Disney's Tangled [Themed Dinner]

"Frying pans! Who knew, right?" - Flynn Rider (Eugene Fitzherbert)

This is probably one of my favorite menus. The food was delicious, I absolutely adore the film, and the food is totally photogenic. I was very proud with how this all worked together. Chicken and pasta always works together, in my world anyway.

For this menu, I wanted everything to be cooked in cast iron skillets. Why? Um, because it's Rapunzel's weapon of choice. So more so than the food I was focused on the presentation. So I went to pinterest, and I was pleased with what came together.

For the main dish I did braised chicken with orange and scallions. This meal is super yummy and we make it now when we want to feel fancy, but it's really easy. you start off on the stove top and finish in the oven. Like I said, super easy.

Like I said, it's very photogenic when it comes out of the oven. So much so that I HAD to get my camera out and make sure to do it justice. No point and shoot or camera phone for this one. Nope. This is red carpet worthy in my book!

For the side dish, I chose an angel hair pasta dish (also cooked in a cast iron skillet). After all, Rapunzel's hair is her most known feature, right? I found the recipe, and it called for walnuts. My mom hates walnuts (which is weird, she's from Northern California, that's like one of their big crops). So I tweaked it and instead of walnuts we went with pecans (which I don't like). I don't think it made too big a difference.

Again, it is a photogenic food, so I was very happy to get a few shots.

Dessert I went with a cobbler. We do a lot of apple dishes when Disney is concerned. Not exactly sure why that is... maybe because I LOVE all things apple (except the technology company. Not an Apple fan). Presentation is everything, so it was baked in the skillet as well. It came out looking pretty good, but meh. I think I was just done with the whole cobbler thing by this point. Still, this was by far one of the award winning themed dinners.

Here are the links for the recipes used to create the menu:
Braised Chicken with Orange and Scallions
Angel Hair with Walnuts
Rustic Apple Crisp

Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty [Themed Dinner]

I originally posted this on my personal blog (Reitter's Block) on January 5, 2013 as part of my "Tasteful Countdown" project counting down to the family trip to Walt Disney World in October of 2013. This is the project that gave me the idea to create this blog. And then life got in the way... so I am starting it up again in the New Year.

A meal fit for royally hungry people.

We are 271 days away from Disney World! After taking a couple weeks off from the whole dinner themed stuff we were back to it for this week.

The movie is my favorite of all time: Sleeping Beauty. I can't think of a time when I wasn't in love with this story and movie. I love everything about it - even the pink element, if you can believe that - the characters, the animation, the music. It's the perfect "Fairytale Come True." So it was alarming that I couldn't figure out a menu right away. In fact, I didn't come up with a full menu until the day of, so it was a menu based on stuff we already had in the house.

This was a big night for me because it meant I had to use the grill. I hate the grill, not because it doesn't cook the food or anything (it does a great job at that) but it uses fire and they can go BOOM and I don't like that. I'm very very scared of cooking after the fire when I was 16. Aunt Judy got me over the fear of the stove, but a BBQ is a whole new realm of scary for me. Dad said he would help me on that one, so it was set. Why the grill you ask? Well, mainly because of the Dragon element of the movie. Everyone knows I LOVE Maleficent's Dragon (you should see me during those scenes, or the ones during the Park show Fantasmic! LOL), so it should be no surprise that this is the route I ultimately took in theming the menu.

So the menu consisted of Honey Brined Grilled Chicken with a roasted red pepper, tomato, almond, and garlic relish (they call it a romesco in the recipe, all done on the grill). For our side it was herb roasted (in the oven) potatos and carrots. The whole house and outdoors smelled divine while it cooked! For dessert I went super simple with Vanilla Ice Cream (admittedly not homemade, maybe next time!) with a mixed berry syrup (which I did make from scratch - remember Briar Rose goes into the woods to collect berries - lots of berries - even though she picked berries the day before because her aunts - the good faries - told her to).

We did manage to have left overs, but it was a definite hit with dad - he immediately informed us of what he was taking for lunch at work Friday. He told all of his coworkers about it - it smelled great in the lunch room - and now I have several requests to share the recipe.

