Happy New Year! I hope that 2014 has been great for you so far. We got off to a bit of a rough start with a stomach bug making the rounds around our house. It of course started the day before the kids were supposed to go back to school, so they got a two extra days of Christmas break!

With the start of a New Year, I’ve been setting some goals for myself and my family. One of my goals for the year is to expand my families food horizons. We are creatures of habit when it comes to meal time and I really want to branch out and try new types of cuisine. It’s pretty funny because we are obsessed with fine dining food shows like Top Chef, but we certainly don’t eat like it.

Carrabba’s invited my husband and I to come try out their new Festa di Carrabba menu items at a #FirstTastes event. This was not a media only event, it turns out that they host these events and invite members of their Amici club. You can sign up for their club online, and maybe you’ll get an invite to the next one.

I’m not even sure where to begin, we had an eight course tasting meal that went from appetizers, all the way to dessert. If you follow Cuteasafox on Instagram, you got a play by play of the evening last night. It was our first ever trip to Carrabba’s and we will be back!  Everything was delicious, but our favorites from the night were the Lobster Mac and Cheese, Parmesan crusted chicken with roasted red pepper sauce, and the “Forever Braised” Beef Brasoto. The Beef Brasoto was braised short rib served over risotto. I have never had meat so tender before in my life, it practically melted in your mouth. Previously, I thought that was a strange way to describe meat, but it is so true. It was out of this world. My husband was singing the praise of the Lobster Mac & Cheese, far and wide.

When you are looking at the pictures, keep in mind that this was a tasting menu. The servers told us that our portions were about 1/3 to 1/2 of the regular entree size. Whoa, that will make for some generous portion sizes.  You can read about all of the new entrees on the Carrabba’s specials menu.
My husband, Picky eater #1, liked everything he ate! Score! We also got to eat scallops, risotto, pancetta, and short ribs. All of those ingredients have been on my culinary “bucket list”. (I warned you, we don’t get out much.)

Thanks so much for inviting us Carrabba’s. I’m headed over to sign up for the Amici club, so I can keep up to date and hopefully score an invite to the next First Tastes event.