Magical Dining Month: Maxine’s on Shine
September 24, 2013 | Posted in Dining out | By Lisa Wilk
Head to Colonialtown in Downtown Orlando for a tasty Magical Dining meal at Maxine’s on Shine. I dined with a larger group and had a great experience, our server walked us through her favorites and didn’t steer us wrong. Live music accompanied the meal on Tuesday evening, which gave an extra special ambiance to a mid-week dinner.
Our large group ended up with almost all of the offered menu items. Here is a quick breakdown of the group recommendations: The cheese plate and the mussels were the popular appetizers. Tuna was seared beautifully and the Seafood Ravioli was a big hit. Desserts are all decadent, the peanut butter and chocolate mousse pie was was the overwhelming favorite. Along with the three courses, a glass of wine was included with the Magical Dining meal. As you leave, be sure to tuck that Magical Dining receipt in a safe place and bring it into Maxine’s brunch for a complimentary mimosa. Cheers!
Magical Dining Month: Luma On Park
September 23, 2013 | Posted in Uncategorized | By Lisa Wilk
Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining Month is in full swing, if you haven’t checked out Luma On Park’s offerings, here is the most recent menu. The Winter Park restaurant modifies their menu based on seasonal availability.
I met a few friends at Luma so we could catch up while enjoying a lovely meal, we were not disappointed. Our server, Rob, took great care of us. While the restaurant was very busy he remained attentive, made a nice recommendation on a bottle of wine and walked our table through the menu highlights. My friends both ordered the Roasted Cauliflower Tart to start, it was spectacular. Primarily nutty and cheesy in taste, if you aren’t a fan of cauliflower I doubt you would know the cruciferous vegetable is what gave the tart some texture and structure. I opted for the Cauliflower-Fennel Soup, which was made with vegetable stock and vegetarian friendly. The soup was very flavorful and creamy, again, not overwhelming in Cauliflower taste and it was delicious.
Onto the entrees! The menu had creative options for each of us, the table ended up with one of each of the three Magical Dining entrees. The Buccatini Bolognese featured the well-known Luma Eight-hour ragù. My friends raved about the intensely flavored ragù and you could smell the love when the dish was set down at the table.
The Ashley Farms Chicken Breast featured a delicious salsa verde and was enjoyed by my friend, who loved the complex flavors. We all commented on the nice portion size and the perfect cook resulting in tender, juicy chicken.
I ordered the Idaho Rainbow Trout, which was a beautiful skin-on filet, served on a bed of forbidden rice with chickpeas and a serrano butter sauce. All of the ingredients complimented the fresh fish beautifully. The crispy skin was perfectly done and each forkful was a lovely composition of tastes, with the fish being the star. I would love to recreate this dish at home. (challenge accepted!)
After two wonderful courses, we were in food bliss and didn’t think our evening could get much better. Our expectations were exceeded! The Chocolate Panna Cotta was nice, the toasted marshmallow on the top a delightful touch enjoyed by the table.
Two of us tucked into the Lemon Olive Oil Cake, which was a revelation. The moist, lightly lemony cake was topped with a fig compote that harmonized with the fresh citrus curd and Vanilla Ice Cream. The dish was light and fresh tasting, which is pretty amazing when you look at the rich components. It was the table favorite.
Not wanting our lovely evening to end, we ordered after dinner drinks to finish out the meal. The La Fleur d’or Sauternes was quite tasty and my Tawny Port had me thinking that I should finish a meal more often with a tawny treat. Magical Dining is continuing through September 30th, but remember that Luma on Park offers a Prix Fixe menu Sunday-Tuesday year round.
Luma on Park
290 S Park Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 599-4111
Enjoying The Local Scene in Winter Park
September 21, 2013 | Posted in Around Town, Dining out | By Lisa Wilk
Hubby and I had friends in town visiting and followed my usual suggestions of how to enjoy a Saturday morning in Winter Park. Coincidentally, we were celebrating our anniversary with a night at the new Alfond Inn.
Which, is a lovely treat. I’ll write more later on our festive Alfond experience- for a sneak peek you can check out my Instagram or Twitter feed. We walked the few blocks down New England Avenue to the Winter Park Farmers Market to meet our friends.
