Jambo!

I'll be totally honest...  When I first heard of this dish, truthfully, it sounded...  Gross.  I mean, I love mac-and-cheese, but I am not a wine person, I'm really not a red wine person, and I'm really not a big fan of pairing alcohol with dairy (a neurosis that I know is totally unique to me, but completely justified after I got sick off of bad queso during Superbowl Sunday in 2010).  But since starting this little food adventure over a year ago, this has been my consistently most requested recipe and people email me for it constantly, and now that I finally got the official recipe from Disney, I kind of had to give it a try.

When it comes to signature dishes at Disney, this one tops almost everybody's list.  The perfect blend of luxury (and alcohol) with down-home comfort food.  It was impossible to mention the food at Jiko without somebody mentioning how great this mac-and-cheese was.  In fact, the buzz on this dish was so huge that most newbies (myself included) didn't even realize that this was a luxurious side to a filet Mignon dish, not the actual main course.  Seriously, how good does mac-and-cheese have to be to get people to not care about the super expensive cut of meat it's with?

When it was recently retired from the regular menu, people everywhere were crushed...  The chef at Jiko was sweet enough make it upon request for awhile, but even that has quietly been discontinued.  As of right now, according to everybody I've asked, regardless of how much one cries, begs, pleads, bribes, or otherwise tries to have this dish made for them, it's no longer offered.  This may or may not be because the Chef de Cuisine has reportedly gone on to bigger and better things (like assisting in some little Food and Wine event and running the first floor restaurants at hotel called the Grand Floridian), but, regardless, the dish is officially gone.

The good news is, like most signature dishes, the exact recipe was never made available outside of the restaurant.  However, now that the meal is out of rotation, Disney was more then happy to pass it on to me now.  I was genuinely surprised to find that it's really much, much easier to make then I could have even guessed.  Disney surprises me again with yet another easy meal that looks like a million dollars.  The only big variable that Disney couldn't quite answer for me was the actual brand of wine that they use.  I'm sure it's because it depends on what brands they're contracted with or have available at the time.  The best advice I can give on that front is to stick with a trusted brand or, if you're like me and you don't drink wine, look for something that is sweeter, a light or medium-body wine, which apparently means it's not as strong.  I'd share the brand that I got but, honestly, I have no idea.  The bottle was neat and the price was right and I'd be lying if I'd said I based my choice off of anything deeper then that.

I was so nervous making this...  As I was making the wine sauce, I tasted it a few times and it was so strong, I didn't care for it at all.  I was worried that it wasn't going to come together, that it'd be inedible.  I was even convinced that as I was plating and photographing the meal that I wasn't going to enjoy it and this would be one of those meals that everybody loves but I didn't "get."  The mac-and-cheese portion was, of course, crazy delicious, but I was convinced that when I added the red wine sauce, it'd be disgusting.  I was literally dreading the first full bite.

Turns out, I'm insane for being so worried.  This was pretty much the most amazing plate of mac-and-cheese I've had in my entire life.  The wine sauce wasn't strong at all and there was no really heavy wine taste to it (though I didn't reduce it enough...  Two servings of it and I was feeling a little floaty).  It was sweet and delicious and pretty much the most perfect plate of mac-and-cheese in the world.  Visually, it's really a striking dish and I'm bummed that the pictures don't do it nearly the justice it deserves.  White noodles on a burgundy red sauce?  Very dramatic.  

This was a huge, huge hit in my house.  I'd, for sure, not include the wine sauce if I was serving anybody under 21, and it feels weird to say that you maybe shouldn't drive after you eat it (especially if you didn't reduce it enough)...  But still, I can't say enough about how awesome this meal was.  Now I totally get why people went nuts over this meal. 

By the way...  This makes a ton.  Seriously.


