2013 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Kick Off

September 29, 2013September 1, 2017Carroll 2 Comments

We had a big week at work with the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Presented by CHASE® kicking off. Take the chance to taste your way around the world and discover global cuisines and a world tour of cultures and experiences.

This is the best time of year in the park, there are so many food related events and a focus on food that reaches around the globe, how can a chef not love it! The festival runs thru November 11th this year, plenty of time to get your passport stamped!

There are many events during the festival that our team is responsible for and I just love being able to be part of them. The energy in the kitchen in the coming weeks will be dynamic, along with all of our cast, we add in many eager students and talented guests chefs from across the world.

The festival started for our team predawn on Friday with a plated breakfast in the Festival Cranberry Bog, where a few local news programs featured Discover the Cranberry, hosted by Ocean Spray® Craisins® Brand Dried Cranberries. We had the pleasure of recreating these Ocean Spray recipes for our guests. I can’t to make the pizza for my niece and nephew.

Peanut Butter, Banana and Craisins® Roll Ups

Craisins® Breakfast Bars

Ocean Spray® Craisins®-Orange Muffins, Disney’s BoardWalk Bakery

Craisins® Crunch Breakfast Bowl

Mickey Fruit Pizza

Turkey Sausage and Craisins® Strata

On opening day we also had The Chocolate Dinner –Prepared by Dale Reynolds, Chef Epcot, World Showplace East Hall. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed being around while Chef came up with this Ghirardelli® chocolates menu. These guests truly got lucky. I literally was licking my fingers when Chef Dale brought me samples to try. Tip of the day- never pass up White Chocolate Beurre Blanc! Below is the team that worked on it, Chef Carla Hall wanted to get a picture with this team!

Ghiradelli Chocolate Dinner

Reception Items Prepared by Chef Lisa Rios

Chef Dale Reynolds Presents:

Soup Course

Oxtail Consommé with Dark Chocolate Chile Ravioli

Chateau St. Michelle Reisling, Columbia Valley

Prepared by Chef Rebeca Modia

Second Course

Chicken and Waffle

Braised Chicken on a Chocolate Dipped Waffle Chip

Franciscan Estate Napa Valley Chardonnay

Prepared by Chef Alejandro Ocanto

Sorbet Course

Chocolate Sorbet

Prepared by Chef Dennis Byras

Main Course

Maine Lobster with White Chocolate Beurre Blanc

Chocolate Rosemary Braised Short Ribs

Cocoa Bean Smoked Shallot Mashed Potatoes

Baby Vegetables

La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

And La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

Prepared by Chefs Omar Harris and Micah Ginder

Cheese Course

Baked Brie with Dark Chocolate Caramelized Onions

Rosa Regale

Prepared by Chef Jason Jakubowski

Dessert Course

Milk Chocolate Risotto

With Drunken Cherries and Pistachio Brittle

JDK & Sons™ Crave Chocolate Cherry Liquor

Prepared by Chef Melissa Webster

We also had an Ocean Spray reception back at the Festival Cranberry Bog and the Butterfly Garden area opening night. The Ocean Spray reception menu was an international experience, all with cranberries incorporated into the traditional dishes. It was a fun menu to create taking classic flavors and putting a cranberry twist on them. We truly learned about the versatility of cranberries!

Japan

Craisin® Infused Five Spice Char Kobe Beef with Sriracha
Craisin® Vegetable Fried Rice

United States

Seared Free Range Chicken with Craisin® Moonshine Pearls
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Craisin® Ketchup

Canada

Cranberry and Sea Salt Cured Wild Salmon with Maple Sugar Crystals
Craisin® Glazed Pork Belly with White Cheddar Maple Grits

United Kingdom

English Mustard Dusted Scotch Egg with Cranberry Marmalade
Beef and Craisin® Sheppard’s Pie

France

Artisan Cheese Stuffed Craisin Brioche
Craisin®, Bacon and Brie Potato Gratin

Mexico

Mole Shrimp Quesadilla with Cranberry Salsa
Pulled Chicken Craisin® Tamales

Chef Damon was lucky enough to take a dip in the Festival Cranberry Bog and chat with the guests about the vast uses of cranberries! Ahhh- the #CranberryLife

What a exciting and fun start to the best time of year at Epcot! I can’t wait to get out and experience it as a guest! But the behind the scenes experience are ones that I will cherish for a lifetime. Super lucky to be on this great team doing amazing things!! If you have the chance be sure to get to the festival and bring your appetite! Follow along with all the chatter at #EpcotFoodFestival!

