Friday, September 29th was more my day. We went to Epcot. We even dressed up a little (khaki shorts and a shirt I wear for work, and Shannon looking as pretty as ever). We had some time before the event that we paid for (The Cook, the Book and the Bottle (first one they've done for the festival and ever)). So we rode a few rides.

Mission Space, which is a simulator ride, was much better then the star wars ride, and was actually kind of fun. They have an ride called Inside Track, sponsored by GM. This ride was lame. LAME LAME LAME. Even though it goes the fastest of all the Disney rides, it doesn't do it in a fashion that makes it actually seem like more then it is. It goes 50 or 60 something miles an hour, but who cares, when it's just like riding in a car with the top down. I can do that, and I don't have to fly to florida to do so.

We were pretty close to our time when the TCTBTB started, so we headed over where it was to wait for it. Eventually they let us in, giving us a gift pack (each), which included the program, the recipies used for the day and a bottle of Etude Carneos Pinot Gris 2005 (the wine guy from there said it's from a very limited stock, where they only have 1500 cases worldwide for distribution).

Our Chef for the day was Francois Payard of the Payard Patisserie & Bistro in New York. Our wines for the food were from Etude Winery. So he was talking about his new book, which was coming out in two weeks (which means that these are of the very first first printing of it). The man had a thick French accent, but he said he'd speak slow so he'd be understandable.

The whole idea was to make food for parties. So you can always have a glass of wine in one hand and eat and get a wonderful taste experience with another hand just pop it right in your mouth. No utensils necessary. Certainly a good idea.

So first up, we had Crispy Polenta with Pistou Sauce and Parmesan Shavings and this was paired with the Etude Carneos Pinot Gris. So we watched the chef prepare the items and plate them as well. And how easy it looked to do such a thing. I suspect though, when I get around to actually trying this, it'll be a bit harder then it looked (considering he does this for a living). But the presentation was a little cylinder of the polenta toped with the pistou (thicker then normal pistou (pesto)), with a small triangle of parmesan on the top. Very pretty and very good. Which was one of the points that Payard made, was that it was extra disappointing to eat something that looks so good, and yet doesn't taste good. The taste was fantastic. A bit warm and soft, the combination of the polenta, basil and parmesan was the taste that really stood out.

Second up was the Lime Marinated Salmon on a Potato Crisp pared with Etude Carenos Rose of Pinot Noir. This, for me, was the winner of the evening. He talked about ways to crispen up the crisps (sometimes using the oven, if they don't come out right). And how you'll need to make a a few extra of the chips, because of the way they tend to fry and bake, they don't always come out in a fashion that will make for good presentation. He talked about using white pepper, since the french don't want little black flecks of pepper in their white sauces or whatever, so you cook with the white, and garnish with the black later. So the salmon he used, was raw....well it had been frozen, which kills bacteria too, but he froze it and let it thaw a bit, so that he could get thinner slices of salmon to make into rolls, and then topped with a piece of lime (between the segment markings) and dusted with a microplane zested lemon and chives and Fleur de Sel. So you can just pick up the crisp and pop it in your mouth. And let me tell you, the lime just bursts out along with the salt and chives and salmon...it was fantastic I think the only thing I've ever put in my mouth that has tasted better is the French Onion Soup at the French Cafe in Omaha.

Third was the Eggplant, Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart pared with Etude Carneros Pinot Noir. This was probably the prettiest of the 3, and was very good too. So it's basically puff pastry (which he says you can buy anywhere), Eggplant mixed with some olive oil, sherry vinegar and lavender honey, a tomato compote, and goat cheese mixed with parsley and basil. He also added a little sprig of a herb on the top of the tower of goodness, to add a bit of dressing to the top.

Afterwards, we got our books signed and our pictures taken with Payard. and left. I don't think I could've been happier. It was like watching a cooking show, but you are right there, so you get to look at what you want, taste it, and smell it. My mouth is watering just thinking of it.

We went back to the hotel to changed, took a little nap (I had all of my wine and most of Shannon's too, so I was feeling pretty good) and headed back to Epcot. While we were the hotel, we made reservations at Bistro de Paris at Epcot.

