December Doings 2023

Recently, we’ve enjoyed social events revolving around—what else?—eating. This being December, we had a Hanukkah celebration where we ate latkes and brisket and exchanged gifts. We’ve visited the Disney Parks, joined friends for a wine dinner at Carrabba’s and celebrated our anniversary. Here are a few photos to highlight these events for you.

Disney Dining

Since our last visit to Epcot with lunch at the Coral Reef restaurant that I’d reported on HERE, we’ve visited the three other main theme parks at Disney World.

Tusker House in Animal Kingdom offered a character buffet. Their African-themed food was delicious. I wish I’d had room to eat more than one plateful! We saw Mickey and Minnie and other favorites while we dined. The Lion King show in a nearby theater was amazing and we enjoyed the tropical foliage as we strolled around.

Next, we visited the Magic Kingdom, where we ate burgers at Starlite Café, rode the train, had ice cream on Main Street, and soaked in the magical atmosphere.

Most recently, we celebrated our 47^th anniversary at Disney Springs. We began with lunch at Wolfgang Puck and finished with dessert at the Cookie Bar in Summer House on the Lake. It’s always fun to walk around among the shops and restaurants in this lively venue. Dining reservations are a must for the full-service eateries.

Around Town

Around town, we enjoyed the Caymus wine dinner at Carrabba’s with friends. This was a pre-fixed four-course meal. Each dish was accompanied by a different wine. I must gain several pounds each time I attend one of these events.

Our anniversary night found us at Christner’s, an elegant steak place where we dressed to impress. I had to get the filet mignon accompanied by asparagus, cheesy potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. They gave us a slice of chocolate cake for a complimentary dessert. It was lovely and we look forward to eating the leftovers for several days.

All this eating isn’t good for the weight, so my first New Year’s resolution will be to get back on a healthy diet. These desserts are killing me, but who can pass them up? How are you faring food-wise this holiday season?

Chocolate Emporium

For my birthday this year, I wanted to go somewhere new and different. When I read about the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium in City Walk at Universal Studios, I thought it sounded like fun. I enjoy themed restaurants and my mouth drooled for a chocolate sundae.

We arrived at City Walk after paying the $30 parking fee and traveling through the extensive parking garage. City Walk leads to the two Universal theme parks so it’s a busy place. A series of restaurants and shops circle around a lake and offer plenty of choices for everyone. There’s also a movie theater and an escape room for entertainment. As you can see, our grandson enjoyed Voodoo Doughnuts.

At the appointed hour, we got seated at the restaurant that has a cool steampunk theme. There’s even a costumed guy in a robot outfit that roams around greeting children. Milkshakes are a popular item here, but I passed. Getting dessert was more important to me.

We ordered a chocolate almond bread as an appetizer. It tasted like chocolate cake. Then Richard and I split the Monte Cristo sandwich with chips so we’d have room for dessert.

Dessert was a brownie sundae that came with a lit candle for my birthday. With two scoops of chocolate ice cream, it was enough to share.

I loved my gifts, like this figure of a woman reading a book, cookies with my book covers, and a cruise companion book, among other items. The best gift of all was the company of loved ones and merely being here to celebrate this birthday.

After our meal, we entered the gift shop filled with souvenir mugs, tee shirts and hats along with cotton candy and unique jars of colored sugar and other sweets.

An array of artisan chocolates and macarons tempts visitors in display cases.

Outside, we walked around the lake until we made it to the exit.

It was a wonderful day spent with family in a memorable setting. Put this restaurant on your list if you want a fun experience while in Orlando.

Carrabba Wine Dinner – Orin Swift Wines

We attended the October wine dinner at Carrabba’s Italian Grill featuring Orin Swift wines. It was a fun evening with too much to eat! Here is the 4-course menu:

Shrimp Mandola paired with NZ Sauvignon Blanc

Shrimp, asparagus, roasted red pepper and herbs topped with lemon butter sauce and served with garlic toast. The sauce was so good we couldn’t help dipping the toast in there. The white wine was light and fruity and made the perfect accompaniment.

