February 17, 2007

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Hi Christine! (and everyone else too)

Remember when you started this thread in October of 2005?? We had so long to go...
Now we are in single digits!!!

This has been so much fun getting to know everyone!

 

[cadburysmom]

Welcome to the group.

Good evening all,

This has been a busy day for me and tomorrow doesn't seem like it will be any better. Nothing like work being piled up a few days before you leave on vacation. WE LEAVE IN 2 DAYS!!!

If I don't get a chance to post again, I will hope to see most of you at our 1st Dis meet. 3PM at the Mickey pool, right??? I have it writen down somewhere but I'm not sure where.

Thank you and I am SO excited for you.

Have been trying to catch up by reading the last 15 thread pages and am thrilled to have honeymooners sailing with us. Not only that, but on a back-to-back to boot! That would be my dream come true. I don't even know you and I'm already jealous as all get out

 

[cadburysmom]

Welcome....

Thanks!

 

[christinou]

This is so exciting, we have new people.
Just think next week, Debbie you will be at Disney, Sue you will be at Universal Studio, I will be getting on the auto train. It is finally here........
We are NOT going skiing this week-end, I am not tempting fate and have one of us get hurt, which probably would be me, as I am weakest skier of the 4 of us.

 

[cadburysmom]

Welcome! We are all meeting at Mickey's pool at 3:00 on embarkment day. We are also going to be wearing those lime green mickey paint chips from Home Depot so we can tell who we all are.... 7 cruises wow! this is our first cruise ever!

Thanks for the warm welcome and 3pm by the Mickey pool sounds great.

And you will LOVE your first cruise! I don't know what it is about the first cruise but I still look back at mine as the very best. I guess it's all the nice surprises and special "Disney" magic surrounding you. Our first Disney cruise was a 4-day Wonder when my son was in Kindergarten. We were tired from traveling all day and a bit overwhelmed the first night. But lo and hehold, the first thing we saw when we looked out our porthole the next morning was a float plane landing right beside us in Nassau harbor...SO exciting...pure magic I tell ya!!!

We've been every year since and every cruise has been different but just as magical in different ways. After turning 12, I was sure my son would feel he'd outgrown the Disney Cruise but no, he'd LOVED Disney Quest last year and couldn't wait to return.

Not sure how old your children are but there's definitely something on the ship for any age!

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

This is so exciting, we have new people.
Just think next week, Debbie you will be at Disney, Sue you will be at Universal Studio, I will be getting on the auto train. It is finally here........
We are NOT going skiing this week-end, I am not tempting fate and have one of us get hurt, which probably would be me, as I am weakest skier of the 4 of us.

Definitely smart not going skiing!!

We have started our Airborne--DS13's school has two nasty bugs going around--kids and teachers out 3 or 4 days . I have been drilling him about using his Purell. DH15 teaches karate and so many staff and students at the dojo have been really sick. We have been spraying his gi with lysol at night, LOL. The school I work at also has a lot of illness--but I told them not to call me in until after vacation, so I am avoiding that possibility.

Next Thursday we will wake up in Universal! ..as long as the predicted storm for Wednesday when we are to fly out goes south (fingers crossed) . It has been on the weather as a possibility for a few days... Hopefully it goes south or out to sea all together. I am keeping my fingers crossed!!

It finally seems like reality,, whooohoo!!!

 

[cadburysmom]

Welcome!
One of my boys is just 13. Have your DS check out the kids thread. They are really starting to post now that the trip is getting closer!

Thank you for the warm welcome!

