This weekend we actually stayed in town (for just a second) so we could head to National Harbor bright and early Saturday morning for the Chesapeake Crab and Beer Festival.

This was the first time we’d ever been to National Harbor, which is the weird “inner harbor” like area for DC that was just built. The only problem? It’s not actually IN DC–it’s way out in the middle of nowhere town, in the county. But it is pretty with big garages and public restrooms. So not too much complaining. And it has a great big open space right on the water to have a festival!

Here’s something you probably don’t know about me–we go to A LOT of beer festivals. Like 4-5 a year. Yes, I’m more of a wine girl, but Noel is a certified beer snob, and what better way for him to enhance his snobbery than with festival tastings? And they are a ton of fun, as we normally go with a group of friends. We’ve been to other festival produced by the people who did this one, but this was our first at National Harbor.

Although this was a “crab and beer” festival, they actually had it set up so you could buy tickets for crabs, beer, or crabs + beer. We went for the beer only option (which worked out well since our friends were having a crab feast the next day) and it was the right call. Why? It left us way more time to drink beer while everyone else was picking crabs. And did I mention they gave us pint glasses which they would fill all the way up for you?

I do have to admit, the crabs looked pretty good for those partaking. They were steaming them fresh on site and serving them six at a time with corn and chips. But really, who eats corn and chips at these things?

Since we opted not to get crabs, we ate from some of the other vendors. My favorite? DC Slice, which served hot pizza off a food truck. An excellent slice of buffalo chicken pizza!

Like I said, the no crab option gave us way more time to enjoy beer. Good beer. And lots of it.

This is pretty much where we spent our Saturday afternoon. I’m not complaining.

There were also a few non-beer drinking options, including this ice luge from Sauza Tequila. I think some people definitely made some bad decisions with the ice luge at the end of the event…

This was a really fun event! National Harbor was a nice venue and although I would change a few things (mostly to have shady places for people not eating crabs to sit down!) I think Trigger Agency did a great job with this event. For any local folks, I would recommend trying an event at National Harbor. I’m not sure where exactly the race that I signed up for there is going to be after being there, so let’s hope they figure it out!

And probably more importantly, I managed to drink all afternoon and still make it out for my 10 mile long run Sunday morning. That’s skill! And my last long run before the Wildwood Half next weekend! Looking forward to running 13.1 by the sea!

After our fantastic experience at the Great Halloween Lantern Parade last year, Noel and I knew we just had to go back again. Thanks to a last minute cancellation with the ghost tour, Noel was able to make it for the whole parade and festival (yay!)

Unfortunately, due to my problem shopping at the mall, we were a bit late to the festival. We arrived after dark, when the party was in full swing. But we jumped right in and enjoyed ourselves with a Magic Hat beer!

Folks with lanterns were starting to line up for the parade–one of the great things about the parade is that anyone can participate in the march around the park–so we were able to enjoy some of the stationary displays with lighter crowds.

This year there was a Day of the Dead theme to the displays that I don’t remember from last year’s festival, and it was a nice addition. I’ve been fascinated with Day of the Dead since I was in middle school Spanish class and we celebrated the holiday. I love the decorations and the idea of taking sweets to those that have passed on.

This carriage, which was also Day of the Dead themed (with Tibetan prayer flags, but hey, it still looked cool) was my favorite thing we saw all night. It was so detailed and looked like it was really mobile!

The horses were built on bikes!

And this skeleton, it was fantastic. It took four people to maneuver, but it was worth it–totally one of my favorites!

We met up with our friends Elizabeth and Jon Sookie and Bill! Their costumes were great!

We had a perfect vantage to see the parade as it came into the parade festival. There were a bunch of drum lines and step teams, which gave the parade a great beat!

Noel might have gone a little crazy for this next huge lantern. Screaming “I love you CAULIFLOWER!!!!” counts as crazy in my book!

Another favorite–the stilt bug!

Noel and I ended the night listening to Balti More, a great Eastern European band that was really getting the crowd going! We danced a bit and enjoyed our beer before heading home.

There was a rumor before the parade that this was the last year, because the parade’s founding director is retiring. The Creative Alliance folks said they’ll be back with another great event next year for Halloween (phew!) and I can’t wait to see what they come up with!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I told you all that I didn’t make it brunch with the Baked Boys, but the rest of the usual suspects were lucky enough to make it–and based on their report back it sounds like I missed a good one! Lucky for me, they did bring me some dessert samples, and I can confirm that this cookbook is as delicious as the Baked Boy’s first one! Carlos was nice enough to write up a guest post (with input from Tony and Eileen) on his experience to share with you all…so take it away Carlos!

