Pirates of the Caribbean: Summer Fun

Happy July Disney Dinner Fans!! This July has heated things up and I tell you ... It's not showing ANY signs of slowing down!!!

What does July mean for you? Independence Day? Fireworks? Celebrating our country's freedom and birth? BBQs? For me July meant enjoying more of summer time ... Spending the July 4th weekend in McCall, Idaho at our family cabin. McCall being at the base of the panhandle of the state is surrounded by the Payette National Forest ... Miles upon miles of mountainous evergreen forest and the jewel of McCall ... Payette Lake. Over 5,000 acres of lake flowing in directly from the mountains. Amazing how even in the middle of July where temperatures can go above 100 degrees the waters of Payette Lake chill you to the bone, normally making it impossible to tell that you're getting sunburnt. We went through a lot of aloe vera and sunscreen in those days. But for me it was the essence of summer ... Swimming, boating, water skiing, water tubing, Boy Scout camp while the thought of school could be put of for another month. Sometimes July involved traveling but generally my family traveled in June and used July and August for rest and relaxation for the rest of summer.

No July family summer would be complete without someone manning the BBQ grill during one of our trips to the lake. Whether it was my mom and her three siblings and families or just my mom, dad, and sister, it was guaranteed one night we'd fire up the grill and throw on some chicken, burgers, hot dogs while the kitchen was taken over with sides like beans, cabbage salad (similar to the slaw on January's Disney Dinner) potato salad, macaroni salad, and the list goes on!

Well I haven't had a good cook out in a while as I just don't have the space for it ... And I guess a BBQ would probably help with that as well. But that didn't stop me from finding a way to have a grill out and featuring some simple recipes for this month's movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, and the ever handsome Orlando Bloom, Pirates was one of the first Disney movies done in the early 2000's based around a popular ride in the parks. The first movie Curse of the Black Pearl was released in 2003 and following it's success more movies released, next with Dead Man's Chest in 2006, then At World's End in 2007 ending the trilogy of movies. In 2011 Disney released the next in the franchise On Stranger Tides in 2011. And in exciting future news Disney has just announce another in the franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales slated for release in 2017!! I know I'll be there!

When the announcement came that Disney would be producing a Pirates movie, my first thought was they were really digging for ideas. You see Pirates of the Caribbean ride in both parks has been one of my must see rides ever since I was a kid. But really how are you going to turn ride into a movie? The ride really doesn't have much of a story line beyond going through the scenes of pillaging and plundering? When the movie came out in theaters I had just finished up my undergraduate and was working at a dept store near a movie theater and decided to give it a look. But with the whimsical Capt. Jack played by Johnny Depp leading the cast on a comical treasure hunt and the ensuing situations I was instantly entertained. And Disney being Disney you can find references to classic scenes in the ride (who remembers the three prisoners trying to coach the dog with the keys over?) I wouldn't have expected the series to go beyond the original trilogy, and of the four movies out, the last, On Stranger Tides, is probably my least favorite of the four as it seems to be the continuation of the series but not really the story. In looking at the trailers of the newest film set to open next year, it seems as though there will be a lot of characters from the previous films all coming back. The more I watch the trailer on YouTube the more I think it'll be a final wrap up of the franchise. What do you all think?

This month I invited two fellow Disney fans and friends Ryan and David over for a viewing of the second movie in the series, Dead Man's Chest and a little food with a Caribbean feel. But the first thing we needed? Well... Rum of course:

I'm the first to admit I know little about rum and the difference between light and dark and flavors. Truthfully I'm not a big rum drinker ... However this came in handy for the dessert at the end of the night ... stay tuned! 

For this month's menu I decided to pull together two elements: the summer cook out and flavors of the Caribbean. It seemed only natural to feature a main course I've always wanted to try: Jamaican Jerk Chicken. The combination of spicy, zesty, sweet and smokey all make for a perfect grilled food (or in my case the perfect reason to buy a cast iron grill pan). Now this recipe is not my own creation, but rather came from a wonderful website I found *thanks to Google* called a Pinch of Yum. Here's the full URL:

http://pinchofyum.com/super-simple-jerk-chicken

Here's a what it looked like before going on the grill:

Jerk Chicken and grill pan getting warmed up

I coupled the chicken with an easy side of grilled vegetables, so you can put them all on one BBQ or use the same pan if you're cooking indoors. Just about any vegetable will due, but I opted for sweet onions, bell peppers, and zucchini. With all the flavors happening in the chicken, I wanted to keep the veggies pretty simple by seasoning them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little rosemary for added flavor.

Ready for grilling

You may have noticed I am not including the recipes in this post this time around. In the ever evolving format I've been experimenting with this blog I have decided to create two blog postings for one month. One will be my commentary on movies and recipes and the other will be just the recipes. To help keep the blog uncluttered. So keep your eye out for both postings as you read along... But for now back to the menu...

To finish it all off, no other sailor's delight seemed appropriate than a vanilla rum cake with rum glaze ... Easy to make and decadent in it's rummy goodness.

The finished product

Again not taking credit for the recipe but you can find it here:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/7364/easy-rum-cake/

No copyright infringement meant on these recipes and I will be sure to include the websites when I post the full recipes ... A BIG thank you to Pinch Of Yum and AllRecipes.com for the wonderful food.

