Pie That Brownie, Fruitcake! Updated Post #1832 - The End

[D&R love Disney]

Wow that chocolate looks good! I'll be checking out the website!

I cannot believe how skimpy the wine sample was!

 

[oybolshoi]

At least she didn't make you stand in the corner. I had some of your table mates at one of my food seminars as well. It's a small dis world after all.

My friend lives in Portland and I've gotten box or two of those truffles over the years. At least with them you would know if there was any lurking peanutiness.

It's definitely a small DISworld, especially in the restaurant world. I lurves my DISfoodie friends - they make every visit to the mouse a special one!

And Moonstruck truffles ... I lurves them too!

Yum!

Exactly!

You know me B, I'd gladly exchange a lunch for chocolate instead.

Just wondering though...did your dessert taste as good or better than those Stinktown Mice I ate all in one week?? (Best chocolate I ever had!)

Your priorities are in fine order, Goose! The stinktown mice were all milk chocolate and while they are terrific, the truffles from Moonstruck have all types of different chocolate ganache fillings ... I can't say they're better because it's a different product but they're equally as good!

DS always request LeCellier and for his birthday last year I had to make Jiko's filet with mac & cheese. Why oh why do we keep encouraging them to try good stuff?

B, the chocolate sounds as good as it looks!

The chocolate was amazing, that's for sure! And if you have good taste in food odds are your kids will pick it up too ... no help for that!

That tart looks delicious. Those wine samples are pitiful. We decided that if we bother with any seminars this next festival we will bring our own spirits from the wine bar.

The tart was terrific! We also decided that we're cutting way back on deminars ... we may just stick with the hard boozie ones ... depending. Of course, I say that now ... I'm liable to book everything under the sun again.

That is what we did! I even think we had a glass of prosecco at the vodka seminar!

Great reviews as always Brenda! No- mocking the wine does not get old! Do you think they will give us all Big Boy Sips this year?

The Chocolate looks amazing! And how cute is Robin???? Too cute right!

I don't remember you drinking Prosecco at the Chopin seminar ... maybe I was too busy licking the potato vodka from my glass?

Thanks for reading Chelsi - glad you enjoyed! And yes, Robin was too too cute ... she's so petite I felt like an Amazon ... or a redwood tree ... next to her!

You've made me feel better about my decision to do this now Chelsi!

It's a good idea!

OH man did i just make a critical mistake..I looked up moonstruck chocolates..and i think i got a contact high from just the descriptions of the sweets!! They are running a free shipping special for a while on orders over $50.00...i just may have to splurge and order some sweets for Valentines/anniversay ( being together 5 years..not wedding purposes for next month......Darn you Brenda and your wily ways!!

I saw that on their website too! I think I'm going to have to order some for our trip to San Diego since we'll be there over Valentine's Day.

Thanks for reading Gina ... happy to share the Moonstruck love with my friendies.

I am ANYONE'S but especially your Boozie Back-up at anytime baby!

It's one of the reasons we like you so much!

That chocolate looks soooo good!!! I had already decided to order dh some See's candy for Valentine's Day; wonder if I need to check out Moonstruck? But I just love See's so much myself!

Bad Brenda, acting up in the front row!

Why'd you make me go look at those truffles??? They sound incredible. Me want.

Hiya Jamie! I cannot say it enough ... Moonstruck Chocolate is amazing ... order some ... you will not be sorry. I don't get paid for this endorsement ... but I should!

Wow that chocolate looks good! I'll be checking out the website!

I cannot believe how skimpy the wine sample was!

Hi Deb!! Thanks for reading - you should also order some Moonstruck ... it's good stuff.

 

[BriarRosie]

Sunday, October 18th - Who Turned Off the Tropical Heating Element and Let this Arctic Clipper into America's Wang???

I don't know, but whoever it was returned to Florida with a vengeance, unparalleled to what we experienced!

Considering the number of celebratory beverages consumed the day before, I woke up feeling just fine. We slept late since we didn't get back to the villa until after 1AM and enjoyed some leftover birthday cake and coffee while admiring our view.

I regret not taking some "cake to go" for breakfast.

Our first stop was Canada, ay. We usually skip this booth on principal since they don't change up their offerings very much and we don't think their cheddar cheese soup is all that. But those wily Canucks offered something new in 2009 ... Spicy Chicken Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta ... and that was right up my lovey's ally. It was so cold we also ordered some of the cheddar cheese soup ... it had been a few years since we'd last had it and cold weather trumps boring when warm, warming liquids are involved.