Then we went on Spaceship earth, which broke down while we were on it. It took a while of them saying, please remain seated the cars will begin to move at anytime, before they actually did. It was pretty much a version of history from caveman times to present. Mmmm...educational.

Then we went to their aquarium (Fishes!) and looked at the various animals. Got some good shots of the manatees. We then trekked off to take the world showcase tour. There were a lot of extra people in for the Food and Wine fest, and extra booths for wines and beers and etc. So it was a bit crowded. We walked through a few countries and hung out in France for our early dinner reservations (which was good, cause even though we had some lunch, it wasn't much and during a party he says he makes about 10 of the finger foods per person there, and we had, maybe 5 and a really light breakfast). It was also the only time they had available for the evening. We went with the tour of French Foods, I had mine with the wine parings, and shannon had it without the wine. We started off with a little tart and bread with butter...real butter. It's crazy how much I missed the taste of butter. At the restaurants we've been to, they don't even have butter as an option, the disney places have this 70% vegetable oil mixture that's just no good. The bread was great and makes me want to buy a big loaf from La Mie when we get home. I miss their bread. The tart was very good. It reminded me of the Payard food that we had earlier.

First course:

Sam: Medley of snails and frog legs with garlic butter on a juice of Italian parsley, vegetable "tartare" and a watercress salad.
Shannon: Heirloom tomato and pesto soup with "Royan" Comte cheese ravioli, vine tomato confite and goat cheese mousse with crusty bread.

It does make me sad, cause the third choice for the first course was Foie Gras, which is something that I've wanted to try. My first course was pared with Rose, Cuvee du Golf de St. Tropez 2004. So this is the first time I have had snails. I gotta say they were pretty good. I liked the taste. Our wonderful server showed me how to use the snail shell holder and the snail fork. Shannon was a bit off put by the texture of the snail, which I will agree is odd and not something that I'm used to, but over all it was still quite enjoyable. My frog legs were really good. My only other experience with the frog legs had been at Sage in Windsor Heights, and they were a bit...well...gamey, I guess the word would be. These were much smaller but they were fantastic. I tried Shannon's tomato and pesto soup and that was amazing. I mean just fantastic. A wonderful balance of tomato and salt. The crispy bread and goat cheese was fantastic too.

Second course:

Sam: Seared Scallops with "fleur de sel" on spinach potato gnocchi and dry goat cheese Shavings and tomato Coulis with Espelette Pepper
Shannon: European Dover sole "meuniere" on fresh egg pasta, pan seared golden chantreelle and fava beans, bay leaves creamy sauce.

My course was paired with a Muscadet (not on the menu). My scallops were fantastic and the tomato coulis was great too, the wonderful heirloom tomato taste that just stood out. Shannon's sole was quite good as well, it was very good mixed with the pasta. And here's what I found that our server was quite amazing. Shannon didn't so much like the chantreelle mushrooms, and by did like, I mean she made quite the disgusted face when she put it in here mouth. This is where our server (who is from France) showed his skills. He was there in under a minute and was asking if there was a problem. And when we explained about the mushrooms, he also warned us that if we ever went to France they use chantreelle mushrooms as a basis for many sauces, so that we may want to be careful. The fava beans were very good along with the cream sauce. For me, I was ok with the chantreelle mushrooms, but wasn't a huge fan of the texture of them.

Trou Normand:
Wild berries sorbet and French Melon Granite, Chartreuse liquor

This was sort of a palette cleansing course. It was quite cool and delicious, replacing the tomato taste with a light fruit and cold mixture. It was delightful. We both really enjoyed it.

Written on the plane between Orlando and Atlanta (10/02/2006 at 10:30 AM or so).

Third Course:

Both: Roasted rack of lamb with parsley crust, risotto with sun dried tomato and eggplant caviar, juice with lemon thyme

My dinner was matched with Laforet, Joseph Drouhin 2004. I thought seriously about having the other choice for the main course, but I love lamb so much, that it was hard for me to turn down the opportunity to have it. the lamb was delicious...if I wouldn't have felt self conscious about chewing the rest of the meat off the bones, I probably would have. It had a nice little crust to it that was hiding the succulent meat below the surface. The risotto was really good too, thought I've had better, but it certainly went well with the food that we were having. Creamy and delicious. The eggplant cavier was very good (being that I've never been a huge fan of eggplant, this came as a bit of a surprise to me. In the background on all of it was the thyme which was there but not over powering.

