Disney's Food & Wine Festival 2015

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN! After missing last year's festival, I aggressively prepared for what was sure to be the most epic Food & Wine Festival yet at Disney.

It also helps that this year is the 2oth Anniversary of the festival! So hang on tight because I ate a lot.    

20th Anniversary Merch

But first! The merchandise. Disney takes its anniversaries seriously. This means mountains of merchandise to commemorate the year. 

I don't have the heart to tell you how many of those items I now own. But let's just say me and my wallet came to an agreement based off of the wise words of Agent Cooper:

I may have gone overboard. 

My biggest splurge this year was a Dooney & Bourke purse designed specifically for this year's anniversary. Full disclaimer: I'm not a purse person. I'm definitely NOT a designer purse person. But I figured that if I were to ever get one, this would be the purse of my dreams. Zoom in. See? Many different foods and countries from the festival are printed here, along with monorails (love) and Disney characters eating. Perfection. And then I got to experience what it's like to actually buy one of these things. Like the fact that each purse is completely unique because of how the pattern was printed. My brain stuttered when the cast member pulled out three different purses and asked me to pick which one I wanted.

What do you think?

I also couldn't resist getting miniature garbage cans. I should probably mention that these are not replicas of garbage cans actually used in the park, like the Magic Kingdom series released last year. But still. You never know. 

And lastly, Annual Passholders were given gifts this year - but we have to work for them.  If we came three times to the festival, on the third visit, we would get a commemorative wine glass. You can see the stamps I got for visits #1 and #2 (they tore the page out in exchange for the wine glass, alas) and said wine glass. It's tiny but terribly cute. 

The Eats

Time for the food! There were a few new booths this year, but the key feature was the two booths inspired by the television show, The Chew: Chew Lab and Sustainable Chew. I don't think these booths will be back next year since it seems like The Chew's appearance is an anniversary special. A total shame, since one of my favorite dishes comes from the Chew Lab: the Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey-Caramel.

The main draw for me was the fact that it's frozen in liquid nitrogen. The novelty of it caught me (I mean, how many years have I watched chefs on the Food Network dunk things in liquid nitrogen? It always looks impressive and somewhat mystical). I took a video of the truffles being pulled from their cryogenic slumber via my Instagram:

A video posted by Kim (@kimkaralius) on Oct 31, 2015 at 2:49pm PDT

After eating another truffle during my fourth visit to the festival, a cast member came up to my mom and I and asked how we liked the dessert. Of course we said we loved it and I couldn't help but gush about the liquid nitrogen. He gave me a weird look and said, "You do know that all it does is freeze things, right?" 

Me:

I see his point, but can't I be impressed?

Another home run this was the Hard Cider Flight from the Farm Fresh booth! This was another one of my attempts at adulting that actually worked out well! I love hard cider, but I had no idea that there were so many different flavors. The raspberry hard cider was good, but the pear one? WOAH. The pumpkin cider made me feel like it was actually October for like... five seconds (it's still really hot in Florida, sorry). The elderberry was my absolute favorite! I've never had elderberry before. Funny the first time is in cider. Hurrah!

Beyond the above treats, I have to say that everything I tried this year was wonderful. Which of these sounds good to you? Have you been to the festival this year and tried any of these?

Mango Jasmine Tea with Bubbles (China Booth)

Traditional Haggis with Neeps and Tatties (Scotland Booth)

Bulgogi BBQ Short Rib with Steamed Rice and Cucumber Kimchi (South Korea Booth)

Pork Spareribs with Red Wine, Fennel, and Cheesy Mascarpone Grits sustainably presented on VerTerra Dinnerware (Sustainable Chew Booth)

Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise (Hawai'i Booth)

Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies (Australia Booth)

Kielbasa and Potato Pierogi with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream (Poland Booth)

The Tipsy Laird: Whiskey-soaked Cake with Lemon Cream and Toasted Oats (Scotland Booth)

Lobster and Seafood Fisherman's Pie (Ireland Booth)

Souffle de Yuca: Yuca Souffle topped with Griddled Cheese (Dominican Republic Booth)

Lechon Asado: Roasted Pork with Mangu, Pickled Red Onions, Avocado (Dominican Republic Booth)

Loaded Mac 'n' Cheese with Nueske's Pepper Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Peppers, and Green Onions (Farm Fresh Booth)

Meeting Robert Irvine... Again!

Getting to see Robert Irvine at the festival was the Big Exciting Event for me this year. After seeing him for the first time in 2011, and then again last year, I was thrilled to find out that he was returning for a demo and book signing. 