And glad to know there are kids around my son's age from the DIS. He doesn't turn 13 until April and I know he's gonna want to go to the stack. Just hope Disney lets me bend the rules and allow it seeing it's only two months away. They did it before to let him into the older club when he was younger. But if they don't, no biggie. There's always next year

So I read some of you are planning to go to the different 'adult beverage' tastings...has anyone done this before? Sounds fun and if the offer still stands, I'd love to join you. I've only been to the cooking demonstrations which I absolutely loved. My favorite was a shrimp appetizer where they gave each of us a glass of white wine while we watched those gorgeous shrimp get sauteed and spiced-up into one of the yummiest culinary concoctions I've ever tasted. I think the CM pouring the wine was new and hadn't grasped the fact we were only to get one glass each and he kept pouring and pouring and pouring...oh well, you get the jist of it. We were one VERY happy crowd by the end of the afternoon!

Ok, you folks don't even know me and I pop outta nowhere and babble on and on. I just wish I'd joined this thread much, much sooner. We've been so busy lately and the cruise has just crept up on us. Not complaining mind ya, can't think of anything better than a CRUISE creeping up on ya!!

 

[cadburysmom]

This is so exciting, we have new people.
Just think next week, Debbie you will be at Disney, Sue you will be at Universal Studio, I will be getting on the auto train. It is finally here........
We are NOT going skiing this week-end, I am not tempting fate and have one of us get hurt, which probably would be me, as I am weakest skier of the 4 of us.

Auto train! Now that sounds pretty neat. Have you ever done it before? How long will it take you to get from New York to Florida and in what city will you disembark?

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

...So I read some of you are planning to go to the different 'adult beverage' tastings...has anyone done this before? Sounds fun and if the offer still stands, I'd love to join you. ...

ABSOLUTELY!! The more the merrier!!

 

[cadburysmom]

Definitely smart not going skiing!!

We have started our Airborne--DS13's school has two nasty bugs going around--kids and teachers out 3 or 4 days . I have been drilling him about using his Purell. DH15 teaches karate and so many staff and students at the dojo have been really sick. We have been spraying his gi with lysol at night, LOL. The school I work at also has a lot of illness--but I told them not to call me in until after vacation, so I am avoiding that possibility.

Next Thursday we will wake up in Universal! ..as long as the predicted storm for Wednesday when we are to fly out goes south (fingers crossed) . It has been on the weather as a possibility for a few days... Hopefully it goes south or out to sea all together. I am keeping my fingers crossed!!

It finally seems like reality,, whooohoo!!!

Fingers crossed for ya! And for everyone else as well!

Doing Universal Studios too?
Lucky! You guys are gonna have a blast. Seems there are several on this thread making a double vacation out of it and I gotta tell ya, I'm VERY jealous.

I leave Saturday for California, get back next Wednesday then fly down to Orlando on Friday. I'm in full swing packing mode and starting to stress. Just wonder what important item I'll totally forget to take this year. Good to know I have at least a full day between trips to gather my thoughts.

But with all that traveling, there's one thing keeping a big ol silly grin on my face....... can't wait to be lounging on deck with my feet up and fruity cocktail in hand!

 

[cadburysmom]

ABSOLUTELY!! The more the merrier!!

Thanks!

 

[christinou]

Auto train! Now that sounds pretty neat. Have you ever done it before? How long will it take you to get from New York to Florida and in what city will you disembark?

We actually get the train in Lorton VA, just outside of Washington, DC, we leave at 4:00 p.m., and end up in Sanford FL (just outside of Orlando) at 8:30 a.m. the next day, we have done it a few times and have really enjoyed it, you get dinner in the dining car, and we have a sleeper so it is fairly comfy. Flying from where we leave makes me very nervous in February, and the week of President's week we cannot find good airfare. We used to drive and taking the train is a great improvement.....

 

[cadburysmom]

We actually get the train in Lorton VA, just outside of Washington, DC, we leave at 4:00 p.m., and end up in Sanford FL (just outside of Orlando) at 8:30 a.m. the next day, we have done it a few times and have really enjoyed it, you get dinner in the dining car, and we have a sleeper so it is fairly comfy. Flying from where we leave makes me very nervous in February, and the week of President's week we cannot find good airfare. We used to drive and taking the train is a great improvement.....

Sound fun! and VERY wise.