From the wdwinfo website: “Sweet Sundays – A pastry chef or baker demonstrates 3 signature desserts and serves them. Each event includes a warm and intimate breakfast buffet complete with sparkling wines. Sundays from 10:00-12 PM in the Festival Welcome Center.”

As a newcomer to the Food and Wine Festival, I didn’t know what to expect of the Sweet Sundays treat for which we signed up months in advance at Beth’s behest and recommendation. I certainly enjoy food and wine, and given my close relationship to two proficient bakers (my wife Eileen and Beth) who are also big fans of Matt and Renato (the Baked Boys), I was quite excited about the event and its prospects. With Beth and Eileen’s seal of approval, I knew I was in for some good eats.

The Sweet Sundays plan would hit a snag before it even took place, though. Beth became rather ill with a stomach bug the night before the show, and could not join us, even though it was probably the event she looked forward to the most all week at Disney. We were saddened, but we needed to carry on. The mission was now clear for Eileen, our friend Tony G and me: sample everything, take as many pictures as possible, and enjoy ourselves on Beth’s behalf (and as much as possible to be her eyes and taste buds).

Before the actual start to the event we enjoyed a brunch buffet that included several quiches, ham, bacon, potatoes, fruit, muffins, croissants and pastries, along with coffee and juice. I had a plateful of great food, while at the same time keeping in mind that there was a whole lot of sampling left to be done. I tried not to overfill my plate, but it was 10 a.m., I hadn’t had any food yet, and so I failed miserably at this attempt at self-restraint.

Once satiated with catered goodness, the event per se began with a short welcome and introduction from Pam, a representative of the guest winery Martini®. Ms. Prosecco Pam (as she dubbed herself) talked to us a little bit about the origins of Prosecco and Asti, pointed out the various properties and differences between the two, and then invited us to drink up, and drink often. She was very informative, friendly, and good with the crowd.

After the welcome, Pam introduced Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito from “Baked” in Brooklyn NY, the Guest Chefs and the reason why most attendees were there. Perhaps to many reading this, the Baked Boys may need little introduction, but to me they were very much a new acquaintance. After another Prosecco toast and some quick prepping, Matt and “Nato” quickly delved into the first dessert. The first bit of sweet deliciousness was the “Marshmallow Chocolate Cups.” It was here that I saw a gelatin sheet for the first time (they looked really cool), learned a bit about using gelatin sheets vs. using gelatin powder, and noted the good chocolates they like to use (such as Valrhona and Barry Callebaut, who use cocoa instead of oil for their flavoring and are therefore better for baking than cooking chocolates). I also tried to follow along in a quick explanation of the exact science and criticality of maintaining the proper timing between different stages of preparation when the key to the dessert is to melt and pour and layer. A disaster can be looming if your gelatin is ready to be mixed and the chocolate is not properly melted, or vice versa. I think that my favorite part of this particular demonstration was to see a runny, translucent glob at the bottom of a Kitchen Aid mixing bowl slowly become gooey marshmallow accented with vanilla extract and salt.

Meanwhile, the audience was treated to our own sample accompanied with another glass of the Prosecco. The little Marshmallow Cup was absolutely fantastic. I had once enjoyed some great marshmallows that Beth made a while ago, and sampling these brought back the simple and absolute joy of homemade marshmallows. The little cup was the perfect tease for a second round.

The kitchen/stage was then turned over to Eric Wolitzky, Pastry Chef at Baked and a current contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef – Just Desserts. Eric quickly whipped up a breakfast “Double-Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread.” This baked treat is intended to be served as part of breakfast and not necessarily as dessert, which is why (according to the chef) there is no use of butter, but rather vegetable oil (with a lot of Valrhona cocoa powder and brown sugar). This is a really quick and delicious recipe, although for my taste I think I would have rather seen him use butter. Everything is better with butter. But to each their own, and Eric insisted on not turning a breakfast dish (prepared with oil) into a dessert (prepared with butter). The “sample” of the loaf was a piece so big I almost couldn’t even finish it, and there were still two more items to go! I tried to pace myself and ate all but a small piece of this tasty loaf, and most of the cream cheese spread (which was good enough to eat all by itself).

