Hercules was one of my favorite movies as a kid. The SNES game rocked too. Get out your dumbbells, cuz we’re going from Zero to Hero with the food from Disney’s Hercules!
Make sponge: Put 1 cup lukewarm water in a large mixing bowl.
Add yeast and sugar.
Stir to dissolve.
Add the whole-wheat flour and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and whisk together.
Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place, uncovered, until mixture is frothy and bubbling, about 15 minutes.
Add salt, olive oil and nearly all remaining all-purpose flour (reserve 1/2 cup).
With a wooden spoon or a pair of chopsticks, stir until mixture forms a shaggy mass.
Dust with a little reserved flour, then knead in bowl for 1 minute, incorporating any stray bits of dry dough.
Turn dough onto work surface. Knead lightly for 2 minutes, until smooth.
Cover and let rest 10 minutes, then knead again for 2 minutes. Try not to add too much reserved flour; the dough should be soft and a bit moist. (At this point, dough may refrigerated in a large zippered plastic bag for several hours or overnight. Bring dough back to room temperature, knead into a ball and proceed with recipe.)
Clean the mixing bowl and put dough back in it. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with a towel. Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place. Leave until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Heat oven to 475 degrees.
On bottom shelf of oven, place a heavy-duty baking sheet, large cast-iron pan or ceramic baking tile.
Punch down dough and divide into 8 pieces of equal size.
Form each piece into a little ball. Place dough balls on work surface, cover with a damp towel and leave for 10 minutes.
Remove 1 ball (keeping others covered) and press into a flat disc with rolling pin.
Roll to a 6-inch circle, then to an 8-inch diameter, about 1/8 inch thick, dusting with flour if necessary. (The dough will shrink a bit while baking.)
Carefully lift the dough circle and place quickly on hot baking sheet. After 2 minutes the dough should be nicely puffed. Turn over with tongs or spatula and bake 1 minute more.
The pita should be pale, with only a few brown speckles.
Transfer warm pita to a napkin-lined basket and cover so bread stays soft. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
Adapted from http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016071-homemade-pita-bread?pagewanted=all
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Lime Herculade
I was really excited to make Herculade. I’ve never thought of making my own sports drink before. Herculade is first seen in the Zero to Hero song (that one was grape, later in the movie Panic was shown dumping a green Herculade on Hercules).
The Herculade I made actually tastes like a sports drink. A little more flavorful than Gatorade. I tried to use ingredients that they would have available in Ancient Greece. I used honey instead of sugar cane, because the Grecians didn’t have sugar cane back then. They had access to all the other ingredients, but I stretched a little with the calcium and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) because they wouldn’t have used those in foods, but still had them available.
Put all the grapes in a pot and mash with a masher.
Bring the grapes to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 10 minutes
Place a cheesecloth tightly over a bowl and dump the grape contents onto the cheesecloth
Let sit for an hour or two
Fold the cheesecloth over the remaining pulp and squeeze the remains out
Boil the water and put the peel of 1 apple in. Boil for 5-7 minutes.
Combine the apple tea, grape juice and the rest of the ingredients.
Stir/whisk/shake well
Chill in fridge until cold
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Hercola
After Hades blows up at Pain and Panic, Panic is seen drinking a Hercola.
So, here’s the thing with this. I had to order some Arabic gum and special champagne yeast from Amazon. But the order was delayed so I wasn’t able to make this before the time of this post. Here’s the recipe I would have used though.
Combine the water, lemon zest, lime zest, orange zest, cinnamon, bitter orange peel, coriander seed, nutmeg, and gum arabic (if using) in a large saucepan. Whisk together until the gum arabic dissolves. Stir in the sugar and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Boil for 1 minute.
Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon, lime, and orange juices, along with the browning sauce and vanilla. Let cool, then strain.
This syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
To Brew
Combine the water and syrup in a large container. Test the temperature; the mixture should be at a warm room temperature, from 75 to 80°F. (If it is too hot, let it sit until it cools a bit. If it is too cold, warm it over low heat.) Add the yeast and stir until it is completely dissolved.
Pour the mixture into sanitized plastic bottles using a sanitized kitchen funnel, leaving 1 1/4 inches of air space at the top of each bottle. Seal the bottles. Store for 2 to 4 days at room temperature. When the bottles feel rock hard, the soda is fully carbonated.
Refrigerate for at least 1 week before serving; drink within 3 weeks to avoid overcarbonation.
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Will it Turn you From Zero to Hero?
The pita bread was awesome, as was the lime herculade. The grape Herculade was kinda disgusting, and I didn’t get a chance to make the Hercola yet 🙁
Food for a Guy Like You. Oh man, the music in Hunchback is amazing. The story is great, even though it is pretty dark, and Esmeralda is pretty sexy, haha. There are lots of french dishes shown, aka bread and cheese. But we did get to make homemade croissants! Yay! So ring some bells and eat some great food from Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Foods Shown
Ok, this is a new section. I want to start listing all the food shown in the movie. Sometimes I don’t list all the food shown. I exclude foods that are commonplace and don’t have recipes (like individual fruits and veggies) and/or foods that we’ve made before. But here are all the foods shown in Hunchback.
Part of the Guy Like You song, the gargoyles mention that Quasimodo has the shape of a croissant.