All in all another successful night. Next week we are going back in time - movie list wise - and will watch a double feature of Saludos Amigos & The Three Caballeros, so it will be Mexican. After that who knows, we're debating if we want to go live action, Pixar, or what animated movie to do next (next in line would be 101 Dalmations).

Before going into the oven.

The relish all ready to go.

The chicken was sooooooooooooo goood!

Mom may have licked the bowl clean...

Here are the links for the recipes I used for dinner:
Grilled Chicken and romesco
Herb roasted potatos and carrots
Mixed Berry Sauce

Walt Disney's Jungle Book [Themed Dinner]

I originally posted this on my personal blog (Reitter's Block) on January 25, 2013 as part of my "Tasteful Countdown" project counting down to the family trip to Walt Disney World in October of 2013. This is the project that gave me the idea to create this blog. And then life got in the way... so I am starting it up again in the New Year.

Not sure how authentic it is, but it was good.

Well, I'm becoming pretty consistent and quicker in making dinner. Surprising that I say this after making the meal that I did last night. The movie was Jungle Book which meant we travelled to India with our meal. I planned a menu of "Indian Chicken on white rice with naan" followed by a dessert of rabri.

I started off with the bread and the dessert. The naan dough was easy enough, but the rabri was disgusting. I had a "quick" recipe for it that called for use of powdered milk. Add to that a cup of heavy whipping cream and it smelled like curdled milk. Disgusting. I was really rethinking the idea of dessert!

I learned the hard way I do not multi-task well. I was kneading bread, shelling pistachios (for the dessert), and doing work on the computer. All the while the milk mixture was on the stove. I forgot about it and in under a minute it was burned. Just so you know: powdered sugar+powdered milk+whipping cream=the most disgusting smell ever when burnt. YUCK! Upset and discouraged, I had just enough cream to try again. If that went badly I would make banana splits and dad would just deal with it (by not eating the banana lol).

Not authentic, but just as good, naan. Dad ate all 3 pieces.

So, while I got the second batch on the burner - a much lower heat than before - I finished rolling out the naan and getting it ready to bake. The recipe said that it needed to be served warm, so I planned to bake it beforehand, and then broil it (as the recipe called for) right before serving. The bread came out awesome! The dessert took longer than what the recipe said - but I'm not sure if I did something wrong, or if they were off on their time. I may have cooked it on too low a setting, but I didn't want to screw up the whole thing again. First world problems, I know.

Once the milk stuff - mixed with the pistachios and almonds - was ready to cool I started on the main dish. A lot of interesting flavors mixed together for this. Curry powder, onions, garlic, honey, soy sauce, jalepeno, ginger - and it smelled good. Though, for a while, I thought it smelled more like the cup of noodles I ate in school. Ha ha! Once the flavors melded together the smell did, too. I put the stuff over the chicken and put it in the oven to bake.

Hot and ready to serve!

An hour later we were sitting down to the movie with a very flavorful and fragrant meal. I wasn't too keen on it - I found out I don't like curry flavors - but both mom and dad went back for seconds! Dad ate all three pieces of naan (it's good but too yeasty for me). The dessert was also a hit with the parents - though I still think it looks and smells disgusting - and they're still raving about it. The house still smells like dinner and it's been over 24 hours! Crazy!




Indian Chicken - http://www.grouprecipes.com/61470/indian-chicken.html
Naan - Link no longer exists, sorry! :(
Rabri - Ling no longer exists, sorry! :(

Disney's The Rescuers [Themed Dinner]

I originally posted this on my personal blog (Reitter's Block) on February 24, 2013 as part of my "Tasteful Countdown" project counting down to the family trip to Walt Disney World in October of 2013. This is the project that gave me the idea to create this blog. And then life got in the way... so I am starting it up again in the New Year.

So Dad had to go up to Anchorage for training the week after Toy Story so we rescheduled the movie for the next week. This would not have been a big deal had it not been for the fact that my dad loves the rescuers movies (though I found out he likes the rescuers down under way more) and because the first movie happens in the Bayou and the menu I chose he was very excited for.