I'm concerned about the weather as well. Here in NC they shut down EVERYTHING once a few flakes fall. We freak over winter weather. And I got lucky with our plane tkts to Orlando. Booked them using free passes back in Nov when a normally $170 roundtrip ticket for direct nonstops was $450. Just two days later, the fare had risen to over $800 per ticket...crazy! But that's President's week for ya...busy. busy. busy. Been trying to get a deal using Priceline and finally scored last night...$60(plus fees) at the Orlando Airport Marriott(normally $179) so I'm happy. But oh how I miss the days of the $99 rate at the Airport Hyatt

 

[christinou]

I've only been to the cooking demonstrations which I absolutely loved. My favorite was a shrimp appetizer where they gave each of us a glass of white wine while we watched those gorgeous shrimp get sauteed and spiced-up into one of the yummiest culinary concoctions I've ever tasted.

I also love the cooking demo, my favorite one was the crab cakes from Flying Fish Cafe on the boardwalk with also a nice glass of white wine, we still make those crab cakes and I do love the recipe.

 

[cadburysmom]

I also love the cooking demo, my favorite one was the crab cakes from Flying Fish Cafe on the boardwalk with also a nice glass of white wine, we still make those crab cakes and I do love the recipe.

Mmmmmm...crabcakes

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

I also love the cooking demo, my favorite one was the crab cakes from Flying Fish Cafe on the boardwalk with also a nice glass of white wine, we still make those crab cakes and I do love the recipe.

I LOVE crabcakes...please share the recipie!!

 

[christinou]

Crab Cakes, Flying fish cafe

INGREDIENTS

6 cups soft fresh bread crumbs
1 pound lump crab meat, picked over
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup each finely chopped red and green bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 poblano chile, trimmed, seeded, and minced
4 large egg yolks
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 3/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying


METHOD

1. In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups of the bread crumbs, the crab, red onioins, bell peppers, scallions, mayo, poblano chili, egg yolks, lemon juice, parsley, 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, and cayenne.

2. Form 28 crabcakes, using about 2 TB crab mixture for each, shaping to about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

3. On a plate, stir together the flour and the remaining 1 tsp. salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl, with a fork, lightly beat the eggs. Place the remaining bread crumbs on a plate.

4. Dip each crabcake into the flour, shaking off the excess, then into the egg, shaking off the excess, and finally into the breadcrumbs, shaking off the excess. Place the crab cakes on a baking rack.

5. In a 12-inch skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the crab cakes, in batches, and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until browned and crisp. As the crab cakes are cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; keep warm. Repeat to cook the remaining crab cakes, adding more oil as necessary. Serve with Chili Remoulade.


Chili Remoulade
INGREDIENTS
2 teaspoons chili powder, preferably ancho
2 teaspoons water
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles
2 Tablespoons drained capers, chopped
2 Tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
2 Tablespoons snipped fresh chives
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

METHOD

1. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder with the water and let stand for 10 minutes.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the chili mixture with the remaining ingredients.

3. Use immediately, or store, covered and chilled

 

[christinou]

As you can all see, I am very productive at work today, just think how I am going to be next Wednesday, as I am planning to work all day and our goal is to be on the road by 5:00 p.m.

 

[christinou]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WEATHER/02/08/cold.weather.ap/index.html

This is just 1.5 hour North of us, they are completely buried in snow.

 

[cadburysmom]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WEATHER/02/08/cold.weather.ap/index.html

This is just 1.5 hour North of us, they are completely buried in snow.

WOW! YIKES!

It's beautiful and for someone who's seen little to no snow in the past two years, I'd love to have one day of that...but just ONE mind you, way too much for this southern chick. Hope the weather improves and you don't get hit with any similar surprises on your way outta town.

And thanks for the awesome crabcake recipe. I'm not much of a cook and anything over 5 ingredients is COMPLETELY outta my league
....but if you say it's that good, I'm definitely willing to give it a try