(Credit: Disney)
.I never have made croissants from scratch….and come to find out, its is pretty dang intense. It takes 3 days to make. I referenced this site for the recipe. I recommend checking it out for picture references. Sadly, when I was on the final rollout, somehow my dough got moist, even though I floured the counter…and the dough stuck to the counter…badly. I managed to scrape a couple soggy croissants together, and they were still really really good. I just wish I would have found out what the perfect croissant was like.
500 g French Type 55 flour or unbleached all-purpose flour / plain flour (extra for dusting)
140 g water
140 g whole milk (you can take it straight from the fridge)
55 g sugar
40 g soft unsalted butter
11 g instant yeast
12 g salt
Other Ingredients
280 g cold unsalted butter for laminating
1 egg + 1 tsp water for the egg wash
Day 1
Making the Croissant Dough
Combine the dough ingredients and knead for 3 minutes until the dough comes together and you’ve reached the stage of low to moderate gluten development. You do not want too much gluten development because you will struggle with the dough fighting back during laminating.
Shape the dough like a disc, not a ball, before you refrigerate it, so it will be easier to roll it into a square shape the following day.
Place the disc on a plate, cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight.
Day 2
Laminating the Dough
Cut the cold butter (directly from the fridge) lengthwise into 1,25 cm thick slabs.
Arrange the pieces of butter on waxed paper to form a square of about 15 cm x 15 cm.
Cover the butter with another layer of waxed paper and with a rolling pin pound butter until it’s about 19 cm x 19 cm.
Trim / straighten the edges of the butter and put the trimmings on top of the square.
Now pound lightly until you have a final square of 17 cm x 17 cm.
Wrap in paper and refrigerate the butter slab until needed.
Use just enough flour on your work surface to prevent the dough from sticking.
However keep the amount to a minimum, otherwise too much flour will be incorporated between the layers and this will show in the end result.
Take the dough out of the fridge.
With a rolling pin roll out the dough disc into a 26 cm x 26 cm square.
Try to get the square as perfect as possible and with an even thickness.
Get the slab of butter from the fridge.
Place the dough square so one of the sides of the square is facing you and place the butter slab on it with a 45 degree angle to the dough so a point of the butter square is facing you.
Fold a flap of dough over the butter, so the point of the dough reaches the center of the butter.
Do the same with the three other flaps.
The edges of the dough flaps should slightly overlap to fully enclose the butter.
With the palm of your hand lightly press the edges to seal the seams.
Now the dough with the sealed in butter needs to be rolled out.
With a lightly floured rolling pin start rolling out, on a lightly flour dusted surface, the dough to a rectangle of 20 x 60 cm.
Start rolling from the center of the dough towards the edges, and not from one side of the dough all the way to the other side. This technique helps you to keep the dough at an even thickness. You can also rotate your dough 180 degrees to keep it more even, because you tend to use more pressure when rolling away from you than towards yourself. You can use these techniques during all the rolling steps of this recipe. Aim at lengthening the dough instead of making it wider and try to keep all edges as straight as possible.
Fold the dough letter style, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes (fold one third of the dough on top of itself and then fold the other side over it).
Repeat the rolling and folding two more times (ending up with 27 layers in total), each time rolling until the dough is about 20 cm x 60 cm.
After each fold you should turn the dough 90 degrees before rolling again. The open ‘end’ of the dough should be towards you every time when rolling out the dough.
After the second turn, again give it a 30 minute rest in the fridge.
After the third turn you leave the dough in the fridge overnight until day 3, the actual croissant making day!
Summary
Roll out to 20 cm x 60 cm
Refrigerate 30 minutes
Rotate 90 degrees
Roll out to 20 cm x 60 cm
Refrigerate 30 minutes
Rotate 90 degrees
Roll out to 20 cm x 60 cm
Refrigerate until day 3
Rotate 90 degrees
Day 3 - Roll out to 20 cm x 110 cm
Each laminating step should not take more than a few minutes.
However if, due to initial inexperience for example, it should take you longer, you can fold your dough letter style, cover it and refrigerate it for 20 minutes and continue the rolling process after this rest. It is very important the butter stays solid.
Day 3 - Dividing the Dough
Take the dough from the fridge.
Lightly flour your work surface.
Now very gently roll the dough into a long and narrow strip of 20 cm x 110 cm.
If the dough starts to resist too much or shrink back during this process you can fold it in thirds and give it a rest in the fridge for 10 to 20 minutes before continuing.
Do not fight the dough, when the dough refuses to get any longer, rest it in the fridge!
It is such a shame to ruin two days of work. (Also, make sure that there is no moisture around. Error on too much flour on the surface instead of too little.)
When your dough has reached its intended shape, carefully lift it a few centimeters to allow it to naturally shrink back from both sides. This way it will not shrink when you cut it. Your strip of dough should be long enough to allow you to trim the ends to make them straight and still be left with a length of about 100 cm.
Shaping the Croissants
For the next stage you will need a tape measure and a pizza wheel.
Lay a tape measure along the top of the dough.
With the wheel you mark the top of the dough at 12,5 cm intervals along the length (7 marks total).
Now lay the tape measure along the bottom of the dough and make a mark at 6,25 cm.
Then continue to make marks at 12,5 cm intervals from this point (8 marks total). So the bottom and the top marks do not align with each other and form the basis for your triangles.
Now make diagonal cuts starting from the top corner cutting down to the first bottom mark.
Make diagonal cuts along the entire length of the dough.
Then change the angle and make cuts from the other top corner to the bottom mark to create triangles.
Again repeat this along the length of the dough. This way you will end up with 15 triangles and a few end pieces of dough.
