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

[oybolshoi]

Well it's been a while since I have said hello.

Hello!

Ahem.

Happy to hear from you, young lady!

I've had a decent Memorial Day. I went to my best friend's 40th birthday party last night and had lots of good food and drink. Today, it's ribs, corn on the cob, and chocolate eclairs for dessert!

Last week, I made guacamole again, and my own baked tortilla chips from whole wheat tortillas. If anyone wants to know how I made it, it's not the "exact science"..

One lime....squeeze the juice into a large bowl. Enough for a couple Tbsp.
3 ripe avocados....mash 'em up in large bowl with the lime juice.
Red onion....Small dice about a quarter of a large onion, enough to really blend in well with the avocados.
Kosher salt.....a couple large pinches (to taste)
Tomatillo.....recent addition to my recipe! Small dice that up for more added texture and flavor.
Cilantro....totally optional. For me, I made it for those who "hate" cilantro. I totally minced up enough to be about a Tbsp of it, almost to a paste consistency to really blend in. If you're making it for those who like cilantro, add more to taste. I would have added more if I were not making it to please the cilantro "haters".

That's it! You can also dice in some jalapenos or toss in some Tabasco, but again, I was making it mild for people who aren't big on heat.

For the tortillas, I sprayed a pan and the tortillas with cooking spray, sprinkling a little salt on them. I don't remember which heat setting I used, but I kept an eye on them to make sure they browned, not burned. I wasn't crazy about them, but my mother loved them.

I use fresh veggies as dipping agents in lieu of chips, as well.

Hope everyone has a nice holiday.

Sounds good (especially the eclairs!) ... thanks for the guacamole recipe, I think Jay will like to give that a try.

Have a good holiday yourself!

10/23-10/29. At present I'm starting at Pop and ending at WL, but it may change.

I'll update the list and re-post it again.

Two thumbs up for all but a BIG happy smile for the Strongbow!!!!!!!!!

We couldn't believe it when we saw it ... have repeatedly asked for it but have never found it until now. Sure is tasty!

 

[oybolshoi]

Here's the latest list that I have for October ... if anything needs to be changed or anyone needs to be added just let me know.

Brenda & Jay ... October 14th - October 24th (Beach Club Villas)
DylJen ... October 18th - October 23rd (Boardwalk Villas)
Tink Rules ... some time in October!
Tiger Kat ... October 17th - October 21st (Saratoga Springs)
Shovan ... October 15th - October 22nd (Beach Club Villas)
Kabuki...October 16th - October 25th (Boardwalk Villas)
Wilma-Bride...October 19th - November 2nd
BriarRosie... October 14th - October 19th (Beach Club Villas)
MickeyNicki... October 22 - November 1st
KeepMovingForward... October 9th - October 18th
NEVERENOUGHWDW...October 8th - 13th, and October 30th - November 9th (Beach Club Villas)
tink713...October 10th - October 19th (Animal Kingdom Villas?)
PNO4TE...October 2nd - October 8th (Beach Club Villas)
MA pigletfan ... October 23rd - October 29th
blissventure ... October 6th - October 12th (Boardwalk)
Hedy ... October 23rd - October 29th (POP & WL ... subject to change)

 

[shovan]

So nice to see you! I hope you continue to heal.

Your F&W foray sounds yummy. Out of curiosity, and trying not to appear crass... what was the cost per person? I would love to try something like that in the future!

Thanks! Not crass at all! The Grand Tasting cost us $105.00 each the day of the event. It would have been $89 (+ ticketmaster fees) if we had purchased ahead of time.

Shovan! Hope you continue to feel better!!!! Thanks for the info on the Grand Ex. Jason and I keep thinking of heading out to do this BUT just think of all the food I want to eat coming to your town we always think a festival might be a waist. Your report has us thinking again!

Thanks, I'm not on the mend yet. I'm having the surgery July 15th.

Here's a link to NOWFE:
http://nowfe.com/events/friday-saturday#Grand Tastings Every year we plan to do these events & we can't ever work it out. I'm glad we took the WTH attitude and finally did at least one event.

Here's the latest list that I have for October ... if anything needs to be changed or anyone needs to be added just let me know.

