liamsaunt

Tuesday into Wednesday I made a couple of loaves of pane francese. I had trouble with the shaping--the dough stuck to the couche a bit so I lost the pointy ends. I don't think I floured it enough. I froze one loaf and made the other into a giant Sicilian tuna sandwich-- tuna that I poached in olive oil the day before, heated back up in some of its oil with sun dried tomatoes, capers, and spinach added, topped with hard boiled eggs. I found the recipe in Fish Without a Doubt, by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore. This is supposedly a two person sandwich but it could have easily fed four.

Lasagna with arugula salad. The filling was a mix of roasted mushrooms and Italian chicken sausage, plus the usual cheeses. It's impossible to take a pretty picture of lasagna. I marvel at the clean layers of lasagna in the food magazine photos. I have always wondered if those lasagnas are taken cold from the fridge to be photographed. It tasted good, anyway!

Last night, the end of the Thanksgiving turkey was made into sandwiches with avocado, bacon, and carmelized shallot aioli

I have successfully ordered prime rib roasts from Lobel's and Pat LaFrieda for prior holidays. This year I ordered from Heritage Foods. Last year we had a prime dry-aged roast from Eataly. I do not eat beef so cannot personally comment on the flavor difference between the dry and wet aged. Both seemed to be equally popular with the members of my family that do eat beef.

Seared tuna with sage garlic chips, roasted lemon potatoes and spinach

garlic knots and spicy cod spaghetti with tomatoes, olives and capers

Thank you! Most of the pictures were taken with a Canon 60D with an 18-135 mm lens. I have had this camera for over 10 years. My husband upgraded me to a 5D with a new lens last year, but I still prefer my old workhorse. A couple of the photos, like the interior of the California Grill picture, were taken with an iphone 11.

The internet at our hotel was insanely slow, so I gave up on updating this. Now that I am home and through Thanksgiving, I have time to post the rest. Our hotel had Todd English's Bluezoo in it, so we stopped in a couple of times for late night snacks. Jumbo shrimp scampi Truffled risotto tater tots Crab beigniets We went back to Oga's Cantina in the evening for a glass of wine. My white wine was blue. Weird! We stopped in to Satuli Canteen in Pandora for an early lunch. Chili-garlic shrimp and noodle bowl Chopped chicken, bean and rice bowl We celebrated my husband's birthday at the California Grill. The restaurant has nice sunset views Bread served with roasted tomatoes and olive oil Roasted tomato flatbread Spicy kazan roll with crab, shrimp, scallops, tuna and fireball sauce Shiso glazed tuna with pineapple brown butter shisito vinaigrette, cashews, avocado and sea cress. The dark stuff was black rice puffs Fonduta tortelloni with chanterelle mushrooms, black truffle, corn-saffron butter sauce Oak fired filet of beef with aged gouda mac and cheese, spinach and onions We were too full for dessert but the waitress brought my husband a free slice of cake. He blew out the candle before I took the photo Our last meal was at the Flying Fish. Snow crab croquette with blood orange and tarragon Jumbo shrimp with crispy serrano ham and citrus Potato wrapped snapper with leek fondue and cassis-red wine reduction Sardinian seafood pasta with shrimp, scallops and lobster And that's it for this quick trip. A couple of fireworks shots to end. Disney does a great job with fireworks.

Most of the time real dishes are used. It is the festival food--the food and wine posted recently, and the flower and garden earlier--that are served on paper. There's no practical way to use china at the festivals. The booths are very tiny--big enough for two or so people inside, and the food is generally eaten while standing up and/or walking. Disney does have a robust recycling program. That said, I have always thought it would be a money maker for them to sell commemorative reusable flatware and wine cups (something like a metal corksicle). When I remember, I bring wooden flatware from home to use as I have quite a bit leftover from when I was doing chemotherapy, but I forgot this trip. We came down mostly to see Star Wars Land. The land has a bar that is built to look like the cantina. We stopped in twice. The atmosphere is pretty funky Our first reservation was in the morning, so we opted for non alcoholic drinks. The cantina does not really have food, it is just drinks. Mine, on the left, was OK. It had a mix of fruit juices and boba balls. There was dry ice (I think) in the bottom of the cup that made the balls bounce around inside the glass. Four different people came up and asked if they could take a video of my drink haha. My husband's drink was the blue milk, and it was DISGUSTING! It tasted like bubble gum. I let him share mine out of sympathy. Cool atmosphere, bad blue milk! We had dinner at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Cocktails--mine was called the Fabulous Marines, but I forget what was in it (I started taking pictures of the cocktail descriptions after this meal). Bread with sea salt butter We shared an order of shrimp cocktail with fennel slaw and cucumber foam I got a bowl of the ginger-lemon grass pho, which came with mushroom and tofu spring rolls. I added shrimp for an upcharge. They gave me lots of chiles and cilantro to put in the pho, which was great. I really enjoyed this. Husband had the duck, which came with grilled plums, marinated fennel, pea tendrils, a citrus-honey vinaigrette and a pomegranate barbecue sauce. The duck was perfectly cooked. He loved this dish and ate it all. Too full for dessert. Yesterday neither of us had much of an appetite. We just had some small bites at Animal Kingdom. Nomad Lounge is a nice place to stop in for a few drinks and get out of the heat. For our first round, husband chose a boto rita (zignum reposado mezcal, combier grapefruit liqueur, guava puree, and lime juice), and I had a spice trader classic (Heyman's Old Tom gin, Dolin vermouth blanc, lemon juice, and strawberries topped with soda water) We also order a bread service to share. This had pappadum, paratha, and spiced focaccia served with tadka, spiced coriander yogurt, and fig tapenade We ordered a second round of drinks. Husband had the hightower rocks (casa dragones blanco tequila, watermelon, sweet and sour, and lime juice), and I ordered the sinaloa sangria (rose, barsol quebranta pisco, and fresh fruit. I ate most of the fruit before taking the picture haha)

