Honey Mango Margarita

A few weeks ago I was wandering through the produce section of my neighborhood Publix and was confronted with a pile of somewhat mis-shapen fruits labeled as “Honey Mangos”. They were on sale for the pauperly price of a buck each, so I picked a few up with (what else but) margaritas in mind.

Honey Mangoes

I searched through a few mango margarita recipes for inspiration, and based the following recipe loosely on one from the new Rick Bayless Frontera book. Let’s pull out the blender and get started….

Honey Mango Margarita

3 ounces Silver Tequila

1 1/2 ounces fresh Lime Juice

1 ounce Cointreau (or other orange liquor)

2 ounces Honey Mango Puree (see below)

1 1/2 ounces light Agave Nectar (or Simple Syrup)

4 or 5 fresh Basil Leaves

Slice of Lime and Fresh Basil for garnish if desired

Salt for rimming the glass if desired

First we make the mango puree – peel and pit the mangoes (use a couple and you’ll have plenty extra puree which should keep in the fridge for three or four days). The fruit has an odd, elongated pit, but it’s not that hard to navigate.

Dissected Honey Mango

Cut the flesh into roughly 1″ chunks and toss into a blender. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed.

Honey Mango Puree

Rim your glasses with salt if desired (and you will desire to…).

Put the basil leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker and muddle a bit to release their flavor then add the tequila, lime juice, Cointreau, mango puree and agave nectar. Throw in a good handful of ice cubes, put the top on and shake well until very cold.

Strain the drink into your prepared glass (straight up or on the rocks, as you prefer), garnish as desired and bottoms up!

Honey Mango Margarita

This turned out to be a wonderful concoction, sweet and fruity from the mango and the bit of basil adds just the right notes of herbaceousness (cool word there, huh?). The honey mango lived up to it’s name, you could certainly use a non-honey mango (or maybe something else like peaches when in season), but taste before you puree, you may want to add a bit of granulated sugar if the fruit is not very sweet. I also think this would take well to some added heat if you’re so inclined – mango and hot peppers often being paired in Caribbean cuisine – try adding a bit of habanero or jalapeno when muddling the basil.

I think you’ll really like this one! Miss Bonnie gave it two thumbs up (well, really one thumb, the other was involved in holding her glass). Please try, and as always, leave your comments!

Back to the kitchen (and the bar), see you soon!

I was able to make it to property that Friday a bit before Miss Bonnie, so I went over to Animal Kingdom for a while to check out the new construction going on there (see “WDW Odds & Ends: More Construction Wall Fun!” for the results of that research). Needing a bit of something on my (seemingly-ever-expanding) belly to get me to dinner-time, I bypassed some more healthy options (yes, I did consider the Asian Noodle Salad at the veggie-only kiosk on the path between Asia and Africa)…

but something drew me to Flame Tree Barbeque (one of the better quick-service eateries on property in my humble opinion), but even there, I was able to keep it to a vegetarian afternoon snack…

of Fried Onion Rings and a Safari Amber draft beer… got to be a healthy start to the weekend, right???

I took a seat in the lower dining area, which has a great view of Expedition Everest, and leisurely downed the quite good rings. As one guest passed by my table he commented that “I want to hang out with this guy, onion rings and beer, he’s got it all figured out!”.

Now sans a grumbling tummy,  I returned to our resort and after Miss Bonnie arrived we made our way to Epcot and met up with Mama Ginny and Papa Harry.

Mexico Booth Menu

We headed over to Mexico in the World Showcase and started our trek for the evening with another of the delicious margaritas there.

Rosita Margarita

Someone may have had something to eat there… but I was paying to much attention to my drink to notice…

Where that tasty tequila comes from… planter near the Mexico booth…

Bonnie stopped in Italy to try the veggie lasagna…

Lasagna Primvera at Primavera Litchen

it was pretty good, but nothing spectacular…

Frushi, Hana Awake Sake, and Chirashi Hanazushi from Hanamai

We next picked up some items from the Japan Flower & Garden booth to dine on while we sat in the American Garden Theater for one of the evenings concerts.

Flo & Eddie

We watched a very entertaining and hit-filled (even if Bonnie didn’t recognize most of the songs…) set by Flo & Eddie of the Turtles. Before the show began we ate our Japanese vittles as we waited for the band to take the stage.

Chirashi Hanazuchi (Grilled Salmon, cooked Shrimp and Crab Stick over Ginger Rice with Volcano and Dynamite Sauces)

The Chirashi Hanazuchi is like a “scattered sushi” and in addition to the cooked seafood (yes kids, sushi doesn’t mean “raw fish”, it means “with rice”…) there was edamame and bits of cooked egg/omelet – the pair of spicy sauces set off the sweeter taste of the shrimp and fake crab and each bite was just a bit different – we loved this and it’s for sure on our “have-again-next-trip” list!

Frushi (Fresh Strawberries, Pineapple and Cantaloupe wrapped in Coconut Rice with Raspberry Sauce, Coconut and Whipped Cream)

We also had the Frushi which is perhaps the most fun item of the festival – fresh fruit wrapped up in seasoned rice and presented like a traditional sushi roll. Accented by sweet whipped cream and a berry sauce, this was an unusual and surprising item, and a great way to get some young finicky eaters to maybe try some fresh fruit (or even an adult that may be reluctant to consume the “F” word)… on both of our visits I overheard many guests talking about this item – I think this will wind up being one of the big hits here!

