Quick links: Rat-sized Cheesecake | Ms. Ego’s Ratatouille | Remy’s Ratatouille | Verdict It’s the last week of Ratatouille. Man, that was a marathon. But we saved the best for last! We made 2 ratatouille dishes and some cheesecake. It was all amazing. It totally made up for the tragedy of last week haha. Also to make up for… Continue reading »
Quick links: Scallops | Omelette | Roast Duck | Remy’s Soup | Verdict Get out your berets and baguettes, it’s time for another week of Ratatouille! This week we were joined again by our friends Aly and Drew from Dreams To Become. We enjoyed some great food! So check out the recipes for week 3 of Ratatouille! Also, we just got… Continue reading »
Chicken Little is the first fully computer animated film from Disney. It is a pretty fun film, but not great in Disney standards. It is definitely good for a few laughs though. We’ve been in kind of a slump lately. There hasn’t been much good food shown in movies. Chicken Little showed some food, but it was food we’ve already made or common food items. But we have a couple quick and easy recipes for you. Popcorn and orange soda. Perfect for your Chicken Little viewing night.
I also wanted to do a shout out to our friends at Dreams To Become. We had the awesome opportunity to join their blog to do a viewing of Winnie the Pooh. We made our shortbread jam cookies and recorded an awesome commentary to the movie. Check it out! and be sure to support their patreon in order to hear the commentary.
Foods Shown
Corn on the cob
Popcorn
Green gatorade
Donuts
Orange soda
Dog bone
Carrot
Buck Cluck’s Popcorn
When Chicken Little gets hit by the second piece of the sky, his dad is making popcorn and the popcorn explodes all over him.
(Credit: Disney)
I made some popcorn, but not just plain microwave popcorn. I actually made it over the stove! It actually tastes really good. Better than movie theater popcorn.
Happy New Year Disney Mealers! It’s great to be back after our holiday hiatus. And what a movie to come back to. Mulan! Just in time for Chinese New Year in a few weeks. So be a man, go to the kitchen and start cooking!
We’re doing a special recap of some of our favorite recipes that you can try for your Christmas feast! This will also be our last post of the year! So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in a couple weeks!
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
Heat oven to 325°F. If shallow roasting pan does not have rack, line with heavy-duty foil. Place ham, fat side up, on rack in pan or in foil-lined pan. Score ham diagonally at 1-inch intervals, cutting 1/4 inch deep; score in opposite direction to form diamond shapes. Pour water into pan. Bake 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix glaze ingredients. Pour half of mixture into 1-quart saucepan; set aside for sauce.
Remove ham from oven. Insert meat thermometer so bulb reaches center of thickest part of ham, but does not rest in fat or on bone. Brush ham with some of glaze in bowl.
Bake 2 hours or until thermometer reads 140°F, brushing frequently with pan drippings and remaining glaze in bowl. Let ham stand in pan 15 minutes, spooning pan drippings frequently over top.
Blueberry Sauce
In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch or arrowroot powder and water.
Stir in the apricot jam, brown sugar, wine, and lemon juice.
Cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 6 minutes until the sauce is thickened and bubbly.
Make the dough (You can do this part up to three days in advance.)
SIFT the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
PLACE the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.
SWITCH the mixer to low speed and gradually add the egg, molasses and vanilla extract. Increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth.
SWITCH the mixer to low speed and add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, pulsing the mixer to incorporate each addition before adding the next one.
TURN the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead a few times to incorporate any crumbs.
DIVIDE the dough in half. Roll each half into a log about 1½ inches in diameter and 12 inches long. As you roll, gently push the ends toward the center to prevent air pockets and to keep the logs at an even thickness.
WRAP the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.
Bake the cookies
PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Line the bottoms of two 12″ x 18″ sheet pans with parchment paper.
REMOVE the logs from the refrigerator and unwrap them. Using a ruler and a sharp knife, cut each log into rounds ¼ inch thick. If the dough crumbles as you cut it, reshape each slice.
PLACE the rounds on the prepared pans, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake on the middle shelves of the oven, rotating the pans 180° halfway through the baking time, until the cookies are set but soft enough to hold a slight indentation when pressed with a fingertip (about 7 to 10 minutes).
LET cool completely on the pans on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Yield: 50-60 2-inch cookies.
Add potatoes, carrots, raisins and mixed fruit, lemon extract, and butter.
Mix well until batter is moistend through (this will take a few minutes).
