Candlelight Processional at Epcot

This is the first year that my family and I (Anna) went to the Candlelight Processional at Disney’s Epcot. A friend at work had told me that I needed to go this year and as usual (she also convinced my family to get annual passes) we took her advice. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s when Epcot host several famous people that will read the Christmas story (you know, the one with Christ actually in it) while local choirs sing Christmas songs. They have three showing a night.

One thing I’m glad we did was make reservations in advance to eat before the show and then get priority seating for the processional. It’s called the Candlelight Dinner Package. It was well worth it for us!

The restaurant we chose was Tutto Italia Ristorante. I had wanted to eat here for a while anyway and this provided the perfect opportunity. The food was absolutely delicious! As part of the dinner package, my dad, mom, and I each got to pick a non-alcoholic drink, a starter, an entrée, and a dessert. Everything we all ordered was great. I shared the Calamari Fritti to start with my mom, the Filetto di Sogliola (lightly breaded fish served with white asparagus, capers, and a lemon butter sauce) as an entrée, and the Torta di Ricotta (lemon ricotta cheesecake topped with marinated strawberries) for dessert. I would definitely recommend any of my choices.

After we ate, we had enough time to walk around the other countries and make our way back to “America” for the spectacle. On our selected night Dennis Haysbert (might recognize him from All State commercials or the TV show 24) was the person reading the Christmas story. There were two lines. One of the lines was for the people that got the dinner package, and the other line was for the people who were waiting in standby. Both lines were so long that they were flowing into the nearby countries. It didn’t look like any of the standby people were going to get in, which was disappointing because Matt was going to meet us there after work. Luckily we were able to save him a seat, but hardly any other standby people were let in for our time slot.

The processional was very good. All the singers were excellent and Dennis Haysbert did a great job reading after a few mix-ups at the beginning. I was a little confused when the audience didn’t get any candles to hold, but I guess it’s safer that way. Overall, it was a great experience and I highly recommend it to everyone!

Brother Bear

We finally were able to have another girl's night and watch our next Disney movie after a few weeks of conflicting schedules. It was held at my (Anna's) house and the movie was Brother Bear. Brother Bear has always been one of my favorites because of the main characters overcoming adversity, so I was pretty glad to see it on our list at number 94. 

Brother Bear starts out with the main character, Kenai, coming of age. Before he can become a man though, he must achieved what his sacred totem symbolizes. Much to Kenai's dismay, his totem happens to be the Bear which symbolizes love. With the help from his brothers and other friendly creatures he finally learns that love is actually all he needs to become a man. It's not that easy and it's a great adventure so you're going to have to watch it to find out.

Since the movie was based in North America, I made our little group a Canadian themed dinner. As an appetizer I made Maple Bread with Soft Cheese. I thought it was a fitting start and pretty delicious too. As our main course I got a recipe from this year's Epcot's Food and Wine Festival cookbook. The recipe came from the Canadian pavilion and I think it turned out better than it was at Epcot (if I do say so myself). If you want to try it yourself (which I highly recommend) the recipe is below. For dessert, we had Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars. These were also delicious, but something Canadians probably only have in the summer. Us Floridians can enjoy it all year long!

Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup

Serves 10

Ingredients:

·         ½ pound bacon, chopped into ½-inch pieces

·         1 medium red onion, finely chopped

·         3 celery ribs, finely chopped

·         4 tablespoons butter

·         1 cup all-purpose flour

·         3 cups chicken stock

·         4 cups milk

·         1 pound grated white cheddar cheese

·         1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

·         1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

·         Coarse salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

·         ½ cup warm beer

·         Chopped scallion or chives, for garnish

Directions:

1.       Stir bacon over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned, in a 4-or-5quart Dutch oven.

2.       Add onion, celery, and butter and sauté until onion softens, about 5 minutes.

3.       Add flour and stir constantly for about 4 minutes over medium heat. Whisk in chicken stock and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.       Add milk and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Do not boil after adding milk.

5.       Remove from heat and stir in cheese, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until cheese is melted and soup is smooth. Stir in warm beer. If soup is too thick, thin with some warm milk.

6.       Serve hot, garnished with chopped scallions or chives.

Disney's Frozen will Melt Your Heart

Last night I (Anna) was able to FINALLY go see Disney’s newest movie, Frozen! I’ve wanted to see it since the day it came out (and it’s not just because I’m a little bias with the new Princess being named Anna). I went with Matt, Shannon, and Neil. Ashleigh was also supposed to be in attendance, but her dog, Maximus, thought some Christmas ornaments looked a little tasty.

As you could guess, the movie did not disappoint! Disney has once again outdone themselves. The story was cute and thought provoking and the songs were beautifully done! To no one’s surprise, Idina Menzel who plays Elsa, the Snow Queen, sang amazingly, as did the rest of the actors. Before attending the movie, I heard critics saying that “it was their best movie since The Lion King!” and that made me a little nervous. I was afraid I was going in with my expectations set too high, but that was not the case. They were definitely met and exceeded.

Now about the movie… since Disney refused to give too much away while they were marketing the movie, I will have to follow their lead. The movie is based very loosely on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen; although I didn’t find very many similarities. The movie’s themes focus on courage, not judging a book by its cover, and, of course the Disney favorite, true love.

Trust me; your heart will melt for Disney’s Frozen. Go see it!