Rigatoni Amatriciana paired with Department 66 Others Red Blend

Rigatoni pasta with crushed tomatoes, bacon, parmesan, and Romano cheeses topped with grilled chicken. This full-bodied wine was a deep burgundy color and the best of the reds, in my opinion.

Filet and Scallop Florentine paired with 8 Years in the Desert Zinfandel Blend

Wood-grilled filet accompanied by seared sea scallops with spinach and tomatoes in a cream sauce that tasted a bit salty to me. This came with mashed potatoes.

Chocolate Torte with Fresh Raspberries paired with Abstract Red Blend

Chocolate torte with chocolate sauce and fresh raspberries topped with whipped cream. All in all, it was a delightful evening.

GIVEAWAY

Enter to win two free cozy mysteries at Booklovers Bench: https://bookloversbench.com/contests/win-two-free-books-oct-2023

BOOK SALE

Buy One Get One Free at Kobo’s Paranormal Romance Sale Oct. 1-31. My book, CIRCLE OF LIGHT, is included. If you don’t own a Kobo ereader, you can download their free app. https://www.kobo.com/us/en/p/paranormal-bogo-us

Banana Rum Cake

This Banana Rum Cake is a deliciously moist cake with a distinct banana flavor. It makes a lovely dessert presentation for company. The recipe makes approximately two cups of glaze. Use extra portions as an ice cream topping or sauté ripe bananas with the glaze in a saucepan.

Ingredients

CAKE
2 ripe bananas, mashed
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup banana liqueur
1/4 cup rum
15.25 oz. package yellow cake mix
4 oz. package instant vanilla pudding mix

GLAZE
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup banana liqueur
1/4 cup rum

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine mashed bananas, eggs, vegetable oil, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup banana liqueur, and 1/4 cup rum together in a bowl. Add cake mix and pudding mix and stir until batter is smooth. Pour batter into a well-greased fluted tube pan. Bake for 50 minutes.

Prepare the glaze – Bring sugar, butter, and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in 1/4 cup banana liqueur and 1/4 cup rum and blend. Remove from heat and pour glaze into a glass measuring cup.

When cake is done, remove pan from oven. Set on rack for 15-20 minutes and then invert cake onto plate. Pour glaze over top and sides of warm cake. Cool until ready to serve and then cut into slices. Serves 16-20.

CHICKEN WITH BANANA RUM SAUCE

If you don’t wish to make another dessert with the leftover sauce, consider pouring it over three boneless chicken breasts in a greased baking dish and baking in the oven at 350 degrees for one hour. Slice and serve. Serves 4-6.

In case you missed it, check out my recipe for Strawberry Cobbler at Lois Winston’s Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers

Strawberry Cobbler

Are you a strawberry fan? Or perhaps you picked too many at the U-Pick farm? Check out my recipe for Strawberry Cobbler on Lois Winston’s Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: https://anastasiapollack.blogspot.com/2023/07/cooking-with-cloris-strawberry-cobbler.html

Comments on Lois’s site are welcome!

Celebrity Apex Review – The Food

The food is the best part of a cruise. You can eat all day if you want. On Celebrity Apex, you’re assigned one of four main dining rooms – Cosmopolitan, Tuscan, Normandie or Cyprus. Each one has some specialty dining items. You have to make a reservation to switch and inform your waiter. The menu has a number of regular dishes and only a small selection of new items each evening. We did not like this lack of variation. It was more fun when you stay in the same dining room and get a different themed menu each night. Specialty dining cost $60+ to eat dinner in the steakhouse, sushi restaurant, raw bar seafood place, Bistro, and others. We ate breakfast and lunch at the Oceanview Cafe. You could also get burgers, hot dogs, turkey burgers and fries at the Mast Grill between the Solarium and outdoor pool. This site had soft cream as well. You could get regular ice cream at a station in the buffet and also pizza at the rear. Lighter options were available at the Eden and Spa cafés. Here are some of the different dining rooms. Our dinner companions were my cousins Janice Sklar and David Sklar and friends Ann Meier, Pat Babcock and Jacki Beirne.

