Q is for Quiche

Look at that crust, would you? The flakiness!

I remember eating quiche exactly once in my life.  It was a Thanksgiving many, many, many moons ago.  For the life of me I can't remember who made it - normally my family doesn't go in for any divergence from the usual Thanskgiving fare.  Maybe that's why the quiche sticks out in my mind the way it does.

By the way, if I'm wrong about it being a Thanksgiving and any family members are reading this, feel free to correct me.  I remember being little and I remember being at Cioci Ann's old house and I remember the table being extended.  To me, that means Thanksgiving.

Anyway, I couldn't tell you now if I liked it or not because, well, it was 20+ years ago.

Since I wasn't exactly bred with quiche running through my veins (ew, there's a pretty mental image for you), it's never been a blip on my radar.

But then again, neither was sushi until I decided to give it a shot.  And now it's like one of my very favorite things.  Maybe I would feel the same way about quiche?

Do I spy cranberries in there?

Turns out, as I'm reading more and more about it, quiche seems like it would be right up my culinary alley.  I mean, honestly, once you get the crust part down (and let me just take a moment to thank my food processor in advance for the work it will surely be performing on my behalf), and you break your eggs and add your cheese and cream/milk/half-and-half (I think I'd use the fat-free kind to see what happens), you pretty much have a blank canvas on which to play.

What would I use? Mushrooms? Sun-dried tomatoes? Spinach? Asparagus, perhaps? Shallots? Olives? Maybe I'd get particularly sassy and use sausage or bacon?

What kind of cheese? Swiss? Cheddar? Feta? Mmmmm....

Yes, I WOULD enjoy a slice.  Or half.

The mind literally boggles at the possibilities.  It's sort of like pizza - you have the chance to come up with endless combinations of toppings based upon your personal tastes.

And naturally this will be based solely upon my personal tastes because I'm getting one of those crazy psychic feelings that Rob will not be eating any of this.  In fact...wait, my crystal ball is a little cloudy...ahh, yes...he will wrinkle his nose in distaste.  More.  For.  Me.

So I'm thinking of trying a quiche this weekend.  Of course I'll let you know how it goes!

So tell me: Have you ever made quiche? Do you like to eat it? If so, what's your favorite? Better yet! Do you have a recipe you'd like to share?


Sharing with my friends over at Alphabe-Thursday!

My Favorite Restaurant EVER!

Last week, I told you all about the first time I ate lobster.  That was a good, good night.

And, like all good vacations, many more good nights were in store.  For this post, the second in my Disney series, I want to tell you about my favorite restaurant.

Of. All. Time.

It's that serious.

I'm talking about The California Grill, which is located at the top of The Contemporary Resort.

Prior to our honeymoon, I had heard nothing but good things about this place.  The food, the view, the service - glowing reviews all around.  That first meal did not disappoint, for sure.  So obviously we were psyched to return. 

And once again, we were extremely pleased.

First, let me tell you that if you're lucky enough to get a table by the window, you'll be treated to an incredible view of the Magic Kingdom and the other MK resorts - The Grand Floridian and The Polynesian.

Now.  On to the food.

CG is famous for their flatbreads.  For some time prior to our trip, the ovens were down or being repaired or something and we were fairly stricken by the news.  But no fear! By the time we sat down to our meal, this lovely flatbread was on the menu: the most luscious heirloom tomatoes you can imagine, arugula and cheese.  It was intensely flavorful.  Rob doesn't like tomatoes so - SCORE! - I got to eat his.  Yum yum yum!

As if the flatbread wasn't enough, we then BOTH had one of these...

Do you like sushi? Because I love sushi.  My husband is pretty much a sushi novice and he drools over the very thought of this.  Inside the roll itself is crab, tuna and avocado.  As you can see, the pieces are arranged in a circle and topped with a mound of tempura crispies.  Underneath? Tiny baby scallops in spicy fireball sauce.  OFF THE HOOK! I'm serious.  The creamy avocado with the super fresh fish and the crisps? With a little heat? Oh my goodness.  Spicy Kazan Roll.  You're still on the menu and I'm still gonna devour you joyfully.  On my anniversary.  Thank you.

Finally it was time for the entrees.  I was feeling a bit...um...full at this point, but I soldiered on.  Bravely.

This was Rob's entree.  Seared scallops and homemade gnocchi accompanied by pears in a pear/bacon sauce.  That's a mouthful, isn't it? Okay, let me describe it better for you.  It was freaking awesome, accompanied by awesomeness, in a finger-lickingly awesome sauce.  Yeah.  That's easier to understand.

I, on the other hand, decided to stick to sushi.

Yeah.  Check that out.  Did I mention that the CG's sushi chef is one of the top in AMERICA? Oh, I forgot that part? Sorry, I was busy crying over the beauty in front of me.

One roll in particular is my all-time favorite roll ever.  Ever ever ever.  Spicy Kazan, you're #2...

But shrimp tempura roll, you're #1 forever and a day.  Tempura shrimp, mango and rice wrapped in soy paper.  It's really as simple as that.  But the textures and tastes...the salty crispness of the tempura with the sweetness of the mango...I can't ever, ever speak too highly of this roll.  It's just the best.

Then it was time for dessert.  I have to say, I'm not totally thrilled to pieces with the desserts almost anywhere in Disney, save a few exceptions.  But they're still yummy.

I honestly can't tell you who ate what.  They were both chocolate and both good, and both included the sweet anniversary wish.  But thaaaat's about as far as my memory goes.  I think Rob had the one with the ice cream.

