Pavan Peacock and other Yummy cocktails

[Niki Andiokno]

Hi all. Finally have some time to update, as the Chicago Bears are getting their butts kicked, again. Only one more game this season and I can stop torturing myself. Until Next Year.

The next morning, we started the day with Biegnets from Port Orleans French Quarter. This was my first try of these wonderful little puffs of goodness. Although messy, they are completely and utterly worth it. I stopped by for these more than once this trip. Great reason to have a car.



After a stellar round of golf, where I argued with a man who commented that women should play from the Junior tees at Oak Trail (NOT you sexist jerk), I needed wine. Luckily, this was Wine Wednesday at Jiko! I can't say enough about this event. We look forward to it every trip. Also, Jiko is one of my favorite restaurants. This is slated for a special dinner during my October trip.

On to Wine Wednesday. You get wine and a wonderful cheese plate to taste with the wine. Our hostess was excellent. I think her name was Lori, and she has hosted this when we have been there before. She is very informative about the history of African wines. Clearly she loves what she does here. Her presentation is funny, yet educational.

Here are the wines:



Black Pearl - this was our first wine, and the lightest of them all. It paired very well with all of the cheeses IMHO. It was very light and fruity, yet full of flavor. It was not sweet. Although we all kinda hoped it to be true, this was not a tribute to Pirates of the Carribbean.



The Left Bank - this was a very tasty red wine. Medium bodied, with a bit of plum taste to me. This was my least favorite, but still good no doubt.



Thelema - This was my favorite of the day. Dark, full-bodied, cherry chocolate glass of yumminess. Really awesome.

Here is the cheese plate. It had a brie, goat and sheep cheese. All of them were wonderful.



We really enjoy the presentation and wine here. We plan to return every trip.

For dinner this day, I cooked for a friend of mine who moved from Chicago to Orlando to sail a friendship boat. I didn't take photos, but the menu was Tarragon Marinated Scallops on the grill, Citrus Salmon on the grill, Asian rice pilaf, a salad with spinach, strawberries and asparagus with a raspberry vinegarette dressing, and decadent chocolate cake with raspberry chambord sauce.

If anyone wants a recipe for any of these, PM me. I love to cook as much as I love to eat.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Thursday we started the day with another Food & Wine festival culinary demonstration. I can't say how much I really love these demos. Except for one, later this trip, each one has been a little bitty bite of awesomeness.

First up was Panko and Pesto Crusted Halibut with Lemon Parsley Risotto, Artichoke Hearts, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives and Caper Ragout. Out of all the dishes we learned to make, this was the only one that seems like it will be a pain in the butt to make. There were several steps, with many ingredients. I have yet to try this one at home.



The fish was crunchy outside, yet moist and flavorful on the inside. The sauce was good, but had a lot going on. I could see losing the fish in the sauce if you are not careful. Luckily, the chef was spot on. I also LOVE risotto, so this was right up my alley.



This was served with a white wine from



I don't remember too much about this other than it was not too sweet and very refreshing.

Next we practically ran to France for a Dismeet and Slushy. More on that next post.

 

[StayAwake]

I am loving your report! I had never heard of Wine Wednesdays at Jiko before- is it something that you have to reserve special, or just available if you dine at the restaurant on a Wednesday?

 

[Niki Andiokno]

I am loving your report! I had never heard of Wine Wednesdays at Jiko before- is it something that you have to reserve special, or just available if you dine at the restaurant on a Wednesday?

Wine Wednesday is a special event that takes place every Wednesday afternoon at 3 pm. You reserve and pay for it in advance. A sommelier will give you a presentation including wine and cheese pairings. No other menu is available. In fact, you are shoo'ed out of there around 4 because they have to prepare for the evening meal.

We have been given some really great wines from South Africa at Wine Wednesdays. The price is $35. Well worth it.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

After our culinary demo, we ran (yes ran) to France to meet some Dis'ers. There we met Barb (jabead), Joh (wilma-bride) and Beth (couchy) and DH. I wish I had taken more photos. Hopefully someone else will have taken some. I know we posed for at least one group photo. Here is the photo I do have.



This was the special Passionfruit Slushy. Yumm. Yumm. Yumm. This was one of the bestest vodka drinks ever. If it weren't so cold in Chicago, I would want one right now. This tasted like an alcoholic version on the Boma Jungle Juice.

After this quick meet, we started back to our next culinary demonstration. Mike delayed us a bit, though. He had been hankerin for that Lobster and Seafood Fisherman's Pie from the Ireland booth. So, we stopped briefly to purchase it and continued walking to the front of Epcot. Here is my photo.



This was really good, with a lot of lobster flavor. I read reviews that said there wasn't much actual lobster, but I had quite a few pieces. The mashed potatoes were really good on top of the "pie." This will not be a "must-do" on future trips, but if I am in the area and hungry this will be a good, tasty and filling snack.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

We made it back to Future World just in time for our next Culinary Demonstration. This was Jerome Brown from Rome's in New Jersey. If his restaurant is anything like his demo dish, I want to go to Jersey. This was an AWESOME!! dish.

Here is chef Rome


Cedar Braised Pheasant with Apples and Pearl Onions



The peasant was bigger than I expected. It had a lot of meat and was very flavorful. The apples and onions added a sweet flavor to the ultra rich meat. Isn't this a beautiful plate?