This beautiful restaurant was for more exclusive passengers:

Breakfast was our favorite meal. Everything you could want to eat for this meal was available. I had smoked salmon every day. My husband enjoyed the herring. You could have eggs made your way, omelets, or eggs benedict. Or hard boiled eggs were offered, albeit with shells on. There was French toast, pancakes, waffles, muffins and Danish, fruits, potatoes, breakfast meats, and more.

Lunches included light fare in the Eden and Spa cafes, a full international buffet at the Oceanview Cafe, pizza, or the Mast Grill with burgers and hot dogs. And the desserts! Here are some, but we’ll get to the rest later.

Day 1 Dinner at Cyprus

Greek Appetizers
Braised Lamb Shank
Greek Custard (like Crème Brulee)
Apple Pie a la Mode

Day 2 Dinner at Cyprus

Shrimp Cocktail
Braised Short Ribs
Sacher Torte with Vanilla Ice Cream

Day 3 (Belize) Dinner at Normandie

The lighting where we sat was dark and the service very slow. But I enjoyed my meal of melted Brie, seared duck breast, and apple crumble a la mode.

Day 4 Dinner (Cozumel)

Pumpkin Salad
Eggplant Bruschetta
Turkey Parmesan with Spaghetti
Cherries Jubilee

Day 5 Dinner (Grand Cayman)

Caesar Salad
Beef Short Ribs
Chocolate Lava Cake

Day 6 Dinner (Second Dressy Night)

Shrimp Cocktail
Lobster Tail with Rice and Broccoli
Leg of Lamb
Baked Alaska

If this isn’t enough, these amazing desserts were on display at the lunch buffet near the end of the cruise. Cut up slices were served upon request.

Celebrity Apex Review - The Food #foodie #cruising Share on X

Are you hungry now?

Celebrity Apex Review – The Ship Part Two

Each day, our newsletter listed tons of activities that you could do on board Celebrity Apex. But some were lacking that you could find on other ships. There wasn’t any bingo, which is a big draw elsewhere. No cooking classes that we would have enjoyed. You could do arts and crafts, take dance classes, go to the art auctions, or attend various seminars but nothing to do with culture or history. Even the Destination Talk was lacking. It showed the highlights of each port and gave important information but there wasn’t any colorful display of what you could buy with giveaways, shopping recommendations, maps or coupons.

ENTERTAINMENT

The evening entertainment was excellent. We enjoyed the production shows the best. The Tree of Life reminded us of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The theme appeared to be changing seasons. The singers and dancers wore street clothes, which didn’t impress us as much as the spectacular special effects and the huge movie screen with changing scenery in the background.

We liked the Crystallize show better with its superb aerialists. The theater itself is in the round, a new concept on a cruise ship. You have a good view from nearly anywhere with no columns obstructing the line of site. However, seating was limited, and you had to arrive at least twenty minutes early to guarantee a space. The second-floor seating, so I was told, was for higher tier guests. Showtimes were 7pm and 9 pm. Being early risers, we never made the additional late-night shows.

We particularly enjoyed the pianist who gave a concert one night. Accompanied by the ship’s orchestra, he played variations of popular movie themes. He ended with The Mandalorian, a Star Wars TV show that we watch. There were also a violinist and a guitarist on board, both of them talented professionals.

CAPTAIN’S CLUB

As repeat cruisers at Elite level, we enjoyed certain benefits. Aside from the free bag of laundry and Internet minutes, these included free drinks from 5 to 7 every evening except embarkation. We could get them at any lounge but not in the restaurants. We shared the same status as our friends, Ann Meier and Pat Babcock, so it was fun to meet them at each event.