I must say the chicken was unlike anything I've ever had ... The sweetness of the brown sugar as it carmelized onto the meat match perfectly with the little hint of spice from the peppers and smokiness from the cumin. All things a good seasoned grill meat should be ... balanced. I deviated a little from the original recipe and used chicken thighs instead of the breast. I found the thighs being slightly thinner had more flavor throughout the entire piece of meat. I also allowed the thighs to rest a bit after covering with the rub to let the flavors absorb. The veggies were not my best endeavour I will say ... The flavoring was good but due to not being used to working with cast iron I didn't allow the veggies to cook fully on the grill so they were a little undercooked and still pretty strong tasting. My recommendation would be grill them for a proper length or put them in the oven to roast for a more tender and sweeter result.

The cake on the other hand. This recipe is REALLY strong on the rum flavoring so I would recommend either reducing the amount of rum in the glaze or using a lighter rum as opposed to the dark rum for a lighter flavor. I would also recommend using a stand mixer if you have one as the batter seemed a little dense and a hand mixer might give you a bit of a work out. But really those are my only critiques of the recipe. But if you enjoy decadent and boozy ending of the meal.

Well everyone, another month down and we're off to the August the final month of summertime. I hope you are all having a fantastic summer whatever you may be doing. And some excited news to share... I have put down my deposit for my trip to Walt Disney World next July!!! I'll be staying 9 days July 9-18th right now at the Coronado *but the may change* Resort. If you see me out and about say hello!!

Now poll time: A friend recently suggested I turn this into a YouTube series as well as keeping up with my blog. What do you guys think? Leave me a response below.

Please check out my follow up post with the recipes and as always everyone... Make it a Magical Day. -Pat A

Mulan: Easy Dim Sum Party!

Mulan: Dim Sum Party!!

Happy May everyone!! Well … okay Mid-June. These blog postings seem to be getting later and later don’t they? BUT I’m going to continue to forge on and bring you more recipes. Who knows I may even have a plan for a YouTube channel showing how I prep these meals in the future (maybe as soon as 2017!!).

In the meantime, I hope warmer temperatures are finding you. Hear in Ohio we’ve seen everything from 40 degrees all the way up to mid- and upper 90 degree weather!! When warmer weather comes out I generally like to find lighter fare to eat but if you know me … I can’t resist a good party!! For May, I give you an easy party to put together with dim sum inspired recipes featuring one of Disney’s princesses Mulan!!

Released in 1998, Mulan is a story pulled from Chinese folklore about a daughter, young Fa Mulan, taking her father’s place in the Chinese army during China’s war with the Huns. In the original legend Mulan remained in the army for many years and eventually rose to be a general in the army before being discovered to be a woman. In the Disney version, Mulan joins the army and with some comedic hijinks from her pal Mushu and the lucky cricket Cricky, manages to join the army and stop the Huns from taking over the palace and killing the Emperor.

Okay it’s hard to get all the finer details into a short paragraph of a synopsis. But … I can’t give away everything, still need to leave a little bit of the movie for you to watch right? I admit that in researching this movie I found it very hard to believe it came out in 1998 (my junior year in high school). And yet when I watch the movie, it still seems fresh and new. With a right mixture of humor and drama mixed into the entire story (because let’s face it, I don’t think you can listen straight-faced to Eddie Murphy’s voicing of Mushu) Mulan still entertains even though it will soon reach the 20 year anniversary!! I’ve mentioned in the past how Disney has always ruled in the talent division and this movie is certainly no different. With Ming-Na Wen at the helm of Mulan (with Mulan’s singing voiced by the amazing Lea Salonga), BD Wong voicing the general Shang (and music performed by Donny Osmond), as well as George Takei, James Hong, Pat Morita, and yes … Even Harvey Fierstein in the mix. 

Mulan for me endures for many different reasons. It was one of the first Disney animated films I can recall that was not based on a fairy tale but rather folklore from another culture. Also it features a heroine, who would later be inducted into the princess court by Disney, that was not in the “damsel in distress” ilk. At the focal point of the story is not the Princess victimized by the villain or villains in the story but rather the princess challenging society and doing what is the ultimate right. This comes to a head later in the story when it is discovered that Mulan is in fact a woman and by laws should be put to death (a little spoiler but no more … You’ll just have to watch the movie). Mulan’s lesson teaches us to find and do what is ultimately right, and that sacrifice and honor go beyond what society tells us it is. One reason Mulan resonates with me is as gay man and drag queen, it took many years to go against what society told me was “normal” and be myself. Today I make no bones about being openly gay and being a drag performer to anyone that asks… It’s a non-issue at work (and in fact many of my co-workers enjoy the fact I perform and we find many funny after the show things to talk about) but it took many years to get to this point in life. Mulan teaches us that struggles are as much internal as they are external and by being true to ourselves we can indeed become better and in many ways change the world … Maybe it’s saving China, or creating a better community where you live.

In putting together this month’s menu I drew on inspiration from a wonderful restaurant here in Columbus called Golden Flower. Every Saturday and Sunday the restaurant hosts dim sum. Dim sum is normally characterized by smaller dishes and bites served at your table while drinking tea. Kind of like a Chinese equivalent to Tapas in Spain, at the Golden Flower they serve dumplings, fried goods, sautéed vegetables, all served in carts right to your table while enjoying warm tea (or ice tea in my case). The first time I had dim sum I was working in Illinois for my company and being so close to Chicago… Well you couldn’t be that close and not go to China Town right? I went with a few co-workers and experienced my first dim sum while in Chinatown and I will say … I’ve been hooked on it ever since. This month’s recipes are inspired by some of the dishes I’ve had whilst out on a dim sum outing. I say inspired because I’ve taken a few shortcuts and drawn ideas from YouTube and various places on the Interwebs. So I have taken liberties with these recipes and they may not be completely authentic. So let’s dive in shall we?

