Disney Food and Wine Festival

If you read this blog, you know Jeff and I are big fans of Disney. So it should come as no surprise to you that we are going to the 2010 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival at Walt Disney World this Fall. I have heard about it for years but have never been able to make it until now. I am so excited. There are 25 International kiosks set up all around the World Showcase in Epcot that serve tapas sized portions of their countries' specialty dishes and drinks. The kiosks represent countries that are already in World Showcase like France, Italy, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico and Morocco as well as lots of other countries that do not have a permanent presence in WS like Argentina, Belgium, Singapore, South Korea, South Africa, and Poland. I think I am most looking forward to trying New Zealand's wine and everything on the Ireland menu sounds fantastic to me. (Which is a little weird because who thinks of the Ireland when thinking of great cuisine around the world?But everything on this menu sounds good!)

What looks best to you? Click here to see all the menu descriptions. I want to try it all but I know I will run out of time, money and room in my stomach! Help me prioritize the must dos!

There will also be concerts throughout the 7 weeks of the festival. Look at the random assortment of talent they have lined up.

There will also be lots of food and wine seminars and demonstrations. You know this is exactly the type of event I LOVE! Here is a look at the numbers:

* More than 300 national and international wines
* 45 fabulous days long
* More than 76 kinds of international foods, each appetizer-sized portion priced $2-$5
* More than 160 of America's most celebrated chefs and Walt Disney World® Resort chefs
* 1,200 wine and beer seminars featuring more than 100 topics
* More than 1,200 fireworks rockets exploding each night over World Showcase Lagoon in "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth" grand finale to the festival
* 135 Eat to the Beat! concerts performed
* 33,000 bottles of wine and champagne
* 1.2 million hors d-oeuvre plates
* 2.1 million Vanity Fair napkins
* 750,000 beer cups
* 690,000 sumptuous samplings
* 600,000 forks
* 338,000 wine glasses
* 100,000 miniature desserts, including creme brulee, traditional apple strudel, baklava and more
* 3,000 gallons of soup, including cheddar cheese soup (Montreal marketplace), seafood gumbo (New Orleans marketplace), and chilled tomato and garlic soup (Barcelona marketplace)
* 1,500 pounds of fresh strawberries

I can't wait to tell you all about it when we get back. I am already counting down the days.

Lupa

Lupa Osteria Romana is a Mario Batali restaurant in Greenwich Village. We really wanted to go to Babbo, which is Mario's flagship restaurant, but it was impossible to get reservations on short notice. At Lupa, I think Mario is more of the money guy instead of the chef but we were ok with that because we really wanted pasta that night.

When we got to the restaurant, we were surprised at how small it was, even by New York standards. We were quickly seated but the tables were EXTREMELY close together. As in, our two top was basically a four top with the table beside us. A person could not have fit in between the two tables. I wasn't even able to put my purse on the back of my chair because the person behind me was so close. Jeff was pretty uncomfortable until the table behind him left. The person he was back to back with apparently was tap dancing at the table until they left! So the atmosphere was not something we were used to.

Once we finally settled in, we got a bottle of wine recommended by our waiter because the entire wine menu was in Italian. But it did turn out to be a wine we enjoyed. For our antipasti course, we selected broccoli rabe with ricotta, beets with pistachio and Prosciutto de Parma. We figured we would go with one thing we knew, the prosciutto and try two other new things. It turned out to be a good choice. All three were good and the preparation was was very different than anything we have had before.

For our pasta, we chose Spaghetti alla Carbonara and Bucatini All'Amatriciana. We chose the Bucatini based on a recommendation from our neighbors two inches to our right who overheard our quiet debate on which two pastas to get! The Carbonara was delicious and I have since made it at home a few times. It is extremely easy and quick and a nice luxury after a hard day at work.

All it has in it is cheese, egg yolks, diced pork, and black pepper. When I make it I use Parmesan Reggiano and pancetta. Guanciale is the more traditional pork so that is probably what Lupa uses but I can't find it in Greenville.

