Food and Wine- My experience

     On October 19th, we made our way to the food and wine festival finally! Of course, Shannon and I were running late to meet up with Anna and Matt. However, upon arrival we checked out our passports and started making our way around the world! We skipped a lot of the beginning places like Mexico due to the massive crowd, deciding another visit would include those. We stopped at China for our first try. Now for those who don't know, these are all basically samples and best to share and try different things with a group otherwise it probably will be WAY to expensive. And in an effort to share all we had, here is the list:
1. Kung Fu Punch-China
2. Almond Crusted Blue Cheese soufflé with Fig jam- Cheese
3. Schofferhofer Grapefruit-Brewer's Collection
4. Zapiekanki- Poland
5. Ravioli de Formaggio all'Emiliana- Italy
6. Teriyaki chicken hand roll- Japan
7. Griddled Greek Cheese with pistachios and Honey- Greece
8. Ouzo- Greece
9. Guylian Belgian chocolate seashell truffle- desserts & champagne
10. Chocolate orange cupcake- dessert & champagne
11. Morello cherry pistachio mouse- dessert & champagne
12. Kalua pork slider with sweet and sour dole pineapple- Hawaii
13. Leinenkugel seasonal shandy- craft beers

     I would say most were excellent and a few fell shy of expectations. All food samples we tried were between $3-$6 each. Liquor was around $8 each. While beer was $4-8 depending upon size. Not too bad for prices I would say. I would have to say the dessert were my personal fave followed by any alcohol hahah!

     I would suggest to bring your own regular drinks to stay hydrated (it was horribly hot that day). In addition, every so often seek some shelter (again from that sun). It might be hard to find a place to sit with your food so investing in a food and wine tray might be worth it. It holds your food and drink in one tray (even the wine glasses)! We missed out on the Night Ranger concert but I suggest checking the schedule whose playing when you plan on attending.

    
 We called it a day early to take advantage of Anna's family staying at Fort Wilderness with a dip in the pool. Following an awesome grilled burgers, baked beans and chips. The Barrett family did a great job feeding us a big full meal before we had to say goodbye for the day. Overall, a great experience and I look forward to going back!

Roasted Chicken Linguine Lunch

Last Saturday (August 3rd) Ash, Anna, Matt, Neil and I decided to have our second cooking session using one of Anna's Disney cookbooks.

This was a very easy recipe that included roasted chicken that can easily be bought from a nearby grocery store's deli, linguine, olive oil, various seasonings and plenty of cheese.

To start off we all made our way to Anna's house but due to a turn of events Anna had to leave us. We still made the recipe and she was able to eat once she got back.

This of course left me and Ash in the kitchen (not that the guys can't cook, they just choose not too), but Anna already had things prepared for us and ready to go. If you don't happen to have linguine noodles you can always substitute another type such as fettichini or spaghetti noodles.

ingredients list

• 2.5-3 pound chicken, roasted (or from the deli)
• 1 pound dry linguine
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
• 3 Tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 Tablespoons pine nuts
• 1/2 10-ounce bag prewashed fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 goat cheese
• 1/2 bunch fresh basil, chopped
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded for garnish

directions

1. Pull chicken from bones and tear into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
2. Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds (don't let it burn). Add sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts, stirring until nuts are lightly browned.
4. Add chicken, spinach, and feta and goat cheeses, stirring until creamy.
5. Add linguine and heat through. Add basil, then season with salt and pepper.
6. Garnish with fresh Parmesan cheese.

The cookbook for this recipe is Delicious Disney written by the Disney Chefs with Pam Brandon. You can check it out on Amazon here.

This is part of the "Magical Gatherings" section in the cookbook. According the the cookbook this course is offered at Shutters Restaurant at Disney's Vero Beach Resort. The corresponding drink that the recipe is matched with is Chateau de Montfort Vouvray, Loire.

final verdict

This is a great and easy recipe to try! The hardest part is already done for you if you decide to by a roasted chicken from the deli instead of cooking one yourself.

I personally was a little fearful because I usually prefer a different type of sauce with my pasta. This recipe has an olive oil "sauce" with seasonings, but it was really delicious.

Keep in mind when this says a large skillet make sure to listen because when stirring everything together it gets a bit difficult. If you happen to have a skillet with deep sides I would suggest using that one instead of a typical skillet.

Hopefully you'll give this recipe a try and love as much as we did or maybe take a trip to one of the two locations that offers this dish to have it by the actual Disney chefs.