First up, one of my absolute favorite items to make and this recipe is as easy as it gets!!

Easy Chasu

1-2 lb pork roast or pork ribs (I find ribs are easier to cut after cooking)
½ cup Soy sauce
1-2 Tblsp sugar
1 tsp ground ginger

Place soy sauce, sugar, and ground ginger into a mixing bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Place pork in bowl with soy mixture and coat. Cover the pork and soy bowl with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours (or overnight).

When the meat is thoroughly marinated, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place pork in a baking dish (I found glass works best) and cook for 25-30 minutes. Check the pork if done (you can poke the pork with a skewer, if the liquid runs clear the pork is ready). When the pork is thoroughly cooked remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes, then cut into slices about ¼ inch thick.

The reserve marinade can be used to baste the pork periodically while in the oven or reduced on the stove top for additional dipping sauce.

Reserve some of the chasu as you’ll be dicing it up and using it for the next recipe:

Finished Chasu

Easy Fry Pan Nikuman

9 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls (NOT brown and serve)
1 cup Chasu, diced (see previous recipe)
4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp sesame oil

Spray or coat a baking dish with cooking spray and place the frozen dinner rolls into the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let the rolls sit for 30-45 minutes to rise. NOTE: for this recipe, be sure you buy the raw dough rolls and not the brown and serve. The brown and serve have already been prebaked and won’t rise properly. While the dough rises, place the chasu and green onions in a bowl and mix well. At this stage you can add whatever flavorings you would like (fresh chopped garlic or ginger, soy sauce, Chinese seven spice powder… Let your imagination run wild!).

After the rolls have doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and flour your work surface. Take one roll and flatten round to about ¼ inch thick. Scoop a tablespoon of the chasu filling into the dough and pinch and rotate the dough closed until it forms a spiral type pattern on top. Do this for all the dough.

Once all the dumplings are formed, heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and lightly coat with vegetable oil. Place the dumplings in the pan. When the bottoms of the dumplings are lightly browned, put about ¼ to ½ a cup of water into the pan and cover. Allow the dumplings to steam. When the water is gone pour sesame oil into pan and lightly brown the bottom of the dumplings. 

Remove from pan and serve.

Not pretty but delicious still 

The trickiest part of this recipe for me was getting the pinched top mastered. So the nikuman may not look too pretty but the taste … Delicious.

To accompany these two more labor and time consuming recipes I added a simple bok choy side dish (also good for any other time you need a quick side dish for a meal)

Shanghai Bok Choy

1 lb of Shanghai or Baby bok choy, rinsed
4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
2 Tblsp sesame oil

After rinsing the bok choy thoroughly, place in a double steamer and steam for about 5 minutes (if you don’t have a steamer, the boil about 6 cups of water with salt and blanch the bok choy for about 3 minutes). In a non-stick fry pan heat sesame oil over medium heat. Place garlic in sesame oil and slowly sauté until golden. The goal is to not burn the garlic or heat the sesame oil up too fast, but infuse the sesame oil with garlic flavoring. Toss the bok choy into the sesame and garlic oil and quickly stir fry (no longer than 2 or 3 minutes). Place on a plate and serve.

You can easily substitute baby bok choy or any other smaller bok choy, or even regular bok choy that’s been roughly chopped.

I hope you had a wonderful time enjoying these recipes and I hope you are finding your summer kicking off to a wonderful start!! Sadly I am going to be taking June off from Disney and Dinners as it’s going to be non-stop on the go. But no worries, I’ll be back in July with another Disney Treat-Filled Menu featuring one of the most successful, modern movie series from Disney: The Pirates of the Caribbean!! Just wait until you see what I have planned!!

Make it a Magical Summer!! Pat A. 

Lady and the Tramp: Easy Romantic Italian Dinner

Hello and Happy Spring Disney Fans!! After a really interesting spring time (we had snow just last week and saw temperatures go from 43 to 73 in one week!!), I’m hoping the spring is here to stay and we can look forward to the next 5-6 months of beautiful weather. I love when April comes around and springtime begins to really come in full bloom and we’ve shaken the winter blues off. This April has its own brand of chaos as my normal Disney partner in crime Rory is moving and alas won’t be joining me this month. At the end of this month I myself will also be moving in with a friend as well. This Disney and Dinner will be the last I do in a place I’ve called home for almost 6 years. That means two things: 1. A LOT of stuff to pack up and get rid of and 2. A new chapter and a new adventure. Still though I can’t help but feel a little sentimental about a place I’ve called home for many years.

April is certainly a sentimental time for many people as well. This month I’ve chosen a romantic Disney movie that’s gone to the dogs… Okay it was a bad joke but I had to do it. This month’s Disney movie is the 1955 classic Lady and the Tramp. And our menu will include an easy Italian dinner you can make to impress your partner.

