Yup... we have another Disney trip on the horizon!

Okay, so it's not *just* a Disney vacation. It's a family trip to the Southern West Coast of the US (Alaska being the Northern West Coast haha). Seriously though, we're planning an over two week trip that starts in Anaheim/SoCal and ends in Oregon. It's a combination of celebrating mom and dad's 35th wedding anniversary as well as visiting family close to the holidays.

To say I'm excited is an understatement. I know, it's 385 days away, but it's still fun to plan and dream and all that. As it looks now we have 4 full days of Disney fun planned. We'll be going in November so hopefully they'll have the Christmas Decor up (at least some of it) as that's what mom is hoping to see. She's seen the fall/Hallowe'en stuff, so now she wants to see Christmas. We haven't been to Disneyland since 1990 (as a family, I have obviously been multiple times since then). Dad was turned off to Disney parks after our three day trip to the park when I was 5. It was hot, I was cranky (spoiled brat, that's me), and mom didn't want me going on any of the big rides for fear I'd fall out. Lots of whining and arguing. Not his idea of fun.

But we took him to Disney World a couple of times and he's warmed up to the Disney Parks since 1990. With the addition of Carsland dad wants to go and check it out.

The itinerary is a work in progress, we still have to get dad's time off approved... but what we have planned:

Nov 11 - Fly ANC to SNA (John Wayne International Airport)
Nov 12 - Disney!
Nov 13 - Disney!
Nov 14 - Disney!
Nov 15 - Disney!
Nov 16 - Drive to Grass Valley, when in Sacramento eat at Jaime's Broadway Grille
Nov 17 - Girls Trip to San Francisco (take the long route and stop first in Santa Clara before hitting San Fran)
Nov 18 - Grass Valley
Nov 19 - Grass Valley
Nov 20 - Grass Valley
Nov 21 - Drive to Grants Pass
Nov 22 - Grants Pass
Nov 23 - Grants Pass
Nov 24 - Grants Pass (Thanksgiving)
Nov 25 - Fly PDX to ANC


LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!!!

Just a few countdowns

What I'm currently counting down to (other than my Disney trip).








Just a few. Not too bad considering this is me we're talking about.

30 Days of Disneyland - Day 27: Your Dream Job

Day 27 - Your Dream Job

I'm assuming they mean within the parks - otherwise I'd say I want to be a film director ha ha! But my dream Park job would be as a Disney Photographer. Photopass would be fun - but their "fine art" side of that program would be even better. I'd love to do their promotional work. Just to be able to be in the parks when no one is around would be AWESOME.

I love the photopass photogs, though. They are an awesome group of people (for the most part...some think they know more than they really do). It makes it easy for me - the group photog (everyone I travel with know that's my job, doesn't matter what group/family members I go with ha ha) - to be in the photos and we get some great shots and memories that way.

I mean, if I could be a Disney photog I'd get paid to take pictures in the Disney Parks all day every day! What could be better? (of course, come hot and humid parts of the year I'd be miserable no matter what so... that's what's kept me, among other reasons, from applying.)

Oh and this week, I got my photopass+ package in the mail. Ordered it for the trip in September. Yup, I'm a fan.

One of my favorites from our 2012 trip. Haille Rae is awesome. Love her!

Also, we're at another (somewhat) milestone in the countdown. We've left the 80s and are now into the 70s! We are at 79 days till the epic LLP + B Disney trip! I'm super stoked. Chatted with Erin the other night and we have both definitely caught the "OMG"s for this trip. We'll soon be texting and calling each other daily with the "WE'RE TOO EXCITED TO SLEEP!" message. Because we're big dorks like that.

Yes, I did just use an MRJ gif.

In about 20 days I'll be able to make our first ADR! I'm debating if I should call down or if I should just do it online. I may do a combination of both, because it's just not a Disney trip without calling the Disney Travel Company, but at the same time the Disneyland call center isn't as much fun/magical (and their hold music is normally closer to elevator music than actual Disney music. Sadness).

Three weeks till ADR time... three weeks till we're down to the two months mark... It's getting close... but not close enough! Come on September, get here already!

30 Days of Disneyland - Day 15: Favorite Atmosphere (Fur) Character

Day 15 - Favorite Atmosphere (Fur) Character

DONALD DUCK! Anyone who knows me KNOWS I love Donald. He is probably the very best character Disney has ever created - and they've created a lot of great characters. I have such a good time meeting him wherever he is in the parks. I especially like him in Disneyland because it's the only place I've ever met him when he is in his classic/signature look (sailor suit).

