Oh Sweet Mother of Bread Pudding...What have I got myself into? 9/26 Update!

[carly chloe]

Hello from MN..........I can't wait to read the rest My sister & her family are joining us this August & they are driving -- how long did it take you? We are in North St Paul (few minutes from St. Paul)...OH--& thank you for sending the WONDERFUL weather back with you !!!!

We are from Winona- 2 hours south of St. Paul and we have drove down to Disney 4 times now. It takes us about 22 hours straight through. Doing it again in August too!!!

 

[pinkle]

WHERE ARE THE REVIEWS I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THEM!

 

[kstgelais4]

subbing for some delish looking reviews!!

 

[L-Harper]

I'm in on this one too. I cannot wait to read all of your witty awesome reviews. This should be a very fun ride for all of us. I have my bib on and ready to catch the drool!

 

[phabric]

I will be looking forward to your reviews.

 

[Okh]

Just one tiny, minor detail - Anne Burrell is a SERIOUS chef. She was Mario Batali's sous chef and charcuterier at Babbo for years and is an extremely nice person (and cool, too.) Paula Deen made sandwiches before she got discovered.

 

[krissy2803]

Also.....RAGLAN ROAD bread pudding usurped Ohana's by a landslide!!! I might have experienced a Meg Ryan, "When Harry met Sally," moment at the table!!!

I so agree with this! Raglan Road is a must do for us. First thing I do is make sure the bread pudding is still on the menu.
After that first bite I just kinda sit there with a silly grin on my face. OMG I am getting all crazy just thinking about it.

 

[CreightonsMomma]

It's monday....

 

[Dizneydawn]

I will get my first update on the way tonight! For me this is going to be strange because I will be having a TR going on at the same time and need to make sure to try and stick with the food portion here and the trip details there so I don't overlap.

That being said, I will link the TR here in a bit so people can follow both if they want. I will also have links on the first post here to the updated food reviews for easy skimming for those who wish!

(I also have a TR from Oct I need to finish... )

For those who know my family, I just got some cute pics of Treyner and Carsyn from their escapades over spring break and will post them on this TR! There are some of Treyner and his GF Taylor that make me want to staple my mouth shut and wonder how any two people can be so sickeningly good looking and perfect for each other. You will know what I mean when you see them!

Anyway....uploading pics now and will get the first installment here and on the TR thread underway!!!!

***I will respond to everyone but to the poster who spoke about Anne vs Paula...I do not disagree with your input. There may be a difference in culinary expertise between them and obviously Anne is well educated and trained. That being said, my scale was simply based on my personal taste and objectivity. There is no right or wrong chef/cooking guru to adore or dislike. Personality as much as talent will get a fan base to follow someone and for me, Paula is it.

She may not win an award with any of her dishes at a culinary cook off for plate presentation or be able to take any odd ingredient and make it a masterpiece but she does cook to the masses. She cooks and creates dishes that people can relate to, not feel overwhelmed to try and for me the most important aspect is she talks about family for her food and with her food. You can have every blue ribbon, Iron Chef Award and plaque of certification on your wall but at the end of the day, if I make a meal my family loves and we sit at the table enjoying every morsel, then I am more blessed than I can ever begin to explain.

For me, cooking and eating is about love.

It's a gesture of kindness and a token of being selfless. It is seeing the reaction to something I make for my children that melts in their mouth at the first bite, that gives me and others who love Paula, the joy of being in the kitchen.

My biggest kitchen hero was my Grandfather and he did not have one cookbook or professional training hour under his belt minus working at his father's bakery. What he did have was an inherent understanding of spices and flavor that nobody to this day can recreate. He simply understood food in all of it's dynamics and subtleties and he was a master in front of the grill, the stove or a pastry sheet. He taught me to talk to the food I was creating. To listen to the sounds of a crisp cucumber being sliced and close my eyes and smell for the freshness of an egg before cracking it's shell.

IMO, Anne has all the talent but the connection to her heart and the food is just not there. Her head and her hand are one. She knows her stuff. She is precise and she is not inept. I just have never walked away from watching her and think that she has passion and joy for her craft. Like watching someone sing who has an amazing vocal range but the voice comes from a one dimensional body.

Not everybody looks for the same thing in cooking or anything else for that matter. I am glad you enjoy her and I am even more happy we have so many options to watch and learn from in our society. We are truly lucky there is someone for everyone!!

 

[mandibc11]

I couldn't agree more! Way to explain it...I love food and want others to feel even taste that love as they eat it! This is going to be a fantastic review

 

[irishsharon]

For the love of food I'm so excied for these reviews

 

[Okh]

Point well made

 

[Dizneydawn]

I am going to bed folks. You can all kill me in the morning but after driving 12 hours yesterday and getting up at 4:30 a.m. this morning (I am up on and off all night) I am bushed. I have spent the last 3 hours with Baylor here on the computer, helping him with one of the two English papers due tom. from 2 different classes What nut bag teachers gives 4 page essay's to work on over break? Plus finish all the corresponding reading? "To Kill a Mockingbird" and a teen dating violence book called, "Breathing Underwater." Great book and important material but a total Disney buzz kill I tell ya!!

So I bid you adieu till the morning and then I will get out a full day of dining thoughts!!!!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

No problem!!! Gives us something to look forward to!!

 

[Avery&Todd]

So I bid you adieu till the morning and then I will get out a full day of dining thoughts!!!!

OK!! its the morning now!!

We're ready and waiting.....

bring on the food porn!!

 

[Dizneydawn]

Tooth Whitening TR Link

I posted above the link for the TR that will correspond with this Food Review! Put up pics of the two kids who had their own vacations and an intro!

My sister is at the hospital and in labor so I will try and get some entries in but as soon as the kids are done with school, we will hopefully be heading to see a new nephew/cousin!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

I'm here and I'm hungry... Let's eat!!!

ETA: And congrats on the new nephew!!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I'm here (another fellow Minnesotan!) and anxious to read all about it!

I got to meet Dawn in person at WDW this trip - she's AWESOME, no she's beyond awesome, she's BE-AWESOME! Super nice and she and Dan and Baylor are so open and friendly. It felt like I've known her for years!
Anyway - congrats on the new baby and looking forward to the reviews!!

To the PP from North St. Paul - that's my neck of the woods!! I went to H.S. there and now live in Oakdale. Hi neighbor!

 

[njtinkmom]

How in the world did I miss this... And now I am on page 8 I religiously followed you from Space Mountain to Peeing on Main Street and now this... what a travesty!! But the good news is that I am here and ready to read! So let's get on with the show...

 

[Jacqui]

I just subscribed to your TR and now I am ready for the dining report.