Put in buttered mold, fill about 2/3 full.
Three 3″ fluted pans will hold the mixture.
Steam for 3 hours.
You can use a crockpot with steaming capabilities or put the molds in a larger baking dish, fill larger dish with boiling or very hot water, cover with foil and steam in the oven at about 300 degrees for 3 hours.
Let sit 10 minutes before removing puddings from molds.
Sauce:
Combine sugar, flour, salt, and vanilla/rum flavoring.
Add enough cold water to make a thin paste.
Cook over low heat until paste thickens up.
Add butter or cream until desired thickness is reached.
Will it Make you have a Merry Christmas?
I hope all you Disney Mealer’s out there have a great Christmas!
It’s a sad day, the last day of our Beauty and The Beast extravaganza. This week, all the food comes from Tale as Old as Time.
We are skipping the scene where the Beast scarfs down porridge
(Credit: Disney)
because we already have a good porridge recipe from Cinderella. But regardless, check out the delicious food from the last week of Beauty and the Beast
Tourin
In contrast to the messy porridge meal, the Beast learned manners in a Tale as Old as Time.
(Credit: Disney)
I looked into some french soups and found Tourin, a french garlic soup. It was pretty good.
Heat the butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan set over a medium heat. Sweat the onion with some salt for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the roughly chopped garlic cloves and the thyme and sweat for 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly making sure the garlic doesn't colour.
Add 1.4ltrs of boiling water to the saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, then add the crème fraîche and whisk well. Remove the soup from the heat and discard the thyme sprig. Use a stick blender to purée the soup until smooth.
Return to the heat and adjust to taste using the white wine vinegar and salt. Keep the heat over a low heat as you prepare the garlic garnish; heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a moderate heat. Fry the sliced garlic until golden brown, then remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.
Ladle the soup into soup bowls and garnish with the fried garlic and some black pepper before serving.
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Roasted Artichoke
On the table, when the beast is eating soup, there sits a pile of artichokes.
(Credit: Disney)
I never really liked artichoke, but this recipe was good.
Separate the egg whites from the yolks and put them in 2 separate bowls. Mix the yolks with the sugar in one bowl. Stir in the Mascarpone cheese, one spoonful at a time, incorporating well.
In the other bowl, beat the egg whites to form stiff peaks using an electric mixer. Then, add the beaten whites to the yolk-mascarpone mix, blending gently. The cream is ready. Set aside.
Pour the rum extract and the milk into a small dish, then lightly dip the biscuits. Place them in the individual small serving bowls or cups (about 250 ml). Cover the biscuits with the cream. Sprinkle the cocoa powder (and sugar) on top.
Refrigerate for at least one hour. Leave overnight in the refrigerator for best results. Serve cold.
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Bundt cake with Chocolate Ganache
This is the centerpiece of today’s cook. Man, it was delicious.
Take the butter out of the fridge to soften and preheat the oven to 350°F.
Prepare the bundt pan by greasing it thoroughly with butter or baking spray. You can also flour it, if you want, although this isn't strictly necessary.
Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the softened butter and sugar together until fluffy and light
Add the eggs and beat until fully incorporated and light.
Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, and finally the milk and vanilla.
Beat everything together on low for 30 seconds, then high for 3 minutes.
Immediately pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool on wire racks for at least 15 minutes, then flip each pan over onto the rack and tap gently all over. Lift the pan slightly. If the cake doesn't feel like it's falling out smoothly, lay a slightly damp kitchen towel over the pan and tap again. If necessary, let the cakes cool more. If they have been baked thoroughly, however, they should fall right out of the pans once they've cooled a little and the sides of the cake have shrunk back from the pan.
For the Ganache
Place the chocolate into a medium bowl.
Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum and molasses if desired.
Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake.
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Green Jello Salad
Last but not least, is the green jello salad on the table.
(Credit: Disney)
Theres also a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. You can find the recipe for that in the Pinocchio cook
Onto week three! This is the second half of one of my favorite songs in the Disney-verse, Be Our Guest. It’s basically a bunch of cakes! Since I posted the original be our guest video last week, here’s a horrible remake/remix from the Disney Channel original movie Descendants.
Faux Pink Champagne
This pink champagne acts as a diving pool for a bunch of utensils after a bunch of bottles blow their tops.
(Credit: Disney)
Naturally, we’re not using real alcohol, but I found a simple recipe for faux pink champagne. I didn’t really like it, but my wife did.
