Time for more baking!
Easy Cast Iron Pizza
Rather than our usual King Arthur pizza crust recipe I decided to try a cast iron pizza recipe. It was super easy to make and really tasty! Crispy yet chewy crust and I love the thickness. Will definitely be making this again! It reminded me of Pizza Hut pan pizzas from back in the day. You know, when you would read books all Summer to earn a free pan pizza? Those were the days!
I topped it with pepperoni, red onions and used my friend Amiyrah's pizza sauce recipe, our go to for any pizza!
Flourless Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Cookies
These were a bit of a fail, in my mind, because they don't look like the photo. But they were tasty enough, especially a day after they were made. I was having one of my "cranky" days so I think that bled into me thinking they weren't perfect, ha ha. You ever have days like that?
Way back in December we bought (and froze) some French Toast bread for like 50¢ at a bread outlet store and I finally got around to using it! Instead of normal French toast I decided to make sticks! Most of the recipes I found had you pan fry the sticks but I wanted it to be an easier weeknight meal so I found one where they were baked. They were cruncher when I had them as leftovers the next day but they’re still great fresh. Definitely a bonus if you want to meal prep them! Put some in the fridge and some in the freezer and you’re good to go. I will be doing that in the future!
We aren't huge celebrators of Valentine's Day. Maybe a card and going somewhere a little bit better than takeout for dinner or lunch the weekend of. When I saw these red velvet crinkle cookies they seemed like a perfect treat to make! I made them the weekend before Valentine's Day so we finished them before the actual day. But I had already planned on a different treat to make on Vday weekend. Very soft and tasty!
This was our actual Valentine's Day treat! I saw this recipe at the end of January and it looked fun. It was also a great way to get some more use out of our bundt pan (we've only used it one other time.) Conveniently, blood oranges were on sale and we already had almost everything else (except yogurt) on hand! Had a slight issue with glaze thickness but other than that super easy and delicious! The recipe called for 1/4c blood orange juice + 3/4c powdered sugar but it was still liquid so I had to use WAYYYY more….maybe 4x the amount of sugar.
Yep, another cast iron pizza! I saw this one on Instagram in early February and added it to my list of things to make! It was super delicious, we wished we had made 2! Christian says he likes the crust of that other cast iron pizza better because it was thinner and crunchier. I loooove a thick chewy crust so this was perfect for me. The edges were crispy but the inside was pillowy soft.
I haven't been doing many new recipes lately, but I've still been baking at least twice a month. Not in the height of my "one recipe a weekend" groove from lockdown but good to still be in the habit of making something instead of being on my computer or watching TV all day. I did make a couple new things for Christmas celebrations which was fun!
Orange Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze
Christian came up with the idea of doing a chocolate and orange cake for Christmas Eve so I found a few recipes and this is the one we ultimately went with. Plus we were able to use the new bundt cake pan I bought with a gift card! It was a big hit, I wish I could've eaten the whole thing myself. We followed the recipe above but made our candied orange peel with strips rather than chunks.
Pull Apart Christmas Tree Garlic Bread
The second I saw this on Tieghan's instagram I wanted to make it for another small Christmas gathering! I accidentally overcooked the tree because I got a phone call and forgot to check on it a couple minutes before the timer went off. Luckily it didn't ruin it but it's a little darker than I wanted. We also made a wreath-type thing with the leftover dough after making out tree/triangle.
Cinnamon Bread - A Redo!
The first time I made this it came out very flat because my loaf pan was slightly too big. This time I doubled the recipe and quadrupled the cinnamon filling. Sooooo much better looking and more cinnamony! A really fun treat to make so I'm sure I'll make this again and again.
Christian and I made this pie for our family Thanksgiving. I saw it on Tieghan's instagram and knew I HAD to make it (this seems to be a theme with everything she makes!) We even made our own crust for this one instead of using store bought like we did for the last pie we made. It came out really good, nice and molten with chocolate and browned butter and maple...YUMM!
Brown Sugar Maple Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
Another recipe I remade. This time it was for a family get together since no one but Christian and I got to enjoy these bars last year (darn Covid!) So delicious and perfect for Fall/the Holidays.