Spicy Chicken Sausage & Polenta

The soup was fine - it actually hit the spot quite well on this day - it was creamy and rich, but nicely balanced and I do believe there was just a hint of beery goodness in there!

The real winner was the sausage and polenta. It definitely was spicy, so I only ate a little bit of it and left the rest for Jay to enjoy, but I think it was well prepared and a very generous portion size. The polenta was nice - it was a little too gritty for my taste - but had good flavor and the sweet / spicy combination between it and the sausage was really enjoyable. There was also some kind of bizarre jelly paired with this ... you can just see it on the side of the sausage underneath the peppers ... but I'm damned if I know what it's actually supposed to be. It almost looks like jellied fish eggs, but surely that can't be right!

I agree about the sausage and polenta being a winner. I enjoyed the onion goo with the polenta, too. It's been a while since I've had the soup. I've been bypassing it because it's not special enough for me to have for the festival.

Next stop ... Ireland, and the dish that was creating so much buzz at the Festival: The Lobster and Scallop Fisherman's Pie!!! We'd been drooling over advance pictures of this little offering and many of our friends had assured us that this was a "must try" for this year's Festival. So we joined the queue and ordered one with a 12-ounce serving of motor oil ... er, Guinness ... on the side.

Let me preface this by sharing something with you: I don't really like lobster. I will eat it if it is an ingredient in a dish but that's as far as I go. Having said that, this was one of the single best food offerings of the entire 2009 F&W Festival. That creamy, lightly browned mashed tater topping covered a wealth of lobster and scallop chunks swimming in a creamy sauce. It was wonderful and we gobbled it up in short order. We even considered ordering another one but decided against so that we could try some other things on our way around the showcase.

I think most of us raved about this dish, but I think Catherine was still a bit underwhelmed by it. I think she was served one that just didn't cut it. And she doesn't care for lobster, either. I'd get it again this year for sure.

Our next stop was in Morocco, where we ordered the Beef Kefta Pita Pocket, the Falafel Pita Pocket, and some Sangria.

I've always liked the beef pita pocket ... it's warm and tasty and large enough to share and we were both pleased with it. The sangria was also very tasty - a pleasant surprise indeed considering that it was being poured out of one of those scary juice dispenser thingees. Falafel, however, other than being a word that feels fun on my tongue, totally escapes me. I don't get it. Why do I want to eat a pita pocket filled with little crunchy bits of fried stuff? It didn't taste like anything at all.

Hello?

Hello taste?

I would like to see the Morocco booth offer up a nice serving of hummus with some pita bread and raw veggies ... that's what sounds good and tasty to me!

I always skip over this because I can get a lot of that stuff near where I live.

Our last stop of the day before we wandered back to the Festival Welcome Center to thaw out was South Africa. They only offered two food selections this year, but wow -they were both fantastic!

Seared Beef Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Puree and Mango BBQ Sauce

Mealie Soup with Crabmeat and Chili Oil

The beef tenderloin and sweet potato puree was another excellent entry into this year's F&W booth lineup - the beef was tender and tasty, the puree was super smooth and had just a hint of spice, and the mango BBQ sauce pulled it all together with subtle, fruity sweetness. I don't even like BBQ sauce for the most part (stupid goblin!) and I wanted to lick every drop of it from the plate, that's how good I thought it was.

I regret not being able to get the beef dish, since I've heard how fantastic it was. Hoping next year they have it so I can try it.

Jason raved about the mealieworm soup - he loves hot and spicy and this selection had his eyes watering by the time he was finished. I did try a small taste and thought the flavor was quite good before my tongue burst into flame.

I thought the chili oil made an ordinary soup something "wow".

Sunday, October 18th - Moonstruck Chocolate Deminar with Julian Rose

Since Jay and I were in need of serious thawage, we plopped down on a bench and watched the other attendees slowly clear the entrance to the demo area. It was about this time that the lovely Robin wandered by and stopped to chat - she was also attending this event so we chatted for a bit and then decided to go nab a table. But then we found out we didn't need to nab anything because Jeanne & Marcel had arrived early and they laid claim to a front row table and then saved seats for us without our even knowing it. Talk about brilliant and thoughtful and generous!