Tarte a la ratatouille et fromage de cheve (Ratatouille of Zuchinni, Eggplant, Bell Peppers, Onions and Tomato on a pastry crust with Goat Cheese)

From there we wound our way around to France and the L’Orangerie booth to sample the version of Ratatouille there. Served on a pastry crust, this was essentially a Ratatouille pizza, and was rich with veggie-goodness… it got me thinking about making something similar myself soon…

And of course we had to try the Sparkling Muscat as well…

Bonnie and I had been coveting the tomato dish being served at The Cottage in the UK since our first visit (and for some reason we never got around to trying it that time)…

Tomato fixins…

so we made sure to try it this time around.

Waterkist Farms Heirloom Tomatoes with House-made Mozzarella, Minus 8 Vinegar and Basil

Perhaps we were expecting too much from this, but it left us both a bit underwhelmed… the tomatoes weren’t bad, but also weren’t great, and considering the tomato flavor itself is critical to a dish like this, well… and the mozzarella I thought had a bit of an odd, tougher-than-I-expected texture – I was expecting a more creamy, fresh texture from the cheese, but it turned out a bit more firm and rubbery… this was a great idea to go along with the “garden” theme, but I felt the execution was a bit lacking.

So after that, we headed for one final stop to wind up our evening, and to a place we knew we wouldn’t be disappointed: La Cava del Tequila in the Mexico pavilion.

We ordered drinks all around, and I had the tequila shot selection to start… then I needed a bit of heat to round out the day and ordered a Jalapeno Margarita… “extra hot please”… so what I got was…

Jalapeno/Habanero Margarita (with remnants of shots in the background)

a Jalapeno Margarita turned up to 11 with the addition of a fresh habanero! A great lip-numbing,  tonsil-tingling end to a great day of eating & drinking around the World! And we were just starting the weekend…

Saturday AM Miss Bonnie and I made our way over to the east coast to do a recon mission… we’ll save the purpose of that trip for another time, but we did find a great place to have lunch in Cocoa Beach!

We had stopped into the DIS Welcome Center near Port Canaveral to pick their brains about a cruise later in the year and as we were leaving we asked about a good place for lunch – Rob and Walter both chimed out “Simply Delicious”.

We’d heard our friends at the DIS Unplugged talk about the Simply Delicious Bakery in Cocoa Beach, so the choice was easy…

This breakfast and lunch place is in a uniquely decorated old house, with tables crammed everywhere and odd nicknacks all over the place.

What was hard was deciding what to have – sandwiches on house-baked bread, soups, it all sounded so good… and they serve breakfast at lunch, so that even added to the dilemma…

Blackened Mahi Sandwich

we both independently chose fish sandwiches and sipped on tea as we waited for our lunch… they bring a tiny little pitcher of simple syrup to sweeten your tea if you don’t want any of the granular sweeteners (which happened to be on the table in a margarita glass!).

Bonnie had a blackened mahi sandwich, while I chose the Mahi Reuben – their take on a traditional Reuben sandwich with the fresh grilled fish standing in for corned beef.

Mahi Reuben

Both sandwiches were fresh, large and well, simply delicious! My “side” Grecian Salad took up half of the not-so-small plate… portions here are not skimpy, and the prices are right, with most items running about $10 or less. Our young server was attentive and well, just darn sweet!

We also drooled over some of the breakfast dishes we saw coming out to other guests, and I briefly contemplated coming back the next day all the way from Disney just to eat there again!

If you’re in the area I’d say this is a don’t miss place – perfect for a pre or post-cruise bite. You can read a breakfast review on Foodies Tales (which also has a link to the DIS podcast review).

We made our way back to the World (as Miss Bonnie shed a little tear as we passed by the Disney cruise ship moored at the Port) and contemplated where we should sup that evening…

and as we’ve done on more than one occasion, we decided to head over to the Wilderness Lodge resort and have a table full of appetizers-for-dinner at the Territory Lounge.

We once again met up with Mama Ginny and Papa Harry and settled into some comfy chairs at a corner table in the lounge. We (shockingly!) ordered a round of adult beverages whilst we decided on the evenings edibles.

House-made Northwest Chips with a trio of dips: Smokey Blue, Truffle Aioli, and Huckleberry Honey

We made our choices and shared all around the table… the crispy potato chips came with three sauces, the truffle aioli being the best of the bunch.

Cheddar Cheese and Beer Fondue served with two types of bread, Washington State apples, and dried fruit

We dunked the varied cubes of goodies into the tangy beer and cheddar fondue… the fresh apples and dried fruits going particularly well with the molten fromage.

Wild Mushroom Flatbread with caramelized Balsamic onions, Smokey Bleu cheese, figs, and arugula

We also had the flatbread topped with mushrooms, sauteed onions, blue cheese, figs and arugula. The meaty/fruity figs and the peppery arugula greens were a nice foil for the ‘shrooms and onions – an unusual combo that worked well.

Bag-O-Doughnuts

At dessert time we were joined by a Famous-Disney-Food-Blogger and we got an order of the Drunkin Doughnuts (so apropos for our group!).