I've featured stromboli in these posts a few times before but this is yet another recipe for the dough. I'm still not sure which I like best, I think I need to make each of them in the same week so Christian and I can better decide which dough we prefer.Normally it's a week or two between strombolis so we can't really judge.
As those of you who follow my Instagram know, I was at Disney World last week (and beginning of this week) for the 50th anniversary of Magic Kingdom! While that was the main purpose of the trip I was also very excited for EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival, one of my favorite times of year to go! I'm going to reshare some tips I've posted in the past for those of you that will be going to Food & Wine for the first time.
This year I went equipped with an empty stomach and my wishlist full to the brim of tasty food options! Christian decided to go with the flow and picked up one of the Festival guides when we arrived to decide what he wanted as we went.
My Food & Wine Tips
1. Download the WDW - Food&Wine app to keep track of everything you want to try and have tried! Before our trip I wish-listed everything I wanted to try so I wouldn't have to think about it while in the park. As I tried things I marked them off as "Tasted." The app also gives you a running total of what you spent which is pretty fun (and can be scary!)
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| WDW Food&Wine (this is not an official Disney app) |
2. Buy a gift card.
I find it helpful to buy the special festival gift card on a wrist
coil. You have to load them with at least $15 but you'll spend that if you eat a few dishes (and you don't just have to use it on food!) They
always have a cute design. It's a great way to
control your spending because you can load it with whatever your budget
for the day and reload if needed. This year I didn't get the festival gift card and opted for the special 50th Anniversary gift cards. There are 5 in total but we only found 4 of them, darn!
3. Pace yourself. Spread Food & Wine eats out over a few days of your trip if you can! Park hop back to EPCOT once you're done at another park for a couple snacks. If you only have one, day don't try to eat too much or you'll only remember the stomach-ache you had. We spent one full day at EPCOT and visited again for two half days (plus a quick evening trip where we rode rides instead of trying food.)
4. Share bites with others so you can sample even more! If multiple people want to try the same thing why not split it so you have room for even more snacks? And, if you happen to really like it, go back to get a second if you're still hungry at the end of the day! Christian and I shared a lot so we were able to get more from our lists. Unfortunately he had to eat the cheesy items on his own!
What We Ate
Time for the fun part - talking about everything we ate! Let's go by country and in order of the Festival Guide.
Shimmering Sips
Shimmering Strawberry Soft-serve served in a Waffle Cone
This was one of our most instagrammable treats, look how fun and sparkly! I'm not usually a fan of plain strawberry ice cream (gelato, yes, ice cream, meh) but this was too fun to pass up! I really enjoyed it. Pro tip - make sure you have a water cup or bowl to dump your ice cream into and eat it with a spoon so you don't become a drippy mess.
Australia
Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp served with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion, and Snap Peas and Deconstructed Pavlova served with Pastry Cream, Citrus-macerated Berries, and Lemon Myrtle Meringue
Australia usually has some sort of "bush berry" shrimp on the menu and it's always tasty. Also a good way to get a few veggies if you're mostly eating fried foods on your trip. Mine seemed to be mostly snap peas but was still delicious. I would definitely buy this again. The deconstructed pavlova was fun but I wasn't a fan of the meringue. The berries were so fresh and sweet so that made up for it.
Refreshment Port
Traditional Poutine - French Fries, Boursin Cracked Black Pepper Crumbles, and Cheese Curds
This was a Christian-only treat because I am not a fan of poutine. He said it was pretty good, although the poutine he had when we went to Montreal was obviously better.
Belguim
Belgian Waffle served with Warm Chocolate Ganache
Christian and I shared this after he scraped away the whipped cream (I know, I'm weird.) The waffle was fluffy and the ganache tasty but this was overall just okay. But for $4.50 it's one of the cheaper items we tried.
Tangerine Café: Flavors of the Medina
Grilled Kebabs with Couscous, Tomato-Onion Salad, and Garlic-Aioli (Lemon-Garlic Chicken)
There were 3 different kabob options and we went with the chicken, it was very tasty! I'm always a fan of couscous and the salad was nice and refreshing. If we had stayed longer I might have also tried the Harissa-marinated Beef Tenderloin tips. They also had a Moroccan Spiced Lamb option.