Next we moved on to sweet treat number three, and probably my favorite. Renato explained that his “Mom’s Olive Oil Orange Bundt Cake” was not his mom’s original recipe, but a recipe that she adopted from a friend. It is likely though, as Nato indicated, that Ms. Grace started with a basic vanilla Bundt cake recipe and then, in true Sicilian flair, added olive oil and orange to the recipe. I feel that the reason this was my favorite recipe is that the mix of fresh orange zest, olive oil, and the orange juice glaze evoked some strong memories of summers in Valencia, Spain, where my mother was born and raised and where I have visited many times. The region of Valencia is all about oranges, and all of Spain is synonymous gastronomically with olive oil, so the personal experience drawn from this cake was powerful and unavoidable. We enjoyed the Bundt cake with some Asti, which was an absolutely perfect pairing that brought out the notes of orange and the peculiar taste of olive oil without sacrificing the dessert experience. The cake was rich and moist without being overpowering, and I somehow found a way to open up a secondary stomach cavity to receive yet more food on a full belly.

For the fourth and final dessert, the menu read “Maple Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting,” but we soon learned that the chefs had decided to make a change at the last minute (however long a last minute decision has to be made in order to prepare over a hundred samples for tasting). Matt was eager to announce that they had decided to forego the maple cupcakes (the recipe is still available in their new cookbook) and instead show us how to prepare their now famous Sweet and Salty Brownies, as featured on TV. These brownies were prepared with more chocolate per serving than I have ever seen in my life, and the results were incredible. This brownie was thick and “fudgy” without being underdone, and the topping of sprinkled coarse salt and caramel sauce just brought the brownie to an over-the-top level that I have never experienced before. I could literally feel myself going into a sugar/food coma as I took each bite. Oh, and here’s a neat little trick to add to the complexity of this brownie: Matt uses instant espresso powder in the mix in order to draw out even further the intensity of the chocolate. I agree with my friend Tony’s assessment that this was the best brownie he’d ever had.

I will admit that having such a dense brownie at the end of the sampling felt like a bit of overkill on an already heavily taxed digestive system, but anything worth doing is worth overdoing, as they say, and this was certainly no exception. Matt and Renato are talented, personable, and versatile chefs, who were most gracious to sign books for Eileen and Beth, have our picture taken with them, and then chat for a while about their “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” experience and their love of food.

All the success that the Baked Boys have attained and the attention and fan base they have been building is definitely well-deserved. The experience of the tasting will linger in my memory as a very special one. Eileen and Beth’s praise of Baked was confirmed in my mind. I had high expectations, and I was definitely not disappointed.

I’m back!

Sorry for the prolonged absence, but the end of my time in Florida didn’t go exactly as I had planned. Instead of eating in a fantastic French Canadian Steakhouse and then meeting the Baked boys over a champagne brunch, I got to spend some quality time in my hotel room laid low with the most horrendous stomach bug I have EVER experienced. But I’m back now and fully recovered, so I think it’s high time I share some of our Florida adventures. You already got a preview with the pictures of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which we really enjoyed, even if it was a bit small.

But enough about the trip generally, and on to the FOOD! This trip might be my all-time top Walt Disney World food experience. We ate at Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where I had the single best piece of meat of my life–a single slice of bacon 1/4 of an inch thick! We enjoyed Kouzzina, Kat Kora’s new Greek restaurant at the Boardwalk. Eileen and I enjoyed breakfast at one of our old favorites, the Kona Cafe. And then at the end of the week we had Food and Wine, which we started off in style with the first French Regional Lunch of the season, which celebrated the Champagne region of France with Nicolas Feuillatte.

Last year at Food and Wine, we stuck to sampling at the International Marketplace. We were newbies and we didn’t know what to expect, and it’s hard to lay out a lot of cash for an event if you don’t know what you’re getting. But after being wowed by the Marketplace, this year we decided to try some of the special events. First up Champagne Lunch! After a six mile training run, I was ready to chow down and get my champagne on!

Almost as soon as we sat down in the Chefs de France dining room, we were receiving our first sampling of Champagne, a Reserve Brut to accompany our amuse bouche. Our host for the afternoon took the opportunity to introduce himself and to provide a background on Nicolas Feuillatte and the wines we were going to drink. He talked about Champagne is made and how it is a wine we should enjoy every day. We all certainly enjoyed it this day–even if this was the only point anyone in the room listened to the poor guy.

Our amuse bouche was lovely, a bit of smoked salmon on toast points. Then we moved to the salad and bread–the salad was a whole lobster out of the shell, served over cold vegetables. Amazing. And the bread. Fresh from the oven tiny baguettes. A miniature of what you would buy on the street in Paris. With the course we were served my favorite champagne of the afternoon, a blanc de blanc that was made from all chardonnay grapes. I never knew this, but most champagne is actually a blend of three types of grapes–pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier–and blanc de blanc is one of the only ones made from a single grape. I love chardonnay, so no surprise in me loving this champagne.