The cake-like circles and holes come in a paper bag with a cinnamon-sugar mixture – you shake it up and pour them out onto the plate…

Drunken Doughnuts with Maple-Liquor Glaze

and then best of all, you dunk them into the Drunkin part, a ramekin filled with a melange of melted butter, maple syrup and Grand Marnier… hell yes… what could be bad about that combo? Carbs, sugar and booze! That’s the way to end your night, and we called it one then…

Sunday was going to be a short day in the World before we headed out, but we did make our way to Epcot again for some lunch in World Showcase before wrapping up the weekend.

Taste of Marrakesh Menu

Miss Bonnie wanted to go for a Lamb Wrap at the Tangerine Cafe in Morocco, so I opted to start my feeding with an item from the Taste of Marrakesh kiosk. We had eaten there on our first visit, but got a bit distracted right after we ordered, so I wanted to give the lamb there another try.

Spiced Lamb Kabob with Vegetable Couscous Salad and Iced Mint Tea

And it was worth trying again – the lamb was full of earthy, herby flavor. The side of couscous seemed to be the same (good) version from the Cafe, and the mint tea was a nice change of pace.

While Bonnie was sated after her wrap, I still needed something to top off my tummy, so we headed towards Germany.

Epcot Germany Stein

We stopped in the gift shop and came across a few new steins there, one with scenes from the Germany pavilion all around it…

Epcot Germany Stein

and another with characters added to the scene…

Epcot Germany Stein with characters

with Goofy, Donald, and of course Mickey, showing off their Oompah skills.

Epcot Germany Stein with characters

Each stein comes with the ever-popular “Certificate of Authenticity” and a brief history of the stein in Germany.

Certificate that comes inside the steins

Both of these steins were about $125 (or thereabouts to the best of my feeble recollection), and were hefty and seems to be of good quality if you were in the market for such an item. But if you wanted something with say, a bit more character, or at least one specific character, you could opt for the Grumpy stein…

Grumpy Stein

I guess Grumpy has been known to lose his head now and then…

but be prepared to drop an extra C note if you want this one!

Grumpy’s bottom

We decided to save our money for food and made our way to Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market for one last bite of the weekend.

We’d tried the savory bread pudding and the potato pancakes here on our first go-round and had enjoyed them both (especially the bread pudding), so I was eager to see what a German meatloaf would be like.

German Meatloaf Sandwich with Sweet Mustard and Fried Shallots along with a Krombacher Hefeweizen

The meatloaf itself was a lighter color than I expected, so I assume it was at least part pork (or maybe veal?). The meat(s) were obviously very finely ground and the texture was smooth and dense.

German Meatloaf Cross-section

The meatloaf flavor was fairly mild, but the sweet mustard added nicely to it and the crunchy fried bits of shallot gave it some texture. The bread could have been a bit softer for my taste, but overall not a bad dish, if still it wound up being my least favorite from this location.

After that we sadly had to bid farewell to WDW for this trip – it was a fun weekend with some good food and drink, and even better friends!

So there you have it boys and girls, another weekend of eats from around the World – hope you enjoyed another gustatory tour!

As always, it’s back to the kitchen – see you again soon!

Bridge heading to Africa in Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Starting over in Animal Kingdom, as you head towards Harambe in Africa you’ll now see a construction wall starting at the bridge from the Discovery Island area heading to Africa.

The wall hides the water to the left side of the bridge…

and follows the river beside the Dawa Bar…

goes behind the bar and continues back behind the entrance/exit area of the Tusker House restaurant.

The talk going around has been that a new theater to house the Festival of the Lion King show would be built in Africa (so that the existing theater in Camp Minnie-Mickey could be razed making way for Avatar-land…), and this big expanse of vision-hiding vertical walls seems to bear that out…

Update – since first publishing this post, Miss Bonnie has verified with one of the main singers in the Lion King show that they have been told that the new theater is now being built behind Tusker House.

Now let’s move over to Epcot.

Construction Wall in the American Adventure area of Epcot

Perhaps not as exciting as a new theater, but there has also been rumor of a new restroom going into the World Showcase between the Japan and the US pavilions (if guess if you need to use the restroom it might be exciting).

This wall next to the American Adventure gift shop sure seems to be a logical place for a new loo… and they wouldn’t have to take down any of the nice trees beside Japan… and I don’t think there is anyone that would argue that Epcot, and especially World Showcase, could use a few more stalls and urinals…

Scrim and construction walls on the lagoon side of Morocco

And what may likely be the most-peeked-thru set of construction walls over the next few months is in nearby Morocco…

A peek through a gap…

It’s no rumor that the newest waterside eatery in Epcot is going to be housed here.

Dubbed “The Spice Road Table”, it will reportedly be a “small plates” restaurant, sounding very much like the popular Tutto Gusto in Italy, but with a Mediterranean bent. The official Disney announcement was posted by Pam Brandon on the Disney Parks Blog, while our good friend AJ Wolfe has more details and some inside scoop over at the Disney Food Blog. I’m very much looking forward to this!

Temporary stage for Mo’ Rockin

The outside gift shop, and adjoining performance stage for the popular band-and-belly-dancer combo Mo’ Rockin, have been flattened. A temporary stage for the band is now in front of the exit area for the boats that currently ply the waters of the lagoon, while the gift shop wares have been condensed and inserted inside the front of the Tangerine Cafe quick service restaurant.