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Mac and Cheese with Red Wine Sauce
As is served at Jiko, Animal Kingdom Lodge
 
Mac and Cheese
°o°  1/4 cup butter
°o°  1/4 cup flour
°o°  1 quart whole milk
°o°  1 1/2 cup mixture of asiago, provolone, fontina, and gruyere cheese
°o°  1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked per package directions, slightly undercooked/al dente

Red Wine Sauce 
°o°  1 bottle red wine
°o°  3 garlic cloves, crushed
°o°  6 peppercorns, a mixture of red and black
°o°  1 sprig thyme
°o°  1 cup port wine
°o°  1 bay leaf
°o°  1 tablespoon pomegranate syrup
Mac and Cheese
Melt butter and whisk in flour, creating a roux over low heat.  Add milk, using slightly less then a quart for a thicker sauce.  Bring milk to a simmer while whisking constantly to break up the roux.  As sauce thickens, add cheese and salt and pepper to taste.  If the sauce is too thick, thin as needed if the sauce with remaining milk.  Pour over macaroni and place in an oven-safe serving bowl.  Heat through in a moderate oven, if needed.

Red Wine Sauce
Add all ingredients to large pot and bring to a boil.  Simmer 2-3 hours until reduced by half to two-thirds depending on strength of the wine.  Strain.  Allow to cool approximately 10 minutes.
   
To assemble, pour red wine sauce on the bottom of individual plates or bowls.  Top with warmed mac-and-cheese.  Serve immediately.
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When it comes to Le Cellier, the thing that comes to mind, along with cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread, is the absolutely amazing steaks.  I mean, I'm a huge fan of Le Cellier anyway, but the fact that their steaks are always cooked to perfection and paired with the delicious butters and side dishes which are all amazing by themselves, but a part of a beautiful medley of flavors if you enjoy it all together...  I've always thought it elevates the experience to a whole different level.

When I first ordered the ribeye with white truffle butter, I actually did it because it came with mushroom risotto.  I'm probably the only person in the world who, when presented with the chance to eat the one of the best cuts of steak out there, got excited not over the steak but the side dish.  In my defense, I was curious to try the risotto because, as a long-time and quite huge fan of Gordon Ramsay, I was curious to see in person the meal that makes Chef Ramsay go insane when it's prepared wrong.  I figured that if there was any place that could make risotto in a way that wouldn't make Gordon Ramsay freak out and call the chefs "stupid donkeys," this would be it.

After I'd satisfied my risotto curiosity (it was really tasty, by the way), I turned my attention to the steak and immediately realized (as all sane meat lovers would) that the succulent steak and the truffle butter was the real star of the table.  Oh.  My.  Goodness...  Was it amazing.  Probably the best steak I'd ever had in my life...  Until I made it at home, that is.


Believe it or not, I'm kind of a steak dunce.  I always tend to overcook it.  Considering how expensive special this meat is, I let somebody else do all the heavy cooking on that one.  I was confident it would be treated better in somebody else's more steak-experienced hands.  At the very least, if it was messed up, I had somebody else to blame.  I was fully in charge of the butter.

I freely admit, I'm a taste-as-I-cook person, and I was getting a little nervous about how it tasted while I was making it.  It was good, but had a very strong and quite a strong wine flavor to it.  I was terrified it'd overpower the steak's natural and amazing flavor, which would have been a huge disappointment, especially as I'm not a fan of wine.  At this point, you'd think I would just trust that the folks at Le Cellier knew what they were doing, but obviously, I'm a slow learner.  When I put it all together, it was easily one of the best steaks I've ever.

This recipe I left relatively the same as it's served at Le Cellier.  I replaced the shallots with onion and I left out the chives, but only because I couldn't find them fresh at the local grocery store.  I also used way less lemon then the recipe called for and actually probably should have left it out all together because the white wine I used had a really strong lemon note to it.  And I kind of forgot to strain the sauce.  Whoops.

I should also mention that when this dish was originally introduced, it was a ribeye steak but it was changed to the filet recently.  I'm not sure why, but every time I've ordered it, I've gotten the ribeye. 


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Ribeye Steak with White Truffle Butter
As is served at Le Cellier, Canada Pavilion, EPCOT
 
°o°  1 shallot, sliced
°o°  1 cup white wine
°o°  1 cup heavy cream
°o°  1 tablespoon butter
°o°  4 ribeye steaks or Filet Mignon
°o°  1/4 cup butter, cubed
°o°  1 ounce truffle oil
°o°  Kosher salt, to taste
°o°  pepper to taste 
°o°  lemon, juiced
°o°  1 tablespoon chives, minced fine
In a warm pan, saute shallots in small amount of olive oil until translucent.  Add wine and reduce the mixture by about 90 percent.  When reduced, add cream and reduce by about 75 percent.  Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, add butter to a hot pan and sear both sides of steak until well colored.  Place in oven preheated to 350 degrees and cook to desired doneness, about 7-10 minutes for medium on thick-cut steaks.