I've loved Donald Duck my whole life, partially because my Uncle Rick (probably my favorite Uncle EVER) does a spot on Donald Duck voice. He is known in his hometown as Donald Duck, he's that good! The other reason is I grew up in a time when Ducktales was one of the best television shows in the afternoon line up. I watched it religiously every day. Donald was not in many of the episodes, but I love the whole Mc/Duck family.

Donald in the parks is so much fun. He's just as egotistical and hilarious in the parks as he is in his shorts. One of my favorite ways to interact with him is to tell him he's my favorite and that he's #1, forget that old Mickey Mouse. He only partially disagrees with me (and that's only when other's are in ear/eyeshot). Also, ask to give him a kiss on his beak, and then tell him we'll keep it between us. Don't let Daisy know! Hee hee!


Oh, yeah, 91 days to go. I'm comin' Donald!

30 Days of Disneyland - Day 11: Favorite Disney's California Adventure Attraction

Day 11 - Favorite Disney's California Adventure Attraction

I love Grizzly River Run. It's one of the few attractions I not only will go on but that I enjoy. It's very similar to Kali River Rapids, but I think you get wetter? I'm not sure. I also love how close as spectators we can get to watching the people come down the mountain and get soaked (sometimes the audience can get wet, too). The theming is much more fun (there's not a forest fire going on so it smells better), and it's a ride that I can safely say will not make me sick. Unlike the other big ticket attractions/rides in DCA, this is right up my alley.

I got to ride it the first time with Haille Rae in 2011. She wanted to go on the water ride so bad! Every time we watched a video on youtube or on the planning DVD about it she was all "oh yeah, that's the ride!" so it was on our list of must tries. So glad we did. She was a little nervous when we first started down the river, but as we splashed our way around her laughter and squeals were proof she was having a blast. She thought it was hilarious that I was getting soaked (she was not as amused that she did NOT get as wet) because I was complaining that I was going to be cold - I had clothes in the car that I ended up changing into as the sun went down and I was still very wet. It WAS February after all.

Haille still talks about that ride - oddly enough she does not like Splash Mountain, the drop messes with her tummy. I can't wait to ride it again as OMG! I know I'm going to need a lot of water rides to keep me from melting in the September heat (my besties just have to all have summer birthdays. jerks)!

**This video can make you dizzy. But it's the best one I could find (I didn't look hard, though). You've been warned.**

We're at 95 days till we're in SoCal. Very excited to watch the countdown go down down down down... I think I have about 35 days until I can begin to do ADRs, but I'd have to check and make sure. I think I have a basic itinerary mapped out as well... just gotta finalize details. I feel so behind and yet I know I'm on track so I'm in the panic/don't panic faze/rut. Oy!

30 Days of Disneyland - Day 10: Favorite Extinct Attraction

http://www.yesterland.com

Day 10 - Favorite Extinct Attraction

There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow! Sadly, this World's Fair attraction that made its home in Disneyland does not exist on the west coast, but it CAN be found at Walt Disney World, so it's not lost forever. I finally got to see it in all its glory in October there.

But I wish it was at Disneyland. Where Walt walked. It is, after all, one of his proudest attractions.


Oh, and if you're keeping count of how many days left till I fly out to Disneyland - we're at 96 days. 96 days until I board a plane at the buttcrack of dawn, travel something like 8 hours, get to a hotel and nap while I wait for my bestie and her hubby to make it to the hotel that night (they have to travel something like 6 hours after working all day). 97 days until one of my closest online friends makes it to the hotel (and hopefully she will be able to rest and recoop and be ready for an evening of fun)!!! We're getting SO excited for this trip! It's going to be epic.

30 Days of Disneyland - Day 9: Favorite Frontierland Attraction

Day 9 - Favorite Frontierland Attraction

Anyone who knows me knows this answer - I would hope, anyway. It's the ride that at WDW for my 24th birthday Erin and I sat and rode it five times in a row (four of those we didn't even get off the ride as there was NO LINE. BEST DAY EVER!). Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is the first Disney coaster I tackled back in 2001. Dad was determined to break me of my fear of the things. We were on the high school band trip and he didn't want to do the rides I wanted to go on (Jungle Cruise, Pirates, etc). He won the argument as we took a vote with my friends. I'm so glad I lost that argument.