Friday was my husband's birthday. We decided to try a new restaurant in the Japan pavilion at EPCOT, Takumi Tei. I had seen photos of the sushi online, and it looked gorgeous. Of course, by the time we dined there, the menu had changed. Sigh. But first, we started the day with breakfast from the France pavilion. Husband had a ham, gruyere, and butter baguette I ordered a bacon and gruyere roll. Both of these were huge. I managed about 1/3 of my roll. Husband came close to finishing his sandwich despite initially complaining that it was too big. To work off all of that cheese and get an appetite for dinner, we walked a LOT. I had 32,000 steps on my fitbit by dinner time. We both ordered the same cocktail, which I forget the name of. It had gin, sake, lychee etc. Amuse of pickled daikon radish and watermelon rind Husband started with hama no kani: ponzu crab, toasted crab, tomato, watermelon radish tsukemono, leek gel, sesame pollen, plum wine I had the agedashi tofu: fried silken tofu, tentsuyu, brown butter black rice, shimeji mushroom, daikon tsukemono, carrot ginger puree, crispy lotus root We both felt these potions were too large. I would have been happy with one tofu square, one pile of rice, etc. instead of three. The flavors were good but neither of us finished these. Next, we shared a platter of termari sushi. There was uni, yellowtail, tuna, salmon, and fatty tuna--two pieces of each. The "fatty tuna" was escolar which we both strongly disliked. The others were good. The uni was nice and creamy and I really liked the yuzu gel on the side of the plate. Main courses. I ordered the ochazuke: misoyaki sea bass, karikari sushi, shirasu, tsuekemono, toasted nori, shimeji mushroom, and ocha dashi broth. This was delicious. I wish I had skipped an appetizer so I could have finished this. I did manage most of it. Husband ordered the ushikai no shukakku--cattleman's harvest: Japanese A-5 Waygu ribeye, potato, lotus root, baby shiitake mushroom, cippolini onion, arima sansho pepper reduction. He said it was excellent. We were too full for dessert even though it was his birthday. We watched the fireworks from the Japan pavilion after dinner.

I am back in Disney for a quick pre-Thanksgiving trip. This time it is just my husband and I. It looks like I never finished reporting on the last time we were down with my family--I have over 100 more food photos from that trip that I never posted here but they are old now, so who cares about those. We are taking a break from the parks so husband can watch the Patriots game, so i will amuse myself by looking at food photos. We arrived Thursday evening, and proceeded directly to the Magic Kingdom for the Christmas party. My husband had flown in from Milan late the night before, and was pretty jet lagged, so we left early and missed the parade, but did manage to see the fireworks and have dinner. We ate at Jungle Navigation Company Skipper Canteen. We shared an appetizer of pan de queijo, which was served with a cilantro and fresh cheese sauce. They were very tasty, but as you can see from the picture, the portion was way too large. What are two people going to do with nine breads? I ordered a rice noodle dish with head on shrimp, tofu and vegetables in a spicy sambal sauce. It did have some heat which was nice. Unfortunately husband's dinner picture did not come out, which is too bad because it was a delicious pan-seared golden tilefish with greens, cassava cake, and a mango-habanero sauce. No dessert. Fireworks shot Our first full days in the parks coincided with the last two days of Disney's annual Food and Wine festival. We've done this before in a group and it is usually pretty fun. This year, with only two days and two people, we were unable to sample most of the booths. We got to eight split between Friday and Saturday, and skipped 41. A cheese and wine sampler: left to right, gorgonzola with a cranberry chutney and crisp bread (chutney overwhelmed the cheese), and a chardonnay from Sonoma. The next cheese was supposed to come with aged balsamic and cippolini onions, but we got olives. Fine, I like olives. The wine was an Oregon rose. And finally Italico with apricot chutney pared with a California Petite Syrah Next, a black pepper boursin soufflé. I did not notice the fig jam in the menu description, and so was disappointed when it was not savory. My fault. Charcuterie in a cone from the Spain booth. Spicy hummus fries with tzatziki and chipotle sauces from the Morocco booth. This was my favorite of the dishes we tried. An Impossible burger slider. We waited longer for this than any other food item we tried. It was very popular. I liked the wasabi cream it was sauced with but the burger itself tasted grainy. Husband liked it more than me, I was done after one bite, he managed a few more. Loaded mac and cheese with Neuske's pepper bacon and leeks. It was hot yesterday so a bite of this was more than enough. Husband enjoyed it. Striped bass tostada with cabbage slaw and tomatillo sauce. The slaw and tostada were good but the fish was overcooked Crab cake with avocado cream and cabbage slaw. Neither of us liked this much. The crab was fine, it just was not too exciting Peri peri shrimp from the South Africa booth. A bit salty