When shallot, wine, and cream mixture is cooled slightly, whip in butter and truffle oil.  Butter will melt.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  If needed, add lemon juice to taste.  Strain mixture and add chives.  

Serve over steak.    

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Lasagna.  Everybody loves it.  Right?

Wrong.

I don't like lasagna.  I've never liked lasagna.  I don't buy it, I don't order it, I honestly can't remember the last time I even ate lasagna.  I'm just not a fan.

So what is somebody to do when they hear around dinnertime "I'm in the mood for a good lasagna tonight..." when they're such a non-fan of the dish that, when put on the spot, they're not even sure how to make it?

Time to look to find that magical Disney recipe.  If there was ever a recipe for something that could turn a food I don't like into something I can make and actually enjoy, it would be a Disney recipe.  I'd hoped, hoped, hoped that I had a recipe from Wolfgang Puck Express, but I actually came up with the next best thing.  A Wolfgang Puck-inspired dish from Tutto Italia Ristorante.


So, the things I learned about lasagna by making this dish...  First and foremost, there is such a thing as a lasagna that I adore, and this is it.  It's apparently very non-traditional in terms of American-style lasagna, but very classic, authentic Italian.  Maybe that's why I loved it so much.  There were a lot of great flavors, not weighed down by heavy ricotta or cheese.  I could taste the tomatoes, the meat, all the spices.  Seriously, it was awesome.  Even the leftovers were spectacular.  This was unlike the lasagna I've had before.  It was hearty, it didn't fall apart or disintegrate, and it wasn't oily or greasy...  If all lasagna tasted like this, maybe I'd like it more.


The second thing that I learned...  Making lasagna from scratch is easy, though complicated, and it makes A LOT of dishes.  And it's a major investment in time.  My stove and dishwasher got quite the workout.  Just think if I'd made the pasta, like they do on-site.  Holy cow.

I really stuck to the recipe on this one, though I did use dried herbs instead of fresh (again, NH in the winter means no good fresh herbs).  I'll admit I ran out of the pomodoro sauce because I over-sauced the meat and the bottom of the pan, so I couldn't top the lasagna with a decent layer of sauce before I baked, or dress it after I'd cut and plated it.  Next time, I'll probably make more, or be a little lighter on how I sauce everything.  I did, however, sauce the slices I served with some of the sauce drippings from the pan, and that was brilliant and tasty, if I do say so myself.

So this is my exception to my "I don't like lasagna" rule.  It's time consuming and makes a mess in the kitchen, but I think if I want to impress people with an amazing dish, this is a great choice.  


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Lasagna al Forno
As is served at Tutto Italia Ristorante, England Pavilion, EPCOT
 
Pomodoro Sauce
°o°  4 cans plum tomatoes in tomato sauce
°o°  1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
°o°  1 large yellow onion, diced
°o°  2 cloves garlic, fine chopped
°o°  2 teaspoons Kosher salt
°o°  2 teaspoons ground pepper
°o°  6 fresh basil leaves, rough chopped
 
Bechamel Sauce
°o°  2 quarts milk
°o°  1 stick butter
°o°  4 ounces all-purpose flour
°o°  1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
°o°  1 teaspoon ground pepper
°o°  2 teaspoons Kosher salt

Bolognese Sauce
°o°  1 yellow onion, fine diced
°o°  3 ribs celery, fine diced
°o°  1 carrot, fine diced
°o°  3 cloves garlic, chopped
°o°  1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
°o°  1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
°o°  2 bay leaves
°o°  1 pound ground beef
°o°  2 cups pomodoro sauce
°o°  1/2 cup white wine
°o°  1/2 cup heavy cream
°o°  2 teaspoons Kosher salt
°o°  2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Lasagna
°o°  2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
°o°  6 fresh pasta sheets or 2 boxes lasagna noodles, cooked and coated with a little olive oil to prevent sticking
°o°  1/2 cup pomodoro sauce
°o°  bechamel sauce
°o°  bolognese sauce
°o°  4 cups grated parmesan cheese
°o°  1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

For the pomodoro sauce:
Crush tomatoes in a large bowl.  Set aside.