Wow big group! Brendy pic post is totally Cheesalicious!!

 

[TigerKat]

Hi all! I'm making my way over here. I'm Heather, 25. I'm a vegetarian who likes to have culinary delusions of grandeur. My first F&W trip is coming up in 5 months, and I'm excited!

Welcome!

Hi y'all! I haven't checked in ages, due to feeling crappy most of the time. I apologize to all for not keeping up.

I had to tell y'all about the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience Grand Tasting.

Missed you here. Would have loved to do the NOWFE but we're financially strapped right now trying to keep up two households. Maybe next year!

Lori - Glad to see you back here!!!

Bendy - My thoughts & prayers will be with you tomorrow my friend.

 

[oybolshoi]

Thanks Kathy, I appreciate that. I'm sure it will be fine ... just leave me all dopey and with a sore throat for the rest of the day. And even if it's not fine for some reason ... well, we'll carry on.

The only thing I told Jay was in a worst case scenario I refuse to have stomach surgery because that would mean that I'd probably have to give up all the food I love as well as the booze ... and then where would we be? I wouldn't have anything entertaining to write about anymore.

 

[TigerKat]

Thanks Kathy, I appreciate that. I'm sure it will be fine ... just leave me all dopey and with a sore throat for the rest of the day. And even if it's not fine for some reason ... well, we'll carry on.

The only thing I told Jay was in a worst case scenario I refuse to have stomach surgery because that would mean that I'd probably have to give up all the food I love as well as the booze ... and then where would we be? I wouldn't have anything entertaining to write about anymore.

I'm sure it will be fine and you'll be drugged! And just the thought of you not being able to eat or drink, just, well, there really are no words for that thought...

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Here's the latest list that I have for October ... if anything needs to be changed or anyone needs to be added just let me know.

We had to change our plans...we will now be going twice during F&W, but will miss your gathering Brenda. Our new dates are 10/8-10/13 and then 10/30-11/9.

 

[PNO4TE]

Here are a few pictures from our snackfest on Saturday night ...

And it goes without saying that we had to purchase some of my favorite: Fromager de Affinois!

Best cheese, evah!

Gooey, spreadable cheese innards ... YUM!

This may be our favorite cheese right now too. STINKY but scrumptious!! There is some calling my name from the fridge ... I will resist. for now.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Hey, all! Had a great weekend even though most of it was in the rain--but that meant shorter ride lines! It sounds like most of you had lots of good stuff on the grill today, too.

Brenda, in answer to your subdivision questions, I've learned that sometimes there is no logical answer for neighbors. However, I have to say that we are guilty of a few of those annoyances ourselves. I grew up in a neighborhood that was all hills and so all we did was dodge cars while we rode bicycles or walked around the circle. So, when we chose this subdivision one of the main points for me is that it is 90% flat (no mean feat in this part of the country). Yes, we let whogirl ride her bike and scooter in the road, but we are with her and her little friends either walking with them or at least in the driveway to make sure they don't go too far. Kids here play basketball, skateboard, skate etc. in the road.

I think lots of kids have sports activities on Sat. mornings and so you don't see them out playing till later.

We are still wondering why our neighbor mows his yard at night with the lights on the riding mower. Even the first time when it was about 50 degrees out.

Everybody here leaves their garbage cans by the garage outside the house. Ours are city-provided great big huge things on wheels so maybe that makes a difference. Our 2 car garage was built in 1976 so it only fits two Pintos! Most people around here have zero cars in the garage because they use it for storage; at least we have one car and a riding mower in ours, so I feel quite neat and tidy!

Welcome to Hedy!!! Always good to have a new face on here!

And for a food addition to this monstrously long post, dd's 2nd grade is having an "Appalachian lunch" tomorrow and they're supposed to dress in period clothing. The food is being provided by the parents with a menu of fried chicken, green beans, soup beans, cornbread, okra, sweet potatoes and apple pie. This is not going to be anything unique to these kids; it's just like Sunday dinner! I volunteered to make soup beans. I am so ready for school to be over!

Brenda, good luck and lots of prayers tomorrow!

 

[DisneyMom5]

Hi DisneyMom of many in Michigan!