The great weather meant a busy market morning, we enjoyed looking at the unusual plants and goodies. Our group left with ripe tomatoes, olive tempenade, a few starter tomato plants, golden thyme and a small staghorn fern.
I’ll be back for the Asian Snow bush, since we were off to walk Park Avenue and explore we had to limit ourselves. Our group enjoyed strolling the Avenue window shopping and picking up items in the local shops while we chatted- before we knew it, lunchtime arrived and we were ready for a bite. Prato offered a nice lunch menu with two brunch options.
We started with the Fig Crostini to share and enjoyed salads, pizza and pasta for the main meal. Our guests enjoyed the experience and raved about the meal. Before we knew it our time was up and they had to head back out of town. They are already looking forward to heading back for another visit to explore more of what Winter Park has to offer. Though we live here, we know just how they feel!
Five Minute Meal
September 21, 2013 | Posted in Cooking, Home life | By Lisa Wilk
I enjoy my time cooking in the kitchen, but sometimes it’s been a long day and the thought of cooking dinner has me wanting to reach for cereal or rustle through the take out menus.
Knowing that I was going to have a long day at the office, had me thinking towards my lack of dinner plans on a recent Panera visit. See, I have a teacher hubby who would be one hour past ravenous by the time I arrived home. (That’s what happens when you are up before 6:00 AM.) Prominent signage for the new Autumn Squash Soup called to me as a veggie friendly soup is always welcomed at our house. Seed planted, I now wanted squash soup and I knew I wouldn’t have the time hit the grocery store, then roast veggies and finally prepare a soup…so I let Panera do the work for me.
Panera’s Autumn Squash soup and a quick open-face Rosy Goat grilled cheese was the perfect 5 minute meal. I used the multi grain baguettes included with the take out “group soup”; a nice way to use the fresh bread. Since I had baguette sections, I sliced them in half length-wise to use open-face, getting just the right cheese to bread ratio. I used a light spread of butter, quickly browned one side, then topped with cheese slices and covered the pan until the cheese was melted. While you could use brie, blue cheese or any cheese you had in your fridge, the rosemary coated Rosey Goat was a perfect pairing. The slightly sweet, pumpkin and squash soup was balanced with the creamy, salty and herb-forward cheese.
Pair this meal with your favorite Autumn inspired drink- I’d suggest Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale, a Pinot Noir or the 2011 Blue Tooth Cabernet from Cenay. Suddenly, a super quick and semi take out meal is elevated and seems very well planned.
P.S.- No incentives, just thought I’d share a nice seasonal treat. Cheers!
Top 5 Friday
September 20, 2013 | Posted in Around Town, Cooking, Craft Beers, Dining out | By Lisa Wilk
On my radar this week:
Sarah Eat’s hits Magical Dining at Todd English’s Blue Zoo
Infusion Tea has something for every meal!
The Little Kitchen is making delicious Hand Pies
Koko cooks is giving away Disney kitchenware prize pack to gear up for Food & Wine!
Bryan “This Is why I’m Drunk” puts Pumpkin Beers in a Smackdown comparison
The Wine Room on Park Extends Artisan Fromage Cave To The Classroom
September 19, 2013 | Posted in Around Town, Wine Tasting | By Lisa Wilk
Walking through the newly remodeled Wine Room on Park, you pass numerous banks of Enomatic wine dispensers, cozy seating areas and a welcoming bar area with a fully stocked gourmet cheese counter. Continuing on, you leave the social bustle behind as you descend into the lower lounges and special events rooms. I attended a recent cheese pairing class to learn more about some of the best United States female artisan cheese producers. Along with the five cheeses, there were five perfectly paired wines. If you are interested in those wines and on Vivino, follow me to sip along with what I’m sampling.
Those who attended the sold out class were fortunate to have the experience of Maitre Fromager Waldemar Albrecht select the cheeses from properties he has personally visited and worked with over the years. Wademar received training in cheese from industry leaders, including Debra Dickerson, Janet Tarlov, Daphne Zepos, and Juliana Uruburu. Waldemar became a full time Maitre Fromager at Artisanal restaurant, is a member of the Faculty at Artisanal Premium Cheese and he now consults while traveling the world seeking out the best artisan cheeses.