Big Thunder is the kind of thrill I can handle. It's fast-ish, high up-ish, and I feel well contained in the seat. Another great thing about this ride is that it's different in each park. The effects and storyline is different at Disneyland compared to the one at WDW, but both hold true to the overall theme. Disneyland's just got a huge refurb where they've added new effects using new technology and it looks AWESOME. I cannot wait to ride this ride in September.



We're 97 days away from Disneyland! And it's Donald Duck's 80th birthday today! Happy Birthday to my most favorite of Disney characters, without Donald there'd be no Disney (just ask him, he'll tell you)!

30 Days of Disneyland - Day 7: Favorite Critter Country Attraction

Day 7 - Favorite Critter Country Attraction

WE ARE IN THE DOUBLE DIGITS OF OUR COUNTDOWN!!!!! You know what that means, DOUBLE DIGITS DANCE!

I am SO excited! 99 days out always seems to make it official. We have a few things left to do - like get an itinerary, and get the ADRs nailed down. Tickets to the parks need to be bought... but the countdown is on!

Anyway, back to the daily post...

Critter Country's main attraction is the only one I could choose for favorite attraction. It's SPLASH MOUNTAIN for crying out loud! I was terrified of this ride as a child, high up places and water at the bottom was not my idea of a good time. But my dad made me go on it as a teenager and I've been hooked ever since. It's the best way to cool off during the heat of the day - and September is going to be in the 80s so this Alaskan girl is going to want to ride it more than once!

A Tasteful Countdown: The Great Mouse Detective

Cooking with oil I'm so brave!

We have hopefully finished our jaunt through the English recipes. The final Brit movie has been watched in the form of the Great Mouse Detective. 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

A Tasteful Countdown: The Rescuers

Not a fan of seafood, but mom and dad are. Yuck.

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 fettacine. 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.

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

A Tasteful Countdown: Toy Story

Pizza, Cake, and a movie, what could be better?

January 31st marked Duane's 18th birthday. It also landed on a Thursday, so we mixed the two together. Duane's big party would happen that weekend, so we did a small deal with just us and his best friend. It worked out great because Toy Story was one of his favorites when he was small - and it has that "army man" element so we could still do the "Go Army" so it wasn't totally cheesey.

Well, there was cheese - I made homemade pizzas. Thanks to my awesome new KitchenAid pizza dough was so easy! I loved how simple it was, and for the first time of me making the dough I have to say it was excellent. I used a recipe a friend gave me, but didn't put in the total amount of yeast that it called for. It still rose well, and it didn't taste yeasty. A win-win for me as I hate the taste of yeast!

I forgot to save some white frosting for stars on the blue.

I also baked a cake from scratch - the first one I did the night before and it didn't go very well. I tried another recipe the day of and it came out better than the first, but I think I'm over mixing with the KitchenAid. I will have to keep working on it. However, I loved how the camo effect came out. That's right, I made a camo cake! The cake was green, brown, and black inside. It was frosted red white and blue and had toy army men in honor of both the movie and Duane's love of the Army.

The cake was two layers and had a chocolate mousse filling. It was pretty good and I'm not a cake fan.

You might be asking what my mom ate with all of this gluten loaded food - for the cake she had the mousse only (we had a lot more mousse than we did cake. It was not what we planned. Not sure what happened there. For the pizza we tried the pinterest craze of the cauliflower crust. It really works and it tastes great -and I hate cauliflower! Mom was happy enough with it - she still misses the regular crust, but at least she's found something that she not only can stomach but likes! Just a tip - use a ricer not a grater. The ricer looks to give you more cauli-meal for the crust.

With two 18 year old boys plus the three adults, we ate all but a couple of slices of pizza (we made four plus moms!) and ate half a cake. All in all a success even with the cake issues.

Very proud of how the camo came out! AWESOME!

Pizza Crust recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/basic-pizza-dough-recipe/index.html
Cauliflower crust recipe: http://whatsfordinner-momwhatsfordinner.blogspot.com/2012/06/cheesy-garlic-cauliflower-bread-sticks.html

Oh! The week of Toy Story also brought our first bit of DISNEY MAIL! We all know how much I LOVE Disney Mail. And it was Toy Story themed mail at that! How awesome!

Disney Mail is almost as good as being there!

