"The human world, it's a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything they've got up there." - Sebastian
I have a confession to make - I don't like The Little Mermaid. Oh the movie is okay, and I LOVE the music and supporting characters (and as animated Princes go, Prince Eric is a very attractive guy). I just don't like Ariel. And mermaids have never really done anything for me. I was not THAT girl my age when the movie came out wanting to be like her. I don't like going under water. I don't like the idea of being half fish.
So it may be a little surprising that I chose this movie to make a menu. However, my mother LOVES LOVES LOVES the music... and it really does lend itself well to creating a fun menu. So I decided to give it a shot. Why not, right?
Like the film, though, the menu I came up with - I wasn't willing to eat. Go figure. That's what happens when the chef is picky but wants to impress her family with her culinary skill. Or, well, hopefully skill. I can never be sure if people actually like my food, or if they're just glad someone else is cooking.
So, what does one plan for a night watching The Little Mermaid? Crab cakes, of course. What? You say that's just wrong considering Sebastian is one of the best, most loved, characters from that film? But wait, that's what they served Ariel's first night in the Sea Side Castle. So that was the inspiration. No, I did not sing the song or chase a crab around the kitchen with a clever (though that might've been fun).
For the side we did a fresh greens salad with everyone's choice of dressing. Honest I don't remember what I had that night (this was done a few years ago and I'm just getting to the blogging). I do know that gluten free cakes are more difficult to do because they don't stick together as well - but my mom really enjoyed hers. And I'm pretty sure dad ate more than his fair share of them. The recipe is not gluten free - but we used the gluten free "panko" my mom makes. It seemed to work.
The sauce was a little bit spicy, which my dad of course loved. It gives a really nice color to the plate and also gave a pit of a kick in the flavor. It complimented the dish very very well.
For dessert I went with the cute little sand dollar almond cookies. Sand was cinnamon and sugar, with almond slivers making the pattern most associate sand dollars having. It's an almond flavored snickerdoodle in a lot of respects. I'm not a fan of almond flavoring, so I sampled one and left the rest for dad and his co workers at work (they always like it when I make more than enough left overs).
Here's the menu with links to the recipes:
Mini Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Sauce
Fresh Greens Garden Salad (no link, self explanitory)
Sand Dollar Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
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