Aren't we all cute? Robin and Marcel are on one side, Jeanne, me, and Jason are on the opposite side.

It was the only way the CM could figure out how to get us all in the picture...

Isn't the nap supposed to happen AFTER the sugar coma?
You all do look cute.

Pam ... what is her last name again? ... .

It's one of my most complicated names out there, Brenda. Pam's last name is...

SMITH.

...came out on stage to talk up the winery and then Chef Rose. I only included this picture because I noticed she had two microphones. I've heard of two-fisted drinkers - I may actually be one - but I've never come across a two-fisted speaker!!

One microphone for the wine and another for the food!

That's funny. Pam would have two wine glasses if she could.

Chef Rose was very methodical and very detailed but not the most ... vibrant ... of personalities and after a while it seemed to me that the event was dragging a bit. I probably just needed a drop of wine to help me relax. The featured vineyard during this deminar was Kenwood, and we were all served the typical miserly thimble of wine: Jack London Merlot in this case. The wine seemed just fine, but we weren't given enough to really get a good feel for the taste profile.

Jack London Merlot

Mocking the serving size never gets old ...

The downside to sitting in the front row is that when you borrow Improvgal's quarter-to-serving-size comparison and show it to your friends in the middle of a deminar it usually leads to snickering and giggles. And in this case Pam saw what I was doing and gave me the giant eyeball ... for just a moment I felt like I was back in grade school when I'd been caught writing "you are a giant poopiehead" on the wall with crayon.

I'm grateful I was sitting near the back of the room during the Leather Muppet demo, because I was way more obnoxious!

So what did Chef Rose make for us?

Pure Origin Chocolate Tarte with Salted Peanut Caramel ...

YUM!!!

This was a delight, until I got to the bottom layer of the tarte and found it chock full of peanuts. BAH! I love caramel and I love chocolate and while I bear the peanut no ill will, the Crohn goblin does. And there was no way in hell that I was going to take a chance with that hoary jerk a few hours before our scheduled glutton-fest at Victoria & Albert's. So I ate very carefully, pulled out as many peanuts as I could, and gracefully assisted them in their migration to Jay's plate. I think everyone at the table enjoyed this - I know that Jay and I thought the chocolate ganache used for the tarte filling was incredible ... creamy and delicious ... and the milk / white chocolate triangle with portholes was lovely. It would have been even better with more wine.

As a final note, Jay and I have tried Moonstruck truffles and they really are amazingly delicious. The company does have a website that you can order from if you're so inclined; if you're lucky enough to be able to buy their products in person I urge you to give them a try. Chef Rose makes truly incredible chocolates!!

Damn. That chocolate tartlet looked great, but bummer they hid goblin nuts (isn't that a great mind visual?) in it.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Did someone mention the most important food group?
Chocolate??

 

[TDC Nala]

I've got a picture of Pam Smith with two big wine glasses...of course it's from the dinner where we were all served about fourteen big wine glasses.

 

[C.Marie]

So I went MIA again, but with good reason - Between getting through final exams and work and the holidays (oh, and a weekend trip to Vegas hehe) I hardly had time for my beloved Disboards. Lo and behold, I have been struck down with some nasty cold and find myself home on a sick day! Realizing just how much catching up I had to do, I took to the computer with blanket and mug of tea in tow.

What better way to cure what ails you than with a food porn marathon?!

I've spent my miserable sick day drooling over food pics, chuckling over your witty commentary, and terrifying the dog with my nose-blowing. So sexy, I know. Your reviews are superbly entertaining as always, Bendy. I only wish hearty laughing didn't bring on hearty coughing.

Thank you for being you and for making my sick day a great deal more enjoyable.

 

[castmemberb4]

Hi Bendy !!!

Boy! I'm peddeling hard to catch up on all of my trip reports, I was about a month behind and you know how many pages that means on your TR !
Anyway I'm all caught up now and had to tell you that previous year F&W shirt Jay was wearing on Sunday is also a Heather French painting. You have two !
Okay now that I'm caught up you can do the V&A report

 

[rentayenta]

Finally. Caught. Up.

 

[podsnel]

You did the QUARTER in front of PAM and her super-size wine??????????????

YOU are my hero for LIFE!!!

 

[mickeys#1fan]

DS always request LeCellier and for his birthday last year I had to make Jiko's filet with mac & cheese Why oh why do we keep encouraging them to try good stuff?