Then we savored after-dinner drinks which my husband so generously sprang for...

And we watched the sun set on our 1st anniversary.  It was a magical, 2 hour meal and it was worth every single glorious minute.

I absolutely cannot wait to go back in September to celebrate anniversary #2!

The First Time I Ate A Lobster

Well here's a post that's been a long time in the making!

Welcome to the first in a series of posts revolving around our last trip to Walt Disney World and the food we savored while we were there.

This trip took place in September of 2009.  It was in honor of our 1st anniversary.  Our honeymoon was also spent at, you guessed it, WDW.

Before I show you a sample of our (thousands of) pictures, I want to share a story to illustrate just why we love it there so much:

We booked a room at the Polynesian, which was the same place we spent our honeymoon.  Only unlike a year prior, we couldn't afford to reeeeally go all out and spent the extra $100 a night for a special "lagoon view" room, which looks out over the Seven Seas Lagoon, the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary and Cinderella Castle.  Oh, well.

Upon our arrival, the lovely woman at the concierge desk explained that they had a room booked for us, but that another room was ready earlier than expected and we could go right up to that room immediately.  What a lucky break! She also remarked on the fact that we didn't have the same type of room as we did the year before, and we told her that we were well aware of that.  We were only too well aware!

We were shown to our room, but Rob was immediately disappointed.  A huge tree was right smack dab in front of our balcony, blocking all sunlight and giving us no view whatsoever.  Now as for me, I'm a pretty laid back person and I didn't want to rock the boat.  Rob on the other hand called the concierge desk and very sweetly and apologetically asked if the room which was originally supposed to be ours was still available and offered to wait for it, then explained our complaint.  He was put on hold...and waited...and waited.  I'm pacing around, thinking that they must hate us and were cursing us out down there.  But when she got back on the line, the lady downstairs told Rob to meet the bellhop in the hallway, he would have our bags at the door to our room.

We went to the hallway...and saw the bellhop waaaay down at the other end, on the other side of the building and across the hall.  We knew immediately what had happened but didn't want to overplay our hand so we took our time walking down the hall, even though we were shrieking inside - that side of the hallway had rooms that faced the lagoon, not the courtyard as we had booked.  When the door opened, we got the best present we could have received - not only had we been upgraded to a lagoon view for free, but we had been given the room we spent our honeymoon in!

How neat is that??

After freaking out for a while, we ran downstairs to thank the concierge staff profusely.  It's lovely and generous touches like that which made our vacation so special - it's why we love WDW in the first place!

Immediately we went to eat...and I got my favorite breakfast food in the world...Tonga Toast.

For those of you who don't know what Tonga Toast is...well, firstly, I'm sorry.  Secondly, Tonga Toast consists of a thick piece of sourdough bread which has a slit cut into it and is then stuffed with bananas.  This huge piece of heaven then gets dipped in egg batter, deep fried and rolled in cinnamon and sugar.  They serve it with a strawberry compote on the side which perfectly complements it and actually make it feel a bit more refreshing.  It is...pretty much...to die for.

And, um, can we talk about the size of those sausages? Unreal.

Then we went to Magic Kingdom and I ran for It's a Small World! I love that ride!!! Seriously, I know it consists of dolls and poster board and glitter...but it enchants me every time.

Dinner that first night was @ Narcoossee's, in The Grand Floridian.

Narcoossee's is a seafood restaurant which sits right on the water of Seven Seas Lagoon.  It's a cute place, for sure, and they serve yummy food.  The mussels appetizer I started with...well, I mean, look at it! Plus a nice crostini for dipping the flavorful, rich broth.  It was heavenly!

Rob enjoyed a lobster bisque, the memory of which to this day invokes a glazed, faraway look in his eyes.

I decided from the get-go that I was going to try lobster for the first time when we had dinner there.  I mean, what the heck, right? I was so happy to see that they took the trouble to clean it for me - I had no point of referrence so I wasn't sure if I'd have to do it myself! Of course I studied up in advance, but no worries.

The lobster was delicious, and it came with a potato gratin which was so good I wanted to cry.  A really, really fine meal.

Sorry, Mr. Lobster.  You were delicious.

Sadly, we couldn't get a decent picture of the dessert without using flash.  It was getting dark at that point.  But let me tell you, for anyone considering a Disney vacation and considering dinner @ Narcoossee's - the almond-crusted cheesecake is THE BEST DESSERT on property.  Hands down, bar none.  Off the hook.  And we are not the only people who think so - we had done a little research of the restaurant in advance on the Disney message boards, and the verdict is virtually unanimous.

Our first dinner, as you can see, was a smashing success and set the stage for a wonderful vacation full of gluttony.  I love you, Disney Meal Plan.

Come to think of it, the view of The Grand Floridian from our balcony didn't hurt things, either...

Ahhh...it looks even closer in person...

Why am I waxing rhapsodic over Disney this many months after the fact? I'll tell you! It's all in honor of our upcoming return! Yes, folks, Rob and I will be spending our 2nd anniversary at the place where we've spent late September for the past two years.  Thank you, Lord.

We hadn't planned on going back until a few days ago, when the conclusion was reached that we need this.  We really do.  So we're going and we can't wait! Narcoossee's...we'll be back!

No, really, it's already booked.

Stay tuned for my next post, filled with even more pictures!

PS! The $60 CSN giftcard giveaway ends Friday @ midnight! Jump in and take a chance - what do you have to lose? I know I could definitely use a giftcard to one of their 200 stores!!