Thank God we had our jogging stroller with us. All that walking at the theme park would have been way too much on the children. Our double stroller really paid off in the end. I’m really glad we checked out: Top 5 Best Double Jogging Strollers | 2017 Reviews | ParentsNeed.

Butter Chicken For The First Day Of Fall!

September 22, 2013Carroll 2 Comments

When we went to Atlanta a few weeks ago we went to the Dekalb Farmers Market on the recommendation of a friend at work. She told me I could find anything I wanted and more, and when we pulled into the parking lot and saw the size of the market I knew were in for a treat! I wish I had some pictures to share, especially of the fish mongers, but the market does not allow pictures. It was a food lover’s mecca, for real. I felt like a kid in the candyshop with wavering self-control. Fortunately I knew I had to limit my haul to shelf stable items as we were traveling so I went straight for the spices! I grimace when I have to purchase a $4-5 small bottle of a spice I am missing, when I saw these 1 cup containers filled with all kinds of flavors for under a buck and a half I could not resist.

I took a way quite a few Indian spices to add to our cabinet. With the first day of autumn upon us, I knew plenty of soups and stews would be on the horizon. Fall into Indian Cuisine! Sir Wes hadn’t ever had Butter Chicken also called Chicken Makhani, nor had I ever made it, so I thought it was a perfect dish to kick off the new season.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 white onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ tablespoon chopped ginger
½ tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup milk
1 cup tomato puree
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, julienned into 1 inch strips
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Chopped cilantro

Directions:

Pour 1 tablespoon oil in a 2 quart saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent. Add in butter, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon garam masala, chili powder, cumin, coriander and bay leaf. Stir the spices as they cook, drawing out their peak flavor for a minute. Mix in the tomato sauce, and continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in milk and the yogurt and reduce the heat to low. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the sauce from heat and set aside.

Place a heavy bottom large skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add in the chicken strips and cook chicken until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat to medium low, and add in teaspoon garam masala and cayenne. Feel free to eliminate the cayenne or add more based on you heat preferences. Add the sauce into the skillet and simmer over medium low heat. The sauce will reduce and thicken as the chicken finishes cooking. When ready to serve stir in chopped cilantro as garnish.

This recipe will serve 4 guests. Serve with basmati rice or fresh naan bread.

If you ever get the chance to get to the Dekalb Farmer’s Market you must go for it. Take advantage of the lower prices and branch out of your everyday cooking style. Try something new, you might just find a new favorite!

Happy first day of autumn and may all your leaves fall in the right place!!

Gooey Pumpkin Cheesecake- A Happy Mistake of a Non Baker!

September 15, 2013September 16, 2013Carroll 5 Comments

My friend Jenny brought in her hometown favorite last year to a work pot luck, St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake. It was only one small bite that I took, which was all I needed to know that I would add this to my “must make list”. I had no idea what it was; I didn’t recognize it as anything I have tried before, just rich, buttery, and gooey goodness. When Gooey Butter Cake made it to the top of my must make list, I spent some time looking for a recipe, recalling Jenny telling me she uses Paula Deen’s version. I found the one, but ran upon Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Gooey Cake and could not resist trying this version. I just wanted to make a small tweek…

Pumpkin desserts need graham crusts. Some pies, cakes, bars just do not reach their potential without graham bottoms. I shun any key lime pie made with a plain butter crust, same is true for pumpkin and sweet potato. So I knew right away that I needed to modify the great Paula Deen’s recipe to make it better, how could she not know this?