His new book is called Fit Fuel; it's an interesting combination of healthy recipes and workout routines to help lead readers towards a heatlhier lifestyle. Of course, the book has much more to offer than just that, including full color photos of Robert Irvine demonstating exercises and other fun stuff. You'll just have to grab a copy ;) 

It's been inspiring to me since I've made a big effort to eat healthier (and therefore balance out my love of junk food) and exercise (to combat the hours I sit in front of a computer at work + writing time).  My mom and I have been a team in this - she's been doing much better than I have and I'm proud of her. 

Knowing how challenging it was to see Robert last year, Mom and I got up VERY early in the morning and arrived at the park before it opened. I've actually never been to Epcot before opening, so it was pretty fun to see how my favorite park starts its day (lots of bubbles) compared to Magic Kingdom's grand welcome. We ALMOST ran all the way to the Festival Center to get our wristbands for the signing. Almost. More like extreme power walking. But we got the bands! 

Then we got to watch Robert Irvine's demonstration (hilarious and unpredictable as always) and got in line for the book signing. 

Was Robert Irvine awesome? YES. Even though I've grown so much this year from all my experiences chatting with readers and booksellers, I STILL found myself tongue-tied and less-than-eloquent when we approached his signing table. Oh well. I guess some things never change ;) 

Does that book in my hand look familiar? I decided to give a copy of Love Fortunes and Other Disasters to Robert Irvine. My mom and I have been reading his books and watching his shows for years; he's someone who gives so much and I wanted to give something back. Plus, I have a feeling he'll get a kick out of Fallon Dupree and her parents ;) 

The below pictures can't convey the feels. I signed my book for him, my hands shaking like crazy, and he was nice enough to hold down the book cover for me. After Mom and I were ready to head out to World Showcase, we took one last peek at Robert's signing and saw Love Fortunes still on the table. I hope he enjoys the book! 

Another Festival has gone by with so many great memories and one happy stomach. As always, I'm so happy to share the food and fun with you all. 

Thank you so much for being patient with me as well. Balancing Love Charms work and other upcoming bookish machinations kept me fully occupied over the past weeks, but I can't wait to reveal those surprises in the months to come!  

The Very Last 2014

People always ask me what I'm doing for New Year's Eve. Usually, my answer is the same: nothing. This isn't because I have the energy of an old lady, and like to go to bed at 10pm. More so, it's knowing that New Year's Eve is THE ultimate party night: counting down to 2015 in a room full of strangers does not sound appealing, especially when you're sure to run into a few traffic accidents on the way home (with no alternate routes. That's why I'm complaining).

Tonight is the perfect night to reflect on 2014 - that year full of big changes and surprises. The year that seemed as if it'd never end.

A few things happened on the way to 2015 that I hadn't been able to blog about until now. This is the perfect time to share them with you.

Doing Author Things

In 2014, the best news I could have ever hoped for arrived: my debut novel is being published!!! Even though I have indeed blogged about The Call, as well as posting the occasional smattering of photos on Instagram and Twitter, I haven't written about it much on this blog. Probably because the rounds of revisions, edits, and top-secret decisions I made regarding Love Fortunes and Other Disasters have kept me busy.

Facebook reminded me of some key 2014 moments, including one of the best moments (because boy does it ever feel good to finish a manuscript, first draft or fifth draft, haha!):

Not long after, I submitted my manuscript to Swoon Reads... and the rest is history!

Over the summer, I took a trip to see family in New York, and stopped by Swoon Headquarters to meet Jean Feiwel, my editor, Holly West, and the rest of the amazing staff over at Swoon Reads. It was an awe-inspiring experience, and I was shaking with nerves and excitement after taking the elevator to Swoon's floor. The second I saw the books, though, I felt at home. As you might expect from Macmillan, there were stacks and shelves of books everywhere, along with huge posters of beautiful covers. I felt like Charlie in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. 

Then it was time to get to work.

Holly wrote about the experience from her point of view here - which is pretty cool to look back on, since in some ways, the trip to Swoon was a delightful blur. I loved getting to talk with Holly about my edit letter, and plan together how I would tackle the first round of edits. Totally worth it. I wish I could beam myself over for meetings. Alas. Maybe someone will create a teleporter in 2015.

With Love Fortunes in interior design, and a few more months before it hits bookstores, I had thought it would be too early for any authorly things to happen. But I was wrong. My coworkers always find new and creative ways to see if I happen to have a copy hidden up my sleeve (nope), and I'm starting to have a tagline when I'm introduced to new people ("And this is Kim, she's the author."). Once, when me and the 'rents were visiting my brother in Tallahassee, we took a trip to Thomasville, Georgia and I stepped into an adorable bookshop... and then things happened and this photo was taken:

I will never get used to it - it's just too magical! Bring it on, 2015!