Fourth Course:

French assortment of cows and goats cheese served with mix salad, toasted bread, pine nuts and chives.

Neither of us were very certain as to what the cheeses actually were, but Shannon liked two out of three and I was only uncertain about one of them. We were pretty sure that one of them was a brie, which I believe is the best brie that I've ever had. The other cheese was fragrant and had a nice flavor to it, and the third was very fragrant and very strong of character. Shannon didn't like it, the taste was a bit to much for her.. For me, it was challenging. It did go well with what was left of wine from the third course. A strong cheese with a strong wine.

Desserts:

Both (small servings): Creme Brulee, Rice Pudding, Fresh Fruits soup with mint syrup, green tea and rosemary sorbet, warm chocolate cake with 70% dark chocolate.

We all got small portions of each of the desserts. We thought we'd have to pick (which would've been tough, but we didn't, which was pretty nice. They paired the desserts with a Marquis de Perlade, Blanc de Blanc, which was a champagne that was sweet and went well. It was almost to Shannon's liking (Most of the other wines didn't even come close to the narrow range that she is a fan of). We'll just go in order of the list. The Creme Brulee was really good. Certainly one of the better ones that I have...it reminded me of the first time I had it and how fantastic it was. The rice pudding was sweet but not too sweet, with a delightful texture. The fresh fruits soup with mint syrup was a bit too tart for Shannon, but I found the frust fruits to be delightful and coloful on the tongue . The green tea and rosemary sorbet was very nice. I've had green tea ice cream before, with a much stronger green tea taste, but this was very light and mostly the rosemary. For the highlight of the desserts, for both of I think, was the warm chocolate cake. It had a melted chocolate core that oozed out when you put your fork into the cake. It was heaven. and a nice crown to the meal...which was wonderful.

I just wanted to mention the view, we were on the second floor and had a direct view out the window. I was able to see the crowd across the way, which was fun.

Written waiting for the plane at Atlanta (10/02/2006 at 12:35 PM or so).

Our server, who was very attentive the entire night, showed me how to use the snail fork and holder, explained what the things were and what the dressing was and added a bit of insight, but the big thing for me was when he rushed over when Shannon made the face and made sure that everything was still good. He got the biggest, money wise, tip I've ever left. It was about 45% of the total bill, which wasn't on the cheap side.

Written on the plane to Des Moines (10/02/2006 at 2:46 PM or so).

Afterwards we explored Epcot a bit more, went on Soarin, their new ride, which was basically in front of a big screen with fans and what not, but it did feel like flying. Their fireworks show at epcot was pretty cool and pretty easy to find a good place to see them, since the world part of epcot is around a big lake and the fireworks go off in the middle. We spent a large amount of time exploring the various worlds of Disney interpretations of epcot. And because they had extra "Magic Hours" we were able to get a wristband that allowed us to stay in the park after most people had to go. Although it lessened the crowds, apparently a lot of people stay at the disney resorts. We ended up buying us a good luck kitty in the Japanese area of Epcot.

We look at a lot of things in the Norway part, but nothing really struck our fancy, but I did get a mushed penny for my dad. Speaking of mushed coins, we probably spent 5 or 15 dollars squished up pennies, because they are all over the park. I started doing this a few years ago, when I went to california, it just seemed like an easy and cheap way to get a little souvenir of a trip. We got many from the park, and Disney actually sells little holders for the squished coins. Though since everything is overpriced there, I suspect that we can get one for cheaper elsewhere. Some people would go to the machines and get all 3 choices out of there, but we usually only got the ones we liked.

By the time we left the park, I was in a fairly lousy mood, my feet were killing me and I just wanted to get off them.

Just as a note, we spent around 600$ or so on food and wine on this day (excluding admission to the park).

We took 425 pictures on our fifth day.