Using your pizza wheel, make 1.5 cm long notches in the center of the short side of each dough triangle.
Now very gently elongate each triangle to about 25 cm.
This is often done by hand, but we have found that elongating with a rolling pin, very carefully, almost without putting pressure on the dough triangle, works better for us.
You can try both methods and see what you think gives the best result.
After you cut a notch in the middle of the short end of the triangle, try and roll the two wings by moving your hands outwards from the center, creating the desired shape with a thinner, longer point. Also try and roll the dough very tightly at the beginning and put enough pressure on the dough to make the layers stick together (but not so much as to damage the layers of course).
Proofing and Baking
Arrange the shaped croissants on baking sheets, making sure to keep enough space between them so they will not touch when proofing and baking.
Combine the egg with a teaspoon of water and whisk until smooth.
Give the croissants their first thin coating of egg wash.
Proof the croissants draft-free at an ideal temperature of 24ºC to 26.5ºC (above that temperature there is a big chance butter will leak out!).
The proofing should take about 2 hours.
You should be able to tell if they are ready by carefully shaking the baking sheet and see if the croissants slightly wiggle. You should also be able to see the layers of dough when looking at your croissants from the side.
Preheat the oven at 200 ºC / 390 ºF convection or 220 ºC / 430 ºF conventional oven.
Right before baking, give the croissants their second thin coat of egg wash.
We bake the croissants in our big convection oven for 6 minutes at 195ºC, then lowering the temperature to 165ºC, and bake them for another 9 minutes.
Hamelman suggest baking the croissants for 18 to 20 minutes at 200ºC, turning your oven down a notch if you think the browning goes too quickly.
But you really have to learn from experience and by baking several batches what the ideal time and temperature is for your own oven.
Take out of the oven, leave for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Best eaten while warm and fresh of course. Croissant we don’t eat or share within a day we freeze. We put them in the preheated oven (180 ºC / 355 ºF) for 8 minutes straight from the freezer. Nothing wrong with that, croissants eaten nice and warm, almost as good as the fresh ones…almost!
By http://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/classic-french-croissant-recipe/
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Gargoyle Sausage
At the beginning of the the Guy Like You song, Hugo roasts a sausage over and open flame.
(Credit: Disney)
No recipe here, I just got some nice sausages and roasted them over the only open flame in my house, the gas stove. They still came out well.
Frolo’s Grapes and Cheese
Another no-recipe section. There is just a lot of grapes and cheese featured.
(Credit: Disney)
So go get some grapes, mind the seeds, and eat with some yummy cheese.
Will it Make the Bells of Notre Dame Ring?
All of it was good. I wish that the croissants turned out better. It sucks to work at something for 3 days, only to have it get semi-ruined at the end. But don’t get me wrong, they were still really really good.
So we changed up the list a little bit. Chronologically, Pocahontas came out before Toy Story, but we figured Pocahontas would be a great post for Thanksgiving. If you’re looking for some good Thanksgiving recipes, check this out. Some of the foods that were in the movie that we have eaten before are Drumsticks from Sword and the Stone and dog treats from 101 Dalmatians.
Ham
Ok, we have done ham a few times before. But we decided to do a recipe that you can use at Thanksgiving. We see Percy sitting next to some lime, blueberries and ham.
(Credit: Disney)
We made Lime Glazed Ham with blueberry sauce. It was better than gold.
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.
Stir in the blueberries and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
Spoon the sauce over the ham and serve.
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Corn
Corn is shown a lot. Especially in the scene where Pocahontas thinks John Smith’s gold is corn.
(Credit: Disney)
No real recipe for this. But to make good corn, boil water that is enough to cover the corn. Once the water is boiling, place the corn in and wait for it to come back to a boil, place the lid on and wait for 2-5 minutes. Boom, perfect corn.
Pumpkin Cornucopia
This is kinda an inspired recipe. At the end of the movie, the Native Americans bring a bunch of veggies. And veggies are shown a lot during the movie. This is a recipe of a veggie medley cooked in a pumpkin.
I love Toy Story. Love love love. I was super excited to rewatch the movie. I was amazed on how well the 3d animation still holds up. It makes me feel soooo good. So grab your favorite toy, and get ready for some great food.
This is one of the funniest Disney movies out there. Right up there with Emperor’s New Groove. It actually isn’t a Walt Disney Animation Studios picture. Its a Disneytoons Studio movie, which handles the direct-to-DVD/VHS/Blu-Ray sequels and other non-major movies. But the quality of Goofy Movie is right up there with any of the Walt Disney Animation movies. It has some awesome music too.
There were some other foods shown in this movie that have been seen in other movies. We see french fries a bit. You can find that recipe in the Aladdin post, there was a log that bigfoot ate. You can find a bark recipe in Bambi. Donuts (at the diner), you can find a recipe from Lady and the Tramp.
Leaning Tower of Cheeza
Probably one of the most memorable foods shown in a Disney movie, and quite possibly the most disgusting. Bobby is one of my all-time favorite characters (thanks Pauly Shore!)
I tried to replicate it….poorly. When I ate it, it felt like I was going to suffocate. I highly recommend trying it! haha.
Bigfoot Steak
When Max and Goofy are camping, Pete and PJ come wheeling up in their huge RV. Pete cooks a delicious-looking steak for dinner.
Goofy then manages to use that steak to attract bigfoot.