Condensed Morocco gift shop.

The Henna artist now plies her trade in the outside covered seating area of the Tangerine Cafe.

So there you have it Dear Dedicated Readers, another loving look at construction wall fun around the World! I’m sure we’ll keep updating these upcoming edifices as time goes on…

Back to the kitchen, see you soon!

“That sh*t has a long-a** slide”

Keep it Classy Disney Guests…

If you listen to any Disney-centric podcasts, or frequent any Disney related message boards, the subject of “Four Parks in One Day” inevitably comes up…

How feasible is it to visit all four Walt Disney World parks in a single day? What highlights would you show someone who’s never been to the World if you took them to all the parks in a day? And so on…

A while back this sort of talk got me to thinking about the fun that could ensue from having Four Margaritas in Four Parks in a Day… and after mentioning this idea (and some other, somewhat idiotic alcohol-related quests) to Miss Bonnie I thought not much more about it.

Until late February that is, and the Best Holiday of the Year, National Margarita Day, came around!

Miss Bonnie and I, along with several members of the Harem (Mamma Ginny, Papa Harry and Lori Loves Tigger) were going to be in the World on that most Holy-of-Holy Tequila Days, and the ever-wise Bonnie suggested we finally give my goal a try!

Okay, I know Dedicated Readers are saying Four Parks? Four Margaritas? Is there some Magic Place in the Magic Kingdom that serves the Best Cocktail Ever??? Well, sadly no, and even though there is now beer and wine during dinner inside the Beast’s castle, there is not a ‘rita to be had, so for one of the four parks, we’re going to have to fudge a bit…

One option for the “Fourth Park” could be Downtown Disney (the future “Disney Springs”), and the waterfront Margarita Bar, where they do make a nice beverage…

but as Miss Bonnie & I were lodging around Crescent Lake, we all decided to meet up there and start our Tequila Trek at Boardwalk Joe’s on (where else but) the Boardwalk.

Boardwalk Joe’s Margarita Menu

Like the kiosk at Downtown Disney, they also make a nice (and also not-inexpensive) drink here… the beverage of choice for this day was the high-end Patron Anejo…

Patron Anejo Margarita at Boardwalk Joe’s… do you know how sad it makes me that the sign on top doesn’t light up at night???

this was a nice start to the festivities, but from there we had to get a move on… whereas most of the “Four Park” type events start at rope drop and go to the last fireworks at night, we didn’t start until about 5 in the afternoon, and with two of the parks (Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios) closing at 7 that night, we had a lot of traveling (and drinking) to get in in a short amount of time! And to add to the time constraints, we were only going to use Disney transportation (and our legs) to get from place to place, everyone was taking part in the festivies, and with no sober designated driver no Harem member needed to be behind a wheel during this event!

So we hopped a bus from the Boardwalk Resort to take us to Miss Bonnie’s favorite park (and the home of one of my favorite bars on property) Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Dawa Bar in Harambe Village

When we arrived we quickly hoofed it to the Africa section of the park, and right across the bridge on the left we came to the Dawa Bar in the busy village of Harambe.

If you insist…

The Dawa Bar is a spacious, open-air area next to the Tusker House restaurant, and is a great place to get a respite from the heat of Animal Kingdom. And yes, have a tasty cocktail, or three…

but on this day, we sadly only had time for one, and the choice du jour just had to be the African Margarita.

African Margarita

This refreshing beverage features a South African tangerine liqueur that is apparently-unobtainable-to-normal-humans (if you know where to find it, drop me a note!) – this flavor makes this different from any other margarita on property, and truly one of my favorites!

Even more African Margaritas!

We took a seat to have a quick rest, drank down about half of our drinks, then downed the rest on our way back out of the park to make our next stop in Hollywood Studios.

After the bus arrived at the Studios, we hustled in not long before the turnstiles closed and made our way to the Tune-In-Lounge next to the ’50′s Prime Time Cafe.

Dedicated Readers know that this is definitely one of my favorite haunts on Property, and home to my Favorite Blonde Czech Bartender (who unfortunately was not there for this weekends festivities, but Ivan, who has served us more than once, was there to take care of our tequila needs).

Bar at Tune In Lounge

In addition to drinks we also ordered some not-too-bad onion rings to help sop up the tequila.

Onion Rings at Tune in Lounge

I think the straight-forward Patron Silver Margaritas here are great (and goodness knows I’ve had plenty of them!) – if you’re looking for a good, basic ‘rita on property you could certainly do worse than the one here.

Patron Silver Margaritas waiting to quench our thirsts…

Now with three drinks, and three “parks” down, we had a bit of time to spare and made the scenic walk from the Studios to (my favorite park) Epcot, and what has become the epicenter of the Margarita World on Property…

La Cava!

La Cava del Tequila in the Mexico pavilion.

This cozy, and incredibly popular, spot in Epcot was luckily for us sparsely inhabited as we looked for our final drink of the quest, and we were able to snag a table while most of the other Epcot guests found their spots to view Illuminations.

Pineapple Margarita at La Cava del Tequila

To wrap up our Margaritafest I chose something a bit different, the Pineapple Margarita – I figured the healthy extra fruity goodness of the pineapple would counteract some of the deleterious effects of all the alcohol – yeah, right…

So there you have it dear Dedicated Readers, our festival of Four Parks and Four Margaritas as we celebrated National Margarita Day! It was sure fun and I can’t wait to do it again next year!