Man, Cogsworth just has a bad time. He’s constantly getting flung into food.
(Credit: Disney)
I cheated on this one. I didn’t use a from-scratch recipe. I just followed the instructions on the back of a lime Jello box. Sorry everyone.
Versatile Vanilla Cake Platform
Now onto the mountains of cakes. Lumiere uses cake platforms at the climax of the song
(Credit: Disney)
We assumed that the 2 giant cakes at either side were just for show. But we made the other 5 cakes.
The one on the left, we made a Versitile Vanilla Cake.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and flour two 8-by-2-inch cake pans, tapping out excess flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in vanilla.
Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined.
Divide batter between pans; smooth tops.
Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, 32 to 35 minutes.
Let cool in pans 10 minutes.
Run a knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
Place one cake, bottom side up, on a cake stand. Tuck strips of parchment paper underneath. Using an offset-spatula or table knife, spread top with Whipped Frosting. Top with remaining cake; frost top, then sides.
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French Chocolate Cake Platform
For the cake second from the left and the full right, we made a French Chocolate cake. This is a legit french recipe. We even had to translate it.
Last but not least, is the rainbow cake, second from the right. You can find the recipe for that in Alice in Wonderland
Belle’s Berry Sorbet
At the end of the song, a few more goodies dance past Belle.
(Credit: Disney)
Notice that in this whole song, there were only a couple non-sugary dishes. Maybe the true intentions of the staff were to fatten Belle up so they could eat her! But I guess this isn’t a Brother’s Grimm Fairy Tale.
The first dish I believe is a sorbet of some sort. So here is Belle’s Berry Sorbet
Refrigerate the juice until chilled and toss the pulp.
Once your juice has cooled stir in the cherry juice, lime juice, and orange concentrate (I added a bit extra orange concentrate).
From here you have three options
- pour mixture into an ice cream maker and follow instructions that came wit it.
- pour into an air tight container. Freeze solid. Blend until smooth and freeze again.
- pour into an air tight container and place into the freezer. Whisk every 20 minutes for the first two hours then freeze solid.
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Green Pistachio Cupcakes
Also we see some green frosted cupcakes. As the giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk would say, “smersmash, smishash, GREEEEEN FROSTING.” We made some green pistachio frosting. For the cake, we used the leftover from our Butter Pecan recipe.
1 (15-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
7 cups confectioners' sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
For the frosting
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup of the strawberry puree and the strawberry extract. (The rest of the puree is leftover but can be used in smoothies or on ice cream for a delicious treat.) Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth.
Spread frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries, if desired.
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen
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Strawberry Mousse
Last but not least, to round out the song. There is the mousse inside a tarte dish. We ran out of time to put it in a pie dish, but the mousse is the main event anyway.
Combine chopped strawberries and 1 tablespoon sugar in the bowl of a mini chopper or food processor, and toss gently.
Let stand for 10 minutes.
Process until smooth.
Pour 2 tablespoons water in a large bowl, and sprinkle with gelatin.
Let stand for 5 minutes.
Place 6 tablespoons sugar, the remaining 3 tablespoons water, and dash of salt in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring just until sugar dissolves. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240° (about 4 minutes).
Add egg whites to gelatin mixture; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy.
Gradually add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, beating at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually pour hot sugar syrup into egg white mixture, beating first at medium speed and then at high speed until stiff peaks form. (It helps to form the peaks if you beat with the bowl resting in a larger bowl of ice or ice water)
Beat in vanilla.
Place cream in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold one-fourth of egg white mixture into whipped cream.
Fold in the remaining egg white mixture.
Fold in strawberry mixture.
Spoon about 1/2 cup mousse into each of 6 dessert glasses; chill 2 hours or until set.
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Will it make you Our Guest?
All the food, minus the faux champagne, was delightful. My favorite was actually the strawberry cake. It was so fruity, sweet and moist.
Verdict:
Faux Pink Champagne – 6.5/10
Green Jello – 8/10 (what can I say, Lime Jello is delicious)
Yay! Onto week two of Beauty and the Beast! This week will cover the first half of the Be Our Guest song.
There is SO much delectable food this week, including the long awaited GREY STUFF!!!!! (Yes, before you go and ask the dishes, I’ll tell you that it is delicious). So relax, pull up a chair as DisneyMeals proudly presents, Beauty and the Beast pt 2.