That Jiko filet is an all-day affair. The mac and cheese is expensive to make. Was it worth it?

 

[hmgray95]

Wow, that tart looks amazing! They didn't happen to hand out the recipe did they?

And I checked out the website....I am so tempted to order something, but I am trying so hard to be good and stay on track with my diet!

 

[kxs401]

The Moonstruck chocolate looks delicious, but I'm addicted to Vosges chocolate bars.

 

[oybolshoi]

I don't know, but whoever it was returned to Florida with a vengeance, unparalleled to what we experienced!

They returned it to most of the darn country ... today was the first day we climbed over the freezing mark since last month.

I regret not taking some "cake to go" for breakfast.

It was just as good the next morning!

I agree about the sausage and polenta being a winner. I enjoyed the onion goo with the polenta, too. It's been a while since I've had the soup. I've been bypassing it because it's not special enough for me to have for the festival.

I think this was the first time we've had the soup in something like five years. It tasted great on this day ... I'm sure the weather had something to do with it.

I think most of us raved about this dish, but I think Catherine was still a bit underwhelmed by it. I think she was served one that just didn't cut it. And she doesn't care for lobster, either. I'd get it again this year for sure.

We'd order it again, too. But some people don't or didn't like it and that's OK, too. That's what makes it fun ... figuring out what you do and don't like.

I always skip over this because I can get a lot of that stuff near where I live.

Wanted to try something new ... and I was still hungry.

I regret not being able to get the beef dish, since I've heard how fantastic it was. Hoping next year they have it so I can try it.

X&Y even liked this one!

I thought the chili oil made an ordinary soup something "wow".

It did for Jay!

Isn't the nap supposed to happen AFTER the sugar coma? You all do look cute.

I'll take a nap whenever I can get one!

It's one of my most complicated names out there, Brenda. Pam's last name is...

SMITH.

I try not to pay a lot of attention to Pam ... can you blame me for forgetting her last name?

That's funny. Pam would have two wine glasses if she could.

I'll drink to that!

I'm grateful I was sitting near the back of the room during the Leather Muppet demo, because I was way more obnoxious!

Now you know where not to sit if you want to cause trouble.

Damn. That chocolate tartlet looked great, but bummer they hid goblin nuts (isn't that a great mind visual?) in it.

The chocolate was terrific ... the goblin nuts not so much.

Did someone mention the most important food group? Chocolate??

The chocotastic food group? YUM!

I've got a picture of Pam Smith with two big wine glasses...of course it's from the dinner where we were all served about fourteen big wine glasses.

Good for her. I just wish she wouldn't rub it in during those deminars. She probably doesn't mean to but that's what it seems like.

So I went MIA again, but with good reason - Between getting through final exams and work and the holidays (oh, and a weekend trip to Vegas hehe) I hardly had time for my beloved Disboards. Lo and behold, I have been struck down with some nasty cold and find myself home on a sick day! Realizing just how much catching up I had to do, I took to the computer with blanket and mug of tea in tow.

What better way to cure what ails you than with a food porn marathon?!

I've spent my miserable sick day drooling over food pics, chuckling over your witty commentary, and terrifying the dog with my nose-blowing. So sexy, I know. Your reviews are superbly entertaining as always, Bendy. I only wish hearty laughing didn't bring on hearty coughing.

Thank you for being you and for making my sick day a great deal more enjoyable.

I hope you start to feel better soon and I'm glad you enjoyed playing catch up with the reviews. Sorry about the coughing fits but am always happy to make a foodie friendie laugh.

Hi Bendy !!!

Boy! I'm peddeling hard to catch up on all of my trip reports, I was about a month behind and you know how many pages that means on your TR !
Anyway I'm all caught up now and had to tell you that previous year F&W shirt Jay was wearing on Sunday is also a Heather French painting. You have two !
Okay now that I'm caught up you can do the V&A report

Welcome back! I didn't know that those designs were hers! Those are some of our favorites ... I do hope they bring her back for 2010. The weird chef guy on the bicycle was just ... weird.

I will try to get V&A started this weekend.

Finally. Caught. Up.

Glad to know you're still reading along!

You did the QUARTER in front of PAM and her super-size wine??????????????
YOU are my hero for LIFE!!!

I don't think she was very happy with me. And as always, props to Improvgal for coming up with the idea in the first place.