And there might have been some silliness with lobster heads…

Next we moved on to the entree, chicken with morrels in a cream sauce, served with a side of fresh house made pasta. Served with a glass of the Palmes d’Or, which was the official champagne of the Concorde! I wished I had more room for this course, because it was fantastic, but I knew I needed to save room for dessert!

And what a dessert it was–a fresh raspberry tart, comprised of an almond base, with fresh raspberries, raspberry sorbet and a lovely light sauce. I have pretty high dessert standards, and this one was a home run for me! I was so glad I had saved enough room to eat it all! Dessert came served we a lovely sparkling rose–aka pink champagne. I always love something pink!

Two and a half hours after the start, we reached the end of our journey through French Champagne country and I think we all fully enjoyed the trip. This was a great event to kick off our weekend at the Festival, and one that we would be back for again.

Because lots of champagne makes for happy Minnies!

I’ve waited a whole year for it and now it’s finally here…The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival!

After a very long wait, we’re (finally) in Orlando this weekend enjoying the festival with the usual suspects. In addition to doing the individual country sampling that I shared with you last year, we’re going to a few special events. Stay tuned for recaps once we return!

This weekend, Noel, a bunch of friends, and I decided to hit up the Maryland Wine Festival. Despite the fact that I grew up 12 miles from where the Wine Festival is held and I went to college just down the street, we had never actually managed to make it to the festival. But willing friends and beautiful weather were enough enticement, so after my 5.34 mile training run on Saturday, we set off towards Westminster.

After we fought our way through the traffic (apparently about 20,000 other people in Maryland decided it would be a nice day to visit the festival) we were happy with what we found. A huge setup at the Carroll County Farm Museum with more than 30 Maryland Wineries. Our $25 admission got us unlimited tastings (which is better than the limited, ticketed tasting which seems to be common at these events), which just sweetened the deal on a day where the sun was shining and the crowd was dancing to live music.

I’ll admit that one of the reasons I may have stayed away from the Wine Festival in the past was what I perceived to be a lack of good Maryland wine. And by good I mean something that doesn’t taste like fruit juice. Call me a wine snob or whatever, but I love a good crisp or full bodied glass. So a lot of Maryland Wine just isn’t my cup of tea. But I was pleasantly surprised to find SEVERAL wineries at the festival that were serving up good, drinkable stuff. And not just the much praised Black Ankle.

In fact, we liked the wine so much that we ended up buying a few bottles and just sitting in the grass, enjoying the lovely fall day. Among our favorites–Saint Michael’s Long Splice and and lovely Oaked Chardonnay from Fiore.

It was an excellent day with some–dare I say it–excellent wine. It’s nice to see how far the Maryland Wine industry has come, and I’m planning on adding this to our list of annual events. I can only imagine the festival getting better as our wine industry continues to grow. And wine with a bit of sun–what better way to spend a Saturday in the country?

Artscape 2010 Edition

Don’t forget to enter the eat local giveaway!

And as always, you can find more wordless wednesdays here.

I think most cities have some way of officially kicking off the holiday season. In DC it’s lighting the National Christmas tree and opening the White House for Christmas. In New York it’s lighting the big tree in Rockefeller Center. In Baltimore, we kick off our annual holiday festivities by lighting up our Washington Monument. Neither Noel nor I had ever been to the Monument Lighting ceremony–although we had certainly seen it on TV–so this year we decided to venture out of Southeast to attend the party!

Most people don’t even realize that Baltimore has a Washington Monument, or that it’s actually older than its cousin in DC. No matter, though, because we love our monument and the neighborhood that surrounds it–Mount Vernon (I don’t think the name is a coincidence, do you?)

I had forgotten how beautiful some of the big, stately buildings in Mount Vernon are at night. I drive by them every morning on my way to work, but they are totally transformed by the dark. With their soft golden lights it felt like even the buildings were getting ready for the holidays.

After a survey of the park around the monument, we located a spot to set up the tripod to take pictures. We were pretty early, but slowly the crowd filled in around us. A group of schoolchildren arrived, complete with festive hats and carols. A dad still in his suit and overcoat brought his two young sons. Vendors sold glow sticks and lighted Santa hats to eager children and their parents in the crowd. Everyone waited for the dancing on the stage to stop and for the lights to come on.

Then suddenly a flash of light as the monument was illuminated. And then the pop of fireworks! The crowd around us oohed and ahhed as Noel turned to me excitedly and proclaimed “look fireworks!” The fireworks illuminated the column in different colors, creating a fantastic festive effect.

After the fireworks were over and the crowds started to thin, we couldn’t resist the urge to take a stroll around the plaza–and of course more pictures of just the monument! I love this one of the stoic Washington on top of the column, pointing towards our Nation’s capital in Washington, just 30 odd miles to the south.