Bucatini All'Amatriciana is a spicy tomato pasta. I had heard of the pasta bucatini before but this is the first time I actually tried it. It is spaghetti shaped but with a small hole running through the center. It was good too but I preferred the Carbonara which worked out perfectly since Jeff preferred the Bucatini.

Like a lot of traditional Italian restaurants, pasta is only considered the first course but we were too full to try any of their entrees, even though they looked delicious. One other really cool thing to note about this restaurant is a certified Green Restaurant. They recycle, don't use Styrofoam or bottled water, and they practice water and energy conservation. The hand soap in restrooms is recycled from used vegetable oil from restaurants. All in all, Lupa was good but not somewhere we will try again.

Artisanal Bistro

A friend of Jeff's who used to live in NYC recommended Artisanal Bistro to us and I am so glad he did! This French bistro was my idea of heaven because they had a huge variety of cheese and wine. As one review, hanging on their wall, said, "it is like Disney World for cheese lovers." They even have a fromagerie in the restaurant.


The best way to get the most variety into your visit is to try their wine and cheese fights. They have 12 different cheese flights, with three cheeses each, that you can get with or without their recommended wine pairings. Since I love cheese as much as I do, we had a cheese flight for an appetizer and another one for dessert. All the wines and cheeses we tried were fabulous but the absolute best pairing was onthe Fromager's Selection Flight. I didn't love either the Epoisses, a cow's milk cheese from France, or its paired wine, a French Sauternes, on their own. The washed- rind cheese was oozy and stinky. The wine, a Chateau Padouen '06, was sweeter than I normally like but when put together with the cheese, the flavor was absolute magic in my mouth. The flavors married together unlike any other wine and cheese pairing I have ever experienced. I will be recreating that magic on my next cheese board at home.
For the main course I got the special of the day, Bouillabaisse. It was everything a good bouillabaisse should be with lots of seafood- shrimp, scallops, mussels, and fish-with fennel, potatoes and a very flavorful tomato seafood stock. Jeff got the Mussels Frites, mussels steamed in white wine and garlic with a side of crispy French fries. The mussels were good but we both agreed that they were not as good as our favorite steamed mussels at Bin 112. My stew was served with a garlicky aioli on the side. We ended up using it as a dip for Jeff's mussels and fries and it was great.
As I already mentioned, we got another cheese plate for dessert but Jeff had a hard time deciding since there was a chocolate tart with salted caramel ice cream. He isn't a huge chocolate fan but ever since he tried salted caramel ice cream at the California Grill, he can't pass it up when he sees it on a menu. Luckily, the waitress was kind enough to bring him 2 scoops to try so we didn't have to get another whole dessert (since I was obviously not giving up my second cheese plate!) The ice cream was wonderful but I was in heaven with my Epoisse and Sauternes magic.

We will definitely return here on our next NYC trip. We didn't even get to try their famous fondues. Our dinner was so good and the menu was so tempting we debating going back the next day for lunch but we ended up not being able to make it.

-Joy

Where Have You Been?

I think most of our friends and family have given up on reading our blog since it has been 4 months since we last posted. But the blog is not dead! Since our last posting we have both been busy with work and been on numerous business trips (Jeff more than I) and a couple of personal trips. We both went to NYC for business then a few weeks later went again to celebrate my birthday. Since NYC is pretty much the culinary mecca of America, we have lots to share. -Joy

Bin 112

On Saturday, We decided to go to dinner at one of our all time favorite Restaurants, Bin 112 in Downtown Greer. We discovered Bin on August 18th, 2007. The night we got engaged.

We'd eaten that evening at Gerrard's, which was also in Greer but closed a year or so later. After dinner, we were walking around downtown and came across Bin. It had opened only two months earlier in June. We went back and tried it a few weeks later and instantly fell in love with it.