That Jiko filet is an all-day affair. The mac and cheese is expensive to make. Was it worth it?

I would like to know the answer to this as well!

Wow, that tart looks amazing! They didn't happen to hand out the recipe did they?

And I checked out the website....I am so tempted to order something, but I am trying so hard to be good and stay on track with my diet!

They did give us a recipe but it's quite long ... I wonder if I could scan it at work and then send the image to myself at home and then post the image? I really don't want to type it up ... it's involved and like I said, long.

Good for you for sticking to your diet - when you decide to take a little break get yourself a treat from Moonstruck ... it's really really good!

The Moonstruck chocolate looks delicious, but I'm addicted to Vosges chocolate bars.

Those are pretty darn good, too!

 

[PNO4TE]

Welcome back! I didn't know that those designs were hers! Those are some of our favorites ... I do hope they bring her back for 2010. The weird chef guy on the bicycle was just ... weird.

I believe that I saw a post or a tweet or something (somewhere) that the same artist from last year is finishing up his work for the 2010 F&W Festival too.

 

[oybolshoi]

I believe that I saw a post or a tweet or something (somewhere) that the same artist from last year is finishing up his work for the 2010 F&W Festival too.

Really? Well, I hope he does something a little less abstract this year ...

 

[TDC Nala]

It's not Pam...It's Disney that's chintzy with the wine. Tell 'em you're not gonna stand for it. It was okay when it's free but for 8 bucks? (I may not do demos this year. The only really amazing food I had that might have been worth 8 bucks was the tuna sickle.)

Please, no creepy Ted Kennedy chef art this year.

 

[oybolshoi]

It's not Pam...It's Disney that's chintzy with the wine. Tell 'em you're not gonna stand for it. It was okay when it's free but for 8 bucks? (I may not do demos this year. The only really amazing food I had that might have been worth 8 bucks was the tuna sickle.)

Please, no creepy Ted Kennedy chef art this year.

Oh, I know it's not her fault but the timing was so perfect that day that it really did feel like she was saying, "my protion is bigger than a quarter!"

And I did comment at length on my F&W email survey that I thought the beverage servings (at least at the culinary demos) were ridiculous given that we were now paying for them.

At this point we too, are likely to bypass the demos unless there is someone we really want to see. The beverage seminars we did (champagne, cognac, vodka) were all actually pretty good and I would be willing to pay for something like that again but otherwise I think we're just going to save that money for the ditch.

 

[TDC Nala]

and no I was not impressed with the Ireland seafood pie. I like cheesy mashed potatoes as much as the next person but not at $5 for a couple ounces of them. And the seafood was tasteless. That was okay as far as the lobster went. (I can't believe I'm having to justify that I wasn't thrilled with the damn thing! )

 

[TheDISneyFamily]

and no I was not impressed with the Ireland seafood pie. I like cheesy mashed potatoes as much as the next person but not at $5 for a couple ounces of them. And the seafood was tasteless. That was okay as far as the lobster went. (I can't believe I'm having to justify that I wasn't thrilled with the damn thing! )

I'll back you up on this, Catherine - we were totally underwhelmed with the lobster pie from Ireland... I really wanted to like it... but it was just... meh...


Loved the chocolate review, B... sorry 'bout the nuts. Not sure we'd do the demos again, either... unless it's someone really cool that we just have to see...

 

[BriarRosie]

It's not Pam...It's Disney that's chintzy with the wine. Tell 'em you're not gonna stand for it. It was okay when it's free but for 8 bucks? (I may not do demos this year. The only really amazing food I had that might have been worth 8 bucks was the tuna sickle.)

Please, no creepy Ted Kennedy chef art this year.

LOL! I think you can come up with better art than the Ted Kennedy chef.

Oh, I know it's not her fault but the timing was so perfect that day that it really did feel like she was saying, "my protion is bigger than a quarter!"

And I did comment at length on my F&W email survey that I thought the beverage servings (at least at the culinary demos) were ridiculous given that we were now paying for them.

At this point we too, are likely to bypass the demos unless there is someone we really want to see. The beverage seminars we did (champagne, cognac, vodka) were all actually pretty good and I would be willing to pay for something like that again but otherwise I think we're just going to save that money for the ditch.

I also made sure they knew in my survey that the sizes were too small for paid portions. I'd rather save money to spend at the Ditch, too.