This dish was paired with a Kim Crawford Pinot Noir. I have never been a Kim Crawford fan, but I liked this. It was light enough for a red to go with the poultry, yet full bodied enough to accompany the richness of the dish. I liked this pairing, and will consider Kim Crawford wines more often. Or at least the Pinot Noir.

After a few rides and a bunch more walking, we decided to go back to the BWV to rest. By now, the walk from Future World to BWV was getting a bit tedius. We needed a bit more nourishment for the long walk "home." We tried another booth, New Zealand. Every time we walked past this place, it smelled delicious. We tried the Steamed Green Lip Mussels with Garlic Butter. These were pretty good, but had a bit too much filling. There were bread crumbs on top.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

For some reason, I can't get my photobucket to copy. I will be back with the photo soon. I hope.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Here is the mussel pic. Good, but not great.

As we mosied our way back to the International Gateway, we decided for one last snack. It was really more of a shared CS meal, but since we were at WDW, it was a snack.



Mike and I shared some Fish n' Chips from Yorkshire County Fish Shop. My niece always told me that the fish here was good, but I wasn't prepared about how good this was. The fish was very meaty and mild. The batter was thin and crispy. The chips were soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. There was just enough salt on the chips to make them some tasty spuds. This will definately be a place we return to.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

The day finally arrived to eat at my 2nd favorite restaurant in the whole wide world BLUEZOO!!

We had a late reservation so we could meet Barb (jabead) after her Fantasmic viewing. As we entered the restaurant, I remember how much I love the decor. The blue hues are very relaxing. The darkness of the lighting relaxes you further. It is like stepping into the deep blue, with some tasty fishies just waiting to be eaten.

We started with our most favorite appetizer ever, Yellowfin Tuna Tartare - Miso caviar, cucumber, scallion cream, nitro siracha aioli. This description doesn't even begin to describe the beauty of this dish. As the server walks to your table, the dish is steaming from the nitrogen used in the dish. The whole appetizer is encased in fog. To me, this little special effect is so cool. Really adds to the anticipation of what is to come. The "nitro siracha aioli" is actually a bunch of siracha flavored dip n' dots. The tuna is the freshest you can get besides right off teh boat. This is one of the best things I have ever eaten. Yummy!!



I almost forgot about the bread service. Again, one of my favorites. What makes this fabulous is the bread crisp thingy that has sesame on it, I think. This is crispy crunchy goodness. There is also a crusty bread that is good. Airy and soft inside and crunchy goodness outside. There was some kind of butter served with it, but I don't know what it was. Maybe Barb knows. I don't typically butter my bread. I know. What is wrong with me?



Next came our entrees. I believe Mike had the Miso Glazed Mero - Hawaiian seabass, ****ake-ginger rice, black garlic, sticky soy. I am not quite sure. All I remember was that this was AMAZING!! He gave me a bite, and I loved it. As he is Filipino, he is a rice guy. So far, we hadn't had much rice. He was happy. The fish was wonderful. It had a definate Asian flair to it.



I had the special of the day. I wish I could remember what type of fish this was. For some reason, I also think this was sea bass. This was a buttery steak of fish. Great firm texture. The accompaniment was a hash of corn, white asparagus and garlic. This was sweet and dreamy. I wish this were on the regular menu.


Except for Chef Mama's Thai fish dishes at Bua Hana near me (my favorite place ever) this is the best fish I have eaten. I am drooling right now wanting some.

I was pretty full, but dessert is a must here. We shared the Chocolate Trio - but it wasn't the one listed on the online menu. This was phenomenal!! Great chocolate dishes. It had fried plantains that were just like sweet caramel. I believe the dehydrated chocolate mousse was included. A vanilla bean and white chocolate gelato was also on the plate. There was both dark and milk chocolate mousse. The tastes were very good. As with the appetizer, the dessert had an excellent presentation.



This was a very rich dish, but worth every bite.

We did drink wine, but I forgot what it was. Sorry.

It was a lovely evening spent with our new friend and great food.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Time for another update. I am getting really close, so I might just finish a report.

Friday morning, we met Barb again for breakfast at Fresh! We also had the pleasure of meeting her wonderful DH. We had a great time. I got a few photos, but you really need to wait for Barb. Her reports are far superior to mine. This was a nice buffet, at a price much cheaper than what you find at Disney owned restaurants. I also used by TIW discount, which helped. Here are a few photos of the buffet.



A nice bucket of bacon.









I started out, as I almost always do, at the omelet station. My thought is, why eat prepared eggs when I can have them made fresh? So I did. I loaded up with ham, cheese, onion, mushroom and spinach. This was a great omelet. One of the best stations ever. I also had fresh watermelon and a croissant. Much of the croissant was eaten by Mike, as I got bored with it quickly. Again, not nun worthy.



My second plate boiled down to one important thing. My FIRST MICKEY WAFFLE!!!! This was a great fresh waffle. All the better because of the Mickey head.

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I also got a chocolate croissant. I don't know why I did it. I continue to hope. For anyone who hasn't had one of the nun's croissants, this was would be good.

Overall this was a good breakfast. I am not ready to rush back any time soon, but that is only because I am not a buffet person. As far as buffets go, this was a very good one at a decent price.