The steak I made was good, but I didn’t get a good cut of meat. It was very fatty. The char was at least good.
Set the steak out before cooking to allow it to reach room temperature
Season with salt and pepper
Throw on the grill and sprinkle Worcestershire sauce on
Cook to a medium rare
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Hi Dad Soup
Another iconic Disney food scene. Max and Goofy’s father/son bonding moment.
I tried to find some alphabet soup, but I couldn’t. The closest I got was alphabet spaghetti-o’s. Basically the same thing, right? I wanted to cook it on a cigarette lighter, but I couldn’t find the one in my car. Too bad.
No real recipe here. Just find some alphabet soup and heat it up!
Smiling Eggs and Bacon
What a nice diner to make Max some smiley face eggs and bacon.
There isn’t much to making eggs and bacon. But a tip to making sunnyside up eggs, is to cook it on a lower heat and cover the eggs for a bit. That will cook the top as the bottom is cooking.
Long Goofy’s Short Stack
At the diner as as well, Goofy gets a short-stack (possibly a visual pun as to how how long and lerpy Goofy is).
Pick up a phone and call your favorite pizzaria (or go online to their website if available)
Tell the person on the other line that you want a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese
Give them your address and wait ~30 minutes
When the delivery person comes with your food, tip them and bring the pizza inside
Enjoy pizza
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Will it make you Stand Out, Above the Crowd?
No real sugary food this week, which was good, but all of the food was junk food-ish, which was delicious. haha. I want to start a leaning tower of cheesa competition. I think it’s better than the gallon challenge or the cinnamon challenge.
Verdict:
Leaning Tower of Cheesa – 5/10 (once you get past the gagging)
Steak – Flavor: 8/10, cut of meat: 4/10
Hi Dad Soup – 6.5/10
Eggs and bacon – 7.5/10
Pancakes – 7/10 (I think I needed to add more flour)
Chili dog – 8/10 (make sure to use good hot dogs )
Welcome ghouls and goblins to the Halloween special of Disney Meals. We’re taking a break from our normal Walt Disney Studio’s animation and looking at Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas–a Halloween and Christmas classic. So go gather some spiders and severed limbs and get ready for some spooky treats!
Worm’s Wort Soup
Sally is some cook there. She makes the evil scientist his favorite, Worm’s Wort Soup.
(Credit: Disney)
Since Worm’s Wort doesn’t really exist and frog’s breath can’t really be considered and ingredient, I had to improvise. Now, something I found out is that wort is different than wart. Wart is the skin condition, but wort is a medicinal plant. So, I came up with my own green soup with plenty of Worts.
In a medium saucepan, combine water, bouillon, aloe and spinach.
Bring to a boil, and cook until spinach is tender and aloe has dissipated.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add garlic
Stir in flour, and cook for 2 minutes.
Gradually whisk in cream then milk.
Season with minced onion, basil, salt, and pepper.
Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Stir in spinach mixture.
Serve with crushed bones or spider legs.
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Snake and Spider Stew
This might be Oogie Boogie’s favorite meal. After eating bugs for Lion King last week, I wanted to take a break. So no spiders or snakes. But here’s a chili-esque stew with meatball spiders and noodle snakes!
Mix all of it (besides the meatballs, pretzel sticks and bucatini) in the slow cooker and cook for 6 hours. Or cook on stove top until, heated thru, simmer for awhile to let flavors soak together.
While that is cooking, prepare the meatballs.
Break the pretzel sticks in half and jab them into the cooked meatballs. 4 to a side to make spider legs.
Cook the bucatini in a pot of boiling water until mostly cooked through
Drain
30 minutes before the stew is done, stir in the cooked bucatini, then place the meatball spiders on top.
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Gingerbread Men
During the making Christmas song we see little elves batch making gingerbread men.
Grease 2 large baking sheets with butter. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, combine sugar, water, corn syrup and cream of tartar and bring to a boil. Let boil, without stirring until a candy thermometer reads 280F.
Remove pan from heat and stir in the extracts, nutmeg, cinnamon and food coloring
Immediately pour onto prepared pans in 8x1 in strips. You have to be quick or else it will harden.
Let stand until cool enough to touch (1-2 minutes). It will still be very hot so move fast and/or wear gloves.
Work very quickly and roll each strip into a rod and curve the top for the cane. It helps to have 2-3 sets of hands helping.
Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.
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Oogie Boogie Sugar Cookie
Not really Oogie Boogie’s sugar cookies. The police man that keeps on getting calls has sugar cookies on the desk.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks. Let cool completely before frosting.
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Radio Broadcaster’s Hot Chocolate
He also has some hot chocolate sitting on his desk.
1 1⁄3 cups water (or as called for by your cake mix)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1⁄4-1⁄2 cup butter
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple slices
1 (8 ounce) jar maraschino cherries (optional)
Instructions
Follow instructions on cake box for making an oblong single layer cake.
Prepare cake batter and set aside.
Cut up butter in small pieces and place all over the bottom of the oblong pan specified on cake box.
Sprinkle brown sugar generously over the butter.
Place pan on the stove (or in the oven) and heat slowly until butter and sugar melt to a liquid then remove from heat.
Evenly space the pineapple slices around the bottom of pan in the heated sugar and butter.
Place the cherries and nuts between the pineapple slices (Tho the cherries and nuts look nice and taste great, they are optional).
Pour cake batter on top of the pineapple/cherry/nut mixture.
Place in oven and bake as directed on cake box.
