

DH and I will be spending a few days at the F&W fest in October (we will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary......but just a few months late). It's our first trip during F&W and I am currently spending every spare minute (and quite a few minutes when I should be doing something else) planning our trip, so I am hoping to pick up lots of info from all of you F&W veterans.

Brenda, I had shingles two years ago, and I feel your pain! I had to stick to Advil for the pain though, as the prescription pills they gave me made me so sick to my stomach. And did they give you Valtrex as well? I'll tell you, I've never been so embarrassed filling a prescription as I was that day! All I could think of was the girl in that commercial telling everyone how she takes Valtrex so her boyfriend doesn't get her herpes!