Waldemar spent quite a bit of time going through why certain wines pair best with certain cheeses and encouraged us to embrace all things fermented. And, yes, sampling through rare and decadent cheeses is a very nice way to spend an evening.
While I thoroughly enjoyed all of the cheeses, I thought the Montenebro from Avila Spain was really something unique and special. The goats milk cheese was rich and nutty; complimented by the well rounded Lamborn “Mary-Hana” Rosé, which had a nice floral nose and delightfully balanced acidity. The Montenebro also paired beautifully with both the mild and the bolder red wines poured. The class enjoyed the luxurious Cremonte (cow & goat mixed), Marieke Gouda (cow’s milk), Quicke’s Cheddar (cow’s milk) and Point Reyes Original Blue (cow’s milk) – each cheese completely delicious for different reasons. Attendees learned about the origins of the cheese and how each is made, sampled the cheeses with paired wines and dissected the flavors. This is an informative and enjoyable evening for a beginner, intermediate or advanced wine enthusiast who loves artisan cheeses. After class, a few of us headed upstairs to make some selections to enjoy at home.
The next cheese class with Waldemar is Monday, September 30th at 6:30PM and Waldemar is planning to be back in Orlando for a December 2013 class. Contact the Wine Room on Park for class and tastings information and be sure to sign up for their email list for more special event information.
270 Park Ave S
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 696-9463
Operating Hours:
Monday – Wednesday • 3:00pm – Midnight
Thursday • 12:00pm – Midnight
Friday – Saturday • 11:00am – 1:30am
Sunday • 1:00pm – 11:00pm
Pumpkin Beer Smackdown With Guest Blogger Bryan Roth of ‘This Is Why I’m Drunk’
September 18, 2013 | Posted in Craft Beers | By Lisa Wilk
I love Pumpkin beers. When September rolls around, I’m happy to spend most of my time hunting down and trying every style of pumpkin beer I can get my hands on. This year, pumpkin beers have been plentiful in Central Florida and there are more brands and styles still making their way onto the shelves.
I enjoy reading Bryan Roth’s This is Why I’m Drunk posts on Pumpkin beers and especially liked his pumpkin pie rating scale. Bryan seems to love the pumpkin beers as much as I do, so we are partnering up to compare some of the widely known and easy to get your hands on Pumpkin beers. Bryan will keep on blogging on others and so will I, as we are in different markets we have different access to beers. So, sip along with us here and here and also with Bryan and myself on Untappd as we explore and rate our favorites and try to steer you away from some of the skunkier pumpkin beers out.
First Smackdown: Buffalo Bills Pumpkin Ale vs. UFO Unfiltered
Buffalo Bill’s
Lisa: It’s been a few years since I’ve had this Pumpkin Ale style beer brewed by Buffalo Bill’s Brewery in Hayward, CA. I won’t be picking it up again unless there are some serious changes. Clear, pumpkin carmel color. Yeasty nose, slightly sweet tasting but not many spices. Little to no pumpkin taste. Lacking bubbles. Since Bryan’s tasting notes are so different, I’m wondering if the transport to Florida’s warmer climate is cooking the pumpkin and spice taste out of Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale.
Lisa: One pie slice
Bryan: I agree that the carbonation wasn’t outstanding, but found this brew to have a strong malt base that mixed with a taste of actual pumpkin. Clove/ginger flavor was pronounced and works with cinnamon aftertaste. Pumpkin pie flavor borders on sugar-sweet after each sip, but close to pie for me!
Bryan: Four pie slices
UFO Unfiltered
Lisa: This is the first year I’ve seen the UFO Pumpkin brewed by Harpoon Brewery in Boston, MA. It’s an unfiltered beer, which I think gives it more pumpkiny goodness. The hazy pumpkin carmel colored beer has nice spices on the nose; a nutmeg and slightly fruity aroma. Great bubbles, there was a nice head until the last sip (or gulp if you are my Hubby). Good spices and pumpkin pie flavor, this is a solid pumpkin beer.
Lisa: 4 pie slices
Bryan: I admire Harpoon for sticking to their guns with the unfiltered approach, but I think it takes away from the beer. I couldn’t pick up any true discernible flavors or smells, although a general “malty” amber taste. The spice mix seemed bland, maybe from the yeast esters that could be stronger from extra conditioning in the bottle.
