Sunday, June 28, 2020

Disney Movie Week (1) Themed Dinners - Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast




Tonight's dinner is themed around the 1991 animated Beauty & The Beast.  This film was groundbreaking in many ways.  Here are just a couple:

    1.  It was the first animated film nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.  (Pixar's UP! was the second).
    2.  It's the second Disney film (and first "prestige film") to use Computer Animation Production System,                         or CAPS.
    
It also has one of the most famous Disney "food moments" with the song "Be Our Guest".

"Try the grey stuff, it's delicious
Don't believe me? Ask the dishes"

"Beef ragout
Cheese souffle
Pie and pudding "en flambe"



We have eaten at Be Our Guest restaurant at Disney World and it is quite the experience.






The menu is set...

Beouf Bourginon (Beef Ragout)

I knew that the only Beouf Bourginon recipe worth creating would be from Julia Child.  



Then I found a recipe for Cheese Souffle and I knew I had to make the Grey Stuff.


The Beouf Borginon came out great.  The cheese souffle tasted good but I made a few mistakes in the recipe and cooked them a little to long, so they didn't look great but they tasted pretty good.  The Grey Stuff looked more brown (think poop emoji) than grey but again it tasted really good.



Anyway it was a great way to end our first Disney Theme Dinner Week.  I'm taking next week off from theme dinners but will return the week of July 5 with the Wizard of Oz Theme Week.

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Disney Movie Week (1) Themed Dinners - The Incredibles 2

The Incredibles 2



Tonight's dinner comes from a Pixar film, The Incredibles 2.  This is the sequel to the popular The Incredibles and both are on our favorites list.

We have met The Incredibles and Frozone at both Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California.  We always have fun.

Disneyland 2015

Disneyland 2015

Disney World 2014

Disney World 2011


We went with The Incredible 2 mostly because of the egg roll scene.  When I asked Bug-a-Boo about the movie it is the one scene she remembered and thought was so funny.


As I was doing my research I found that Disney Parks had developed a promotional menu around The Incredibles when the sequel came out.  One of the items served at Cosmic Ray's Cafe in Tomorrowland at Disney World was the Super Stretchy Burger, which is in homage to Mrs. Incredible.


I decided to recreate that for our dinner.  

The menu is set...

The Super Stretchy Burger
Eggrolls

The burger has mozzarella sticks, American cheese, bacon and a garlic ranch sauce.  Pretty easy!  The only thing I really need to find was a recipe for the garlic ranch sauce which I found at FoodNetwork.com.


I just used store bought mozzarella sticks and frozen egg rolls.  Everything was really good and the garlic ranch sauce was so yummy!!!

Saturday will be the big meal inspired by Beauty & The Beast.

Friday, June 26, 2020

Disney Movie Week (1) Themed Dinners - Lady & the Tramp

Lady & the Tramp




Tonight's dinner comes from a classic Disney film, the 1955 animated Lady & the Tramp.  This has an iconic Disney food moment that everyone knows... Lady & the Tramp sharing a dish of spaghetti and meatballs at Tony's Restaurant.

We have eaten a couple of times at Tony's Town Square Restaurant at Disney World which is inspired by Tony's in the movie.  It is a favorite at Magic Kingdom.












The menu is set...
    
Tony's Spaghetti and Meatballs

I pulled out my Cooking With Mickey cookbook and found the recipe.



Tony’s House Sauce and Meatballs

Tony's Town Square Restaurant at the Magic Kingdom

Yields 6 servings

1 1/2 pounds fettuccine
Tony's House Sauce  (recipe below)
26 Tony's Italian Meatballs    (recipe below)

Prepare Tony's house sauce and Tony's meatballs. Meanwhile, cook 1 1/2 pounds  of fettuccine according to the package directions. Drain and serve Fettuccine  with Tony's House Sauce topped with Tony's Italian meatballs.

Tony's House Sauce:
1 celery stalk diced (2/3 cup)
1 small onion diced (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons  garlic chopped
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
12 ounces tomato paste
10 3/4 ounces tomato  puree
2 (28 oz.) cans tomatoes whole, cut in half with juice,
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4  teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 bay  leaf,
1/4 cup sugar
dash of thyme
dash of chili powder
dash of rosemary
dash of paprika

In a large pot, sauté celery, onion, and garlic in olive oil. Add all other ingredients. Remember to use juice from both cans of tomatoes. Simmer for 1  1/2 hours. Taste and correct seasoning, if necessary.

Tony's Italian Meatballs:
Yield: about 26 meatballs, depending on size

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage bulk
1/4 cup onions minced
1/2  cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons oregano,
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1 egg
2 teaspoons dried basil,
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Refrigerate for 4 hours before making into meatballs. Prepare meatballs about the size of golf balls and place on a cookie sheet side by side. Cook  in oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until firm to touch.