A Tasteful Countdown: Jungle Book

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!

Next week is Duane's birthday - we're going to do Toy Story with homemade pizza and camo birthday cake. Should be good!

Speaking of birthdays, mine was Monday and instead of watching the second term inaugeration's second ceremony (tell me why we need two for a second term when we're STILL in a recession?!) I spent the day working and then lunch and a movie with Kassy. I FINALLY GOT TO SEE LINCOLN! I may do a post about what I thouht of the film. I want to see it again! It was good.

My parents got me a blu-ray player with wifi so I've been watching netflix in my room a lot. This is something I was hinting about a lot in the last few weeks, so I was very happy to get it! So happy that I set it up the night of my bday before going to bed! Using it right now to watch old school Law & Order. Love me some Lenny Briscoe!

And then today I got something I honestly didn't think I'd own until I became a married woman - if then. I GOT A KITCHENAID Mixer from my aunt and uncle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so surprised to get it - when my aunt hinted that it was something she KNEW I'd like and that she had a similar one I honestly thought it was going to be something decorative with pugs on it! LOL I can't wait to start mixing with it. I know it will help out with my baking big time! Thank you Judy & Gaylord!

I'm thinking I'll name it "Hondo"!

A Tasteful Countdown: Mary Poppins

Shepherd's Pie - everyone likes it but me!

Well it was a Jolly Holiday in the kitchen tonight with our Mary Poppins themed dinner tonight. We went with a very British main course of Shepherd's Pie (during the viewing of the movie I decided that Fish and Chips would've been better considering they plan on doing just that in the film, oh well, live and learn). The dessert was a raspberry tart and raspberry ice.

The shepherd's pie was the easiest thing on the menu after all was said and done. Not much excitement there. I've learned I don't like it very much, ha ha. Yup the picky eater is still a picky eater, however it wasn't bad. Just not my thing. Dad and mom gave it two big thumbs up, though. Mom went back for seconds!

Dessert proved more challenging. What I thought would be simple turned out not to be. I started with the raspberry ice, but that took more work than expected. It was simple enough to make the syrup and puree it with the berries, but when it came time to pour the mixture through the strainer the seeds kept clogging up the little holes! So I spent almost an hour stirring the stuff in the strainer to get the liquid into the dish to put in the freezer! ACK!



At least it looked good when it came out of the oven.

Then for the tart I used the same recipe for the crust as I did a few weeks ago for the peach tart. It is gluten free and has chocolate - what could go wrong. I tried to make it work better than the last time, but the problem was the raspberries melted when I put them in with the sugar to make the syrup. The extra berries I planned to bake on top melted into the syrup when I mixed the two. So I ended up with several cups of syrup on top of this already wet dough. The crust on the bottom didn't bake, and the filling didn't set up. Not my best baking experience.

Parents didn't mind though, and said it was good. Duane loved the raspberry ice judging by how he ate it when he got home from youth group. So still successful even if it wasn't "practically perfect in every way."

Anyone want a snow cone??

The funniest part of the night was when mom came home from the store. She went to put the ice cream in the freezer. Not knowing what was in the pan on the shelf she when to fling it somewhere else and ended up with not so chilled raspberry stuff all over the freezer. It looks like a bloody mess in there now. But at least if we need a snack in a pinch we can make raspberry snow cones! I'll admit I was ticked when it happened - I worked hard on that stuff! - but everytime we open the freezer door and you see the bright red going all the way down the shelves it's too hard not to laugh!

Next week is Jungle Book. I have to work on finalizing it - and finding a dessert.

A Tasteful Countdown: The 3 Cabelleros Double Feature

Taco Salad - simple, easy and awesome.

On the eve of another themed dinner, I'm writing a post about last weeks very yummy - and somewhat simple - dinner. I finally got my hands on a copy of Donald's feature films "Saludos Amigos" and "The Three Cabelleros". It is a double feature DVD that I got on Amazon as they are both considered Classics. In my quest to have all 50+ classics I HAD to have them, so I finally bit the bullet and ordered them after getting my monthly paycheck.

But I digress, the meal was simple in that it was one of my favorites: Taco Salad. I am not a big Mexican food fan, but I LOVE tacos the way we make them. And if I can't have that, then I go for taco salad. Problem is - I don't like frying in oil (after setting the kitchen on fire - unknowingly - with oil on the stove - again, unknowingly - I just won't touch it!) so I decided to try to bake the shells like they have shown on pinterest. Problem is mom is gluten intolerant so she can't have the traditional flour tortilla, so I had to bake a larger corn tortilla. They don't make them as big, and they didn't turn out quite how I hoped.

