Let's celebrate 15 years together by eating around the World! 05/24 F&W

[nanienamou]

So today was grocery and meal planning day and I wanted to practice our food pics. We have a great DSLR camera, a macro lens and all but we never practice and tend to take pictures on the fly. I really want to get some practice in before we leave. Now I bumped up the levels on these, but I'm thinking that they might be a little over-saturated when saved for web.

Fist off, a little dish I put together because we had some leftover goat cheese. Now this is just your usual unripened goat cheese sold in a log, that I usually use to cook so I really wanted to bump up the flavor with garnishes. I started by making a orange juice and dried cranberry compote, that can be enjoyed on toast in the morning. I would have added some orange peel, but didn't have some. There is also some roasted chopped salted pistachios drizzled with honey. I served this with some young spinach and sprinkled it with coarse salt. I prefer arugula because it's more delicate, but spinach is DH's absolute favorite and it's so nutritious. This was so good.

Then, I also made some steak tartare with fresh beef filet.This is one of our favorite dishes: english sauce, Dijon, capers, egg yolk, raz-el-hanout (a moroccan spice blend) and sriracha sauce for a little kick. Served again on some spinach drizzled with olive oil and balsamic. This time, I also sprinkled some onion crunch to add some texture and some coarse salt on top. We eat this with some thin toasted and buttered ciabatta bread.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Both dishes look really good! I like the idea of adding sriracha sauce to the tartare.

 

[jmm476]

Joining in! Your list of ADRs looks great, can't wait to read about them after your trip.

 

[nanienamou]

Okay so while looking over my ADRs, I decided that some needed to be changed to better suit my dietary needs.

October 17th - changed Sci-Fi for Mama Melrose. The Sci-Fi app menu just doesn't appeal to me and has no great protein choice. Plus, they have a dessert made with Nutella at MM, which is like DH's favourite food group, lol!

October 19th - added a late breakfast at Kona. The pulled pork benedict eggs are really intriguing. DH will get Tonga Toast and I'll get the pressed pot of coffee.

October 22th - Changed LTT for The Wave. The lunch buffet seems to be on track only when there is a convention, but the limited à la carte menu still would have some appealing items for me. Plus, we were not feeling the turkey or braised meats at LTT.

October 26th - Added Sanaa lunch and cancelled Paradiso diner. I really want to explore AK and try this place.

Pretty excited about all these changes!

Other places we'll be hitting: Boardwalk Bakery and Sunshine Seasons for breakfast, Starring Rolls for a snack, Kimono's, Aloha Isle, Sleepy Hollow and F&W booths.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Nice changes! Mama Melrose has been getting good reviews recently, Kona is a breakfast favorite on the boards, The Wave offers some interesting choices (even though the atmosphere isn't exciting), and Sanaa also gets great reviews. I'm excited to hear about Kimonos and F&W, as well.

And I hope you like Aloha Isle! I love the pineapple-vanilla swirl.

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in

 

[Tracerr00]

I'm joining in too! I've tried the Samoan at Kona and it is fabulous! Your plans look wonderful and I can't wait to read about them.

 

[nanienamou]

Thank you for the lovely comments!

So I have some news about our trip.

When I booked it, I didn't check the calendar and planned a Tuesday departure just after what I thought was Thanksgiving in Canada (October 13-16). We traditionally go to the cottage to get some pics of the leaves with the kids during this long week-end. So this week, I finally discovered that Thanksgiving was earlier this year, on October 6-8. I know, I'm just goofy like that sometimes.

Anyway, I started thinking that since it was not Thanksgiving week-end, why not leave on Sunday instead of Tuesday? Except that the rate at the Dophin was 300 $ /night for those dates and even though I really like the Dolphin, I'm not paying that kind of money to stay there. So I jumped on Disney's website and booked a Little Mermaid room for 2 nights.

I also changed our plane tix and we are all set to leave on Sunday, October 14th, @ 7:00 arriving in Orlando around 1:00. That means two complete weeks in WDW!

So I had to make some new plans and ADRS. Here are the changes:

October 14th - QS @ AOA resort, ADR @ Raglan Road for a late dinner

October 15th - Morning at Animal Kingdom, QS lunch at the park, probably Flame Tree, then a late ADR @ Jiko

October 16th - AOA breakfast, Epcot F&W, late ADR @ California Grill

And that's it. Hope I'm finished with the ADR changes, now I'm going to need to think about my packing list...

 

[smile4stamps]

Wo-Hoo for more time at WDW!! And your new ADR's sound good!!

 

[jabead]

Yay!!! Two whole weeks at WDW...sounds heavenly to me!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Awesome change! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on AoA and Jiko.

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi there! Sorry I missed your PTR before now. TWO WEEKS at WDW and during F&W - How amazing!!! Sounds like you will get to stay at 2 wonderful resorts during your trip.

I love that another Diser will be trying The Wave lunch (certainly better than LTT, IMHO.) You have some wonderful ADRs!!

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

I followed you over from my DR! You will arrive the day after I leave. I can't wait to see our different perspectives on F&W!

 

[nanienamou]

Thank you for your lovely comments! Only 3 more sleeps - well 2 since I don't think I will be getting a lot of sleep Saturday night since we have to be at the airport for 4:00 a.m.

Okay... so I really should be packing right now, but since I'm procrastinating, I'm on the web still checking park hours, ADRs, menus, etc.

Anyway, I have made a foodie "bucket" list for us, just to add some little challenge... Now since I can only have one or two bites of sugary stuff at a time, DH is having a stomach ache just seeing this. But he is willing to sacrifice himself and finish my snacks for review purposes. He's so sweet.

My Dining 2012 Bucket List –
1. Stop by Beach Club Marketplace to try the Oreo Bonbons
2. Visit the Mara to try the Zebra Domes
3. Try the Citrus Swirl at Sunshine Tree Terrace
4. Sample the famous School Bread at the Norway Pavilion
5. Get some Mickey Waffles for the first time!
6. Eat at all the hotels on the monorail loop (we have adrs at Kona, CG, and GV Tea Room)
7. Sample an item at each of the F&W booths
8. Bring back 3 Japan snacks/candy for the kiddos at home
9. Try cider at the UK Pavilion
10. Visit Cabana’s lounge by the Dolphin pool for a drink

 

[sushi candy]

I love your bucket list! so exciting! I packed the night before. I can totally understand the packing at the last minute.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

The bucket list is awesome. I especially like your goal of trying something at each of the F&W booths.

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh my! Love the list! You will definitely need to report back and tell us how successful you werre! Happy packing.

 

[Ro Z]

Almost time!

 

[jabead]

Bye, Stephanie! Hope you and your DH have a wonderful celebration at Disney World!

 

[nanienamou]

Thank you! Bags are almost finished, we are counting down the hours! We have to be at the airport at 4:00 Sunday morning. Right now, we are chillin' home, playing with the kiddos. Yesterday, it actually snowed, here!

Last night, to practice my F&W skills, I went to the rendez-vous des saveurs here. It's like a mini food festival in our casino theater. You buy coupons and each sample requires a number of them, depending on the ingredients or size.

Let's just say that many good wines and awesome dishes were consumed!