Bryan: One pie slice
With each beer having an equal total pie slice scores, this Smackdown is a DRAW!
Check out our next round now on Bryan’s blog This is Why I’m Drunk where we pit Anderson Valley’s Fall Hornin’ against Shipyards Pumpkinhead!
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College Park’s Infusion Tea For Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Or Inbetween
September 17, 2013 | Posted in Dining out | By Lisa Wilk
Infusion Tea is located on Edgewater Drive just down from the College Park Publix. The artisan tea shop has grown into something special over the years. The larger shop and dining space offers a nice atmosphere to sit down and enjoy a cup of hot or iced tea. On nice weather days, the shaded patio area is a nice option.
On my most recent visit we saw a group of over 20 ladies enjoying a baby shower in their open dining room. Service was attentive and I can see that a bridal shower, baby shower, birthday party or wedding tea would be perfect at Infusion.
The large selections of Teas can be bought in the shop or online and shipped to you or a tea enthusiast in another area. With so many menu options for breakfast, lunch and dinner Infusion is a nice choice for a quick stop or lingering meal.
A decadent way to spend an afternoon is the full tea, pictured here for two. We enjoyed a pot of the Infinitely Sweet Oolong, the ‘Li Li Xiang’ Anxi Oolong is darkly roasted. The roasting imparts a smoky, earthy flavor which was very pleasing sipping with or without food.
There were two scones included, one of each flavor offered that day. We enjoyed both equally and the strawberry jam and clotted cream were delicious.
We could not leave Infusion Tea without getting some goodies to enjoy at home. The Chamomile tea had a fresh, strongly Chamomile taste and makes a lovely cup of tea. The Ginger Cinnamon Spice was a nice fall option, similar to a Chai but without the caffeine. The Tomato Blue soup made a very nice dinner for my friend and she’s enjoying her Chamomile and Ginger Peach teas. We both picked up the glass mug pictured, which makes a lovely cup of tea with our new loose teas. Infusion Tea’s shop has lots of nice tea accessories, tea pots and tea gadgets to choose from, in addition to a wonderful selection of tea.
Infusion Tea College Park
1600 Edgewater Dr
Orlando, FL 32804
407 999-5255
Hours
Mon-Sat 9a-9p
Sun 12p-6p
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Tim’s Wine Market Has The Answer For “What’s For Dinner?”
September 16, 2013 | Posted in Cooking, Wine Tasting | By Lisa Wilk
Tim Varan, owner of Tim’s Wine Market Orlando, enjoys cooking. Happily, and to the benefit of his wine shop customers, Tim understands that you may be eating when enjoying your wine. New to the downtown Orlando shop- the “What’s for Dinner?” display.
The large table features 4 place settings with hand painted wine bottles from artist Anna Hinkleday, which beautifully illustrate the dishes feature ingredient.
Each place setting features a different theme- on my visit the choices were fish, pork, lamb and vegetable main dish recipe with several different wine pairings for each dish.
I asked Tim what brought about the idea to fully explore food and wine pairings for the home cook. “What’s For Dinner is a way to spotlight some of the really cool, unique wines that we tell customers, “work best with food.” By giving them a recipe, or at least a concept for a dish, they can taste for themselves what this means and allow the wine to show it’s stuff in the best possible circumstance.” The Tim’s Wine Club newsletters have grown to feature food pairings and recipes over the years with certain wine selections.
Varan, an avid food and cooking enthusiast, went on to explain how he came about researching and developing these recipes. “I use my archive of recipes from our various wine clubs because I have tested them, know they work and with which wines they will show best. It’s also a great way to go back and remember all the great wines and recipes of the past.”
Varan shared this weeks featured recipe, which can be found by this bottle at the table:
Braised Lamb Shanks, Greek Style by Tim Varan
Current wine pairings for September 2013:
2010 Fiesta y Azul Garnacha/Tempranillo – $13
2011 Clos Robert Cabernet Sauvignon – $17
This recipe is a more savory version than many of the French recipes I find. It’s perfect to serve with Greek red wines made from Agiorgitiko, French Cotes du Rhones or American Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington.