Looking back through this blog, I realized I have yet to review Lady and the Tramp. Excited in and of itself as this is where I hoped to take this blog: A little history on the film and then a menu and recipes to follow. Lady and the Tramp is unique in that the story line is completely original, as opposed to being drawn from classic fairytales and literature. I must confess although I’m a member of the Disney Movie Club this movie was a task to find. Thankfully I was able to get myself a copy of the 50^th anniversary edition complete with behind-the-scenes making of the film (many of you know I’m a theater geek that loves to see how things are made).

Based on the book Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog by Ward Greene, we meet the Dear family, a well to do family in 1909 America, as they welcome a new addition to their family on Christmas, Lady. On the other side of the tracks we meet Tramp, a happy-go-lucky, dogcatcher dodging mutt of the town. The two meet up just as Lady’s family begins to treat her coldly as they’re expecting their first little bundle of joy. Other four-legged cast members include the crooning Pekingese Peg, Si and Am the Siamese cats, Trusty the Bloodhound and Jock the Scottish Terrier. I won’t get into too much of the plot, because … Hey some of the Disney magic needs to be seen for yourself *wink*.

Lady and the Tramp was one of the first movies to enlist the help of a pop artist of the time. Much of the music, with the exception of the pound dog quartet, was written by Peggy Lee, who also voiced the characters of Darling, Si and Am, and Peg. Peggy also sang some of the more recognizable songs such as “We Are Siamese” and “He’s A Tramp.” And let’s not forget the romantic “Bella Notte” sung by the Tony while Lady and Tramp are having their spaghetti dinner.

In the DVD set I owned, there are also parallels drawn between the town in the movie and Marcelline, Missouri, where Disney spent his youth. You can see echoes of Marcelline as well in the Disney parks. The welcoming and homely feel of Main Street in Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom in Florida was also modeled after the Marcelline the Disney grew up with, meant to welcome each guest home.

I hope this has been just enough to pique your interest in the film. As mentioned above, I’ve chosen a simple Italian dinner (perfect for two) to prepare. No dinner involving Lady and the Tramp would be complete without spaghetti and meatballs, complete with homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs that have a little twist. To start us off though, a delicious appetizer called bruschetta:

Bruschetta

·         3-4 Roma tomatoes

·         10 leaves of Basil

·         3 Tablespoons of good quality olive oil

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         Baguette or other crusty bread

·         1-2 cloves of garlic

Method:

Place slices of baguette or crusty bread onto a baking sheet and place under the broiler or in the oven until really crusty (you want a texture similar to a crouton). Remove from oven and rub the surface with garlic clove. Dice the Roma tomatoes and place in a bowl. Chiffonade the basil, which is really a fancy term for cut the basil into thin, ribbon like slices; easiest way to achieve this is to stack the leaves on top of each other and roll them up into a bundle. Then slice thinly. Place into the bowl with the tomatoes. Add olive oil (you can add more or less depending on how “wet” you want the tomatoes). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Put a heaping tablespoon of tomato mixture on to each slice of bread. Serve immediately.

Bruschetta

I like use Roma tomatoes as they don’t have as much juice in them and they are firm and hold up well to marinating with the rest of the flavors.

And now for the main course:

Spaghetti and Meatballs with a Twist

·         One pound ground chicken

·         1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

·         1/4 cup milk

·         1/2 teaspoon pepper

·         One pinch red pepper flakes

·         One egg

·         One stick of string cheese, cut into quarter inch pieces

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray an oven safe pan with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the ground chicken, bread crumbs, milk, pepper, and pepper flakes in a bowl. Heat up about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan (you’ll use this pan for your sauce a little later). Using a tablespoon, scoop out some of the meat mixture and form into a ball, placing a bit of the string cheese in the middle of the meatball. Brown the meatball in the pan on all sides. When they’ve developed a nice outer crust, put the meatballs in the pan and place into the oven for about 10-12 minutes.

Here’s what you’ll need for the spaghetti sauce:

·         One tablespoon garlic

·         One can crushed tomatoes

·         One tablespoon tomato paste

·         1/4 cup red wine

·         One bay leaf

·         1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (optional)

·         1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar

In the same pan you browned the meatballs, saute the garlic until aromatic. Then add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, bay leaf, and pepper flakes if you choose. Simmer for a few moments. Taste the sauce and add sugar to your tasting. I like to add a little more sugar as I prefer a sweeter sauce.

When the meatballs are done cooking in the oven, place them in sauce and let them simmer all together.

Serve on top of cooked spaghetti.

The best part of this recipe is you can use whatever ground meat you would like. I opted for a lighter ground chicken but Italian sausage, ground beef, or turkey would work just fine. While it may seem like a lot to make the sauce, it’s really very simple and once you get the hang of it, experimenting with spice combinations (like adding basil to balance out the red pepper flakes).

Now for a quick and easy dessert. Forgive me for those of you that are die hard Tiramisu fans but I’ve created this “Lazy” version with all the flavors you’d find in the classic Italian dessert. Is it real tiramisu with lady fingers and marscapone cheese mixed with sugar … No. But for a quick fix of flavor it’s still pretty good. So here goes:

Deconstructed or “Lazy” Tiramisu

·         One loaf of pound cake, either premade or your own recipe (just make sure it’s completely cooled from the oven)

·         Espresso or extra strong coffee, freshly brewed

·         Cappuccino Ice Cream

·         Bittersweet Chocolate

Place a slice of the pound cake in the serving dish and brush with the coffee. Place a scoop of ice cream on top of the pound cake and repeat if you desire. Shave the bittersweet chocolate on top of the entire thing.

