Yesterday we went to Citricos at the Grand Floridian Hotel for dinner and I saw this big gingerbread house! they said that after the Holidays are over they recycle some and compost them trying to be green.

Then we had an excellent dinner.

Cheese platter was very good and I took the picture of the names so I can buy them again...

after was the first course, different cold cuts, dates, marcona almonds, olives.

For the entree I ordered a Florida grouper that came with pasta and roasted tomatoes that I like it a lot!

For dessert was a plate of fresh berries and zabaglione cream

Expresso was good as the chardonnay wine that I ordered, while waiting at the bar I had the tropical mojito and that was a bad idea, I didn't like it at all, that was the only thing that didn't match all the great food and service.

The kitchen that you could see from the tables.

Silvia

Silvia

Silvia

I like the combination of flavors you describe in the charcuterie. At holiday meals with my extended family we always had the cheese course at the end of a holiday meal - maybe because my uncle and aunt had spent so many years in Italy?

When I lived in Florida I could not get enough Grouper. The photo of your Grouper is killing me. Very interesting sectioned plate in the cheese picture. It makes a nice presentation for the cheese.

Teresa

I like seeing gingerbread houses but have never made one. Last year, there was a show on (I think) The Travel Channel showing the WDW kitchens getting ready for the holidays, including making the gingerbread houses.

Teresa - Did you live a long time in Florida? If so it must be a big change to live in MN now, cold!!!lol.
I was happy to see at the restaurant that the portions were not too big that I couldn't eat it and not overly rich like in other places either. The pairing of the cheese with fruit preserves was excellent, they even put a little piece of honey beehive with the mild blue cheese, I had my doubts because I don't like blue cheese, but this one was very different, I will eat it again.

The other dish was a filet of beef...

Ruthanna - Thank you, I think we all have the grouper in common, I love fresh fish prepared in different ways.
I think that I also saw the tv program that you mention, but it was so long ago that I don't remember too much. I can imagine the labor on making those gingerbread houses.

Cookies are easy, I made a cookie party last December...

Silvia

The dinner looks delicious too. I'm not a huge consumer of cheese, although I do like a bit now and then, but I love fish and seafood of any type. Yummy.

My daughters and I used to make gingerbread houses every year at Christmas. They weren't actually "houses", really, they were more like shacks. We called them "gingerbread hovels", LOL. They usually consisted of a pound of homemade gingerbread, a couple of pounds of frosting for glue and copious amounts of candy decorations. They stood up just about long enough to take pictures, and when they fell down we at them. It was actually quite a lot of fun.

Not as impressive as that one, but delicious!

Annie

I travelled a lot as a child because my father worked for an airline. And then I worked for an airline. Right now I prefer to live my travel life through others.

I enjoyed the trip to the gingerbread house, the restaurant, your party and the tour of your garden.

Bring it on!

I like to make cookies with friends and then we put them in small bags to share with other friends.:)

Teresa - What an interesting life you had! A lot like mine, traveling to different places and now I am here for good, I only take vacations now and for short time, don't like to leave my 3 dogs alone for too long.:)

We have parties for friends to practice languages, I do all the cooking for a group under 20 but for a group bigger than that we do a potluck.
I always tried to include activities for the parties, sometimes we invite a chef and if it is daytime we always include a tour of the garden, even non-gardeners like that because they get to see how some of the food is grown and I usually include the harvest in the dishes that I make.
This year I grew an Italian winter squash that were so big that gave us a lot of meals to share with friends. One of the favorite dishes was the lasagna made with sausage and squash.

Silvia

Anyway, that is a gigantic ginger bread house. It is big enough actually for a kid to wonder around inside. I helped build a ginger bread house sometime ago. I wired it for LED lights and I made a little compartment for model train liquid smoke to make smoke for the chimney. It was very cool.

That is a very nice restaurant. I looked up some reviews, they are all good. I like restaurants where you can see the action of the kitchen. I will have to remember this place if the next time I am around the area.

Wonderful cookies you made. You can be famous and wealthy just making cookies.

There is a very famous and expensive restaurant in NY, operated by David Rockefeller, called Blue Hill at Stone Barn. They grow their own organic vegetables and meats and they have tours of their garden. Sounds like your kitchen and garden.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am sure you will be cooking a very interesting meal.

dcarch

I lived in NY for about 10 years in one of my other lives,lol, but I never went to that restaurant, it sounds like one I would like to visit, maybe one day...

Thank you for your compliment about the cookies, for the holidays I like to make an assortment of different ones, last December I also made candied star fruit from the garden. And I agree with you making cookies can be an art but my strong point is the garden where I can feel one with nature.

The ginger bread house that you helped sounds great, I wish that I could see that. What I like about the one that I saw is that everything gets recycled after the holidays.

Have a great Thanksgiving Day! And if anybody is going to cook an interesting meal, it is going to be you! :) I have a smoked turkey to work with, made a cranberry relish, will prepare chestnut stuffing and a lots of veggies from the garden, that is where I will have to put my thinking cap. For dessert I will do a fresh strawberry something.

A view from the window of the ginger bread house

Silvia

Here's one of my granddaughter, Makayla, and one of the infamous "hovels", although it was about five years ago!

Annie

Nancylouise - That is such nice tradition in your house to build the houses and congratulations on your kids graduating from college! you must be proud for a job well done.

The ginger bread house took me by surprise because I was not expecting it and when I saw the people taking pictures, I realized what it was, lol. In that moment I was paying attention to the decor, the chandeliers, the Christmas tree, and the jazz music from another era, the hotel itself is like stepping in another time in Florida...

Here are the musicians that I was looking at when I was going to the restaurant

Silvia

I made 2 GB houses, using a kit, with my GS. This is a reminder that I need to solicit Lily's (GD) help to make one this year.

Love your cookie party, I've been checking with neighbors to see if they would be interested in participating.

Thanks for sharing.

DC, next time you are down here we should meet up at the Grand Floridian.

Being a Florida native, I am especially fond of grouper too!

And I am glad to know that you tried your hand at making the ginger bread house, if you do one again, I would love to see it.

I found that there is always interest to make cookie parties, you can do anyway you like it. Last year, we gather a group and each person had a special cookie that they liked to share the recipe and bake together. I have fun also making the bags to give away.

Pat - The high tea with your daughter sounds like a lot of fun and great memories!
I learn so much talking to Florida natives and enjoy the stories that they tell me even the ones with the hurricanes in it. In my neighborhood I get together with friends and through the reunion they tell me how it was here and who lived, etc. The stories are so colorful and interesting.

Silvia