Cook onions in olive oil until clear over medium heat in a 12 quart saucepan.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant and lightly golden.  Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a gentle boil, then lower heat to simmer.  Simmer an hour or more, stirring occasionally.  Add basil leaves and over lowest heat for additional 10 minutes.  Reserve for lasagna assembly.


For the bechamel sauce:
In a sauce pot, over medium heat, melt the butter being careful to not allow it to brown.  Remove from heat, add flour, whisking until completely incorporated and resembles a thick paste.  Return to heat, add the milk, and whisk briskly until paste has incorporated in the milk.  Bring to a boil, whisking briskly, then lower heat to a low simmer.  Season with salt and pepper and allow mixture to thicken.  Lower heat to low and allow to rest, stirring regularly, for 30 minutes.  Reserve for lasagna assembly.

For the bolognese sauce: 
In a large sauce pot, over medium heat, cook carrots, onions, celery, and garlic until onions are clear and soft and the mixture is fragrant.  Add the ground beef and cook until done, breaking meat up as much as possible.  Add herbs, pomodoro sauce, wine, cream, salt, and pepper.  Adjust seasonings if needed.  Increase heat to high and boil.  Allow to boil for 5 minutes, reduce heat to medium-low, simmer for at least an hour.  Reserve for lasagna assembly.

To assemble lasagna:
In a deep 13x9 pan, spray or wipe with the olive oil.  Add pomodoro sauce and spread evenly across the bottom of the pan.  Lay first layer of pasta, pressing firmly into the sauce.  Layer 2 cups of bolognese sauce and spread evenly over the pasta.  Sprinkle generously with the Parmesan cheese.  Add another pasta layer over the bolognese layer, firmly pushing down but being careful to not squeeze the layers to the sides of the pan.  Add 1.5 cups bechamel sauce over the pasta sheet and spread evenly.  Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese and top with another pasta layer.

Repeat a total of six times (3 layers of meat and 3 layers of sauce), finishing with a noodle layer.  On the top layer, over the final layer of noodles, cover with 2 cups pomodoro sauce.  Bake, uncovered, at 250 for 1 hour.  Remove from the oven, top with the mozzarella.  Return to the oven and cook additional 5-10 minutes or until internal temperature is 165.  Allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Cut and serve, topping with additional pomodoro sauce or pan drippings and Parmesan cheese. 


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So last week was Fat Tuesday and it has always been a tradition for me to have pancakes for good luck.  And I'm in the midst of my post-trip Disney blues, which meant that no ordinary pancakes would do.  I'm craving Disney, in the worst possible way...  For lucky pancakes, nothing short of Disney pancakes could be considered acceptable.

Apparently, I must have pleased the Tiki God of pancakes (is there such a thing?) because not only did I manage to find the perfect pancake recipe, but it is from Kona Cafe at the Polynesian.


Can I just say, if there was ever in the world a recipe that was more like a warm hug then this one, honestly, I don't know what it is.  First off, that amazing smell every morning that floats through the Polynesian?  Turns out it's these pancakes.  It's the most beautiful smell and it instantly brought me back to Disney.  All that was missing was the tiki music and a tropical fountain.  Seriously, I got a little choked up.

I'll admit that while these may not look terribly gorgeous (and they don't at Kona either), as far as taste, let me just say...  Pure heaven.  These may be the best pancakes I've had in my entire life, and that's saying something as I'm quite the pancake connoisseur.  They taste deliciously sweet, and the pineapple paired with the butter creates this beautiful, nutty, tropical flavor that goes so well with the pancakes.  I'm not joking when I say that now I crave these pancakes...  All the time.  They're really just that good.

I made no real changes to the recipe, other then accidentally burning the toasted macadamia nuts ever so slightly.  I suggest making the pineapple sauce first, allowing that to cook while preparing the pancakes.  The nut butter keeps really, really well in the fridge and, as I've discovered, tastes good on everything.  I'm almost embarrassed to share all the things I've put it on.

A simple-to-make, insanely delicious pancake recipe that makes my house smell like the Polynesian?  I may be in serious trouble...