Cogsworth Custard
So before the song even starts, when Cogsworth is fighting against feeding Belle, he gets knocked into a custard-like substance.
(Credit: Disney)
That brings us to our first recipe. Homemade Custard!
1 Saute potatoes, onion and parslay in oil. Cover and cook on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until pototpes are tender and translucent.
2 Add stock, bay leaf and seasonings. Mix together cream and flour. Add to potatoes. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf. To serve:heat and garnish with chives.
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The Hors d’oeurves
The next couple of recipes are all on one plate. So I won’t provide separate pictures for the each recipe.
(Credit: Disney)
The Grey Stuff (It’s Delicious)
Ok ok, we’re always asked if we have made the grey stuff. It is one of the most requested recipes on this blog. We finally have it for you. We took from what Be Our Guest restaurant makes in Disney World. I figure their recipe should be close, as they are official. So without further ado, here is the recipe for the Grey Stuff!
1 package (3.4 oz.) Instant French Vanilla Pudding Mix
1 tub (8 oz.) Whipped Topping at room temperature
3 tbsp Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix
15 Oreo cookies
Instructions
Gently whisk the vanilla pudding, milk and heavy cream in a large bowl
Chill mixture in refrigerator for 15 minutes
While chilling, place Oreos into a food processor or blender and blend until they are a dust.
Mix the Oreo powder with the chilled pudding mixture
Add the chocolate pudding mixture and stir.
Carefully fold in the whipped topping until uniformly mixed
Chill in refrigerator for 1+ hours.
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Crescent Rolls (sausage-filled and chocolate filled)
There are 2 different crescent rolls on the hors d’oeurve plate. One with a sausage inside and one with something else. I had no idea what that something else was, so I decided it was chocolate. This is a recipe for the crescent rolls. You may insert whatever you would like in the middle before you roll and cook them. Also, Pillsbury crescent rolls would be a good substitute if you don’t want to go through this lengthy process
Combine meat and flour in a large plastic food storage bag and toss to coat evenly.
In a 6 quart saucepan brown meat in hot vegetable oil.
Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Add diced tomatoes, beef broth, carrots, potatoes and thyme.
Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover; and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is tender.
Blend in mustard and serve.
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Cheese Souffle
The next dancing dish is a Cheese Souffle.
(Credit: Disney)
I was SUUUUPER nervous about making this. I had never made a souffle before and I had always heard how hard it is. And….well it is hard. I messed up and accidentally put in too many eggs. But surprisingly, it turned out great.
1 cup gruyere cheese, packed coarsely (about 4 ounces) (can substitute for swiss cheese)
Instructions
Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
Butter 6-cup (1-1/2 quart) souffle dish.
Add Parmesan cheese and tilt dish, coating bottom and sides.
Warm milk in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming.
Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.
Add flour and whisk until mixture begins to foam and loses raw taste, about 3 minutes; do not allow mixture to brown).
Remove saucepan from heat; let stand 1 minute.
Pour in warm milk, whisking constantly until very thick, 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from heat; whisk in paprika, salt, and nutmeg.
Add egg yolks 1 at a time, whisking to blend after each addition.
Scrape souffle base into large bowl.
Cool to lukewarm. DO AHEAD; can be made 2 hours ahead.
Cover and let stand at room temperature.
Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until stiff but not dry.
Fold 1/4 of whites into lukewarm or room temperature souffle base to lighten.
Fold in remaining whites in 2 additions while gradually sprinkling in Gruyere cheese.
Transfer batter to prepared dish.
Place dish in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Bake until souffle is puffed and golden brown on top and center moves only slightly when dish is shaken gently, about 25 minutes (do not open oven door during first 20 minutes).
Reduce heat and add sugar and stir until thickened
Pour sugar water mixture over berries
Place flattened pie dough on top of pie
Cut slits in top of pie for ventilation.
Cook for 30 minutes or until the pie is a golden brown
Top with berries and a cherry
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Pie (en flambe)
So it is a little bit unclear of what is en flambe. I took to assume that pie and pudding are joint and en flambe, even though Lumiere only flambes the pie.
Simmer on low heat until sugar is melted and mixture is very liquid; about 5 minutes.
Combine cornstarch and water in bowl.
Add to pan with blueberries.
Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to full boil and is clear and thick.
Pour hot mixture into large bowl.Cool until warm.
Fold in remaining 3 cups of blueberries, lemon rind, lemon juice, cream of tartar, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter.
Let cool.
Prepare the pie dough as directed.