The muffin was not toasted, it was microwaved, so it had that gummy yet hard texture that microwaved bread gets. The eggs were overcooked and flavorless, as was the alien cheese. Oh, and it was $9.50 plus tax. I am glad everyone got a laugh out of it though! That made it worth it. Close. Disney. My husband is a Star Wars geek and wanted to see Star Wars Land on his birthday weekend. I'll put the rest of my food "adventures" in the Florida topic.

Sad, sad egg and cheddar sandwich. I did not make it. I bought it on vacation. The coffee shop was called Fuel and I guess it served that purpose.

yesterday, inside out omelet with mushrooms This morning, porridge with warm cardamom blackberries, toasted coconut, walnuts and pumpkin seeds

Tonight's dinner was another recipe from Meera Sodha's Fresh India, Park Street kati rolls. I made my own parathas which made it a bit more time consuming than she may have intended. Anyway, the cooked parathas are heated and then topped with egg, then flipped and filled with a sautéed blend of paneer, bell peppers and red onions seasoned with cardamom, cumin, and Indian chile powder, then topped with a cilantro chile chutney. I have no idea why I made two, one was more than filling enough! I saved the other one to repurpose into some sort of breakfast or lunch tomorrow.

Actually, the recipe calls for 2/3 cup whole milk, and for the panko to be ground up in a food processor before blending it with the meat and milk, I guess to eliminate the crunch. I do not like meatloaf, but I have notes in my cookbook next to this recipe from my Mom's experience cooking it for my Dad and brother. They all said the texture was not pleasing and also they felt the garlic sauce was overpowering...and my entire family loves garlic. Most of Ina's recipes are good, but she does have a handful of real clunkers. I personally cannot stand her recipe for bay scallops gratin.

Congrats! Dinner tonight...I make this sandwich in some form every time my husband is traveling for work. I love it, he hates it because I made it too many times when we were in college. Roasted mushrooms, gruyere, dijon, arugula.

i made this a couple of years ago and did not care for it. It may have been the vinegar I chose. I'll probably try it again soon since I keep seeing it here. This morning I made another breakfast from Made in India: Inda Boflo, or spiced Ugandan eggy bread. Basically, it is a savory and spicy french toast flavored with chiles and cilantro, served with a sweet and spicy tomato-ginger chutney. It had quite a bit of heat. I liked it.

Here is a soup I made on Friday night. I used leftover mashed potatoes and leftover celery root-potato puree from dinners earlier in the week. one onion sautéed in butter then combined with the leftovers and some chicken stock in a slow cooker for a few hours, stick blended and then topped with bacon and scallions. I was going to add cheese too but the soup was rich enough without it.

Yesterday I made four recipes from Meera Sodha's Fresh India (her next book after Made in India). This cookbook is entirely vegetarian. Paneer kebabs with ginger and cilantro, paneer kebabs with sticky mango, fresh coconut rice with cashews and shallots, and cauliflower and pomegranate chaat. All were delicious.

Last night, pan griddled flatbreads from Bread Illustrated. Good, but I prefer the version I make on the grill more. Considering it was about 15 degrees last night, using the grill was not an option. I also made two recipes from Meera Sodha's Made in India. Salmon and spinach curry, and carmelized onion jeera rice

Skipped the eggs this morning in favor of steel cut oats with golden raisins, brown sugar and pumpkin seeds

I just use regular butter with a small splash of oil in a very hot pan. I also dry them well and salt them for a bit before sautéing. I get my scallops from a fish share so they are very fresh and not chemically treated, which also helps.

The version I made was from Meera Sodha's Fresh India. She says that the dish is named after a Mr. Kerjiwal, who special ordered the dish every morning for breakfast at the Willington Club over 30 years ago. Finally, after many years of his daily request for this breakfast, the club put the dish on their formal menu and it became very popular in Mumbai. Her version just has the egg, cheese, mustard and chile (she calls for green but I only had red today). The cilantro and red onion sound like terrific additions. I'll try it that way next time.

Acadian redfish cooked meurniere style, with celery root-potato puree and peas from the freezer because I am low on fresh vegetables. Need to go to the food store.