Thankfully the wait did not disappoint. My dad had several helpings of what I had to offer. Mom did too. It was very good, though for me I didn't like the proteins it called for. Oh well, this isn't *just* about me, right?! So I made two types of the sauce.

The menu was a pasta dish and garlic bread. I was too pooped to do a dessert and as rich as dinner was it wasn't missed. I made a cajun style alfredo with Shrimp and Andoulle sausage over fettuccine. I did not make the pasta, but everything else was from scratch and fresh. I made a smaller batch without the shrimp, just the sausage, for myself, and served it with garlic bread.

It was delish. Dad couldn't stop talking about it! He ate his fair share and then some, and then he let it be known he was getting any leftovers for lunch. Except he didn't get my leftovers. I took those to Kassy's. She told me she thought it was better than any pasta dish at Paradisos (Kenai's Greek-Italian-Mexican restaurant that I love). So I have to say this has to be one of the most successful dishes I've made to date!

Without the seafood. So good! A little spicy but not bad.

*Note: I have made this more times now than just for the Rescuers. I've substituted chicken for the shrimp, as well as left out the sausage (only dad likes it anyway). It works with just about any combination. I'd also use a little less onion.
**Note: To make this gluten free we use gluten free pasta, as well as substitute the flour with cornstarch. Works pretty much the same.


Find the recipe here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cajun-shrimp-andouille-alfredo-sauce-over-pasta-10000001033054/

Disney's The Great Mouse Detective [Themed Dinner]

I originally posted this on my personal blog (Reitter's Block) on February 26, 2013 as part of my "Tasteful Countdown" project counting down to the family trip to Walt Disney World in October of 2013. This is the project that gave me the idea to create this blog. And then life got in the way... so I am starting it up again in the New Year.

For this I decided on Fish and Chips for Mom and Dad and Clucks and Fries for me. I didn't bake them, either, they were battered and fried. That's right I did the oil. Not mom, not dad, me! But I waited to cook with oil until after they were home. I still need my "spotter" incase something goes wrong.

Because of mom's gluten intolerance, I found a batter that could be used that would hopefully taste good and not involve a gluten flour. A quick internet search came up with a batter that is really quite tasty! We did both the chicken and fish (halibut) in the batter. Next time I will tweak it slightly for the chicken as dillweed was a little odd to have with ketchup and chicken. That could just be me, though.

Fish & Chips for dinner. Gluten free and yummy.

The fries were a recipe I've been wanting to try for several years now. When Olympic Champion Brian Boitano had his show on the Food Network, he did an episode with twice fried french fries. I've been wanting to try them ever since. I wasn't sure if they would go with the fish, so I tweeted Boitano and he answered with a "yes!" so I took that as a sign to make Brian's "Pimp My Fries".

Everything came together easily, but the oil kept cooling way down so it took longer to make dinner than I anticipated. We didn't sit down to dinner until 8pm! Yikes! But it was well worth it because the food was delish! I had made dad a spicy tartar sauce for his fish - and he practically licked the bowl clean.

There were no leftovers!

For desert, I made mini lemon pound cakes. Dad's request. No glaze or compote. Just cake for dad. He took the rest to his men's group at church on Saturday. They made short work of it all.

All in all another successful meal. I'm getting good at this! With the Iditarod this weekend, I'm busy but we're still doing a movie meal. But it's going to be gourmet hotdogs for Oliver & Company.

Next time, no dillweed for the chicken.

recipes:
GF Batter for fish - http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1617,128187-252192,00.html
Spicy Tartar sauce - http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/sauce-spread/other-sauce-spread/spicy-tarter-sauce.html
Pimp My Fries - http://www.brianboitano.com/recipes-pimp-my-fries.shtml
Lemon Pound Cake - http://www.simply-gourmet.com/2012/08/187-lemon-pound-cake-with-cherries.html

Walt Disney's Pinocchio [Themed Dinner]

I originally posted this on my personal blog (Reitter's Block) on November 17, 2012 as part of my "Tasteful Countdown" project counting down to the family trip to Walt Disney World in October of 2013. This is the project that gave me the idea to create this blog. And then life got in the way... so I am starting it up again in the New Year.
We are back on track with the Tasteful Countdown for our 2013 Disney trip. This week's movie was Pinocchio. It's not one of my favorites, but it has the song that became Disney's "theme", so it is a must watch. I found out that dad's favorite Disney character growing up with Jiminy Cricket, so that also made it special! We're learning more about each other as a family as we go through this.