Have you done any unique “Four Park” things? Or any different adult-beverage-related trips around the parks? If so, please share in the comments!

Back to the kitchen – see you soon!

The 20th version of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival began a couple of weeks ago in the waning days of winter with the usual collection of topiaries…

Watch that finger Phineas!

a big butterfly house…

Floral Butterfly outside the Butterfly House

which this year houses Tinkerbell and her Pixie friends…

gardening displays…

and gorgeous flowers everywhere!

These buds are for you!

But there is a big difference this year…

food and drink!

The Smokehouse in the American Adventure

Several of the Food & Wine Festival booths have been re-purposed to provide guests with new dining (and drinking) experiences while wandering around World Showcase during Flower & Garden! This is a first for this festival, and the Harem and I were there to take in the first full weekend of Flower & Garden. We sampled many of the items offered, so I thought I’d give you a look, and my thoughts, on some of the edibles (and drinkables) at this year’s event, so let’s start by taking a counter-clockwise trip around the lagoon and dig in…

Fruits by the Glass

To start your visit off right, as you enter World Showcase from Future World you’re greeted with Fruits by the Glass (the Food & Wine Craft Beer location) featuring several interesting wines, brews, a watermelon cocktail and a non-alcoholic slushie (if you must).

Fruits by the Glass bill of fare

The specialty here is a Watermelon Passion Fruit Cocktail.

Watermelon Passion Fruit Cocktail

This frozen drink features a Florida made cane vodka, the drink is pretty sweet, but nice during the heat of the day – certainly worth a try.

Just keep pouring…

There are also a couple of nice Florida fruit wines available here.

Mango Mama and Blueberry Blue Wines

Now properly fortified we can make our way to the right and find the Pineapple Promenade…

Pineapple Promenade

The Promenade Refreshments stand (usually the location where I get my first Stella of the day) has been converted into a Dole Pineapplepalooza….

Pineapple Promenade Menu

The big hit here is the iconic Dole Whip, but with a twist….

Dole Whip with Spiced Rum

the addition of spiced rum! Yes boys and girls, you don’t have to sneak your own booze into the Magic Kingdom to get a spiked Dole Whip! And yes, this was really good… the frozen pineapple flavor mixes real well with the rum, just remember to mix it up from the get-go, or else it will get really strong at the bottom of the glass.

The Cottage Menu

Next in the United Kingdom is the Cottage, and one of the best things we tried…

Potato, Chive and Cheddar Cheese Biscuit with Smoked Salmon Tartare with Sour Cream (left), and Baked Goat’s Brie with Kumquat Chutney

a savory biscuit filled with a chopped concoction of smoked salmon – this might have been Miss Bonnie’s favorite dish of the festival, and even though I’m not a huge salmon fan I’d gladly stuff another one of these down my craw…

L’Orangerie Menu

L’Orangerie in France seemed to get mixed reviews from the Harem (the peach dessert was not particularly liked), but all I had was a bite of the Pate, so I’ll reserve judgement for now…

Verrine Charlotte au Peches (Caramelized Peaches with Rosemary and Light Vanilla Cream) in France

Yet another alcoholic slushie in France… Grey Goose Orange Vodka with St. Germain Liquor and White and Red Cranberry Juice

In Morocco we find the Taste of Marrakesh…

Morocco – the Land of Young Ladies with Amazing Hair…

we tried a couple of items here, but got distracted with a Random Encounter with a Disney Blogger, so there are no pics from here… maybe we’ll revisit at a later date…

Hanami (“Flower Viewing”) kiosk in Japan

The familiar Japan booth has some interesting dishes, but I only got to sample one this trip…

YakiSoba Pan and Yuzu Rita

and sadly the one food item I had here was the only real culinary mis-step I found that weekend…. the YakiSoba Pan is a teriyaki flavored soba and veggie dish (which would have been perfectly fine on it’s own in a bowl) that is served, for some reason, in a hot dog bun… it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either… I’m looking forward to trying the other items here on our next visit, but I won’t be ordering this one again. The version of a frozen margarita here, the Yuzu Rita, was however a winner – I’m not a huge frozen-drink-kinda-guy, but for the ilk this was pretty good – the bit of yuzu flavor seemed to keep the drink from being overly sweet (as many frozen concoctions seem to be) – this will be real nice as the weather warms…

In the courtyard of the American Adventure we have a tribute to that All-American favorite combo of Barbecue and Beer.

The Smokehouse

The Smokehouse was one of the busier booths the first weekend, and with good reason…

The Smokehouse Menu

Dedicated Readers probably know I can be a bit of a Barbeque Snob, but I do cut a bit of slack to someplace that’s going to have to serve mass numbers of patrons, and certainly don’t expect high-end competition-style cue, or even the best thing I can produce off of my Egg from a theme park… in any case, the food here was among the best things we had all weekend.

