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

[Briarmom]

*Hiccup*

Now I want Champagne....

 

[eliz991]

Brenda,

BTW, Gone With the Wind is on Turner Classic Movies right now (at least in Eastern Time Zone)

I watched it! I haven't seen it in years and forgot that I would spend most of the last hour sobbing. Luckily my husband was playing pool so it was just me, some pizza, a bottle of Chianti, and Clark Gable.

 

[oybolshoi]

*Hiccup*

Now I want Champagne....

Me too; I guess it would help if I put some in the darn refrigerator, huh?

I watched it! I haven't seen it in years and forgot that I would spend most of the last hour sobbing. Luckily my husband was playing pool so it was just me, some pizza, a bottle of Chianti, and Clark Gable.

That sounds like the perfect evening.

 

[oybolshoi]

Saturday, October 17th - Wading Through the Crowds for some Food & Wine Snacking before Lunch!

Once we finished our Moet & Chandon Seminar and availed ourselves of the Welcome Center bathrooms - a not-to-be-missed visit after six glasses of bubbly - both Jason and I decided that we needed some food. We had about 90 minutes to kill before our F&W pairing at Tutto Italia and it took us about that long to get through three different booths thanks to the ever-expanding crowds. Packed as it was, I will say this: that was the friendliest, most cheerful throng of people I've ever seen at a WDW theme park. If everyone could be that pleasant, and patient, and not bad smelling all the time, WDW would be a virtual Shangri-La.

Personally, it's the poor hygiene practiced by some guests that drives me over the edge ... especially at Epcot. There is nothing worse than feeling those first pangs of hunger, stirred by the sight of so much wonderful food, quashed by the unique funk coming off the person standing in line ahead of you.

Soap. Water. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. And don't forget the deodorant.

Please.

**This public service announcement brought to you courtesy of everyone else's olfactory system - the worse you smell the more we notice**

While I'm on the subject of things that smell funky, let's talk cheese! Our first stop of the afternoon was The Mouse Catch, a booth that only sells cheese and a few beverages to accompany them. Personally I think this is a great addition to the Festival, but I would like to see them offer a bit more variety. Maybe six different cheeses instead of three and something other than Dorothea, which I like just fine but which was also offered last year. Guests have the option of purchasing a sample of one, two, or all three cheese selections; from a price standpoint it makes more sense to go with the cheese trifecta and that's what we did.

Cheese us!

Marques de Caceres Rioja

Our cheese selections, in no particular order in the above photo, were Dorothea (Dutch cheese); Piave (Italian cheese); and Mahon (Spanish cheese). Dorothea remains one of the most interesting cheeses we've tried - it's a goat's milk cheese made with potato skins and basil oil. It's a firm cheese but not hard, if that makes any sense. Piave is a cow's milk cheese with a hard texture and strong flavor - it reminded both of us of Parmigiano Reggiano. Mahon is made from cow's milk, which from what I understand is not all that common in Spain, and had a sharp taste and a firm texture that was almost crumbly near the rind.

We enjoyed all three of these cheeses tremendously, although it would have been nice to have had a side of balsamic vinegar or olive oil to go along with them. And the wine we selected was nice, even if it was a default choice - I wasn't in the mood for Prosecco after having had six glasses of Moet & Chandon, and beer just sounded revolting, so wine it was! For a dark red wine this was tolerable - not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination but decent enough.

From the Mouse Catch we fought our way along to China, where we stood in line for something like 20 minutes to order pork potstickers, grilled chicken with cumin & traditional northwestern chicken spices, and a specialty drink: the happy lychee.

Plate of chicken goop and two big, rubbery, pork lips

Oh Happy Drink!

China has never been my favorite booth, but in years past they always served the chicken scha-cha-cha and I would eat that with a beer or a formerly tasty green tea plum wine cooler and my gut worm would be happy. This year stopping at the China booth was fraught with as much danger as illegally crossing the frayed rope at the World Showcase entrance before 11AM. But I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by China and for that I offer them a grateful thank you. The pork potstickers, not something that I normally eat because I don't like them, were nicely prepared with a good deal of well-seasoned pork. I still think they look like wax novelty lips, but at least this time they tasted good. The chicken dish was OK - to be totally honest I don't remember much about it any longer, so it must not have made much of an impression.