Here’s what I did-

Crust:

18 graham crackers, finely ground
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Filling:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350. Add all the ingredients to a food processors and pulse until well combined. You may need to do in two batches depending on the size of your processor. If you are without a food processor try crumbling the crackers by putting them into a large Ziploc bag and then use a rolling pin to crush them.

Press the crumbs into the springform pan and bake for 10 minutes.

To make the filling:

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over graham crust and bake for 75 minutes until the center has a soft jiggle and a pick comes out clean.

When I took it out of the oven, I couldn’t help but think this is not right; it looked just like cheesecake. Crap. This is not what I was hoping for. All this time thinking about that bite of Jenny’s Gooey Butter Cake and this is what I get- cheesecake. I cursed myself, first for using the pumpkin version instead of the traditional Paula Deen recipe, and then for changing it, thinking I knew better as if I was professional baker. Crap.

Wes came in from working in the yard and smelled the house, proclaimed it smelled like heaven. I gave him a quick sigh of frustration and told him how stupid this cake was, that I was pissed. (Excuse my language, but I was super mad). He didn’t really seem to connect with my frustration; all he saw was a perfect looking and smelling cake sitting on the counter.

When the cake had cooled completely I sliced into it, and saw that I was right, it had a cheesecake consistency. This was not Gooey Butter Cake. But I plated up the slice and took my photographs, just in case it came out tasty. When I was done shooting, I took the bite off the fork and smiled with relief. Deliciousness.

The cake certainly was not what I planned for, Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake, but was one of the best pumpkin cheesecakes I’ve had. Rich but not heavy and the pumpkin flavor was sweet but not like candy. There was stronger pumpkin taste then in typical cheesecakes which I love.

I took a chance in the kitchen, which is not unusual for me to do, but I don’t typically mess around with baking recipes. In this case I was lucky; my chance had a happy ending. Jenny’s Gooey Butter Cake is still on my must make list, and this Pumpkin Gooey Cheesecake is now on the repeat list!

Here We Go! Here We Go! Steeler’s Peach Salsa

September 8, 2013Carroll 2 Comments

Sir Wes is lighting up the grill this weekend to get his wings on. As you must know it is the long awaited NFL Kick-Off Weekend. With coals already burning, I thought I would cut line and grill some peaches before the wings hit the grill for a quick salsa.

I do enjoy watching football, but tend to get distracted easily. I sometimes find that can watch all four quarters and not be able to tell you what happened. Not all games, but some…

Steeler’s Grilled Peach Salsa

1 1/4 pounds ripe peaches, (3-4 medium), pitted and sliced in wedges
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons red bell pepper
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Prepare grill, charcoal or gas, to medium heat. Brush the peaches sections lightly with oil. Place the peaches directly on the grill and cook until charred and softened, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove from the grill and cool in refrigerator. Meanwhile mix the onions, peppers, lime juice, cilantro and a touch of salt. When cooled, chop the peaches into 1/4-inch pieces and add to the mixture, tossing delicately.

This salsa works will with chips as well as grilled fish, chicken, pork and anything else that might be on your game day table!

About half way thru the football season I will start to focus more about what is on the table then what is on the TV. By 3/4 thru the season the only thing that keeps me tuning in is the Steelers and my fantasy teams. I am a tough competitor (I like to think anyway) in 2 Pigskinner Pick ‘Em Leagues, the owner of one fantasy football team, and assistant coach to another. By this late into the season I have started planning the Superbowl Menu and tuning into Real Housewives in lieu of the 8:00 game.

That’s pretty much my football season, but for this weekend I am all in!

By the way- did you notice how shiny and pretty the Notre Dame Gold helmets are? Here we go! Here we go!!

Vanilla Lemonade

Chef, Creative Developer, Top Ranked as Ultimate Day Dreamer, Amateur Photographer.

Month September 2013

2013 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Kick Off

Butter Chicken For The First Day Of Fall!

Gooey Pumpkin Cheesecake- A Happy Mistake of a Non Baker!

Here We Go! Here We Go! Steeler’s Peach Salsa