If you're not crazy about the counter service in the studios why not chow at Sci-Fi? As long as you stick with simple foods there (burgers, fries, sandwiches) I think you'll get pretty decent food and the atmosphere is cheesy fun. Unless of course you've been there and don't like it ... in which case you should just ignore me.

I guess I worded that wrong.
What I meant to say is...we're eating CS both meals there, because we're not thrilled with the choices.
We tried Sci Fi...meh.
Hollywood and Vine lunch...blah.
Prime time - John doesn't want to do the "play along with your server thing" and I'm not thrilled with the menu for our bunch.
Derby is 2 credits,
and if we're going to eat Italian, I'd rather do Tutto rather than Mama Melrose's,
and only one Italian restaurant per trip,
not to mention I've been hearing BAD reports on MM's service.

On your lunch day at the MK I'd suggest you stick with the Plaza ... LTT serves a heavier lunch while the Plaza is really just sandwiches and ice cream. It's small though, so be sure you have that ADR.

That's the kind of suggestions I'm looking for!
I'm kinda leaning toward a Reuben anyway, so Plaza was sounding good. Thanks! : )

As for your F&W date night, I think you'll have a lot of fun, just be prepared for the crowds ... it gets quite busy on Saturday evenings and the waits at the booths can be a little long. Recalling what you've said about your hubby, be sure to stop at the Sam Adams booth where he can probably choose from something on the order of 10 Sam Adams brews.

You know us so well!!!

Share all the samples you purchase so that you can try more ... that's what Jay and I do, and it works really well for us.

Hope that helps a little.

Oh, I am sharing...do not fear!
John may not know about that yet, but I want to get the most for our $/ snack credits. LOL

OK -- Separate topic -- I have been experimenting with homemade stromboli. I'll take any and all suggestions for for contents.

I have made pizza sauce, cheese and ham or pepperoni.
But I have also made Turkey club, with green onion and bacon.

I'm thinking of doing a roast beef this week.

I'd love to hear what combos you'd all think are tasty!

 

[DisneyMom5]

Oh, and I wanted to say, the reason Reuben sandwiches are on my mind
is I had the MOST delicious reuben at a tiny mom and pop restaurant
called Kewpie's (like the doll) in Lansing, MI (near the capitol building).

But this one was a TURKEY Reuben, with Monterey Jack (which was great, because Swiss me no likey.)
And I subbed wheat toast for the rye bread (because rye, me no likey...really. And yet, I like Reubens. Go figure.)

And it was REAL bread grilled in REAL butter, and dripping with it.

The combo of the sauerkraut,
the meat and the thousand island
and that dripping butter was....drooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool.

(How do you type the Homer drooling sound effect???)

John even loved it, and he HATES sauerkraut.

Drat. Now I'm hungry.

Well, anyway, should anyone find themselves in downtown Lansing, MI,
skip the trendy places and head to Kewpie's.

 

[BriarRosie]

Wow, I'm so out of touch, I had no idea Brenda had something big coming up tomorrow!

Loved the cheese pics. I haven't tried that cheese, but looks fab.

Chelsi, I have no clue what gave Bree food poisoning.
Kathy: Great to be seen!

 

[oybolshoi]

I'm sure it will be fine and you'll be drugged! And just the thought of you not being able to eat or drink, just, well, there really are no words for that thought...

I'll be sure to post tomorrow afternoon once we get home and I wake up from my second "nap."

We had to change our plans...we will now be going twice during F&W, but will miss your gathering Brenda. Our new dates are 10/8-10/13 and then 10/30-11/9.

WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! I was so looking forward to meeting you and your family, especially your son.

This may be our favorite cheese right now too. STINKY but scrumptious!! There is some calling my name from the fridge ... I will resist. for now.

We've been eating on this cheese all day and there's very little left ... I've got until midnight before I have to stop eating and drinking.

Hey, all! Had a great weekend even though most of it was in the rain--but that meant shorter ride lines! It sounds like most of you had lots of good stuff on the grill today, too.

Hi Jamie! Glad you enjoyed your weekend ... we've had rain and storms all day and instead of grilling we ended up having to broil our steaks, otherwise with all that lightning out there Jay would have ended up grilled along with the steaks.