The menu was themed around Northern Italy as that is the area that Pinocchio is supposed to take place (who knew?! I always thought he was German! LOL). It was difficult to find something that was Northern Italian that wasn't really *out there* or expensive, or that anyone would eat. I finally found a website that linked recipes by region and away we went.

Dad helped with the menu, I'm trying to keep him excited about this adventure, and so we settled on a main dish of Chicken with a Fire roasted red pepper red sauce over fettucine, and the dessert was a Peach tart with a Cocoa-Almond crust (the best part of that being it was gluten free so mom could have it). I couldn't figure out a good side dish, but my friends at Golden Skate Forums helped me out and suggested Polenta. DorisPulaski gave me a good recipe for a creamy polenta so my menu was all set.

Thursday rolled around and I felt all set - until we realized we never went and got the ingredients. So mom made a quick trip to the store in between her Bible Study and PCC duties, and called me to let me know I'd have to get the stuff out of her car on my way home from the office. No problem, a quick drive over and I had the stuff and was on my way home. That's when I noticed that I was missing some key ingredients - mainly the roasted red peppers!



The peach tart's directions were scary,
but it was successful!

So I sat around hoping I'd just missed a bag in mom's car. No such luck, instead of roasted red peppers she'd bought roasted tomatos! Whoops! So as I started on the dessert mom hurried over to the store and got the missing peppers. The tart had me very nervous because I had to make a syrup with the peaches and I was so scared that I would burn the sugar (I didn't!). When I chose this dish, I just read the ingredients and not the instructions. There's a lot to this little tart! I didn't have all of the tools I needed, but I made do.

With the tart baking in the oven, I started on the main dish. It was easy peasy and I realized the sauce was going to be finished before the rest of the meal! Oh no! I took it off the heat and made the polenta. I was worried I would do it wrong, and so I think I cooked it a bit longer than what I should have, but how was I to know?! While I finished up the polenta I boiled the pasta, and finished the sauce. Unfortunately this meant the polenta was cold by the time it was ready to dish up. I guess I still need to work on my timing!

Main dish was awesome!

The chicken also had me worried, as I didn't want to cook it wrong. Mom "taught" me by doing it herself. She said I watched so I would be able to do it next time... okay, mom, whatever you say! Once everything was done I dished up the plates, sliced up the chicken breasts and served my family. Duane was at youth group, so he was dining on Pizza while we had our own Italian meal. He was fine with missing out - except that he wanted dessert! Mom and Dad loved everything on the menu, but I found I am not a fan of polenta, so mom was happy because that means she's gotten to have left over polenta for days!

We also decided that the next time we make the main dish that we'd make a double batch - we needed more sauce! The sauce was super yummy - and I'm not normally a fan of peppers, but this was really good! I definitely ate all of that on my plate, but I was full from lunch (I ate late, my bad!) so I didn't eat all the chicken and I skipped the polenta.

The tart was so good dad ate half of it!

Dessert was served about half way through the movie, and Duane was back from youth group, so he had nothing to worry about. I am not a fan of peaches at all, so I didn't try a piece, but judging by the reactions of my family they all loved it. I served it with ice cream and the extra peach syrup and they gobbled it up!

Because it was an almond crust, I used almond flour instead of the all purpose the recipe called for - so mom could have it. From what I could tell it didn't do anything to negatively affect the dish - though the dough was a little wetter than it called for. We also had to use frozen peaches, so the syrup was runny and we had more of it, which made the middle of the tart to be very soft, but everything was cooked through. Dad ate the last piece of it the same night, so obviously it was a win!

If you have any vegetarian ideas please share them with me by commenting on this post! I need all the help I can get!

Links to recipes from this week meal:
Chicken Fettuccine with roasted red pepper sauce
DorisPulaski's Creamy Polenta
Peach Tart with Almond-Cocoa Crust