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.
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| Making faces like the bear cubs |
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| 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.
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| Archery in the Merida meet and greet queue at Disney World |
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| Meeting our new favorite princess, Merida |
She also decided that she wanted to be Merida for Halloween and she looked so cute!
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| Halloween 2012 |
For our Brave dinner I wanted to do something very Scottish as well as things that were featured in the movie.
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| 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.
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| Stealing the sweet buns! |
So now the menu was set...
Mashed Potatoes
The first thing I made were the Empire Biscuits for dessert.
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| Mixing the dough |
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| 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.
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| simmering the meat mixture |
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.
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| 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!!!
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| Roasted Parmesan Carrots |
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.
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