 
I was going to make homemade, fresh pasta but I was pretty tired and just went with store bought dried spaghetti.

First up I made the meatball mixture.  The meat mixture needed to be refrigerated for 4 hours so I needed to do that early.  Next I put the sauce together.  This needed to simmer on the stove top for around 2 hours.


Once everything was ready we sat down and put the movie on Disney+ and settled in for a Bella Notte.

The meatballs were really good and the sauce was just okay (The Queen Mum's sauce recipe is much better) but we enjoyed the meal and the movie.


Join us on Friday for the Incredibles 2.  I'll be recreating the Super Stretchy Burger from the theme parks and we'll have egg rolls on the side.







Thursday, June 25, 2020

Disney Movie Week (1) Themed Dinners - The Emperor's New Groove

The Emperor's New Groove



I love The Emperor's New Groove!!!!  I chose this movie not only because it is very funny but also because one of the main characters, Kronk, is a wanna-be chef known for his Spinach Puffs.


The film takes place in Peru, in a time that is half contemporary and half Inca Empire.  For our meal I needed to research Peruvian food.  There were a lot of things that I found that sounded really good to me but I wasn't sure if the rest of the family would like them.  I finally found a Peruvian Beef Stir Fry that looked like it could be a winner.

The menu is set:


It should be interesting.

First I made the filling for the Spinach Puffs.  It was super easy.  Once the puff pastry was defrosted I made the little cones and set them aside until it was time to put them in the oven.


Next I cooked the flank steak so that it would be cooked and rested when I put it in the stir fry.  I also roasted some white sweet potatoes that I cut into fries that would be added to the stir fry.



Next I made the Green Peruvian Sauce or Green Aji Sauce, which is made from a jalapeño, green onions, cilantro, mayo and lemon juice.  I put it all in my blender and this really pretty green sauce came out and was so yummy!


Next I cooked up the onions and peppers and then added the stir fry sauce, which was soy sauce, red wine vinegar and cumin.  The cumin really gave it a different flavor then an average stir fry has.


I took the easy way out and bought frozen cauliflower rice and I steamed it in the bag in my microwave while the veggies and sauce were reducing.

Finally, everything was done and it all came out great!  The spinach puffs were so good and the stir fry was amazing.









It was such a yummy and healthy dinner and I will definitely make it again!  

Tomorrow join us for spaghetti and meatballs as we watch Lady & the Tramp.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Disney Movie Week (1) Themed Dinners - Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland - A Very Merry Un-Birthday Tea




Our second night of our Disney Movie Week Themed Dinners is themed around the 1951 animated Disney film, Alice in Wonderland.  While asking for ideas from the family about which movies they wanted to feature Bug-a-Boo said she wanted her favorite Disney movie, Alice in Wonderland.  WHAT???  This was news to me.  Never had she ever mentioned Alice in Wonderland, but I figured I would just go with it and I included it on the list. 

Fortunately, this is a very easy theme for me to create a menu for.  I decided to go with a Very Merry Un-birthday Tea Party.


Luckily, the very week I was putting together the menu I received the July/August 2020 issue of Tea Time Magazine and there was a perfect tea menu for this occasion.  


The only addition I needed to think about was a soup, and that would be easy...Wild Mushroom Soup, not only are mushrooms in the movie quite a lot...




...but I'm pretty sure Lewis Carrol was trippin' on them when he wrote the classic novel.

So the menu is set:

Cucumber-Blue Cheese Canapes
Ham and Cheddar Tea Sandwiches
Walnut-Currant Scones
Ginger Hob Knob Cookies
Sticky Banoffee Cake
Raspberry-Elderflower Fool

This is going to be fun!!

As I gathered my recipes I realized that I could make the scones, cookies, cake and egg salad the day before, which would save me a lot of time.  If you are planning a tea party, I highly suggest finding the recipes that can be stored for a day or two and make them ahead of time.  It is such a time and labor saver.

This left just the soup, raspberry-elderflower fool and the assembly of the sandwiches.

I was able to make the sandwiches early and cover them with damp paper towels and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 hours prior to meal time.  

I'm so glad that I did this because as I was using the mandolin to slice the cucumbers and there was a casualty.  The tip of my pinky finger!!!!!  OUCH!!!!!  With all the cooking I do I can't believe that this is the first time I have done this.  I did not have the appropriate first aid supplies.  Luckily, The Queen Mum only lives a mile away and since she has done this very thing several times (Oy Vey!) she has the correct supplies and was able to come over and help.  


After a brief pause to put my finger back together I was able to get back to it.  I finished the sandwiches and started on the soup.