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Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes with Pineapple Sauce and Macadamia Butter
As is served at Kona Cafe, Disney's Polynesian Resort
 
Pancakes
°o°  1 1/4 cups brown sugar
°o°  3 teaspoons baking powder
°o°  1/4 teaspoon salt
°o°  2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
°o°  1/2 - 3/4 cups toasted macadamia nuts, finely chopped
°o°  1 1/2 cups milk
°o°  3 eggs
°o°  4 tablespoons vegetable oil
°o°  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
°o°  1 teaspoon pineapple extract

Pineapple Sauce
°o°  1 can crushed pineapple, well drained
°o°  1 cup brown sugar
°o°  1/2 teaspoon salt

Macadamia Nut Butter
°o°  1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
°o°  1/4 cup toasted macadamia nuts, finely chopped
°o°  1/4 cup honey

Pancakes
Sift flour into a medium bowl, then ad sugar, baking powder, salt, and macadamia nuts.  Stir until combined.  Add eggs, milk, oil, and extracts and beat until all ingredients are moistened and the batter is smooth.  

On a heated, slightly greased skillet or electric griddle, pour 1/4 cup per pancake onto skillet and cook until bubbles form through the pancake and the sides look cooked.  Flip and cook other side until golden brown.  Top with pineapple sauce and nut butter, if desired.  Serve warm.

Pineapple Sauce
Combine all ingredients and spread on a cookie sheet or dish.  Bake in oven preheated to 350 until slightly browned.  If the chutney-like sauce is too dry, add some of the liquid that was drained from the crushed pineapple

Macadamia Nut Butter
Combine all ingredients and beat together with a fork until creamy.  Serve either chilled or at room temperature, but store in the fridge.

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Happy Mardi Gras!  Yes, I'm a day late...  I honestly didn't realize that yesterday was Fat Tuesday until, oh, about 5 o'clock yesterday night...  But, hey, at least I remembered eventually.  For those of us in New England, Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday really isn't that big a deal, especially since winter storm Nemo killed what little party spirit we had when he saw fit to dump about two feet of snow at the end of last week (stupid, lying groundhog).

I, on the other hand, have always loved Mardi Gras.  I'm not sure why...  I've never been to so much as a Mardi Gras party, much less down to New Orleans to the real thing.  I've actually never even been to New Orleans, even though I'm fascinated by it.  I'm a big fan of the food, the drinks, the history, and the whole unique culture the area seems to hold.  I've always wanted to go, one day I mean to go, and perhaps one day, when I choose a vacation destination other then Disney World, I'll actually make it down there.  Maybe New Orleans should have a "free dining" promotion?



Anyway, to celebrate, I decided to bring a little New Orleans (courtesy of Disney World, of course) to my unreasonably cold home in New Hampshire.  No, not Hurricanes (the liquor store didn't have any of the mix!  Can you believe that?!), but beignets from Port Orleans.  Now, I've never actually stayed at Port Orleans, but I did wander around the property after taking the ferry from Downtown.  It's a gorgeous resort and it really feels like New Orleans.  And the food court there smells ah-mazing.  I think it goes without saying, one of the specialties of the resort are their beignets, which I was told, are made using both the exact recipe and some fryers formally from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans.  I'm told that you'll never find a more authentic take on beignets without going to New Orleans.