Greece
Lamb Moussaka
Ever since our honeymoon Christian has become enamored with moussaka. Any time we see it on a menu he has to try it to see how it compares to the amazing one he had in Santorini. He said this was good but seemed to be a bit more Americanized than other dishes we tried. It reminded him of lasagna.
Japan
Teriyaki Chicken Bun - Steamed Bun filled with Chicken, Vegetables, and Teriyaki
A great choice for the picky eater this has a very subtle flavor. We thought it could have used more of a kick but overall it was still tasty. I do think it was a little expensive at $6.50. I would much prefer one of my other bites for that price if we were to go back.
Spain
Spanish-style Paella with Rice, Chorizo, and Shrimp & Charcuterie with a selection of imported Spanish Meats, Cheeses, and Olives with an Herb Vinaigrette
I always have to stop in Spain at EPCOT Food & Wine for their delicious Paella! The festival has included it every year I've gone and I'll be very upset if they ever stop! The meats used are always slightly different but it never disappoints. It's so tasty and a great portion size. Christian and I also got the Charcuterie to share (he ate all the cheese, I had the olives.)
Germany
Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll
Another simple snack for the less adventurous eater. This comes with mustard but since I'm not a fan I asked for mine plain. Obviously without the mustard it's a little dry but I still found it very tasty.
The Alps
Blueberry and Almond Frangipane Tart with Crème Fraîche
This was probably the most disappointing item we got. It came out and looked totally different from the photo example and the texture was off. There wasn't really a tart crust, it seemed to have melted from the blueberries and frangipane. I only tried a tiny bite because Christian warned me it had a weird texture (I don't like things that are too creamy.) The flavor was good but overall it was just "meh" because it was a little too mushy.
Kenya
Piri Piri Skewered Shrimp with Citrus-scented Couscous
Apparently we had a shrimp theme this trip. I was super excited to try this and it was amazing! If we didn't get this on our last day I would have gotten it twice. We had some of the EPCOT birds eyeing the plate as we were eating this on a bench, they thought they were going to get some - wrong!
India
Warm Indian Bread with Pickled Garlic, Mango Salsa, and Coriander Pesto Dips & Korma Chicken with Basmati Rice, Crispy Chickpeas, and Spiced Yogury Sauce & Madras Red Curry with Roasted Cauliflower, Baby Carrots, Chickpeas and Ben's Original Basmati Rice
We tried all the food at the India booth and everything was great! I think our favorite may have been the curry but everything was good. I loved the coriander pesto dip that came with the warm bread while Christian thought the mango salsa was best. All of these were great for sharing and we would get them all again.
China
Pan-fried Chicken Dumplings served with House-made Sweet-and-Spicy Sauce & Crispy-fried Pepper Shrimp served with Spicy Sichuan Noodles
China always comes through with delicious dumplings and some sort of noodle dish. Both of these were great, although Christian balked at the $5 price-tag for 2 dumplings. But who cares, they're so yummy!
The Donut Box
Sriracha-glazed Donut & Strawberry Smoothie
One of the most anticipated things at the Food & Wine Festival was this sriracha-glazed donut. It comes with a piece of fried chicken inside and a slaw with some aioli and who knows what else. This was a Christian-only treat but I did try a bite of just chicken and donut. He looooved it and we almost went back for a second one on our last day. The smoothie was delicious and very refreshing.
Mac & Eats
Cowboy Macaroni and Cheese with Smoked Pork Belly, Brisket Burnt Endss, Pickled Peppers, and Onion Straws
This might have been in Christian's top 5 favorite items. The portion was great for $6.25 and he said it was very tasty!
There were a lot more things we would have tried (and eaten again) if we had more days at the park but sadly we had to come home. I'd consider living at Disney during the Food & Wine festival just so I could pop into EPCOT every day for a random treat.
I hope you enjoyed coming along with us on this culinary tour of the world!