As soon as cake is done place a plate over the cake and turn upside down and carefully remove pan.
If you wait too long the sugar will harden and be difficult to remove.
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
This is Halloween?
All the food was really good. Some good Halloween dishes. I really loved the Hot Chocolate, sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies. But it was all very yummy.
Lion King is my all-time favorite Disney movie. It is even in my top 5 movies of all time, any genre. That said, I was not super excited to eat the food from the movie. I don’t have the strong will that Simba has to slurp down a giant grub. But Hakuna Matata! I highly recommend everyone rewatching Lion King, even if it’s only been a week since your last viewing.
We also had to do some substitutions. Eating like a lion is fairly hard to do as a human and living in the United States. But I did eat bugs…oh did I eat bugs
Zebra (it’s actually beef because Zebra meat is expensive and illegal I think)
Too bad I don’t have my own personal Scar around to bring me Zebra meat like he did the hyenas.
(Credit: Disney)
It is surprisingly hard to come by in the USA, and I think it is illegal too. So, I had to settle on regular ol’ beef. But I found a good Kenyan recipe called Nyama Choma.
Let it cool to lukewarm and then add the whipping cream, lime juice and 15 drops green food coloring.
Flex out the straws and place them in a tall, tight container. It helps to place a rubber band around.
Pour the gelatin mixture into the straws
Refrigerate for 3+ hours
Use a rolling pin to squeeze the gummy worms out, or you can try holding the straw under warm water.
Once all worms have been taken out of the straws, place into a container.
Mix the remaining sugar and lemon rind until they make a uniform mixture
Sprinkle the worms
Enjoy
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Baobab Fruit (Pomegranate)
No recipe here, but just for your info, the fruit that Rafiki has is called a Baobab fruit.
(Credit: Disney)
I couldn’t come by one. So I ate pomegranate, because it looks similar to the fruit in the movie.
Dress in Drag and do the Hula
Luau! If you’re hungry for hunk of fat and juicy meat,
Eat my buddie Pumbaa here cuz he is a treat! A hundred dollar dine, a tasty swine,
all you gotta do is get in line. Are ya achin’? Yup Yup Yup
For some bacon? Yup Yup Yup
He’s a big pig, You can be a big pig too! Oy!
This may be morbid, but I actually cooked some nice Hawaiian-style pork. No regrets. It was one of, if not the best meal that I’ve made.
Place the roast on a 22x18-in. piece of heavy-duty foil;
Sprinkle with liquid smoke and soy sauce.
Wash bananas and place at the base of each side of roast.
Pull sides of foil up round meat; add water.
Seal foil tightly; wrap again with another large piece of foil.
Place in a shallow baking pan; refrigerate overnight, turning several times.
Place foil-wrapped meat in a roasting pan.
Bake at 400° for 1 hour.
Reduce heat to 325°; continue baking for 3-1/2 hours.
Drain; discard bananas and liquid. Shred meat with a fork.
Serve over rice
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Will it Make you Part of the Circle of Life?
The recipes this week went all over the place. I had some of the best food and worst food and some medium food in there. I definitely don’t want to eat bugs again, but I’m sure there will come another movie with bugs. Sigh….
You’ll never have a meal like this. This is week 2/2 of Aladdin. This will cover some of Friend like Me and the rest of the movie.
We have some more great Arabic food and also some non-arabic food brought to you by the genie.
Cheesecake
Try some of column A. The genie creates a bunch of food on this rising column.
(Credit: Disney)
There are a few different foods, on this. Some chicken, which you can see the recipe in our previous post. Theres also a pineapple, a celery, a mellon, some rolls (which are addressed later in this post), some mush (which is covered next) and some cheesecake. I love cheesecake, so I was happy to jump in on this recipe
2 cups (475 ml) of Graham cracker crumbs (from a little less than 2 packages Graham crackers
2 Tbsp sugar
Pinch salt
5 Tbsp (70 g) unsalted butter (if using salted butter, omit the pinch of salt), melted
Filling
2 pounds cream cheese (900 g), room temperature
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar (270 g)
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream (160 ml)
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream (160 ml)
Toppings
2 cups sour cream (475 ml)
1/3 cup powdered sugar (35 g)
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces (340 g) fresh raspberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 g)
1/2 cup water (120 ml)
Special equipment needed
9-inch, 2 3/4-inch high springform pan
Heavy-duty, 18-inch wide aluminum foil
A large, high-sided roasting pan
Instructions
Prepare the springform pan so that no water leaks into it while cooking.
Place a large 18-inch by 18-inch square of heavy duty aluminum foil on a flat surface.
Place the springform pan in the middle of the foil.
Gently fold up the sides of the foil around the pan.
Make sure to do this gently so that you don't create any holes in the foil.
If there are any holes, water will get into the pan and ruin the crust.
Press the foil around the edges of the pan.
Place a second large square of foil underneath the pan, and repeat, gently folding up the sides of the foil around the pan and pressing the foil against the pan.
To be triply safe, repeat with a third layer of heavy duty foil.
Gently crimp the top of the foil sheets around the top edge of the pan.
Preheat oven to 350°F, with rack in lower third of oven.
Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor or blender until finely ground. (Or use pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs)
Put in a large bowl, and stir in the sugar and salt.
Use your (clean) hands to stir in the melted butter.