When I did this recipe, I used the recipe that's from Port Orleans/New Orleans, but instead of cutting them into the more traditional square/rectangle shape, I went with what they do in Disneyland and cut them with my Mickey cookie cutter.  Less authentic to New Orleans, more authentic to Disney...  And way more fun to eat.  Plus everything tastes better when it's shaped like Mickey.  That's just common culinary knowledge and an undisputed fact.


~~~~  °o°  ~~~~

Beignets
As is served at Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory and other locations at Port Orleans Resort
 
°o°  1 pack dry yeast
°o°  1 1/2 cups warm water
°o°  1/2 cup sugar
°o°  2 eggs
°o°  7 cups flour

°o°  1 teaspoon salt
°o°  1 cup undiluted evaporated milk
°o°  1/4 cup soft shortening oil, for frying (substitute oil)
°o°  powdered sugar for dusting
°o°  honey for drizzling (optional)

In a bowl, sprinkle yeast over the warm water.  Stir to dissolve and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes while yeast activates.  Add sugar, salt, eggs, and milk and blend well.  Slowly incorporate flour.  Allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 2 1/2 inch squares or cut using a shaped cookie cutter, kneading and re-rolling dough to recut as needed (keeping in mind that each time the dough is reworked, the dough will toughen and the beignets will be denser).  Allow to rise in a warm, draft-free area for 1 to 1.5 hours.

Deep fry in 350 degree oil for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides.  Drain on paper towels.  Drizzle with honey and top liberally with powdered sugar.  Serve immediately. 


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Up north they're called corn fritters, down south, hush puppies.  Up north, we serve them with maple syrup or honey butter, down south, Cajun seasoning, Old Bay, or spicy butter.  It's a compliment to seafood bakes, a delicious fair snack, or just old-fashioned comfort food.  Who doesn't love hush puppies?

I'm actually pretty pumped to share this recipe...  This is a recipe that has history to it, and at this point, I think everybody knows how I feel about Disney recipes with a story.

Hush puppies were a favorite of Walt's.  Who can blame him?  They're pretty awesome.  And when it came to opening Disneyland, hush puppies were available at kiosks and food carts, and as a staple at the Blue Bayou Restaurant (where, last I checked, they're still available and are to that restaurant what cheddar cheese beer soup is to Le Cellier).  In California, these distinctly southern cowboy treats were all but unheard of, and it turned out people couldn't get enough of them.  What a lot of people didn't realize was that the recipe they used was a variation of Walt's own recipe. How cool is that?!


When it came to opening Walt Disney World, hush puppies were also initially available at carts and as treats at various snack counters in Frontierland...  And what was immensely popular at Disneyland were all but untouched at Disney World.  The best anybody could guess is that hush puppies just weren't the culinary novelty that they were in Disneyland and people weren't interested in buying at a park what they had pretty widely available outside of the park (apparently even McDonalds, for a time, served hush puppies in some of their southern locations).  Over time, the hush puppies were phased out, having been replaced/eclipsed in popularity by other classic Disney foods (turkey legs, anybody?).

Of course, in classic tourist fashion, as soon as they were phased out, people started to miss them and ask for them back.  While they were never fully integrated back into the park, people still sought them out.  Right now, they can still be found very rarely as a treat at snack kiosks in Frontierland.  However, a variation of the same recipe (only with corn and chives) can be found at lunch at Trail's End, and they're also featured at Narcoossee's seasonally (typically spring and fall) as an appetizer along with a shellfish bake.  Reports of the return of the hush puppy tend to spread like wildfire across Disney food forums and snack credits tremble at the idea of their re-introduction back into the park.

This recipe is the same basic recipe that's used for hush puppies across all the parks and park-owned/operated restaurants.  The nice thing is that they're super duper easy to make, almost impossible to mess up, and not messy to eat.  Which was great for my son who started hovering when the first batch hit the oil, and scurried in periodically when he thought some of the latest batch was cool enough to swipe eat. 


~~~~  °o°  ~~~~

Walt's Favorite Hush Puppies
As was served around Walt Disney World, with variations served at Trail's End Resteraunt at Ft. Wilderness Resort and Narcoossee's at The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
 
°o°  1 cup flour
°o°  1 cup cornmeal
°o°  1 tablespoon diced shallot
°o°  2 tablespoons finely chopped bacon
°o°  1 1/2 teaspoon chipped parsley
°o°  1/4 cup corn, fresh, frozen, or canned 
°o°  1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
°o°  2 teaspoons sugar
°o°  1 1/2 teaspoon fine/table salt
°o°  1/2 teaspoon black pepper
°o°  1 egg
°o°  1 cup milk
°o°  Oil or shortening, for frying
Preheat oil to a steady 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients but egg, milk, and oil.  In a separate, small bowl, combine the egg and milk and beat until a light yellow color.  Just before frying, add wet to dry ingredients and mix well.  

Using a small spoon, scoop out about a tablespoon of dough and fry in the oil until golden brown on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes, turning once to ensure even browning.  Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.  

Serve warm, drizzled with butter or maple syrup, or tossed in Cajun seasoning.  


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