Smoked Beef Brisket with Collard Greens and Jalapeno Corn Bread (left) and Pulled Pig Slider with Cole Slaw

The brisket was tender and not too fatty, and the greens and cornbread were the perfect foil to the meat. Sweet and (not very) hot tomato-based sauces were served at the condiment area, but really the brisket didn’t need much help. The slider (and don’t get me started on that whole slider-thing) was a take on the usual pulled-pork sandwich, and came out well – it could have used a bit more slaw, and it did need a bit of sauce, but overall was a nice portion and quite good.

Beer Flight at the Smokehouse

The genius idea of offering beer flights surfaced the last couple of years at Food & Wine, and continues here at the Flower & Garden Festival. The flight here features fours American brews of very different styles, and I enjoyed them all (including the Porter, which I’m usually not crazy about – it had an smoky, almost caramel, taste that went well with the meat-heavy entrees here).

Rocky Road Brownie Mousse

Dessert here was a fluffier take on the typical brownie (and the only thing that the currently-vegetarian Surly Teenager tried at this location) and was another nice item – all-in-all this was one of our favorite booths and I expect will be one of the biggest hits at the festival.

Primavera Kitchen Menu

Waterside in Italy we have the Primavera Kitchen, where Miss Bonnie tried the most expensive food item of the festival….

Asparagi con Aragosta all’Ortolana

the Asparagi con Aragosta all’Ortolana, which is a combo of asparagus and lobster enrobed in “Garden Cocktail Sauce”. She begrudgingly allowed me to share a bite, and we both agreed this was totally delicious, and it was the sauce that really made it. Miss Bonnie thought there was a bit too much of the sauce, but it was damn delicious and I gladly lapped up the remaining drops after the seafood and veggies were gone…

Bauernmarkt Food Booth

Bauernmarkt, the “Farmers Market” in Germany comes up next…

Bauernmarkt Food Menu

This area is laid out just as it is during Food & Wine, with one kiosk serving food and some beverage…

Bauernmarkt Beer Booth

and another set up to service the needs of the beer drinkers among the guests…

Bauernmarkt Beer, etc. Menu

sadly the brew selection is not nearly as extensive as the one offered during the fall event, and for some reason this kiosk in Germany, with a German name, only has one German beer…

I tried two of the savory food items here, the Bread Pudding and the Potato Pancakes.

Savory Bread Pudding with Spring Peas and Wild Mushroom Ragout (top) and Potato Pancakes with House-made Apple Sauce

Both were quite good – the bread pudding was like a great Thanksgiving dressing with a mushroom gravy – I’ll have this again on the next trip…. the potato pancakes were very popular, and the requests for them kept them coming off the grill hot and fresh – the applesauce was a bit too much and could overwhelm the pancake itself, but if you kept it to a minimum was a nice compliment…

Pan-Fried Vegetable Bun and Lychee Aerated Water from the Lotus House

We also tried both of the savory items offered in the China pavilion at the Lotus House.

The insides of the Vegetable Bun

The Pan-Fried Vegetable Bun had a nice filling inside the soft, spongy breading and is served with a sweet dipping sauce.

Spring Pancake with Grilled Chicken and Green Apple

The Spring Pancake is filled with tender chicken and topped with essentially a slaw with julienned green apple. The sweet/tart flavor of the apple really sets this dish off while the fried noodles also give a bit of crunchy texture component. Bonnie and I both thought this was another big winner.

Jardin de Fiestas

Near the end of the trip around World Showcase is Jardin de Fiestas in Mexico.

Tostada de Jaiba (left) and Tacos de Carnitas

The two savory choices here were both good and worth a try: the Crab Tostada was served with a creamy Chipotle-flavored Mayo and Valentina Sauce (a squeeze of citrus did help to liven it up a bit) while the Pork Carnitas Taco had a Tamarindo Salsa (could have used a bit more of this) and fine Chicharron topping in a flour tortilla. But the best thing here was…

Rosita Margarita

the margarita!

Served on the rocks (thank you for not freezing yet another drink) the Rosita Margarita had a light, unique flavor enhanced by the smell of a fresh rose petal floating on the top. Try this one… trust me…

Florida Fresh Kiosk

The last stop in our tour around the lagoon was (spoiler alert) one of our favorites. Florida Fresh had a couple of very good food choices (one that might be a bit out-the-ordinary to some guests) and a couple of very unique Florida wine selections.

Hot Sun Tomato Wine and 40 Karat Carrot Wine from Florida Orange Groves Winery

Florida Fresh Menu

The Watermelon Salad is a wonderful contrast of the sweet fresh fruit with the combo of pickled red onion, spicy arugula and feta cheese all glazed with a reduced balsamic dressing, just so, so good! Although this combo may sound a bit odd to some, it really works.

Shrimp and Stone Ground Grits with Andouille Sauage, Zellwood Corn, Tomatoes and Cilantro (left, paired with the Tomato Wine) and Watermelon Salad with pickled Red Onions, BW Baby Arugula, Feta Cheese and Balsamic Reduction (along with the Carrot Wine)

Miss Bonnie devoured the shrimp and grits, barely allowing me a tiny taste… the spicy sausage gave it just the right amount of zing – the recommended pairing of the unusual tomato wine (which also had just a bit of spice to it) was right on the money! The carrot wine is much drier than you’d expect, and went well with both dishes.

One of the interesting things they are doing at the food locations is to highlight some of the products being used with signs that have some facts about the produce in the dishes.

Some corny stuff here…

Who knew???

