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 50th
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