Well everyone I hope you enjoy these recipes. It was such a blast putting it all together. Please check out my Instagram as well with pictures of the recipes I’ve created (Instagram: Bustopher04). I hope your spring is magical and wonderful. And I hope you check out May’s Disney Dinner feature film Mulan!!

Have a magical day everyone!! Pat A

Darby O’Gill: Luck of the Irish

Top of the morning to you Disney fans!! Well … March has certainly been … Interesting here in Central Ohio. Ohio is truly one of the only places I know that can go from 70 degrees and sunny to 32 and snowy all in the course of two weeks! It’s been a crazy spring so far … Hopefully it’ll calm down with summer just around the corner!!

March is the month of going green. The springtime around the corner and seeing patches of green grass under the snow, clearing out the dust from winter and “greening” out the apartment or home, and celebrating the saint of my namesake, Patrick. Normally I don’t get behind the partying surrounding St. Patrick’s Day, but I will say, celebrating every now and again is a lot of fun. Who can resist the novelty of drinking a Green Beer or indulging in some Irish Pub Fare while singing Irish tunes with your mates?

For this month’s Disney and Dinner what more appropriate film to choose than Darby O’Gill and the Little People? This 1959 classic (starring a very young Sean Connery) shows us a little bit of Disney film magic before we had the technology. My favorite Disney film technique from these early days of live action films is the use of matte paintings for scenery. In a nutshell, the technique involves painting portions of the scene on a pane of glass in front of the camera. This technique was used in many of the early films including Treasure Island and Mary Poppins (think of the beautiful scenery of London while Mary, Bert and the Banks children are on the rooftops). In Darby O’Gill the matte painting technique was used to create ancient castles on top of the loch and the ancient village that Darby resides. This film included other film techniques like the use of forced perspective to create the little people and using mirror’s to create the illusion of Darby walking into the King of the leprechaun’s lair. I admittedly don’t possess the language to describe film techniques … My language is a little better suited to cooking. But if you want a low down of some of the film techniques check out “Matte Shot – A Tribute To Golden Era Special FX” blog here:

http://nzpetesmatteshot.blogspot.com/2010/06/darby-ogill-and-little-people-disneys.html

Well shall we move on to the recipes?

St. Patrick’s Day just wouldn’t be complete without a few things: Stout, Cabbage, Corned Beef, and Potatoes. So this month I’ve incorporated all of those things in the menu.

·        

• Salt-Crusted Fingerling Potatoes
• Crockpot Corned Beef with Root Vegetables and Stout Gravy
• Chocolate Stout Cake

The first recipe I had with some friends over Easter brunch. When I asked him how to make it I didn’t believe how easy it was. But these salt-crusted potatoes I keep for special occasions and formed the foundation *literally* of my menu.

Here’s the method.

I started with the potatoes because they could take the longest to cook through. Here are the ingredients:

·         1lb fingerling potatoes

·         ½ to ¾ cup of salt

Put your potatoes in a pot with salt and add enough water to just cover the potatoes. Put on high heat until the water starts to boil. Once water is boiling turn heat down to medium low and simmer with the lid off. You’ll know the potatoes are done when the water evaporates and leaves a thin crusting of salt on the surface of the potatoes.

For the corned beef, I turned to my two trusty kitchen companions: my crockpot and YouTube. I found a great recipe that I modified slightly on YouTube. Here’s what you’ll need:

·         Corned Beef Brisket (mine was about 6 lbs.)

·         Half a head of cabbage, chopped (place this in a bag and put in the fridge. We’ll put this in the crockpot one hour before serving)

·         6-7 Ribs of celery, chopped

·         2 cups of Baby carrots

·         Half a large onion, chopped

·         4 cups of water

·         6 oz. of stout (approx. ¾ of a cup)

With your handy dandy crockpot nearby, place the celery, baby carrots, and onion in first. Then add the water. On top of your vegetables place your brisket then pour the stout (or any beer of your choosing) over the brisket. Most corned beef packages some with their own spice packet; spread the spices on top of the brisket after pouring the beer over it. Put the lid on the crockpot and set to high. Let it cook for 7-8 hours. An hour before cooking put the chopped cabbage in the crockpot and let it cook for another hour.

After the brisket is done cooking, take it out of the crockpot and cut across the grain. My brisket was tender is literally fell apart so I opted to take two forks and pull the brisket apart instead.

To serve I opted for one large serving dish and a layer of St Patrick goodies for ease of serving.

I started with a layer of the salt-crusted potatoes:

Then added the vegetables and finally added the brisket on top:

As a little extra bonus, I took some of the juices from the crockpot and mixed in two tablespoons of corn starch. When the cornstarch was fully dissolved, I poured the slurry back into the crockpot and whisked it into a light gravy for someone that wanted a little extra on top of their meal.