As for the drink - we took a gamble and won! The Happy Lychee (pronounced Leech-ee) was very good - a little on the sweet side at first, as the rabbit pellet-sized ice cubes melted the liquour was slightly diluted and Jay and I both felt like we were sharing a mildly alcoholic, fruity lemonade. It was very tasty and worth ordering again!

And just so you know, I'm going to continue to refer to this as a Happy Lye-chee because anything with the word "leech" in it will make me run screaming from the room like a little girl.

Our final stop along the way to Italy was the Vienna, Austria booth, which we had never before visited. Since the weather was noticeably cooler today we decided to try their Paprika Beef Stew with Bacon Dumpling and their Sacher Torte. There was no need to order any booze from them since we still had a goodly portion of our Happy Lye-chee drink.

Sacher Torte and Beef Stew

The beef stew was really good - nice seasoning and very tender stew meat, but the dumpling was not enjoyable at all. You'd think a bacon dumpling could be a good thing but not today - what wasn't soggy because of the stew was dry and baconless. Next time we'll ask for another piece of beef and have them hold the dumpling.

Sacher torte is a new dessert to both of us and we enjoyed it very much. It was a dense, rich chocolate cake with a thin layer of fruit spread between the torte layers. We couldn't agree on the fruit, but I think it was apricot and Jay thinks it may have been some kind of orange. Either way, it was wonderful!

We sat on the stairs in Italy and looked out over the World Showcase lagoon while finishing this last snack and enjoying our Lye-chee. We were mere minutes away from a 90-minute food and wine pairing at Tutto Italia, a restauant we'd never dined at before. Life was good, and so we took a picture of our non-stinky selves in a rare moment of relative peace and quiet for the day.

We don't stink!

Birthday Drink Tally at 2PM:

1 Mimosa
6 small glasses of Moet & Chandon Champagne
1 shared small cup Spanish red wine
1 shared Happy Lye-chee
A whole lotta water!

 

[TigerKat]

Great update Bendy! The potstickers do look like wax novelty lips!!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I'm with you on the happy juice!

I didn't eat the pot stickers but the chicken was one of my favorites from the festival. Its always interesting to see what people loved and didn't. But I hate how it depends on the day on whats good and what isn't.

Now just to pick out when I'm going next year.

 

[onelilspark]

Another note on the price for the cheese...1 cheese=1 snack, 2 cheeses=1 snack, 3 cheeses=1 snack. It was kind of a no brainer...

 

[kabuki]

Love the personal hygiene public service announcement!!!!
You are asking way too much of people Brenda! Next thing you will want them to actually know what they want before the reach the order area of the kiosk!!!

 

[dizneeat]

Love the new reviews!

Who ever came up with the idea of serving a bacon dumpling with goulash??? You will NOT find that combination anywhere in Austria!!! The real Austria, not the Epcot booth one!
And you won the Sacher Torte jam contest - if it IS Sacher it HAS TO be apricot jam! Didn't they have whipped cream to go with the Sacher? It makes it really yummy!
End of comments from the Austrian jury!

Keep the updates coming - as I said before, I LOVE THEM!!!!

 

[jeminni]

2pm and up to 9 on the drink total

 

[TDC Nala]

I also liked the chicken from China, the Chinese chicken.

Did NOT like the shrimp and egg thing that looked like SpongeBob was hit by a steamroller. thought too late that I should have taken the srirachi and drawn a SpongeBob face on the egg cake or whatever it was.

 

[oybolshoi]

Great update Bendy! The potstickers do look like wax novelty lips!!

Thanks for reading Kat! I can't help it but any time that Jay wants potstickers I always think of those big wax lips they sell at Halloween.

I'm with you on the happy juice!