Put all but 1/4 cup of the graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of the springform pan. (Save the remaining 1/4 cup for if you happen to have any holes that need to be filled in, either while you are making the crust, or after the cake has cooked and you've unmolded it.)
Gently press down on the crumbs using your fingers, until the crumbs are a nice even layer at the bottom of the pan, with maybe just a slight rise along the inside edges of the pan.
Be careful as you do this, as not to tear the aluminum foil.
Place in the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
Make the filling
Cut the cream cheese into chunks and place in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment. (We softened the cream cheese in the microwave at a low setting, stirring every 45 seconds)
Mix on medium speed for 4 minutes until smooth, soft and creamy.
Add the sugar, beat for 4 minutes more.
Add the salt and vanilla, beating after each addition.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition.
Add the sour cream, beat until incorporated.
Add the heavy cream, beat until incorporated.
Remember to scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl, and scrape up any thicker bits of cream cheese that have stuck to the bottom of the mixer that paddle attachment has failed to incorporate.
Cook the cheesecake
Place the foil-wrapped springform pan in a large, high-sided roasting pan. (We didn't have a pan that big so we used a cookie sheet and a lot of aluminum foil to make walls)
Prepare 2 quarts of boiling water.
Pour the cream cheese filling into the springform pan, over the graham cracker bottom layer.
Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Place the roasting pan with the springform pan in it, in the oven, on the lower rack.
Carefully pour the hot water into the roasting pan (without touching the hot oven), to create a water bath for the cheesecake, pouring until the water reaches halfway up the side of the springform pan, about 1 1/4 inches. (Alternatively you can add the water before putting the pan in the oven, whichever is easier for you.)
Cook at 325°F for 1 1/2 hours.
Turn off the heat of the oven.
Crack open the oven door 1-inch, and let the cake cool in the oven, as the oven cools, for another hour.
This gentle cooling will help prevent the cheesecake surface from cracking.
Cover the top of the cheesecake with foil, so that it doesn't actually touch the cheesecake.
Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight.
Prepare sour cream topping
Place sour cream in a medium sized bowl, stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla, until smooth.
Chill until you are ready to serve the cake.
Note that this recipe produces enough sour cream topping for a thick topping and some extra to spoon over individual pieces of cheesecake, if desired. If you would like a thinner layer of topping and no extra, reduce the sour cream topping ingredients in half.
Prepare the raspberry sauce
Place raspberries, sugar, and water in a small saucepan.
Use a potato masher to mash the raspberries.
Heat on medium, whisking, about 5 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken.
Remove from heat. Let cool.
Prepare the cake to serve
Remove the cake from the refrigerator.
Remove the foil from the sides of the pan, and place the cake on your cake serving dish.
Run the side of a blunt knife between the edge of the cake and the pan.
You can use a hair dryer to heat the sides of the pan to make it easier to remove.
Open the springform latch and gently open the pan and lift up the sides.
Spread the top with the sour cream mixture.
Serve plain or drizzled with raspberry sauce.
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Ful
On that picture, you see some brown mush behind Aladdin. It probably wasn’t meant to be any food. But I looked online for some Persian/Arabic food that looked similar. I found a breakfast food called Ful. Our recipe turned out whiter than it should have because we used lima beans. We couldn’t find Fava beans.
1 can fava (or lima) beans, drained, liquid reserved
1/4 c. onion, finely minced
2 cl. garlic, minced
2 – 4 (depending on size and heat level) tabasco or pepperoncini peppers, minced
1/4 c. parsley, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon to taste
Olive oil
additional minced parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, mix together the fava beans, onion, garlic, peppers, about 2 – 3 tablespoons of the reserved liquid from the beans, and a pinch of salt & pepper.
Heat the mixture slowly, stirring occasionally.
Cook about 20 minutes.
Add more liquid if the beans become too dry.
Once the mixture is cooked, taste it for seasoning and some lemon to taste.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and mash the beans, leaving some texture.
Place the ful on a plate, drizzle over some olive oil and additional parsley.
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Chicken ala King
The next three recipes come from Genie’s own cookbook when he’s trying to find the recipe to make Aladdin a prince.
The first recipe is Chicken Ala King.
(Credit: Disney)
Chicken ala king is actually really good. I’m not a HUGE fan of mushrooms, but they totally work in this recipe.
1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained, liquid reserved
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups hot water
4 boneless chicken breast halves, chopped
4 ounces chopped pimento
Instructions
Heat oil in a large pan. Cook the chicken until fully cooked. Set aside.
Drain the pan and melt butter in the pan.
Cook and stir drained mushrooms and green pepper in butter or margarine over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat.
Stir in instant bouillon, milk, water, and reserved mushroom liquid. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute.
Stir in chicken and pimiento. Heat through.
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Sabastian King Crab
Alaskan King Crab is the second royal recipe thrown out by Genie. It features a cameo appearance by Sebastian from the Little Mermaid
(Credit: Disney)
We had a previous (bad) experience with crab when we were making food from the Little Mermaid. So we decided to go the easy route this time and just get frozen king crab legs.
1⁄2 head garlic, about 5 garlic cloves, minced pressed
1⁄2 lemon, juice of
1⁄2lime, juice of
1⁄8 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt (optional)
dried parsley (optional)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
On med low heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the garlic and LIGHTLY saute.
Squeeze in the juice of the citrus of choice.
Turn the heat to low and let those flavors mesh until the oven is nice and hot.
Toss in as much salt (to taste) and a couple pinches of parsley.