If you're going to bake the shells, make sure to follow the instructions. And find one that gives the tip that you need to warm the tortillas up for about 15 seconds in the microwave before trying to put them in the bowl or you will end up tearing every single one. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but the shells were not crispy everywhere and were extremely tough where they didn't crisp. I'm thinking it had to do with how much oil was used on them - either not enough or too much, I can't be sure without experimenting more.

I'm not a fan, but I'm told they be "delish"!

With such a "simple" dish for the main course, I decided to tackle a traditional Mexican dessert of Soppapilas. Mainly because my best friend Kassy said she would come to dinner if I did. She lied, but I made enough for a small army anyway so that she could have some the next day.

What's that you say? You thought I was afraid to cook with oil? I AM! I still am, even after all the fun I had frying my (homemade all the way) dessert. I had mom be my "spotter" as if flames started up I would've once again been out the door and letting her deal with it (as opposed to when I caught the kitchen on fire - for that I called 911!). With that done it was down to watch the double feature.

Not to be negative, but I've found that the movies - that I'd never seen all the way through - were not my favorites. Don't get me wrong I LOVE Donald Duck - favorite character, just ask my neice, she will tell you! - but the movies are dull compared to some of the other classics. No fear, though, because they still will hold a special place in my collection. I have to both Walt and Donald are in them!

I made more the day after for a Church function, and Kassy
took the rest home. I think she ate them all herself.

Next week (as in tomorrow) we're jumping to Mary Poppins. Going to do a Shepherd's Pie and rasberry tart with rasberry ice. Should be good!

A Tasteful Countdown: Sleeping Beauty

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

WDW 2013: Bambi Themed Dinner

Main dish of Cheesey Chicken and Veggie Chowder.
Side dish of roasted stuffed red bliss potatos. yum!

I am once again fighting a sinus infection/cold. Third one this year that's laid me out flat. Not happy about it, but I at least fought through it to keep working and of course I made dinner for this week's movie. Now before you go all sick and twisted like my dad went with the theme, we did not have venison or rabbit (or skunk). Originally we were going to go straight up vegetarian, but whatever I suggested was vetoed by the othere members of the family, so we compromised and did another chicken dish (bird, bird, bird-bird-bird!).

Finding a menu with a woodsy theme that didn't just mimick Snow White's theme proved pretty impossible, so it wasn't as cohesive as I wanted, however the results were yummy - which I think is all anyone really cares about. So I went with comfort food (let's face it, Bambi is traumatic to the psyche). With the weather being as cold as it's been, and me being sick, a chowder was in order. I still wanted to go with the roasted veggies, though, so I made a stuffed roasted potato dish as well. Dessert was a cop out as I just had no energy to be creative, so we went with a box mix Angel Food cake. I should've still found something green and leafy to go with my favorite line of the movie, though:

"Eating greens is a special treat, it grows long ears and great big feet... but it sure is awful stuff to eat! I made that last part up myself." - Thumper

I'm still learning how to pace myself as far as what and when to start so that the meal comes together at the same time. I got closer with this one, but the chowder needed to be stirred almost cosntantly so that the cheese didn't burn to the bottom. Mom came and helped me out a bit - mainly because I was moving in slow motion as doing anything while I have this cold seems to wear me out in just a few minutes, and this meal took an hour total. Probably couldn've gotten in done a little quicker if I'd managed my time better, but it is what it is. The recipe, though is enough to feed a small army - we have lots left over even after we all had seconds - and I had to switch to a bigger pot than what I started out with. We should have halfed the recipe, but after last week we wanted to make sure we had enough!

Stuffed potatoes were a hit with the family.

With the chowder safely taken care of I worked on the potatoes. I boiled them but they weren't soft enough in some people's opinions so they threw them into the micro. They were too soft after that which made it difficult to scoop them out correctly, but I did it well enough that I had enough potato to mix with the other ingredients. My family loved them, but I was not a fan of the thyme - just don't like a lot of that - and so I let dad eat my portion!

Dinner was finished while the football was still going (what a game, right?!), so we ended up finishing eating before the movie started. I haven't actually watched Bambi in years, it's just so sad!, however I was able to remember many of the lines - enough that it annoyed my mother when I began quoting what would be said or done next. Oops.