In a box-shaped dish (we used a 9x7 bread pan), line with pie dough.
Add the filling to the dish.
Add top crust and brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar.
Preheat oven to 400°F but reduce heat to 375°F when you put pie in oven. Bake about 40 minutes. Check pie halfway through baking; cover edges with a strip of foil if edges are getting too brown.
For Flambe
In a heatproof container, pour 4 tbs rum.
With a long match, immediately light rum on fire.
Let burn for a bit and then pour onto the pudding.
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Pudding (en flambe)
We made a video of flambe-ing the pie and pudding.
Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan containing barely simmering water (or use a double boiler).
Melt the chocolate and butter together and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Add the egg yolks to the chocolate, 1 by 1, beating with a whisk until incorporated.
Set aside.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy.
Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat.
Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Beat heavy cream in a chilled bowl until it begins to foam and thicken up. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and vanilla. Continue to whip the cream until it holds soft peaks.
Gradually and gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it.
Then, delicately fold in the whipped cream.
Take care not over work the mousse.
Divide mousse into 4 individual glasses.
Cover and chill for several hours.
For Flambe
In a heatproof container, pour 2 tbs rum.
With a long match, immediately light rum on fire.
Let burn for a bit and then pour onto the pudding.
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Will it be a Dinner that’s Never Second Best?
Oh man, this was amazing. The grey stuff really was the best. Everyone that tried it raved about it. There really wasn’t a bad food out of all of this.
Bonjour! So this week is Beauty and the Beast. Lucky for you and us, there are TONS of foods shown in this movie. So instead of just one week dedicated to the movie, you get FOUR! This week covers from the start until Be Our Guest. Be Our Guest itself will be divided into two weeks and then we’ll do one of Be Our Guest and onward. So now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair as Disney Meals proudly presents – Beauty and the Beast!
Baker’s Pumpkin Bread
There are a lot of different foods shown in the Bonjour song. The first lyric when you actually get into the song is “There goes the baker with his tray like always. The same old bread and rolls to sell.”
(Credit: Disney)
We have made normal bread in other posts, so we decided to make some pumpkin bread. There is a man in the town that is lugging around pumpkins, so it’s not a far stretch that the baker could be carrying pumpkin bread. (Plus, we just really like pumpkin bread)
Sift the flour and salt in a bowl and then set aside.
Mix 1/4 cup of water with yeast and stir until it has dissolved.
Mix in the sugar and let stand for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Make a well in the flour and pour the yeast mixture in.
Add the milk and 1/4 cup water and mix together.
Add the rest of the water slowly until dough is soft and moist.
Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes.
Place in oiled bowl and cover it with a damp towel.
Let rise for about 2 hours.
Place dough on floured surface and punch down.
Cover it again and then let it rest for about 5 minutes.
Divide it into 10 pieces.
Roll each piece into oval shape and then place on a baking sheet.
Cover with damp towel and let rise for about 30 minutes.
Slice a slit down the center (vertically) on each roll.
Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
While rolls are at rest, place a dish that is oven proof and with about 1 1/3 inch of water in it in the lower part of the oven and heat it to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake the rolls for about 15 minutes and then let cool down. Serve.
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Marie the Baguettes!
Now, the movie doesn’t actually show the baguettes, but I love the line the baker says. “That’s nice. MARIE, the baguettes! Hurry up!” So we made some baguettes. They were similar to the rolls, but I think this recipe is better.
Sift the flour and salt in a bowl and then set aside.
Mix 1/4 cup of water with yeast and stir until it has dissolved.
Mix in the sugar and let stand for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Make a well in the flour and pour the yeast mixture in.
Add the milk and rest of the water and mix together
Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides.
Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
Punch down dough.
On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16x12 inch rectangle.
Cut dough in half, creating two 8x12 inch rectangles.
Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side, pounding out any air bubbles as you go.
Roll gently back and forth to taper end. It might help to have damp hands.
Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet.
Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf.
Cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown
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Pink French Yogurt Cake
In the song we also see the baker walking around with a pink cake.
(Credit: Disney)
I decided to make some French Yogurt cake and frost it with pink cream cheese frosting. Even though I accidentally overcooked it a bit, it turned out really well and tasty.
1 can cream-cheese frosting (can dye pink with red food coloring)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Coat a 9" circular cake pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Dust with flour; tap out excess.
Whisk 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt in a medium bowl.
Using your fingers, rub 1 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest in a large bowl until sugar is moist.