Then whisk in that olive oil with a fork. Remove from heat.
Arrange your tasty crustaceans in a 9x13 baking dish, brushing each leg with the sauce.
Pour any remaining sauce over the legs.
Now toss the pan into the oven on the center rack.
Bake your crabs for about 25 minutes or so (depending on how thick the legs you have are), brushing the sauce from the bottom of the pan onto the legs every 5-7 minutes.
Remove from oven.
Sprinkle with a few pinches o' parsley for garnish.
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Et Tu Brute Caesar Salad
I never go the joke that went along with this recipe until recently. The hand comes out of the book.
(Credit: Disney)
And Genie says “Et Tu Brute?” referring to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
Caesar Salad is actually really easy. I don’t have a specific recipe, but a caesar salad consists of romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, croutons, boiled egg, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and black pepper. You can add or subtract ingredients as you like.
Prince Ali Kabobs
There is some more food shown in the Prince Ali song (one of my favorites).
At the end it shows some lovely kabobs. They looked delicious.
(Credit: Disney)
I love kabobs. I found a recipe for a Persian style kabob.
1 teaspoon ground saffron dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled, and crushed
2 tablespoons zest of orange
2 tablespoons yogurt
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1.5 lbs chicken (diced into 1.5 in pieces)
1.5 lbs lamb or beef (diced into 1.5 in pieces)(if using beef find the tenderest cut possible)
5 medium tomatoes, halved
3 Green bell peppers
6 flat, swordlike skewers
For the baste
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the meat
In a large bowl, combine half the saffron water and the lime juice, olive oil, onions, garlic, orange zest, yogurt, salt, and pepper.
Beat well with a fork.
Add the pieces of meat and toss well with marinade. Cover and marinate for at least 8 hours and up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
Turn the meat twice during this period.
Start a bed of charcoal 30 minutes before you want to cook and let it burn until the coals glow evenly. Or preheat an oven to 450F
Skewer the meats and veggies in an alternating pattern (use the tomatoes, chopped bell peppers and the onions that were in the marinade)
For the baste
Add the juice of 1 lime and the remaining saffron water to the melted butter. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well and set aside.
Paint the tomato and chicken with the basting mixture.
Grill the meat and tomatoes 8 to 15 minutes, until done. Turn frequently and baste occasionally.
If using the oven, place skewers on a cookie sheet.
Cook for 10 minutes, turn the skewers over and cook for 10-15 minutes more.
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Persian Rolls
Right after the kabobs, bakers with rolls pop up.
(Credit: Disney)
There are actually rolls shown a few times throughout the movie, I’m just lumping it all into one recipe. This is based on a Persian flat bread. They are the best rolls I have ever made. They were insanely delicious.
Dissolve the yeast in 50ml warm water, stir vigorously and then leave it to sit for a few minutes until fully dissolved.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt and then make a well in the centre.
Pour in 450ml water, 50ml olive oil and the yeast and water mixture.
Combine using your hands until a smooth dough is formed.
If the dough is a bit too sticky, just add a little extra flour and if it is dry, add a splash of water.
On a clean floured surface, need the dough for 5 minutes to activate the yeast and stretch the gluten in the dough.
Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes before kneading it again for 2 minutes.
Repeat this process another 3 times and on the second kneading, incorporate the remaining 25ml olive oil.
Once the bread has been kneaded 3 times, return the dough into the mixing bowl, covering it with a dry tea towel and allowing it to rest somewhere warm for 3 hours.
Once the resting period is over, the dough will have tripled in size.
Elongate the dough ball gently by stretching it from both ends and then using a knife, cut the dough into half.
Form the dough into a roll shape.
Repeat this with the other half of the dough and place each one onto an oven tray lined with baking paper and using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, make 2 long lengthways incision in the centre of the dough, just 2-3 inches away from each end.
Finally cover each oven tray with clean tea towels and allow them to rise for a further 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C fan/gas 6.
Once the loaves have risen again, brush with melted butter.
Bake each loaf in the oven for 16-18 minutes, until golden brown.
The best way to check if they are cooked through is to tap the bottom of the loaf, if it sounds hollow it is cooked.
Allow the bread to cool down for at least 30 minutes before serving.
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Will it Make you Strong as 10 Regular Men Definitely?
All the food was really good. Aladdin as a whole had some amazing food. It is one of my favorite movies as a whole.
It also really made me miss Robin Williams.
Verdict:
Cheesecake – 9.5/10
Ful – 6.5/10
Chicken ala King – 8/10
Alaskan King Crab – 8.5/10
Caesar Salad – 7/10
Kabobs – 7.5/10 (would be higher if I chose better beef, I chose cheap stuff that was tough)
Open up the cave of wonders and check out these diamond in the rough recipes! We’re splitting the movie again so over the next 2 weeks, you’ll get a double dose of Aladdin, which is in my Top 5 Disney movies. Get ready for some great Arabic recipes! Also, these two posts are in memory of the great Robin Williams. He was one of my very favorite actors and comedians. His presence has been missed.
(AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
French Fries in Agrabah?
The shop keeper at the beginning of the movie (who might secretly actually be the genie. Look it up) tries to sell us a all-in-one coffee maker and french fry maker.
(Credit: Disney)
I tried my hand at making some french fries. They turned out really good. My only wish was that they came out a bit crispier.
Peel and rinse the potatoes. Then cut them into sticks by cutting the potato in 4 or 5 vertical pieces, and then cutting each piece into sticks.