Brenda, in answer to your subdivision questions, I've learned that sometimes there is no logical answer for neighbors. However, I have to say that we are guilty of a few of those annoyances ourselves. I grew up in a neighborhood that was all hills and so all we did was dodge cars while we rode bicycles or walked around the circle. So, when we chose this subdivision one of the main points for me is that it is 90% flat (no mean feat in this part of the country). Yes, we let whogirl ride her bike and scooter in the road, but we are with her and her little friends either walking with them or at least in the driveway to make sure they don't go too far. Kids here play basketball, skateboard, skate etc. in the road.

I think lots of kids have sports activities on Sat. mornings and so you don't see them out playing till later.

We are still wondering why our neighbor mows his yard at night with the lights on the riding mower. Even the first time when it was about 50 degrees out.

Everybody here leaves their garbage cans by the garage outside the house. Ours are city-provided great big huge things on wheels so maybe that makes a difference. Our 2 car garage was built in 1976 so it only fits two Pintos! Most people around here have zero cars in the garage because they use it for storage; at least we have one car and a riding mower in ours, so I feel quite neat and tidy!

Thanks for the insight. I probably sounded like I hate kids or something in that post, but I swear I don't. What set me off was that I'd come home from work Friday night and someone had left their toddler in the middle of the street in one of those motorized cars ... the darn kid and the car was smack dab in the middle of the road blocking my access to the street we live on (which is a cul-de-sac ... only one way in). I didn't want to blare the horn and scare the poor little guy but dammit where were his friggin parents???

I had to get out of my car and literally push him onto the sidewalk so that he wouldn't be in harms way and then I gave his mom an earful when she walked out of the house to ask me what I was doing. I've said it before and I'll say it again ... people have to have a license to own a pet but any idiot can breed.

Had it been an older kid who didn't need supervision I wouldn't have been so upset, but this little boy is about three years old - it's unconscionable that his parents left him alone outside playing in the street in a battery operated car.

Anyway, that just led to me wondering about the other stuff that people do and there you have it ... I'm sure our neighbors think Jay and I are snooty-patooties.

Funny story ... the day we moved in to the house after everyone had left and Jay was taking the moving truck back to Ryder, I started unpacking my books (which had been packed away for months ... I was dying for the feel and smell of my books). We have 6-foot tall / wide double windows in our great room and dining room and they were all open to let in the fresh air and I happened to look outside at one point and a small knot of neighborhood folks were congregating in the street trying to not-so-obviously peek into the house.

I distinctly heard one lady say, "what do you see?"

And the other one said, "Furniture and books. How do you read that many books?"



I love people ... I really do. They'd probably look at our liquor stash and wonder how anyone could drink that much!

Welcome to Hedy!!! Always good to have a new face on here!

Yes indeedy!

And for a food addition to this monstrously long post, dd's 2nd grade is having an "Appalachian lunch" tomorrow and they're supposed to dress in period clothing. The food is being provided by the parents with a menu of fried chicken, green beans, soup beans, cornbread, okra, sweet potatoes and apple pie. This is not going to be anything unique to these kids; it's just like Sunday dinner! I volunteered to make soup beans. I am so ready for school to be over!

Too cute ... any chance you could share some pictures of Whogirl with us?

Brenda, good luck and lots of prayers tomorrow!

Thanks Jamie ... I'm sure all will be fine. Jay knows to post something here if for some reason I can't.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! I was so looking forward to meeting you and your family, especially your son.

I know! I'm still trying to work it out because we were looking forward to meeting up with you guys too. Our plans have changed so many times already...but I'll keep you posted if we scramble things around again.

Good luck tomorrow Brenda!

 

[oybolshoi]

I guess I worded that wrong.
What I meant to say is...we're eating CS both meals there, because we're not thrilled with the choices.
We tried Sci Fi...meh.
Hollywood and Vine lunch...blah.
Prime time - John doesn't want to do the "play along with your server thing" and I'm not thrilled with the menu for our bunch.
Derby is 2 credits,
and if we're going to eat Italian, I'd rather do Tutto rather than Mama Melrose's,
and only one Italian restaurant per trip,
not to mention I've been hearing BAD reports on MM's service.