Dad didn't last very long into the movie before he headed into the kitchen for dessert. He loves Angel Food cake. You ask him what he wants for his bday and this is what he begs for. So when he found out it was Angel Food for dessert he was a happy camper. It's no wonder he sped through dinner, ha ha! I made mini cakes, or tried to, using mom's mini bundt cakes. I must have put a bit too much in teh cups, though, because they baked up and over by a lot, but it worked out because they look like mushrooms you'd find in the woods! So I'm making a claim that I planned it that way!

The "mushrooms" before the "snow".

The "mushrooms" looked good covered in "snow" (whipped cream) which also fit the theme of Bambi. Except it's the winter scenes that are sad, we all know what comes with the snow in that movie. Thankfully I could blame the tears on my sinuses being hyperactive.

We have tons of leftovers, anyone want some? Next week we have Cinderella, and I'm still debating if I do a breakfast for dinner or go with a menu that follows "Cinderella's royal palace" there at Walt Disney World. Any ideas?

Cheesey Chicken & Veggie Chowder recipe
Stuffed roasted red bliss potatoes recipe

WDW 2013: Pinocchio Themed Dinner

Just some of the ingredients for this week's meal!

After an unplanned break last week - I was super super super sick - 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 peace 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!

Next week is Thanksgiving, so no movie night - but I will be baking on Tuesday it looks like! Grandpa is coming from Anchorage to spend the holiday with us, he flies in on Wednesday and will be here through Saturday. Should be fun. Week after next we will be watching Bambi. Going to go with a vegetarian theme as I just find it wrong to eat forest animals while watching it! I'm having trouble coming up with the menu, so it's a good thing that I have a lot of time to figure it out!

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

WDW 2013: A Tasteful Countdown

With Disney almost a year away, I have been trying to find a way to get the family more involved in counting down. With all of us being adults (or nearly so) some of the tried and true methods (countdown chaings, for example) I was at a loss... until I read an article by Chip and Co. that mentioned doing a family movie night and have dinner that went with the movie. That sounded like something I would be a bit more adult than most, so after talking with the family that's what we decided.

It also helps because mom, the main cook of the house, is busy on Thursday, and this would give her a bit of a break (it was normally taco night, and dad was getting tired of tacos). So I think that was the true selling point.

Tonight was the first themed dinner night, and I have to say it was an amazing success! Tonight's theme was Snow White - what better way to start than with the movie that started it all (yes Mickey'd been around for a while, but we're going for feature length). I worked for a week finding the perfect menu (thank you, Pinterest) and decided on Pork for the main dish, and of course apples for dessert.



Pie ala Apple pre-baked.
Lookin' good "raw"!

I started cooking on Wednesday, baking (my first) apple pie while handing out candy to Trick or Treaters. A process that should've been an hour, or at the most two, turned into four due to all the starting and stopping. Still I got that and extra pie dough done to finish the baking and cooking for Thursday.

Today I came home from working at the office to bake my second dessert - "Pie ala Apple". I only had a couple of hours before I needed to head over to the courthouse to watch a long time friend get sworn in as someone able to actually "practice" law. So very excited for him! Congratulations Paul!

Once that was over and we were back home I started work on our main dish. I chose the "Cranberry Apple Glazed Pork Loin" mainly because it tied into the movie and it sounded amazing. (Wondering why I chose Pork for Snow White? How about the whole part of the huntsman using a pig heart to trick the queen into believing that he'd killed the princess. "...Snow White still lives, fairest in the land. 'Tis the heart of a pig you hold in your hand.")

The finished pork loin. So good!

I'm not a big fan of cranberry (I hate it) but when it's paired with apple it's edible. It took an hour and a half for it to cook (with me basting every 10-15 minutes) and the whole house smelled divine! Our sides were wild rice and almonds, and buttered carrots. Perfectly woodsy and in tune with the movie. The whole family scarfed it down, and we enjoyed watching the original Disney Classic.

For being the first time for making apple pie, that, too, came out well... and we all ate way more than we should have of the sweet treats! But it was totally worth it! Next week is Pinocchio and I'm actually excited to tackle the recipes I've chosen! But you'll have to wait and see what that is!

Stay tuned each week for the latest edition of our cooking adventure!
Countdown with us by following me on Pinterest!