6 lamb shanks , 3/4 to 1 pound each, trimmed of excess fat and fell (thin, white papery covering)
salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 medium onions , sliced thick
3 medium carrots , peeled and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
2 medium ribs celery , cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
4 medium cloves garlic , minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 medium lemon , zested (reserved), and quartered
2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
2 cups dry white wine
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Ground black pepper
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle shanks with salt. Heat oil in a large, nonreactive sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add shanks to pan in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding. Sauté until browned on all sides, 5-7 minutes. Using tongs, transfer shanks to a plate as they brown.
Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from the sauté pan; add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, tomato paste, the quartered lemon, a light sprinkling of salt, and 1 tablespoon of the mint; sauté to soften vegetables slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine, then chicken stock to the skillet, stirring with a wooden spoons to loosen browned bits from skillet bottom. Bring liquid to simmer; transfer vegetables and liquid into a deep braising pan, large enough to hold the shanks in a single layer. Add shanks and season with salt and pepper.
Cover pan (with foil if pan has no lid) and transfer it to the oven; braise shanks for 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and continue braising until shank tops are browned, about 30 minutes. Turn shanks and continue braising until remaining side has browned and shanks are fall-off-the-bone tender.
Remove pan from oven; let shanks rest for at least 15 minutes. Carefully transfer shanks with tongs to each of 6 plates. Arrange a portion of vegetables around each shank. Skim excess fat from braising liquid, add reserved lemon zest, remaining tablespoon of mint and adjust seasoning. Spoon a portion of braising liquid over each shank and serve.
The featured recipe will switch out every Thursday along with the wine pairings at the table. Tim’s Wine Market has several locations in Orlando, with the Ivanhoe Row in downtown Orlando being the original location. Join the Tim’s Wine Market email list for weekly wine features, upcoming event schedules and shop news. The hand painted wine bottles from artist Anna Hinkleday are available for purchase, based on availability, at the downtown Tim’s Wine Market.
Tim’s Wine Market, Orlando
1223 North Orange Ave
Orlando, FL 32804
Phone: 407-895-9463
STORE HOURS
MON: 10 am to 7 pm
TUE: 10 am – 7 pm
WED: 10 am – 7 pm
THU: 10 am – 7 pm
FRI: 10 am – 7 pm
SAT: 10 am – 5 pm
SUN: 12 pm – 5 pm
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The Big Cookie Cake
September 15, 2013 | Posted in Cooking | By Lisa Wilk
A request for a cookie cake had me looking through my files, saved recipes and pins.
I settled on Peas and Crayons recipe which was a solid adaption of Kelsey’s Apple A Day recipe. I followed the recipe as written, with the following tweaks- I used a mix of 1/2 C dark brown sugar and 1/4 C light brown sugar and a full 1 Cup semisweet chips.
I also spread the dough in the pan right after mixing, then chilled, so I had very pliable dough that easily spread and created a nice even layer. The cookie was cooked through in twenty minutes and I had I under the broiler for just over a minute.
Peas and Crayons Homemade Cookie Cake (tweaked by TasteCookSip)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup of butter [regular/salted
3/4 cup brown sugar [1/4 light & 1/2 dark]
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips [or bittersweet]
1/4 mini chips to garnish
Place parchment in the bottom of a 9 or 10 inch springform pan, lock the form and set aside. I used a 10 inch and the cookie has a nice thickness.
In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer. Start at the lowest speed and increase as needed. Add in the egg and vanilla and continue to beat with the mixer to incorporate.
In a separate bowl mix together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture while you continue to beat on low. Once your dough is combined, fold in chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough evenly in the prepared springform pan, cover, and chill in the fridge for an hour.
Pre-heat your oven to 350F and get your pan from the fridge. Bake on the center rack for 18-22 minutes. Mine was done in 20 minutes. Once your cookie cake has finished baking, flip your oven to broil on HIGH and after about a minute the top will brown to golden perfection, still leaving that soft slightly cookie dough-esque center in tact. Do not leave the cookie unattended once you’ve popped on the broiler, it browns quickly.
Decorate the cookie cake or leave plain. I went with a buttercream edge and mini chocolate chips. The cookie was rich, not too sweet and nice notes from the dark brown sugar. Everyone enjoyed and a sliver slice was a nice portion at a large party. I’ll be making again, for sure!
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