Well how do you top of a dinner like that? With some chocolate stout cake of course!! One of my favorite stores is a funny little place called Five Below. Everything in it is priced at $5 or less and truthfully … I love to go shopping in it. On one such occasion I just happened to find an Irish Cooking book … and being $5 I can’t help but give it a try. That’s where I found this recipe:

Chocolate Stout Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

·         2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

·         ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa

·         1 tsp baking soda

·         ¼ tsp salt

·         ¾ cup butter, softened

·         1 cup packed brown sugar

·         ½ cup granulated sugar

·         1 tsp vanilla

·         3 eggs

·         1 cup Irish stout (like Guinness), at room temperature

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9-inch back pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with stout, beating after each addition. Pour batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

FROSTING:

·         1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

·         ¼ cup butter, softened

·         4 cups powdered sugar

·         1 tsp vanilla

·         1 to 2 Tbsp milk

Beat creamcheese and butter with electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add enough milk to make frosting easy to spread. Spread on cake.

Let me tell you what we got was the densest, yummiest cake I’ve had in a good long while!!

Well all I hope you give these recipes a try and I hope you come back again in April for our next Disney and Dinner. Next month I’ll be going back to some classic Disney animation and creating an Italian dinner. What movie you may be asking? None other than Lady and the Tramp!

As always everyone, Have a Magical Day!! – Patrick A.

Corned Beef video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2MJABXS1xk

Princess And The Frog: Mardi Gras!!

Happy Mardi Gras Disney fans!!!! Well okay … Happy a-little-after-Mardi-Gras-and-well-into-Lent-season. So far this month has already seen a lot of happenings: two awesome shows in Dayton and Cleveland over the weekend, a new job I’ll be starting in a week, and a much needed performer’s break from performing. We finally got snowfall here in Ohio and I must say it is quite pretty … albeit cold and wet.

February is seeing a lot of changes for me personally up here in Ohio. I’ve accepted a new position at my day job. I’m excited to take this step up in my department because it means more challenges, more learning experiences and yes even more money! And that means … A little more wiggle room to save up for Disney DVDs and Dinner Parties!!

February is also prep time for my performance life as I generally take the month off to rest and recuperate and working toward some projects. Part of that project includes gearing up for pageantry season and competing!! I love the artistic process that happens when you bring together a package for competition: the gown, the jewelry, the talent, the costumes, the dancers, the sets … everything coming together to form one solid offering that says “here I am and here’s what I do.”

Well enough about my professional and performance life; let’s dive into this month’s Disney and Dinner. With Mardi Gras happening so early this month, what better movie to feature than The Princess and the Frog. Here we follow the story of Tianna, a hard working waitress with dreams of owning her own restaurant and the spoiled yet broke playboy Prince of Maldonia Naveen as they attempt to break the spell of voodoo villain Dr. Facilier with the help of Ray the Firefly, Louis the trumpet-blowing gator, and Mama Odi the Voodoo Woman of the Bayou. I’ve reviewed the movie in a previous post so (which you and find here) so I won’t bore you with going through it again. On this particular night I was joined by my Disney buddy Rory, and two of my dancers (we had just gotten done with rehearsal) Vivianna and Pandora. And here’s tonight’s menu:

Jambalaya
Crockpot Cornbread
Easy Beignets

Now I know what you’re going to say … In the movie they’re constantly talking gumbo. And I understand gumbo is more traditionally served during Mardi Gras so why Jambalaya? Well … the short answer … I don’t know how to make gumbo. It seems like a silly excuse but I have fond memories of learning to make jambalaya from back in college. My college chamber singers were planning a choir tour trip to Italy and well we needed money. Normally choirs turn to raffles or spaghetti feeds for fund raising and such, well our choir director this time around gave us three new ideas: Raffle ticket to win a car (amazingly successful), a pumpkin pie sale (just in time for the Thanksgiving season) but we kicked everything off with a jambalaya night (much like a spaghetti feed). I was given the task of finding out just how much spice we would need to go from a batch that serves 4 people to 120 people!! Thankfully my math skills hadn’t dwindled at that point. The jambalaya was a wild success and I’ve kept the recipe with me for the last 13 years. What I like about this recipe is first off you don’t need a lot of hard to find spices as you use only four: salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and chili powder. Also it’s easy to adjust the ingredient list to use whatever you happen to have on hand. Here’s the ingredient list:

·         1 lbs boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite size chunks

·         1 lbs Kielbasa, cut into half inch slices

·         One medium sized onion, chopped

·         Three bell peppers, chopped

·         Two to three cloves of garlic chopped

·         Five or six stalks of celery chopped (include the leaves for flavor)

·         One 14 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

·         One 16 oz. bottle of beer

·         4 Cups of water

·         1 ½ cups of rice

·         Cayenne Pepper

·         Chili Powder

·         Salt and black pepper

·         3 Bay leaves

Method:

In a Dutch oven heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Sautee chicken thighs and Kielbasa, seasoning with salt, black and Cayenne pepper. Remove from pan and set aside. Add onion, bell peppers, garlic, and celery to same pot. Cook until the vegetables start to sweat and season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and chili powder. Add the meat back into the pot with canned tomatoes and beer. Simmer on medium heat until the alcohol evaporates. Add water and rice and turn heat down to medium low. Add bay leaves and simmer until rice is cooked.

One thing I definitely recommend is pay attention to what type of rice you use. Being Japanese, I used Cal-Rose rice which is very sticky. This created a very thick jambalaya with little liquid left in the pot. Still good but if you want more of a soup consistency then I would recommend long grain rice as oppose to Japanese style rice.