Meeting Robert Irvine

I wasn't able to attend 2014's Disney's Food & Wine Festival. My disappointment only grew after realizing that I couldn't write a blog post about it this year. Even though the festival was extended, those weekends in the fall had been stuffed with dog-sitting, errands, and holding down the fort as we weathered a few big changes. By the time I made it to Disney, the booths had already been packed up. I almost cried when I saw them missing (because, yeah, I really thought I had booked that trip within the festival dates. Darn).

Despite that, a dream did still come true during the festival. My mom and I got to meet Robert Irvine.

We hadn't seen Robert since he last came to Disney World for the festival in 2011. So when it was announced that he would be there this year, I hoped that we could make it to see him. The stars aligned (it really felt that way, the way fall was going for us) and we were free to go! Mom and I got up early and drove to Epcot. The sky was dark, threatening rain, but it couldn't dampen our spirits (or Robert's cookbook that I kept in a Ziploc bag, mwahaha).

We went straight to the festival center and found out that the crowd for Robert was so large that Disney decided to hand out wristbands to the first hundred or so people, and no one else would be allowed to wait in line to meet him. The wristbands? Of course there were no more left.

Dejected, we grabbed some lunch before Robert was scheduled to give his demonstration. While dunking my french fries in barbecue sauce and staring out the window at the Electric Umbrella, an idea came to me.  I tweeted Robert about the situation... and then fangirled about ten minutes later when I saw his response:

After finishing lunch, we ran back to the festival center in the rain. We brought an umbrella with us, but Florida's famous sideways rain ignored the umbrella and soaked us anyway. 

The demonstration was so much fun to watch, especially since Robert's charisma shone through from the moment he stepped onto the stage. Since he wasn't under the pressure of turning around a failing restaurant or cooking by the clock, he cracked jokes, danced, and got the audience engaged in what he was cooking. His wife and one of his daughters were there to support him - very cool! Before we knew it, the hour was over, but Robert still stayed behind to answer questions before heading over to the signing area. 

Mom and I knew that getting to meet Robert would be near impossible due to the wristbands, but we decided to try anyway. A nice cast member roped off the wristband line and let us wait behind the rope, just in case Robert finished all the wristband people before his hour was up. That alone gave us hope. So we waited. Flipped through Robert's cookbook. And waited some more. Near the end of the hour, another cast member announced that they would now open the line up for the non-wristbanders, because Robert didn't want his fans to feel like he didn't want to see them (awww, right?).

So we waited a little more, and then this happened: 

Lemme tell you, meeting Robert Irvine was right up there on my top 2014 moments. I mean, usually I get nervous when meeting celebrities, or even Disney characters (don't even get me started about being tongue-tied around Prince Caspian, haha), but the minute it was our turn to see Robert, I felt at ease. Maybe because he's more awesome in person than on TV, if you can believe that, but also because he knew exactly who I was before I could say more than, "We made it!"

He recognized me from my Twitter profile photo. And, even more magical, remembered us from when we saw him at the festival center back in 2011! "You were standing in the same spot," he said, while signing the cookbook, "right over there."

If that's not magic, I don't know what is.

Being A Guest "Player Hater:"

Since I'm admittedly scared of playing horror games - especially survivor horror games, where you're not allowed to take a swing that the hideous things chasing you - I've been watching a ton of Let's Play videos by various braver gamers. My favorite being theRadBrad, since he's manages to be funny without eclipsing the story lines (I really, really appreciate being given the chance to ponder a plot twist and read the picked up notes while watching, thank you).

That said, my brother Bill decided to try his hand at Let's Play by starting his own channel, lovably named the Player Haters. And, since he was coming home for the holidays, he thought that having is big sister play some games with him would be a fun.

And so we did.

We both have a long history with SkiFree, and quite frankly, I think we were both at our best before ye old holiday mass eating happened and we got sleepy.

I have to admit that getting a cartoon icon of my face was pretty epic. Do you think it looks like me? Enjoy the video (and if you haven't played SkiFree yet, maybe you should add that to your 2015 goals)!

1. Write more books.

2. Read everything unread on my bookshelves (and donate the books I don't want to keep)

3. Replay at least one Final Fantasy game

4. Schedule more trips to Jellyrolls, the dueling piano bar

5. Make more time for social things, like hanging out with friends

6. Keep up with exercising and healthy eating

7. Cook something without the aid of a microwave

8. Be braver. 

What are your goals for 2015?