The atmosphere is very intimate and casually elegant but the food and service was what really got us. The wait staff are very attentive but what really stands out is how friendly they are. Each time we go back they remember us and always strike up a conversation. A few of them will even remember our favorite dishes each time we go even if they don't wait on us for months at a time.

Atmosphere and service are great, but the reason we go, of course, is the food. The cuisine can best be described as "eclectic southern". Every item on the menu comes in half or full sizes so you can get your own meal or go tapas style. We prefer tapas style. I also love the little southern touches like the use of collard greens in many of the dishes.

Here's a rundown of our dinner on Saturday night and a few of our favorite items. We start with a bottle of Redhead Studios Yard Dogs Red Blend of Cab, Malbec and Petite Verdot From Australia. They also bring complimentary homemade chips and bread.

Our first items were half size orders of "Flaming Kasseri" "Mussels on the Beach", "Tapas the World, Mom!". Three of our standards.

The Flaming Kasseri is a fried Greek Mediterranean melting cheese finished with lime and flamed with Tequila. So freakin' good.

The Tapas the World, Mom! is a plate of marinated vegetables like olives, roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, green beans, artichoke hearts and tomatoes.

Mussels on the Beach is my personal favorite. It's fresh mussels sauteed in an incredible garlic, lemon Sauvignon Blanc sauce. My suggestion, get more bread to soak up the broth once the mussels are gone. (The picture doesn't do it justice, trust me.)

After our standards, we tried something new. The night's special was a pan fried grouper with a bacon-wrapped scallop over Carolina rice and collard greens. The dish was garnished with clams in a lobster cream sauce. WOW! The grouper was absolutely fantastic.

For dessert, we tried their new special... the Cordillera S'Mores. It's a homemade smoked chili chocolate bar with marshmallows and graham crackers served with a fire pot so you can make the s'mores yourself at your table. It was very fun.

As always, our meal was fantastic. But don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself. The website is bin112.com.

- Jeff

Reuben Dip

This dip will be my contribution at tomorrow's Dip of the Month Club. What is DOTM Club, you may ask? A couple of girls at work, Natalie and Jennifer, came up with a great idea to gather a bunch of co-workers each month to sample new dips and share the recipes. So I will have more dip recipes coming soon! I came up with this recipe over the weekend and it is a new favorite. I just happened to find Rye Triscuts and they go really well with the dip. I think I like this combination even more than a regular Reuben sandwich!

Ingredients

1/2 pound corned beef. Deli sliced thick then cut into ½ inch pieces
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 C shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1 cup sauerkraut, drained and squeezed well
½ C Thousand Island dressing

In a medium bowl, combine corned beef, cream cheese, 1 C Swiss cheese, sauerkraut,and dressing. Spoon into a greased, 1-quart baking dish. Top with remaining ½ C Swiss cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Serve warm with Rye Triscuts or rye bread.

Note: I used reduced fat cream cheese, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing and it turned out great.

Smoky Tomato Soup

Oh my goodness this is my new favorite gotta-get-dinner-ready-in-less-than-20 minutes recipe! It is so tasty but quick and very healthy. The key is the quality of the ingredients so make sure you actually have the smoked paprika and the fire roasted tomatoes. Don't substitute the regular versions.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 chopped garlic cloves
3/4 tsp smoked paprika
2 large 28 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes (Muir Glen makes an organic version usually in the health food aisle and I recently found some made by Hunt's in the regular vegetable aisle. )
1/2 C orange juice

Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute about 5 minutes until they are soft. Add garlic and paprika and saute for 2 more minutes. Add tomatoes and orange juice and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer half the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Since it will be hot, make sure you open the center piece on the lid to allow steam to escape. Cover it with a towel as you blend. Pour into a large bowl and repeat with other half. Or you can use an immersion blender if you have one. I prefer the regular blender because it makes smoother soup. Top with some Parmesan or cheddar cheese or sour cream and enjoy.

We sometimes make grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it if we are especially hungry.