I didn't eat the pot stickers but the chicken was one of my favorites from the festival. Its always interesting to see what people loved and didn't. But I hate how it depends on the day on whats good and what isn't.

Now just to pick out when I'm going next year.

Two thumbs up for the Happy Juice - it was really good! The chicken was quite good according to my hubby - I think there must have been some spice or something in it that I just didn't like. It wasn't bad, just not a favorite of mine.

Pick some good dates for 2010!!

Another note on the price for the cheese...1 cheese=1 snack, 2 cheeses=1 snack, 3 cheeses=1 snack. It was kind of a no brainer...

Excellent point; I didn't think about that since we weren't on the dining plan.

Love the personal hygiene public service announcement!!!!
You are asking way too much of people Brenda! Next thing you will want them to actually know what they want before the reach the order area of the kiosk!!!

Someone had to say something - there were a couple of days where people should have been sporting wavy stink lines to warn the rest of us.

And yes ... unlike that tool at the Mexico booth (remember him???) ... I expect people to know what they want to order by the time they reach the CM with the card reader / money changer.

Love the new reviews!

Who ever came up with the idea of serving a bacon dumpling with goulash??? You will NOT find that combination anywhere in Austria!!! The real Austria, not the Epcot booth one!
And you won the Sacher Torte jam contest - if it IS Sacher it HAS TO be apricot jam! Didn't they have whipped cream to go with the Sacher? It makes it really yummy!
End of comments from the Austrian jury!

Keep the updates coming - as I said before, I LOVE THEM!!!!

Hey Karin! Thanks for stopping by! Jay and I both thought the dumpling was a strange addition - we haven't been to Austria (poor us) but it just didn't seem right. The stew was terrific, though. I'm disappointed that the recipe wasn't in the F&W cookbook this year - it's going to be cold and icky this weekend and something like that would sure hit the spot.

And no, we didn't get any whipped cream for our torte but I agree with you - that would only make it better! Woo hoo on my winning the jam guessing game!!

2pm and up to 9 on the drink total

Not too shabby, is it? I should be embarrassed but we were having so much fun and I didn't barf on anyone's baby or trample any elderly guests or frolic nakedly through the shrubbery so all was well.

I also liked the chicken from China, the Chinese chicken.

Are you referring to Chickity Chicken, the Chinese Chicken?

Have a drumstick and your brain starts clickin!

Did NOT like the shrimp and egg thing that looked like SpongeBob was hit by a steamroller. thought too late that I should have taken the srirachi and drawn a SpongeBob face on the egg cake or whatever it was.

We were very fortunately warned away from the shrimp spongebob by more than one friendie, and weren't even tempted to try it after hearing them describe it.

 

[Briarmom]

Great update Bendy! The potstickers do look like wax novelty lips!!

Or the lips on the Real Housewives.

Who ever came up with the idea of serving a bacon dumpling with goulash??? You will NOT find that combination anywhere in Austria!!! The real Austria, not the Epcot booth one!

Yeah, I don't know why we always have to 'Americanize' everything, but I've noticed that about the F&W as well.

2pm and up to 9 on the drink total

I also liked the chicken from China, the Chinese chicken.

Thanks for putting that song in my head.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I also liked the chicken from China, the Chinese chicken.

Did NOT like the shrimp and egg thing that looked like SpongeBob was hit by a steamroller. thought too late that I should have taken the srirachi and drawn a SpongeBob face on the egg cake or whatever it was.

I had that "thing" too. I didn't like it at all either.

 

[dizneeat]

Hey Karin! Thanks for stopping by! Jay and I both thought the dumpling was a strange addition - we haven't been to Austria (poor us) but it just didn't seem right. The stew was terrific, though. I'm disappointed that the recipe wasn't in the F&W cookbook this year - it's going to be cold and icky this weekend and something like that would sure hit the spot.

And no, we didn't get any whipped cream for our torte but I agree with you - that would only make it better! Woo hoo on my winning the jam guessing game!!

You have not been to Austria yet?? Hey, would make for another nice birthday trip - our cakes are delish!!