Once the food was all ready I fired up my electric kettle and started brewing the tea.  I used Bigelow's Rose and Mint Herbal Tea.  I thought this was perfect to represent the Queen of Hearts Roses.  I served it in a beautiful Alice in Wonderland tea pot that The Queen Mum had gotten for me ages ago.



The first course was Wild Mushroom Soup with Thyme and Sherry.



This soup was so yummy and was a big hit!  I will definitely be making this again.






Our Savory Course consisted of 3 tea sandwiches.  A non-traditional, traditional cucumber sandwich with a mayo and blue cheese base, an egg and watercress salad sandwich and a ham and cheese sandwich.  Keep in mind that the egg salad and the ham and cheese both called for English Mustard.  I used Coleman's and let me tell you it has a KICK!!!  If you don't like hot and spicy go easy on the English Mustard.


Our scones course I changed up from the original recipe a little.  I didn't have any walnuts so I used pecans instead and I added just a touch of cinnamon.  At the last minute I also decided to make some clotted cream using a recipe from my Alice's Tea Cup cookbook.


Alice's Tea Cup is a whimsical tea house in New York City founded by sisters Haley and Lauren Fox.  Their cookbook has some of the best scone recipes I have ever made and the homemade Un-clotted Cream is to die for.  If you are wanting to try your hand at scones I highly recommend this cookbook.

The pecan-currant scones were very good but the cream was amazing!  The best part about the cream is that you can store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and use it for scones or with berries. 



After eating the yummy soup, sandwiches and scones we were all pretty full and decided to save our desserts for later and eat them while we watched Disney's 1951 animated Alice in Wonderland.

The movie was as trippy as ever and the desserts were pretty good.  We all really liked the Banoffee Cake with Toffee Caramel Sauce.  The Hob Nob Ginger Cookies were not a favorite and I don't think anyone actually finished theirs.


The biggest dessert hit though was the Raspberry-Elderflower Fool.  It was light and refreshing and a definite repeat for the summer.



So that was our Alice in Wonderland Very Merry Un-birthday Tea.  Join us on Wednesday for The Emperor's New Groove and Kronk's Spinach Puffs.



Monday, June 22, 2020

Disney Movie Week (1) Themed Dinners - Brave

Brave - Father's Day




Our first night of our Disney Movie Week Themed Dinners happens to be on Father's Day.  Of the movies we have for this week Prince Charming chose to watch Brave.  We didn't realize until later that 8 years ago on June 22, 2012, Brave was released and we went to see it at the theater.  We loved it, although Bug-a-Boo did get pretty scared at one time and I had to take her out into the lobby to help her through it.


Making faces like the bear cubs
Making faces like the bear cubs

My little princess

After seeing the film we knew that it was our new favorite Disney movie.  Merida was a strong, fiery female character and Bug-a-Boo loved the archery and the cute bear cubs.  We knew we were going to be going to Disney World and she was very excited to meet Merida.  

Archery in the Merida meet and greet queue at Disney World 

Meeting our new favorite princess, Merida


She also decided that she wanted to be Merida for Halloween and she looked so cute!

Halloween 2012

Even though Brave is more of a Mother's Day movie the relationship between Merida and her father, King Fergus, is one that is funny, loving and conspiratorial which is exactly like Prince Charming and Bug-a-Boo.  The scene during the archery contest when Merida and her dad are commenting and making jokes about the suitors is totally Prince Charming and Bug-a-Boo.



This was the perfect movie for our Father's Day dinner not only because of the relationship between the dad and daughter but also because we were supposed to go to Scotland this year but had to cancel because of COVID-19.  

For our Brave dinner I wanted to do something very Scottish as well as things that were featured in the movie.  

Lots of meat

I wanted to do Haggis, which is a traditional Scottish dish, and generally includes lamb heart, lungs and liver mixed with onions, oatmeal and spices.  It is then cooked in a lamb's stomach, which honestly sounds extremely disgusting.  Since there was no way I would be making haggis I thought I would do a roast chicken with "tatties" (potatoes) and carrots.  

As I was doing my research on Pinterest I came across a recipe for a simplified haggis that included ground lamb and chicken livers with onions, oatmeal and spices.  I thought that this was the perfect solution.  I could make a version of haggis that my family might actually eat and enjoy.   I also knew I needed to do a dessert since Prince Charming has a huge sweet tooth.  What better choice than the little sweet buns that the triplets in the movie, Hubert, Harris and Hamish, are always trying to get their hands on.

Stealing the sweet buns!

So now the menu was set...

Mashed Potatoes


The first thing I made were the Empire Biscuits for dessert.

Mixing the dough

The finished product

They came out really cute and very tasty.  They had the consistency of a scone but they were a little sweeter.  

Next up was the simplified Haggis.  I was determined to keep this a secret from everyone until after they had tasted it.  I was afraid that if I said I was making a version of Haggis no one would even want to try it.  