As you will see in many of my recipes, I love using my crockpot. For anyone who’s busy with everyday life, I think a crockpot is probably one of the best investments you can make. I use my crockpot for main dishes, side dishes, desserts, and even as a center piece for some of my parties (Google ideas for a crockpot chocolate fondue party and you’ll see what I mean). It seems as though many meals from the south have one common side dish you can find: cornbread. So when I did a search for easy cornbread recipes and a crockpot recipe came up … Well of course I had to give it a try!! Here’s the recipe I found from a website called “Tablespoon”

Easy Crockpot Cornbread:

·         2 tablespoons unsalted butter

·         1 ½ cups Cornmeal

·         1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

·         2 tablespoons sugar

·         1 tablespoon baking powder

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon chili powder (optional)

·         2 cups buttermilk

·         2 large eggs

Method:

Melt unsalted butter in a 5-6 quart slow cooker on high heat. Stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and chili powder in a medium mixing bowl. Then stir in buttermilk and eggs. Spread melted butter around in slow cooker so it coats the bottom of the cooker. Pour in cornbread batter and spread evenly. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours. Let cornbread cool slightly and serve with a spoon.

The end result of this was wonderful. Moist and flaky and delicious; the only thing I toyed with for the future is adding a little more sugar as I’m used to sweeter cornbread. Also I did not add the chili powder so I’m certain that would have changed up the flavor as well. But those details are rather minor; the end result was absolutely worth it (and only two hours in the crockpot!).

Works in progress 

Finished Product

For dessert what can be more appropriate than beignets. These light, airy and crispy pieces of fried dough come with a variety of toppings, from honey to melted chocolate to cinnamon and sugar. I decided to keep this one simple when searching for a recipe and really… It doesn’t get any simpler than this:

Easy Beignets

·         1 12 oz. can of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

·         Vegetable oil

·         Garnish: Powdered sugar

Method:

Separate biscuits into individual round and cut into quarters. Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches in a Dutch oven and heat over medium heat to 350 degrees. Fry biscuit quarters in batches (1 to 1.5 minutes on each side or until golden). Drain on a paper towel and dust generously with powdered sugar.

The best part of this recipe is the beignets pretty much tell you when they’re ready to be flipped (most times they turn themselves over in the cooking oil). These are certainly delicious warm from cooking but even as they cooled down a bit … they were still delicious.

Easy Beignets

With our bowls of food ready to warm us through, the four of us sat down and watched Princess and the Frog. In the course of conversation we started to talk of our own upbringings sparked by the villain of the movie, Dr. Facilier. During the course of the movie, we commented on how each of us has a little Facilier characteristic: I read Tarot cards, Vivianna and Pandora grew up knowing voodoo, and Rory pointed out how the Dr. would make an interesting villain movie remake (maybe a thought for the future huh Disney?).

Well everyone another month of Disney and Dinner planning in the books. Some of you may have noticed than in the course of this blog I rarely mention drink with our meals. Normally when I have a dinner night I like to make it a BYOB affair. Everyone brings something they like and are willing to share so we all get a chance to try something new. I asked my friend Rory to come up with a drink that would complement this meal and his offering will be in a follow up blog called “Rory’s Refreshments.” I hope you enjoy this added blog offering and the recipes presented so far. In the meantime, is there a Disney movie you’d like to see offered for a Disney Dinner? Leave a comment in the comments section and I’ll do my best to come up with a dinner pairing for it!!

I hope it warms up nicely and the spring brings you sunshine!! Next month in honor of St. Patrick’s Day I’ll be cooking up some corned beef and cabbage in the crockpot with a side offering of salt-crusted fingerling potatoes and chocolate stout cake for dessert. And next month’s movie offering: Darby O’Gill and the Little People. 

As always Make It A Magical Day -- Pat A

Links: 

Crockpot Jambalaya -- http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/homemade-slow-cooker-cornbread/6a4d0874-1fbf-4e23-954c-0476cca27a40

Easy Beignets -- http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/biscuit-beignets

Lilo and Stitch: At Home Luau

Happy New Year Disney Fans!! And welcome to 2016!! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s. I had the good fortune to spend those holidays (on top of an anniversary) in Las Vegas. I gambled, shopped, caught a phenomenal show, and had an all-around relaxing time. Vegas is home to some of the best entertainment you can find. From showgirls… well… show boys to Broadway and legends of the performing world … and even a few of their impersonators, Las Vegas has it all!!! I will say too … for any of you out there that have a chance to catch the musical Jersey Boys absolutely do!! The story of Frank Valli and the Four Seasons as told by the members and through their music. Wonderful experience!!

For me, no trip anywhere is complete without trying some of the best food. Las Vegas is home to some of the best world class restaurants. Just walking up and down the Strip you can find restaurants owned and operated by some of the biggest names in the culinary world: Gordon Ramsey, Morimoto, Rocky Aoki… Okay that last name may not seem as familiar, but you may have heard of the popular Japanese restaurant where your chef prepares food right at your table Aoki created named Benihana.

I’m sure you’ve figured by now that not only do I love to eat, but I also love to cook. Last month I announced a new venture for this blog and I’m excited to bring you the first entry in a year of movies and meals. I’ve created easy-to-make, three-course menus all themed around a different Disney movie for each month. Each meal is designed to be easy and quick using ingredients you can find in any grocery store and even fun to make for any little Disney kitchen helpers you may have in your family. So grab your apron as I present to you the very first Disney & Dinner!!