The Welcome party at Eden included an aerialist performing a sample of their show. We didn’t sign up in time for the Backstage Tour, so we missed that one. We did attend the Senior Officer’s Party where servers brought around drinks and appetizers. Below is the ship’s captain.

The Music & Mixology event was fun and unusual. A talented bartender juggled his wares as he mixed three drinks. If I recall, they were a Manhattan, Mai Tai, and Spiced Pimms.

A Wine Tasting was held in the Tuscan Restaurant. I took a photo of the bottles since we were not given printouts of the wines with room for notes as in the past.

In the mornings from 8 to 10am in the Bistro lounge, we could get a free Mimosa, Bloody Mary or Bellini along with a choice of light menu items. I liked the fruit and chocolate croissants.

We appreciated our benefits and felt as though our loyalty was properly recognized. This was a fun part of the trip.

Celebrity Apex Ship Review Part Two #cruising #CelebrityCruises Share on X

Coming Next: The Food and the Ports of Call

Chocolate Pie

This delicious dessert is amazingly easy to make. If you can’t find a chocolate pie crust, use a regular graham cracker crust.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups 2% reduced fat milk
3.9 oz. box Instant Chocolate Pudding
6 oz. chocolate pie crust
2 cups thawed frozen whipped topping

Directions

Pour milk into a large bowl. Add pudding mix. Stir with a wire whisk until blended. Spoon half of the mixture into the pie crust. Take 1 cup of whipping topping and fold into the remaining pudding mixture in the bowl. Spoon this mixture over pudding layer in pie crust. Spread the remaining whipped topping on top. Refrigerate until served. Serves 8 to 10.

Breakfast Slam Bundt

This is a delicious all-in-one brunch dish. I had trouble getting it out of the baking pan. Maybe I needed more cooking spray, or a cooking spray/flour mixture. I’d like to try it in a rectangular pan to see if it comes out easier without the fluted sides. This dish may also serve more when cut into squares. Feel free to add other vegetables or seasonings. You can also add breakfast meats if you want a heartier dish.

Ingredients

8 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
1 dozen large eggs
12 oz. can Pillsbury Butter Tastin’ Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
½ cup whole milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a bundt pan with cooking spray. Cut up biscuits into bite-sized pieces.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Mix in frozen hash browns and sliced mushrooms. Add the Cheddar cheese. Fold in the biscuit pieces and mix to blend. Pour mixture into the prepared bundt pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes or until top is browned.

Cool and invert onto plate. Serves 8.

Epcot Flower & Garden Festival 2023

This year at the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, many tempting food choices await at the booths around World Showcase. I lucked out this year with all good selections. Accompanying us were Sue and Mark Bernstein and Ann Meier.

At World Showcase, we turned left toward Mexico. Our first stop was Lotus House at China. I got the Pan-fried Vegetable Dumplings. They were very tasty and served drizzled with a sweet sauce. I would get these again.

At the Refreshment Outpost by Africa, I got an Ice Cream Float with Tangerine soft serve ice cream and Cream Soda. It was a refreshing drink. This is always my husband’s go-to stop for a hot dog.

Potato Pancakes with homemade Applesauce were found at Germany’s Bauernmarkt Farmer’s Market stand. I thought I’d get one potato latke and ordered two portions, one for me and one for Richard. It turns out we could have shared. On each plate were two thick potato pancakes. They could have been a bit thinner and crispier, but I liked them nonetheless.

At La Isla Fresca (between France and Morocco), I had the Coconut Tres Leches: Vanilla cake soaked in oat milk, almond milk, and coconut milk with toasted coconut. Custardy taste with whipped topping and toasted coconut melted in my mouth. Oh-so-good! Perfect accompaniment was Florida Orange Groves Winery Tropical Perception White Sangria, a light white wine that wasn’t too fruity.