We don't usually eat at the studios - nothing there impresses us much, but like I said, we do enjoy Sci-Fi (I'm sure the alcoholic milkshakes help).

Rather than eating in the park, why don't you go over to the Boardwalk / Beach Club area and eat there instead? ESPN Club is reliable, Beaches & Cream is fun (no ADRS there), Yacht Club Galley (meh), Hurricane Hannahs, Cape May Cafe (depending on the meal you're looking for), and the Boardwalk Brewery.

OK -- Separate topic[/B] -- I have been experimenting with homemade stromboli. I'll take any and all suggestions for for contents.

I have made pizza sauce, cheese and ham or pepperoni.
But I have also made Turkey club, with green onion and bacon.

I'm thinking of doing a roast beef this week.

I'd love to hear what combos you'd all think are tasty!

I can't really help because I've never made it, but what about spinach and feta cheese? That's one of our favorite combos.

 

[oybolshoi]

Wow, I'm so out of touch, I had no idea Brenda had something big coming up tomorrow!

No problemo ... I can't expect people to keep up with the continued mis-firings of my angry innards; heck, it's hard enough for me and Jay to keep up with 'em.

Loved the cheese pics. I haven't tried that cheese, but looks fab.

It's a wonderful cheese but one of those that's high in fat ... you know how it is with French cheese - the fattier the better!

I know! I'm still trying to work it out because we were looking forward to meeting up with you guys too. Our plans have changed so many times already...but I'll keep you posted if we scramble things around again.

Good luck tomorrow Brenda!

Please do keep us posted and I'll hope that things change again in our favor, but I totally understand - you gotta do what's best for you in the end. Some day there will be a big ol' happy meet with you and Michelle and all the rest of us foodies. If we could manage to win the lottery Jay and I would even foot the bill for it!

Thanks for the hug ... I'll take as many as I can get tonight.

 

[oybolshoi]

The long-awaited colada and recipe:

A fine fine drink

The recipe is really simple ...

1 shot of Kahlua
2 shots of Cream of Coconut
3 shots of Pineapple Juice

Blend together in your trusty mixing machine until you have the consistency you like - add more booze to your taste - pour into a special glass and enjoy. Makes one tall, frosty beverage.

By the way ... do you like how the same glasses from two different HRCs are different in size?

 

[oybolshoi]

Tonight's improvised dinner ... broiled ribeye steaks, asparagoose, and gourmet mac & cheese with some Schlafly's beer.

The mac and cheese is from Dean & Deluca and was supposed to include two different recipes - one called "World's Best" made with penne pasta and artisan Flagship and Just Jack cheeses, and another called Mariachi which is made with penne pasta, Flagship and Just Jack cheeses, plus roasted Anaheim chiles, cauliflower, red onion, corn and red bell pepper.

Unfortunately they messed up and sent two of the first and because they were on sale I basically have no recourse. First time D&D have rubbed me the wrong way.

I will say that the stuff is really good, though. Creamy and tender with just a hint of cayenne pepper. If you like mac & cheese I think you'd enjoy this very much indeed.

The steak you see on my plate is only half of one rib-eye that we bought at the Smokehouse Market on Saturday. These babies were huge and I knew that I'd be unable to finish the entire thing.

Baked cheesy goodness

I call this dinner ...

Our beer of choice is a new release from a local micro-brewery: Schlafly. Their newest release, Quadrupel, the fourth beer in their bottle-conditioned Belgian-style beer series and according to their tasting notes it has a rich, malty backbone that is generously balanced by select, fresh hops to create a luscious, smooth character. 12% alcohol by volume and quite enjoyable with everything that we ate tonight.

Quadrupel

And french silk pie for dessert:

I did not make this ... I do not make pie. But Tippins makes a mean chocolate cream pie and we bought a miniature one to hold us over until Friday when we will pick up our anniversary cakes.

 

[oybolshoi]

A final post ...

here's the quilt Jay's mom made us spread across our bed with Handsome Pete doing his best to turn it orange with kitty hair.

Pretty!

 

[Tink rules]

Great Pics Bend...

But I don't think there's enough Kaluha in that drink...