When I first started making it I was reminded of my grandfather's Tourtierre recipe, which is a traditional French Canadian meat pie.  This haggis recipe seemed like that only without the crust.  

I was a little intimidated by the chicken livers.  I have never handled them or used them in any of my cooking.  The recipe called for me to roughly chop the chicken livers but I thought that maybe if I ground them up in the food processor it would be easier to disguise them in the dish.  I could only buy chicken livers by the pound and the recipe called for only 1/2 pound.  I'm so glad I had extra.  I put 1/2 pound in the food processor and pulsed it twice and what I got was a pink, gooey, liquid.  It looked and smelled gross!  I took the remaining 1/2 pound an roughly chopped it like the recipe directed.

simmering the meat mixture

As I was cooking it I was getting a little nervous.  There was something in it, either a spice or the chicken livers, that did not have an appealing smell.   Of the 6 spices in the recipe (black pepper, coriander, nutmeg, allspice, thyme and cinnamon) I had never used Allspice before so I thought maybe that was it, but I now think it was the chicken livers.  I hoped that once I added the oatmeal and it cooked in the oven it might smell a little better.

As the haggis was in the oven I started to make the Whiskey Sauce.  Prince Charming LOVES whiskey.  He has quite the collection and has become quite the connoisseur.  I asked him to pick out a single malt Scotch whiskey that I could use in the sauce and he chose Old Putney.  I decided to do the sauce at the last minute because I thought that if we were put off by the haggis we could pour the whiskey sauce over it and it could help with the taste.  This sauce was so easy to make and it was really good.   The next time I make it though I think I will thicken it up a little so that it is more like the consistency of a gravy.

Making the Whiskey Sauce

So, traditionally haggis is served with "Neeps", which are turnips in the UK or rutabagas in the US, and "Tatties", which are potatoes.  The Neeps and Tatties are usually mashed.  I knew that I would definitely be doing mashed Tatties but the thought of two mashed vegetables seemed boring, both visually and texturally.  

I decided to do  Roasted Parmesan Carrots instead of Neeps.  These carrots were amazing!  You drizzle them with melted butter and garlic, roast for 15 minutes, then sprinkle parmesan cheese over them, roast for another 10 minutes and top with fresh parsley!  Amazing!!!

Roasted Parmesan Carrots


One final touch to the meal was the beverage.  Since Brave takes place sometime within the 9th and 12th centuries I knew that Mead was the drink of choice for the elite early people of the British Isles.   We just happen to be lucky enough to have Brothers Drake Meadery in our area and we had a bottle of their amazing Pollinator Mead.  This mead is our favorite.  It is a refreshing apple mead made from a single apple fresh pressed cider and raw wildflower honey fermented and aged on oak.  It is so good!  If you have never tried Mead I highly recommend it.



The Queen Mum arrived to celebrate with us and the meal was ready and we popped in the Blu-ray of Brave and I waited for the verdict.



Prince Charming:  Loved everything and even went for seconds on the Haggis.
Bug-a-Boo:  Absolutely loved the carrots, potatoes and sauce.  Initially she said she liked the Haggis but ultimately only took a few fork fulls and then ate leftover pancakes from this morning's breakfast.
The Queen Mum:  Loved the carrots, potatoes and sauce.  Said she liked the Haggis but that were was something in it she wasn't sure about.  She ate about half of the portion on her plate.
Crafty Chick:  I thought the carrots and the sauce were outstanding.  The mashed potatoes were mashed potatoes and the Haggis was just okay.  Like the Queen Mum, there was something in it that just didn't appeal to me.  I ate what was on my plate and at one point had a fork full mixed with mashed potatoes with the sauce and that was much better.  I most likely will never make it again.

Everyone loved the Empire Biscuits and Prince Charming and Bug-a-Boo each had 2.

After the meal we decided to not only celebrate Father's Day but also celebrate my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary.  

When my parents got engaged in 1967 (married in 1970) my grandfather started buying the liquor that would be used at the wedding reception.  He purchased cases of a blended Scotch whiskey called King George IV.  Four years ago when my parents moved to Ohio to be closer to us we discovered 2 bottles of the whiskey that had been left over and that my dad had saved.  We decided then and there that on their 50th Wedding Anniversary we would crack one open and hope for the best.  Unfortunately, dad passed away 2 years ago, but we kept our promise and me, Prince Charming and the Queen Mum poured a glass and toasted to their 50 years of marriage, and my amazing dad, with a bottle of Scotch from their wedding.




Wondering how it tasted?  Well, watch this review from Ralfy, Tom's whiskey guru, for a pretty accurate description.


So, that was our Brave themed dinner.  Join us on Tuesday when we have a Very Merry Un-birthday Tea Party with Alice in Wonderland.