Add 3/4 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; whisk to blend.
Fold in dry ingredients just to blend.
Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake until top of cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.
Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto rack; let cool completely.
Frost with cream cheese frosting
Notes
Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature. Makes 1 layer of cake. For a 2 layer cake, double recipe.
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[Ginger] Beer
As it is normal for Disney movies, there is lots of alcohol. So when Gaston is in the tavern, and everyone is singing about how great he is, there is a lot of beer shown.
(Credit: Disney)
So we decided to make some ginger beer! It turned out well!
Grate enough ginger using fine grater to measure 3 1/2 tablespoons, then put in a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl to collect juice, pressing on solids and then discarding. I also found that putting the ginger in a coffee filter or a teabag and let it steep in 1 cup of hot water for 15 minutes does the job too.
Place funnel in neck of bottle and pour in 3 tablespoons ginger juice (reserve any remaining for another use).
Add sugar, lemon juice, yeast, and a pinch of salt.
Fill bottle with water, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of space at top.
Remove funnel and screw cap on tightly.
Gently shake bottle to dissolve sugar.
Let stand at room temperature until plastic feels hard and no longer indents when squeezed, 24 to 36 hours.
Chill ginger beer until very cold.
Notes
Ginger beer keeps, chilled, 1 week.
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5 Dozen Eggs, and the rest
Now for the fun part. Gaston eats 5 dozen eggs now that he is grown.
(Credit: Disney)
I had never eaten raw eggs plain. So I ate some rocky style. It actually wasn’t that bad.
Back to the Bonjour song, A sheep eats a corner of Belle’s book.
(Credit: Disney)
So I ate some paper for good measure.
There is also a wedding cake shown for Gaston’s failed proposal.
So everything was really good. The baguette was better than the french rolls. The pumpkin bread is delicious especially with a little butter on it. The cake, although overcooked was really really good and would probably be even better if it were cooked right, and the ginger beer wasn’t all that bad!
Verdict:
Pumpkin Bread – 9/10
French Rolls – 7/10
Baguette – 8/10
Pink Yogurt Cake – 9/10
Ginger Beer – 6/10 first sip 7/10 once you get used to it
I’d say that this is probably one of the most unknown Disney movies ever made. I think Disney has even forgotten they made it. Good thing too, it is probably one of the worst Disney movies. It’s enjoyable at times, but ultimately falls pretty flat. It’s a shame too, because I really liked the books on which it was based growing up. Most of the food featured in this movie we have made before (they aren’t very creative when it comes to medieval-type dishes usually).
Despite the horribleness of the movie, it had lots of firsts. It was the first Disney animated movie to receive a PG rating and it almost got a PG-13 rating, it’s the first not to feature any songs, it’s the first to use computer technology and it’s the first not to feature credits at the beginning of the movie.
Apple Porridge
The first thing shown at the beginning of the movie is some kind of porridge the pig farmer is making for his oracular pig. Although, it apparently isn’t very tasty porridge.
(Credit: Disney)
(Credit: Disney)
It doesn’t say exactly what’s in it, so I took some liberties of course. Later in the movie, the annoying but charming Gurgi steals an apple from Taran.
(Credit: Disney)
So I decided to make some apple-infused porridge. And unlike the film, it turned out pretty good.
Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
Add the apple and the rest of the ingredients and cook covered for 3 minutes
Serve hot
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Toad Soup
Toward the end of the movie, the group meets a couple of witches. One of them turns Fflewddur Fflam (awesome name, I know) into a frog and tries to stick him in a pot of boiling water.
(Credit: Disney)
I looked everywhere for a place that sold frog meat, but couldn’t find any. However, I did see that a local Chinese restaurant (and a pretty famous and good one at that) called Lao Sze Chaun has some frog dishes. So I went there and ordered some frog soup.
Frog, unsurprisingly, tastes a lot like chicken, but very bony. I actually wasn’t able to eat much of the dish because it was UNBELIEVABLY spicy. One of the spiciest things I have ever tried. But if you’re ever in Chicago, I recommend you go to Lao Sze Chaun. Just try one of their other dishes.
Call-Back food
Being a movie set in the middle-ages, they showed the staple cooked ham and turkey.
(Credit: Disney)
We have made a couple of different recipes of ham and turkey. So I’ll leave the links to those recipes here.
The porridge was really really good. I guess I didn’t make it exactly to the specification of the movie…unless people in the movie just don’t like sweet porridge.
