Quick links: Creme de la Creme | Goose | French Onion Soup | Verdict
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Everybody wants to be a cat! Aristocats doesn’t feature much food, but the food it does show isn’t half bad. It’s set in Paris, so the food has a lot of French influence. There are a couple dishes that range from a simple dessert to a high-end meal. So check out the recipes from Aristocats.
Creme de la Creme ala Edgar
Edgar is almost up there in evilness with Cruella Deville. Though he is quite a bit more idiotic. To get rid of the cats, he concocts a creme for the cats with a mountain of sleeping pills in it. This is one of the few recipes where you actually see the whole making of it in the movie.
(Credit: Disney)
I tried to recreate this recipe as closely as I could from the film. Its a tasty way to get some shuteye. And of course, you can enjoy it with a cracker.
(Credit: Disney)
Creme de la Creme ala Edgar
Ingredients:
| 2 cups | milk |
| 1 cup | heavy cream |
| 1/4 tsp | cinnamon |
| 1/8 tsp | nutmeg |
| 3 Tbs | sugar |
| 10mg | Melatonin (optional) |
- Mix all of the ingredients in a sauce pan.
- Over a medium-high heat, whisk the contents constantly until the milk starts to boil
- Remove from heat
- Let cool and enjoy.
Uncle Waldo’s Goose ala Provencale Stuffed with Chestnuts and Basted with White Wine
One of my favorite characters in the movie is Uncle Waldo, the goose sister’s drunk uncle. He takes the crew to a restaurant that has a sign in the front for Goose ala Provencale.
(Credit: Disney)
Ala Provencale means a dish prepared with a tomato/garlic/onion/olive sauce. Even though it didn’t show the meal, I decided to make it anyway. Sadly, I couldn’t find a goose, so I had to do it with duck. It still was really good.
Uncle Waldo's Goose Provencale Stuffed with Chestnuts and Basted with White Wine
Ingredients:
| 1 | Red Bell pepper |
| 1 | Yellow Bell Pepper |
| 1 tbs | olive oil |
| 1 | Whole Goose/Duck |
| 2 | Onions (wedged) |
| 2 | Garlic Cloves (minced) |
| 1 cup | White Wine |
| 1 small can | tomato paste |
| 1 can | petite diced tomatoes |
| 1 cup | chicken stock |
| 3/4 cup | black olives (pitted) |
| 1 cup | chestnuts (or hazelnuts as a sub.) |
| 1 stick | butter (divided in half) |
| 2 | Slices of bread |
| salt and pepper to taste | |
| 2 tsp | crushed bay leaves |
| 8 sprigs | thyme |
- Preheat the oven to 450F
- Boil some water and dump it over defrosted goose to tighten up the skin
- Rub 4 tbs butter over the entire goose
- Stick in a baking dish
- Place bell peppers on a baking sheet and roast them in oven for ~15 mins
- Place onion in a pan and cook, stirring occasionally over a medium-high, for 5 minutes or until golden.
- Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until aromatic.
- Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes or until reduced by half.
- Add the bell peppers, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, stock and thyme.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- In a separate pot, melt 4 tbs butter.
- Add in chestnuts and 1/4 c. wine.
- Bring to boil and let simmer for 15 minutes, until the chestnuts start getting a little soft.
- Stir in the shredded bread and olives.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the chestnut mix inside the goose
- Pour sauce over goose
- Place the goose in the oven
- Cook for 1 hr 45min (or until goose is brown and meat thermometer reads 175F), flipping the goose over every 35 mins. You may baste the goose with white wine every 30 minutes as well.
- Keep covered for first 30 minutes and then only partially covered for the rest
Edgar’s French Onion Soup
The last food shown is when Duchess and the kittens return. Edgar is cooking a red-looking soup in the kitchen. I divined that it was French Onion soup (because they’re in France, so why not?)
Edgar's French Onion Soup
Ingredients:
| 2 | medium onions, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced lengthwise |
| 3 sprigs | fresh thyme |
| 2 | Turkish bay leaves or 1 California |
| 3/4 tsp | salt |
| 1/2 stick | unsalted butter |
| 2 tsp | all-purpose flour |
| 3/4 cup | White Wine |
| 4 cups | beef broth |
| 11/2 cups | water |
| 6 |
diagonal slices of baguette |
| 1 (1/2-lb) | piece Gruyère, Comte, or Emmental (I just used mozzarella) |
| 2 tbs | grated Parmigiano-Reggiano |
- Cook onions, thyme, bay leaves, and salt in butter in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring frequently, until onions are very soft and deep golden brown, about 45 minutes.
- Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
- Stir in wine and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
- Stir in broth, water, and pepper and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.
- While soup simmers, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
- Arrange bread in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and toast, turning over once, until completely dry, about 15 minutes.
- Remove bread from oven and preheat broiler.
- Put crocks (I used pyrex glass bowl) in a shallow baking pan.
- Discard bay leaves and thyme from soup and divide soup among crocks, then float bread in each. Slice enough Gruyère (about 6 ounces total) with cheese plane to cover tops of crocks, allowing ends of cheese to hang over rims of crocks, then sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until cheese is melted and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes.
Will it make you want to be a Cat?
The Creme de la Creme ala Edgar was actually really good. Very calming. I actually drank it right before writing this article and now I’m pretty tired. I shouldn’t have put in the melatonin. Haha.
The Goose (duck) was good. Not AMAZING, but really good nonetheless. It was best when eaten with the chestnut stuffing.
The soup was a little salty (I think I might have used salted butter), but it was good as well, especially with the melted cheese bread on top.
Verdict:
Creme – 8/10
Goose – 7.5/10
Soup – 6.5/10