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Our second day at EPCOT was more of a half day - we arrived at the park sometime after 5:00, having spent the morning at Magic Kingdom, then a brief afternoon respite by the pool to recharge my toddler's batteries. Okay, so I might have recharged my batteries poolside too!
After a mad scramble to hit every attraction we wanted to see (the Future World portion of the park closes at 7:00 p.m.), we proceeded to the World Showcase to hit up the food kiosks one last time. We began our sojourn at a booth cleverly named "The Mouse Catch", which featured cheeses and wine. I got the cheese sampler, which featured a Dutch cheese (Dorothea); an Italian cheese (Piave); and a Spanish cheese (Mahon).
The Dorothea is a goat's milk cheese, and it was similar in texture to a Gouda, but with a stronger flavor. The Piave is a cow's milk cheese, and was a very dry cheese - much like a Parmesan or a Pecorino Romano - but a bit sweeter, and not quite as salty as either of those cheeses. Finally, the Mahon, another cow's milk cheese, was similar to an Asiago in texture, but with a tangy citrus flavor. I also sampled a bit of wine with my cheese; I had a glass of Marques de Caceres Rioja, which was comparable to a good Cabernet.
Our next stop was "Cape Town, South Africa," where I sampled a seared beef tenderloin with a sweet potato puree, and mango barbeque sauce. The mango barbeque sauce was phenomenal; had they been selling bottles of this sauce there, I certainly would have bought one to take home! The beef was nicely cooked, but nothing spectacular. Honestly, the best part of this dish was the sauce, and the accompanying sweet potato puree.
Next, we decided to grab a bit of dessert in "Munich, Germany", where we sampled an apple strudel with vanilla sauce. The strudel was decent, but the portion was not generous enough for sharing; I only got a bite and a half of this dish. The vanilla sauce was nothing more than a simple creme anglaise that was infused with specks of vanilla bean. I think I enjoyed the sauce more than the actual pastry here!
Following dessert, we stopped in "Bologna, Italy", to get a small piece of pizza for our picky todder. While there, we decided to partake in some cheese cannelloni. You could definitely tell this pasta had been freshly made that day. It was stuffed with a ricotta-Parmesan mixture, and topped with a nicely acidic tomato sauce. Simple, yet satisfying.
The last stop of the evening was in "Vienna, Austria", for a second dessert. We shared a piece of Sachertorte, which is a light-textured chocolate cake, filled with a layer of apricot jam, and glazed with a chocolate ganache. This dessert more than made up for our lackluster apple strudel; I had not had Sachertorte in many years, and thoroughly enjoyed this version. In fact, thinking about it now, I am tempted to make my very own Sachertorte...perhaps for the holidays?
Thus ended our 2009 trip to the EPCOT Food and Wine Fest. There were quite a few kiosks we simply didn't have time to visit, but had wanted to - I was very disappointed that we didn't have any French or Polish cuisine, but there's always next year!
After a mad scramble to hit every attraction we wanted to see (the Future World portion of the park closes at 7:00 p.m.), we proceeded to the World Showcase to hit up the food kiosks one last time. We began our sojourn at a booth cleverly named "The Mouse Catch", which featured cheeses and wine. I got the cheese sampler, which featured a Dutch cheese (Dorothea); an Italian cheese (Piave); and a Spanish cheese (Mahon).
The Dorothea is a goat's milk cheese, and it was similar in texture to a Gouda, but with a stronger flavor. The Piave is a cow's milk cheese, and was a very dry cheese - much like a Parmesan or a Pecorino Romano - but a bit sweeter, and not quite as salty as either of those cheeses. Finally, the Mahon, another cow's milk cheese, was similar to an Asiago in texture, but with a tangy citrus flavor. I also sampled a bit of wine with my cheese; I had a glass of Marques de Caceres Rioja, which was comparable to a good Cabernet.
Our next stop was "Cape Town, South Africa," where I sampled a seared beef tenderloin with a sweet potato puree, and mango barbeque sauce. The mango barbeque sauce was phenomenal; had they been selling bottles of this sauce there, I certainly would have bought one to take home! The beef was nicely cooked, but nothing spectacular. Honestly, the best part of this dish was the sauce, and the accompanying sweet potato puree.
Next, we decided to grab a bit of dessert in "Munich, Germany", where we sampled an apple strudel with vanilla sauce. The strudel was decent, but the portion was not generous enough for sharing; I only got a bite and a half of this dish. The vanilla sauce was nothing more than a simple creme anglaise that was infused with specks of vanilla bean. I think I enjoyed the sauce more than the actual pastry here!
Following dessert, we stopped in "Bologna, Italy", to get a small piece of pizza for our picky todder. While there, we decided to partake in some cheese cannelloni. You could definitely tell this pasta had been freshly made that day. It was stuffed with a ricotta-Parmesan mixture, and topped with a nicely acidic tomato sauce. Simple, yet satisfying.
The last stop of the evening was in "Vienna, Austria", for a second dessert. We shared a piece of Sachertorte, which is a light-textured chocolate cake, filled with a layer of apricot jam, and glazed with a chocolate ganache. This dessert more than made up for our lackluster apple strudel; I had not had Sachertorte in many years, and thoroughly enjoyed this version. In fact, thinking about it now, I am tempted to make my very own Sachertorte...perhaps for the holidays?
Thus ended our 2009 trip to the EPCOT Food and Wine Fest. There were quite a few kiosks we simply didn't have time to visit, but had wanted to - I was very disappointed that we didn't have any French or Polish cuisine, but there's always next year!
YAY! Glad you are back at your blog. The festival sounds great!