There are also living examples of the produce going into the dishes…

Planter near Florida Fresh

they do something similar during the Food & Wine Festival, but mostly in smaller pots, these large planters really emphasize the fresh fruits and veggies.

Garden Passport

Another great idea lifted from the Food & Wine Festival is the Passport Booklet.

Garden Passport

Inside are all the food locations where you can check off what you’ve tried, and at each place the castmembers have a cute ink stamp to denote your visit there, and in some places the castmember might even write a personal note!

Garden Passport

Unlike the Food & Wine version which only lists food & drink stations, this Passport also lists garden locations such as the Butterfly House and the Land of Oz where you can get your passport stamped. Kids (and more than a few adults) love collecting the stamps and getting their booklet completed – this has been one of the big hits at the Food & Wine Festival the past few years and I love it’s inclusion in Flower & Garden!

Festival Center

And the new food and drink offerings aren’t just limited to the World Showcase booths – you can find some different offerings, including one very fun one, at the Intermissions Cafe inside the Festival Center.

Intermissions Cafe

There is a nice selection of food items, and beverages here…

Intermissions Cafe Menu

but the fun, and different, item here is the Beet Lollipop… a couple of pieces of roasted beet (one red, one golden) and a wad of cream chesse – you push the whole mess into you mouth and let the flavors mix as you chew!

Beet Lollipop

Even if you’re not fond of beets, this fun little item is worth a shot (who knows, you may change you opinion of the much-maligned root…), and at 99 cents there’s not a lot to lose… hell, even if you don’t eat it it’s worth buying it just to say you got something at Disney for less than a buck! Just how often does that happen???

The Festival Center of course has lots of merchandise, including several specialty adult beverages by the bottle…

and it’s interesting to note that the Florida Orange Groves wines are actually cost less at Disney than at the winery (by several dollars)!

While you’re at the Festival Center, be sure to check out the interesting tribute to Disney Legend Bill Evans.

Soon after we entered the World Showcase on that Friday of the opening weekend, we ran into Epcot Executive Chef Jens Dahlmann. Gracious as always, Chef Jens spent a few minutes telling us his about the festival eats and sharing his favorites with us. He noted they made an effort to have all the food items as different as possible from the Food & Wine favorites to give this event a distinct feeling, and I’d have to say he and his staff succeeded. Overall we found the food to be of high quality and flavor, and with a nice variety (especially considering the smaller number of booths compared to the fall festival).

One thing we noticed on the opening weekend was the distinct lack of lines at the booths…

despite it being a beautiful weekend during spring break, we rarely had to wait long to be served… from a selfish guest perspective, it was great not having to wait long, but from a fans perspective, who wants this concept to be successful and continue, it was a bit disconcerting…

This was the last weekend of the very popular Strawberry Festival in not-too-far-away Plant City, and certainly the nearly 200,000 people who attended that event the same weekend siphoned many potential guests from the opening weekend of Flower & Garden, so it will be interesting (and maybe frustrating) to see if lines and crowds grow during the coming weeks… I’m hoping (and fully expecting) that Epcot will have a huge hit on it’s hands and the new Food & Wine version of Flower & Garden will continue for many years to come, but as always, time will tell.

If you’ve made it to Flower & Garden already please chime in with your thoughts, or if not, let everyone know what you’re looking forward to trying (or wish you could try if you can’t make it)!

Back to the kitchen, see you soon!

Pineapple Margarita

Well, once again we spent too much time drinking and celebrating margaritas in February (more on that in another post…) to get you a recipe for that month, so let’s not waste too many days in March before we try something new…

This recipe is inspired by one from Rick Bayless’ book Frontera: Margaritas, Guacamoles and Snacks (and I’m sure we’re going to be seeing more recipes from or inspired by this tome in the coming months…). So let’s get to it, shall we?

Pineapple Margarita

Parts and pieces…

3 ounces Reposado Tequila

1 1/2 ounces fresh Lime Juice

1 1/2 ounces Cointreau (or other orange liquor)

3 ounces Pineapple Puree (see below)

Coarse Salt for rimming the glass

Piece of Pineapple and/or Lime for garnish as desired

First make the Pineapple Puree – take half of a fresh peeled and cored pineapple and cut into about 1″ pieces and put into a blender or food processor, add 1/2 cup sugar…

and 1/2 cup water. Process until very smooth and foamy (maybe 2-3 minutes).

Strain through a fine sieve (push down/stir with a spoon as needed), cover and refrigerate until needed (can be made 2-3 days ahead). Bayless notes that extra puree can be used to make pineapple agua fresca by adding sparking (or still water), some lime juice and maybe more sugar and serving over ice… but I’m thinking you may want to make lotsa margaritas…  okay, time to move on…

Moisten the rim of a glass (or two if you’re willing to share) with a bit of pineapple of slice of lime and upend the glass into the coarse salt to rim the glass.

Put the tequila, lime juice, Cointreau and pineapple puree in a cocktail shaker with a good handful of ice cubes and shake away until good and chilled.

Pour the pineapple-goodness into the prepared glass, garnish if desired, and sip away! Makes one big (my size) drink, or maybe two normal ones…

Pineapple Margarita

If you’re a pineapple fan (as I am), this one is a keeper for sure! For a little bit of bite, try adding some dried chili of your choice to the salt for rimming the glass – the sweetness of the pineapple can certainly handle it…

Give this one a try & let everyone know your thoughts in the comments!