As we made it 3/4s of the way around the column from where we were set up, we discovered there was actually a little festival in West Mount Vernon Park. It suddenly made a lot of sense why the stage had been set up in that direction! There were vendors selling food, and we found this excellent hot chocolate from one of our Southeast favorites, Pitango Gelato. It was like a melted chocolate bar in a cup with cool and frothy topping. Such a special treat on a festive night!

Last night Noel and I were lucky enough to be able to go to the Great Halloween Lantern Parade with the usual suspects. This year was the 10th anniversary of the parade, put on every year by the Creative Alliance, our friendly neighborhood arts organization.

Although we’ve lived in Patterson Park for 4 years now, this is the first time we’ve been able to make it to the parade (I know, I’m embarrassed!). What a great year we picked to go! This year the parade was expanded to include a parade festival before the actual event, with food, beverages (we always love a beer garden!), lantern making, and hay rides for the kids. There was a real carnival atmosphere as everyone hung out at the festival and waited for the parade to get going.

And then once it got going, oh what a sight it was. As darkness fell on the park you could feel everyone getting more excited about the parade. And then suddenly a twinkling of lights started coming towards us. There were lanterns in every shape and size, from simple box lanterns made by kids to elaborate paper mache lanterns formed into magical creatures. When combined with stilt walkers and drums the parade became a wonderful piece of performance art, slowly snaking before our eyes.

It was simply beautiful. What better way to celebrate the season and our wonderful neighborhood.

As we walked back towards our house after the end of the parade had passed us by, we could see the parade slowly making it’s way through the rest of the park. Noel and I just turned to each other and smiled, warmed by the great event taking place around us. It was fantastic to have such a visual reminder of why we love living in this place.

If you’ve never been to the parade, I can’t recommend it enough for next year. I know we’ll be going back.

So where did we leave off talking about the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival last week? Oh yeah, with the wine!

And oh what a wine selection it was. Four or five wines, paired with the food, in each and every country! I didn’t even realize that some of these countries had their own wine industries, so it was great to see the variety. This was the scene at every country:

My personal favorite festival wine was in New Zealand. I think they’re on the cusp of giving Australia a run for their money in the serious wine department. This Sauvignon Blanc was outstanding on a hot October day:

My favorite wine overall on the trip was a lovely rose in France, but since it’s wasn’t *officially* part of the festival, I’m not featuring it here. I have to have something to share with you after my next non-festival trip!

But to be really fair, I can’t just talk about the wine that was at the festival, because there was so much more in the adult beverage category. Several of the countries (like Ireland, South Africa, Japan, and of course Germany, to name a few) also had local beers on tap, and there was an international “beer passport” station where you could buy flights of beer.

Festival sponsor Sam Adams had a complimentary beer tasting in the Americas Pavilion, where you got to taste four Sam beers–Boston Lager, Sam Light, Oktoberfest, and my favorite, the Special 14th Anniversary Festival Ale, which was a blackberry wheat. The blackberry wheat was fantastic–a really nice wheat beer with a light blackberry finish that hits just at the back of the tongue. I was super sad that this was only available at the festival! Please Sam, consider adding this to your seasonal lineup along with Cherry Wheat! We enjoyed SEVERAL 22 ounce pours of this beer over our two days at the festival.

And then there were also liquors and mixed drinks available in some countries for tasting. We had a ton of fun doing tequila tastings in the Mexico Pavilion, and I think if it’s available again next year, we will do the tequila tasting class that is offered in the bar where we had these. We were in the bar while the class was going on, and it sounded like they were having so much fun, I was a little sad (before our shots of course) that we weren’t part of the class!

At the Ireland Pavilion the Meade was flowing! We were seriously tempted to buy a bottle of this to bring home with us, but alas we had to pass since we knew our luggage was already overweight. Good thing I know my sister has a bottle stashed at her place…

And I will leave you with our overall favorite *adult* beverage at the festival–a frozen cosmo in France. Normally I’m not a girl who is big on the frozen mixed drinks. Maybe it was the temperature or just the overall spirit of the day, but we all LOVED this drink. It was pink, delicious, and perfect. And we won’t wait until the end of our next visit to have another one.

As with the food, I was really impressed by the wine and other adult beverage portion of the festival. Once again, it was over the top and the selection was fantastic. And did I mention everything was available to purchase by the bottle, all at reasonable, not crazily marked up prices? Well done Epcot. If you make it to the festival, don’t miss the adult beverage portion of the festivities! And be safe and use Disney transportation to get you back to your hotel!