Place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Allow them to soak, 2 to 3 hours. (You can also stick them in the fridge and let them soak overnight.)
When you're ready to make the fries, drain off the water and lay the potatoes on 2 baking sheets lined with paper towels. Blot with paper towels to dry them.
Heat a few inches of oil in a heavy pot to 300 degrees F. In 3 or 4 batches, cook the potatoes until soft, 4 to 5 minutes per batch. They should not be brown at this point! You just want to start the cooking process. Remove each batch and drain on new/dry paper towels.
Once all the potatoes have been fried at 300 degrees F, turn up the heat until the oil reaches 400 degrees F. When the oil's hot, start frying the potatoes in batches again, cooking until the fries are golden and crisp. Remove the potatoes from the oil and drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle with sea salt and celery salt.
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
That Delicious Looking Bread Aladdin Give Away
This might be one of the pivotal Disney food moments. The bread that Abu bites into always looked soooo delicious.
(Credit: Disney)
Then Aladdin, the good guy he is, gave away his half and Abu reluctantly followed.
I looked all over for an Arabic bread that resembled the one shown, but I couldn’t find any middle eastern bread recipes that were loafs like that. The closest I found was Taftoon (or taftan). The bread shown resembled french bread mostly, so I came up with a combination recipe that actually tasted really good. Kinda like a sweeter french bread.
Dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar in large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow yeast to proof or foam
Add salt, milk oil, yogurt, saffron, cardamom, and 3 cups flour; beat for 2 minutes.
Stir in 2 cups flour to make a stiff dough. Add more milk or flour if needed.
Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
Place in oiled bowl, turn dough to coat all sides, cover and let rise until doubled.
Punch down and divide in half.
Shape dough into two long slender loaves.
Grease and sprinkle with cornmeal either a french bread pan or large cookie sheet.
Place loaves in pan and cut diagonal gashes on top of each loaf.
Cover and let rise until doubled.
Brush with a mixture of 2 tbs Ghee (or butter) and 1 tbs milk
Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Notes
To make ghee - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/indian-clarified-butter-ghee-233032.
DisneyMeals https://disneymeals.me/
Polly wants a Cracker
Iago hates the Sultan’s crackers.
(Credit: Disney)
He calls them moldy and disgusting.
I made some tasty crackers based on middle eastern lavash cracker bread. But I won’t be able to experience the disgusting crackers until I keep them in my pocket for a while until they start molding.
In a large bowl, stir together the water, whole wheat flour, and yeast until moistened.
Mix in the salt and 1 cup of all-purpose flour.
Gradually mix in the rest of the flour using a mixer with a dough hook attachment or wooden spoon.
When the dough comes together, knead in your mixer or on a floured surface for 8 to 10 minutes to make an elastic ball.
Add more flour or water if needed to keep dough from getting sticky or too stiff.
Pour a little bit of oil in the bowl and turn the dough to coat.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and divide into balls about the size of a grape.
Rolling the dough into a long log helps to divide it evenly.
Roll each piece into a ball and cover with a damp kitchen towel for 30 minutes to rest.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place a baking sheet on the center rack of the oven so it can preheat at the same time. Do not grease.
Roll each ball into a circle about 8 inches across. The dough should be paper thin, almost translucent. If they are too thick, they will bubble up like pita breads.
Pull out the oven shelf and place as many crackers on your baking sheet as you can fit, 2 or 3. Close the oven and bake for about 3 minutes. The crackers should be lightly browned on the top with small bubbles.
You may have to adjust your thickness for the next batch.
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Maitre’d Chicken
During the Friend Like Me song, the genie presents Al with a beautiful roasted chicken (or maybe turkey)
(Credit: Disney)
And then in normal genie fashion, transforms himself INTO the chicken.
(Credit: Disney)
I came up with a good Persian chicken dish. It was super moist, but lacked flavor sadly.
In a small bowl, combine saffron with 1 tablespoon water and let soak 10 minutes.
Place in food processor with yogurt and garlic and purée until smooth and yellow.
Place chicken in glass or ceramic bowl; pour yogurt mixture on top, turn to coat; cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 350F
Remove chicken from bowl and place into a 9x13 pan lined with foil (or whatever size fits your chicken).
Discard the extra yogurt mixture
Sprinkle 2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tbs mint, salt and pepper over chicken
Put in oven and partially cover with aluminum foil
Mix the rest of the paprika and mint, plus some salt and pepper into the melted butter
Brush the chicken periodically (every 20 mins or so) with butter mixture.
Let cool for a few minutes after cooking
Notes
20 minutes of cook time per pound of chicken
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How ’bout a little more baklava?
The last recipe we’re doing is midway through Friend Like Me where the genie says “How bout a little more baklava” and then fills up the screen with baklava.
(Credit: Disney)
I didn’t make quite that much Baklava, especially because this was my first time trying to make baklava. I made it the Arabic way as opposed to the Greek way, using rose water syrup instead of honey to sweeten the baklava. If you need a recipe for rose water look here and for rose water syrup, look here.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and rose water syrup. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.
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Will it take you to a Whole New World?
Oh man, it was such a good cook this week. The Baklava was AMAZING. Everyone that tried it loved it. Sadly, the worst dish was the chicken. But it was still really good. The chicken was super moist, just not super flavorful. The bread was ALMOST as good as Abu made it look. And the french fries, mmm, I usually don’t love french fries, but those turned out great.