And if you want to make Gulasch - here is a really good recipe!

Rindsgulasch (Beef Goulash)
3 oz. vegetable oil
2 lbs. beef cubs (shoulder or chuck)
2 lbs. finely chopped onions (rule: same amount of onions to meat)
1 pint beef broth or water
2 tbsp. tomato puree
1 tbsp. hot Hungarian paprika
2 tbsp. sweet Hungarian paprika
grated skin of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp. wine- or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground caraway
1 teaspoon fresh chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon marjoram
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and brown the beef cubes. Add the onions and cook them with the meat until transparent.

Add the vinegar, paprika and tomato puree with all the spices and stir well.

Finally fill it up with the broth or water. Stir well again. Add a little salt and pepper. It is wise to use less salt during the cooking process and correct the seasoning when the product is ready to avoid overseasoning.

Bring the whole pot to a boil, then turn to medium and let the goulash slowly simmer until the meat is soft or done (approx. 1 - 1 1/2 hours). The onions are the thickening agent, so if the water evaporates, just add a little at a time to avoid a thin goulash.

If let sit for a day and reheated very slowly for about 1 hour, the taste will greatly improve.

Serve with Austrian Rolls (French Baguette will do) or any other crusty bread or Nockerl (Spatzle will do too)

 

[kabuki]

I just want to say - Thank you Brenda for providing us with fun and insightful reviews! It just don't get any better then your stuff!

You are the best!

 

[oybolshoi]

I just want to say - Thank you Brenda for providing us with fun and insightful reviews! It just don't get any better then your stuff!

You are the best!

What did I do to deserve such high praise?

Thank you very much for such a kind comment ... you made an icky day a lot nicer.

 

[oybolshoi]

I had that "thing" too. I didn't like it at all either.

Did anyone like the shrimp spongebob???

It's nice to see you here, disneyfav ... haven't seen much of you lately. Hope you're well.

You have not been to Austria yet?? Hey, would make for another nice birthday trip - our cakes are delish!!

And if you want to make Gulasch - here is a really good recipe!

Except for a couple of cruises we haven't even made it out of the country, let alone to a beautiful place like Austria. It's on the list ..... with about a thousand other places I dream of visiting. Maybe if we didn't spend so much on food and booze ...

Thanks so much for the recipe - it sounds wonderful and I am looking forward to giving it a try very soon!

Rindsgulasch (Beef Goulash)
3 oz. vegetable oil
2 lbs. beef cubs (shoulder or chuck)
2 lbs. finely chopped onions (rule: same amount of onions to meat)
1 pint beef broth or water
2 tbsp. tomato puree
1 tbsp. hot Hungarian paprika
2 tbsp. sweet Hungarian paprika
grated skin of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp. wine- or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground caraway
1 teaspoon fresh chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon marjoram
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and brown the beef cubes. Add the onions and cook them with the meat until transparent.

Add the vinegar, paprika and tomato puree with all the spices and stir well.

Finally fill it up with the broth or water. Stir well again. Add a little salt and pepper. It is wise to use less salt during the cooking process and correct the seasoning when the product is ready to avoid overseasoning.

Bring the whole pot to a boil, then turn to medium and let the goulash slowly simmer until the meat is soft or done (approx. 1 - 1 1/2 hours). The onions are the thickening agent, so if the water evaporates, just add a little at a time to avoid a thin goulash.

If let sit for a day and reheated very slowly for about 1 hour, the taste will greatly improve.

Serve with Austrian Rolls (French Baguette will do) or any other crusty bread or Nockerl (Spatzle will do too)

 

[kxs401]

Love the personal hygiene public service announcement!!!!
You are asking way too much of people Brenda! Next thing you will want them to actually know what they want before the reach the order area of the kiosk!!!

Sometimes I wish the social contract were an actual printed document that I could hand to people.

 

[KristinAnne]

Well, now that I've seen Disney at Christmas all decked out in lights, the Food and Wine Festival is next up! Your TRs make me want to go more and more each time! I really like that picture of the two of you at the end of the update.