Truthfully when it comes to January and winters, I’m not a big fan. I guess after the excitement of Christmas and promising a new year and a new you from New Year’s, January normally brought on the close to zero temperatures and gray days. In light of this I started thinking what could be better than bringing a little sun and fun into the month? And what state is sunnier than the Aloha State, Hawaii. So with my copy of Lilo and Stitch in hand I give you an easy, at-home luau:

Movie: Lilo and Stitch

Menu: Kalua Pulled Pork Sliders

Asian Slaw

Kona Coffee Jello with Kahlua Whip Cream

So Lilo and Stitch, the story of a broken family of sisters struggling to stay together after their parents tragically die in a rainstorm and an extraterrestrial outlaw that randomly lands on the islands. The two paths cross and teach each other the meaning of Ohana: Family. Released in 2002, the movie was meant to be more of a “B-Movie” for Disney and not an epic blockbuster along the lines of say Frozen. I’ve already given my review which you can find here.

So let’s dive into dinner!

When I created the idea of an at home luau I knew I had to include the iconic roast pig. The last time I was in Hawaii my junior year of high school, our trip including a luau and they told us the process of cooking the pig, which included digging a hole in the sand, building a fire and letting it burn down, covering the pig and fire pit with banana leaves, and letting the pig cook in the natural oven for an entire day. As wonderful as the outcome is I’m afraid my landlord would have an objection to me digging up the lawn to create a pit for luaus. So instead I turned to Google for ideas and found a wonderful recipe that was simple and still delicious. I will say from the get go this is not my original recipe so no infringement is intended (I will also include the link where I found it).

Pulled Kalua Pork Sliders

·         1 pork roast, about 4 lbs.

·         1 Tablespoon liquid smoke seasoning

·         1 ½ Tablespoon Hawaiian Sea Salt

Method: Rub the pork with salt and liquid smoke seasoning (I used the Hickory smoke flavor). Put roast into crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours, turning once during cooking. When done shred meat in crockpot and serve on Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (I used the King’s Hawaiian brand).

For a side dish I made an easy “Asian” slaw. NOTE: If you can’t find ramen noodles with the seasoning already on the noodles, you can use any ramen with the Oriental seasoning packet; just add half to the full packet into the dressing.

Easy Asian Slaw

·         Half a head of cabbage (or one package of pre-shredded cole slaw mix)

·         2 Tablespoons of sesame seeds

·         2 Tablespoons of sliced almonds (optional)

·         2 Green onions, chopped

·         1 Package of ramen (Nissin works best as it already has the seasoning on the noodles; if you can’t find the Nissin brand see the tip from above)

For the dressing

·         2 Tablespoons sugar

·         ½ cup oil

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         ½ teaspoon pepper

·         3 Tablespoon Vinegar

In a large bowl combine cabbage, sesame seeds, almonds and green onions. Mix up the ingredients thoroughly. Crush ramen in package and sprinkle over cabbage mix. In a cruet or jar put sugar, oil, salt, pepper, and vinegar. Cover and shake until thoroughly mixed. Pour over cabbage and ramen mixture.

This slaw is great served freshly made and gets even better the longer is sits in the dressing.

For dessert I decided to draw on a dish that I’ve seen in cooking videos from Japan and had the experience of trying for the first time while on a recent trip to Las Vegas at a Japanese buffet called Makino. Coffee Jello is great as well as you can make it as sweet as you want by adjusting the sugar and the type of coffee used. To go with the Hawaiian theme I opted for a good Kona roast and added a little twist into the whipped cream topping:

Coffee Jello with Kahlua Whipped Cream

·         Four cups freshly brewed coffee, any roast (I used Kona)

·         ¼ cup of sugar

·         One packet (quarter oz.) of unflavored gelatin

For whipped cream:

·         One small carton heavy whipping cream

·         2 Tablespoons sugar

·         1 Tablespoon Kahlua liqueur (optional)

Method: Pour coffee in a mixing bowl and add sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved and then add gelatin, stirring until gelatin is also dissolved. Pour mixture into a square 9x9 pan and put into the refrigerator until the gelatin firms up (I made this the day before and let it set overnight).

For the whipped cream topping, pour heavy cream, sugar and kahlua, if using, into a mixing bowl. Mix with an electric mixer on low until sugar is dissolved and then turn up to medium high speed. Mix the cream until it forms hard peaks. 

To serve, cut the coffee jello into squares. Pour hot water into a larger pan and set pan with jello in water to loosen up. Serve in bowls and top with whipped cream.

My friend and fellow Disney fan Rory came over to help out with serving up this delicious Disney dinner and also took a few pictures of the finished products:

Pulled Pork Sliders with Asian Slaw

Coffee Jello with Spiked Whipped Cream

Here are the links to the recipes I used for this month: 

Kalua Pork: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/24035/kalua-pig-in-a-slow-cooker/

Coffee Jello: http://www.food.com/recipe/coffee-jello-81870

Well all I hope you’ve enjoyed the first entry in my yearlong Disney and Dinner series. I am excited to get this year underway and create more menus and give you more Disney movie reviews in 2016. In the meantime, please let me know what you think of these recipes and share your pictures of these creations.

Next month we’re going to celebrate Mardi Gras in style and take inspiration from the cookbook of Tiana. That’s right Disney fans, next month’s movie is The Princess and the Frog and on the menu we’ll have Jambalaya, cornbread and easy to make beignets!! And as always

Make it a Magical Day – Pat A