Back to the bar…

Even though I always enjoy the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival, and usually attend several times during it’s run, rarely am I excited about it… this year, however, it’s a bit different…

Floating Gardens near the Odyssey

The past couple of weeks has seen some of the plantings and topiaries starting to go up around Epcot.

Butterfly House construction on February 16

And various bits of construction are going on….

And again a week later on the 23rd

but what really got me tingly…

The Craft Beer stand from Food & Wine awaits it’s re-purposing for the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival…

was seeing food (and beverage) booths going up for the first time at the Flower & Garden Festival!

Sheriff Woody welcomes a food booth (and a mysterious photographer) to the American Adventure!

The items being offered sound great: Watermelon Salad (see the recipe at the Disney Parks Blog), Carrot Wine (and yes, we’ve already tried that… and it doesn’t taste like what you’d expect…), Savory Bread Pudding with Spring Peas and Wild Mushroom Ragout, Pulled Pig Slider with Cole Slaw, Baked Goat’s Brie with Kumquat Chutney and on and on and on…

Hedges hiding what will be the “Farmers Market” near Germany…

and here’s a peek behind the curtain…

The choices all sound great, and knowing Chef Jens and his team at Epcot, I’m expecting a lot, and I don’t anticipate being disappointed…

There’s a nice, brief, overview of this year’s additions over at the Disney Parks Blog, and of course, our good buddy AJ over at the Disney Food Blog has all the menu items for your perusal.

Kiosk in Japan

The opening is just a few days away… and yes, the Harem and I will be there! Will give you a report and thoughts soon – will you be there too???

I just don’t know why we don’t get a day off work for this one!

And if you need any inspiration for celebrating the day, check out our Margarita of the Month recipes – I’m sure you’ll find at least one that will strike your tequila-fueled-fancy!

Enjoy the day – responsibly of course!

Salud!

Back to the bar…

Manchurian Cauliflower

I realized that even though I’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen, it’s been quite a while since we’ve cooked together, so I thought I’d share one of my absolutely favorite recipes: Roasted Manchurian Cauliflower.

Dedicated Readers will be aware of my affinity for Chef Suvir Saran (and of course his food!).

Suvir Saran

I’ve shared several of his recipes here on the blog (see the end of this post for links), and this is yet another one and it comes from his most recent book, the James Beard Award nominated Masala Farm.

This is one of those great recipes that makes a hearty, flavorful veggie entree, or can be a great side as well… so without further ado, Let’s Cook!

Manchurian Cauliflower

Ingredients

3 Tbl Canola Oil

3 Whole Green Cardamom Pods

3 Dried Red Chiles (more or less to taste…)

1 Tbl Coriander Seeds

1 Tsp Cumin Seeds

1/2 Tsp Whole Black Peppercorns

1 Head Cauliflower, cored and broken/cut into florets

1 Tsp Kosher Salt

For the sauce:

2 Tbl Canola Oil

1/2 Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

8 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1 1/2 Cups Catsup

1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper (more or less to taste)

1/4 Tsp Kosher Salt

Procedure

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease a 9″ x 11″ baking dish with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil (or spray with cooking spray).

Grind the cardamom, chiles, coriander seeds. cumin seeds and peppercorns in a spice/coffee grinder until fine (okay, I often cheat on this and just use some packaged Garam Masala and/or Chat Masala, don’t tell Suvir…).

Mix the spices with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil and put that mixture, the cauliflower and salt in a large bowl and stir to coat the florets in the spiced oil.

Put the cauliflower into the greased dish and stick that puppy in the oven. Cook for about 20 minutes (you may want to stir about half way through).

Now make the sauce…

Pepper + Garlic = Good

Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil with the black pepper in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat until the pepper is fragrant, about a minute. Add the garlic and stir constantly for another minute until it smells good.

Add the catsup and cook another couple of minutes, stirring often.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the salt and cayenne. Cook until the sauce becomes darker red and thickens, stirring often, about 6 to 8 minutes. I will often add a splash of fish sauce for a bit extra oomph… no it won’t taste like fish… okay, it’s for that now-almost-over-used-word umami…

After the cauliflower has roasted 20 minutes, remove from the oven and stir in the sauce.

Return to the oven and cook another 20 to 30 minutes, stirring two or three times, until the cauliflower is tender.

You can add other veggies to the cauliflower while roasting as desired – I usually add chunks of red onion and often sweet peppers (as you can see in the picture above) – carrots or parsnips would be nice as well. Top with some chopped cilantro if you like.

Serve the dish with rice, and if you want to have a vegetarian meal you can add a simple green veggie on the side (like roasted broccoli, which you can do in the oven at the same time as the cauliflower). This would also make a great side to a simple roasted chicken or other protein.

Manchurian Cauliflower with Coconut Rice

This is truly one of my favorite dishes, and one that I crave often – give it a try and let us know how you like it!

Here’s some other recipes from Suvir that are on the blog: Fried Chicken Masala (amazing!); Simple Roasted Cauliflower; Coconut Rice; Grandma Hayes’s Corn Bread (THE cornbread! Trust me!); Delicious Dal.

As always, I’m headed back to the kitchen… see you soon!