One of the things about this blog is that it gives me the chance to not only explore Disney foods I've never gotten the chance to try in the parks, but that it gives me the chance to make something that I tried while on a vacation and loved.  Like Remy describes (yes, I'm talking about the fictional rat from "Ratatouille"), good food comes together, like a symphony, and takes you on a journey, sometimes to an entirely different time and place.

That is what this dish did for me.  One bite and I was back in EPCOT, walking the World Showcase on a beautiful, sunny day, probably on my way to Soarin or the Japan Pavilion.

This meal has quite the background.  It was one of the most popular dishes on Le Cellier's appetizer menu.  Served in a cast iron skillet, designed for family-style sharing, it was a great, fun, and unique appetizer option.  When the restaurant changed their menu to reflect their new status as a signature dining option, despite its popularity, the dish was retired.  Believe it or not, threads started popping up on various forums of people trying to figure out where it went, where else they can go in Disney to find it, even how to make it.  When people talked about the reasons it was such a tragedy Le Cellier went to an all-day signature dining experience, the retiring of this dish was a complaint that came up frequently.

Perhaps due to that popular demand, the following year at the EPCOT's Food and Wine Festival a version of the dish appeared again at Canada's kiosk, which is also where I had it for the first time.  I mean seriously, who could pass up a booth that had both sausage and

the famous Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup?  I vividly remember waiting in a long line, juggling multiple plates (two of each the soup and the sausage) while scrambling to find a spot to eat because every chair, bench, and table was full.  Ben and I ended up finding a spot on the top of a covered trash can in a little area right next to the World Showcase Lagoon.  We stood and ate, hunkered over this stupid garbage can, just relishing every single bite while enjoying a postcard perfect day at EPCOT.  I still remember how the sky was so blue, it almost hurt to look at it, and all the trees and plants around the lake were a vivid, emerald green.  It was warm, with a beautiful breeze that was strong enough that there were little waves rolling across the lagoon.  Stunning.  Peaceful.  For sure a happy Disney moment.

I can't say how happy I am to have this recipe.  This is really just a memory on a plate.  Even with the slight changes I made (more on that in a minute), every moment of this recipe was an exciting Disney memory, a fantastic Disney smell...  Not even joking when I say while I was making the polenta, I yelled out "This smells like Disney!" and all five people in the house huddled over the pot taking big, deep breaths.  We all agreed, by the way, it does smell like Disney...  It smells exactly like the buffet area of Tusker House.  Just saying.

Anyway, I did make some tweaks to the recipe.  First off, I used frozen corn instead of cutting fresh corn off the cob and roasting it.  We live in New Hampshire and it's March...  Fresh corn on the cob?  Not happening.  While I'm sure it would have been a deeper flavor if I'd used that roasted corn, the frozen corn was certainly a completely delicious, functional substitute.  The other somewhat major change I made was I used spicy pork sausage.  The recipe as written calls for chicken sausage, and while the version at Le Cellier did alternate between spicy pork and spicy chicken sausage, the Food and Wine version does use exclusively chicken sausage.  My switch was purely personal preference and economics...  I'm not a huge fan of the chicken sausage available at our grocery store, and regular sausage was on sale.  The only other special notes I have about this recipe is that this recipe is the base to both the old Le Cellier appetizer, but also the Food and Wine Festival's Canada offering.  That said, both dishes are dressed slightly differently...  One with a lot of greens, a little cheese, and the other with a sauteed pepper onion mixture.  When I served this, I went just with the base recipe, the polenta and the sausage.      

Of all the dishes I've made in recent memory, this was one of my absolute favorite meals.  Everybody loved it and we had absolutely no leftovers.  I did stick with the creamy polenta as opposed to letting it cook up so that it was more firm (which is what they do at Disney too), and I think it was the absolute perfect compliment to that spicy sausage.  I couldn't get enough of this meal.  I'm already dreaming about when I can make it again...  Only one bite and I was back next to the World Showcase Lagoon enjoying an amazing meal on the top of a covered trash can, thinking about Soarin Fastpasses, sake tasting in Japan, and enjoying a perfect fall day at EPCOT. 

~~~~  °o°  ~~~~

Spicy Sausage with Cream Sweet Corn Polenta

As was served at Le Cellier, Canada Pavilion, EPCOT and Food and Wine Festival, Canada Kiosk

 

°o°  1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil 
°o°  1 medium Spanish onion, small dice 

°o°  2 tablespoons diced garlic 

°o°  2/3 cup fresh corn, about one cob, removed from cob  

°o°  1/2 ounce basil, fresh chopped (or 1 tablespoon basil)  
°o°  1 cup water  

°o°  1 cup heavy cream  

°o°  1/2 cup maple syrup 

°o°  1/3 cup ground yellow or white cornmeal 
°o°  1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

°o°  1 1/2 teaspoon chopped chives 

°o°  Salt and pepper, to taste 

°o°  1 pound spicy sausage links, chicken or pork, casings removed (if slicing in half for serving)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat olive oil in oven-safe skillet over medium heat.  Add onions, garlic, corn, and cook about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant.  Add in basil and stir about 10 seconds.  Add water, cream, maple syrup, bring mixture to a light boil.  Reduce heat to low and while whisking briskly, add in cornmeal.  Cook on low heat for 5 minutes while continually whisking mixture.  Cover the pan with foil and bake 45 minutes or until polenta is creamy and absorbed most of the liquid, similar to the consistency of oatmeal.  Remove pan from oven and stir in the chives, Parmesan cheese.  Season to taste.  Keep warm but set aside.
 
Grill sausages until done and juices are clear.  

Spoon polenta onto warmed plates or serve in skillet.  Slice sausages in half lengthwise and serve over the warmed polenta.  Top with grilled vegetables, greens, or cheese, or serve as is.

~~~~  °o°  ~~~~

Unknown

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. 

~~~~  °o°  ~~~~

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.    

~~~~  °o°  ~~~~

Unknown

When it came to cheese week, believe it or not, I actually wasn't going to include this recipe.  Let's be honest, it seems like an overly obvious choice, and it seems like everybody already has the recipe.  But the more I thought about it, the more I really felt like I had to include it.  It is, after all, Disney's most requested recipe.  It's also the dish that introduced the idea of signature dishes and recipes at Disney...  It's so overwhelmingly popular that it's survived numerous menu changes, and while the recipe has changed over the years, at its core, it remains the same.  Besides which, this soup is mind-blowingly awesome, as to be expected in any recipe where the primary ingredients are cheese, beer, and bacon.  Just one taste and I'm back at EPCOT.

The tricky thing about this recipe is that, while it's easy to make, it's hard to find all of the exact ingredients used at Le Cellier.  Moosehead Beer and Nueske’s center cut bacon are both Canadian and, even though I live about one tank of gas away from Canada, finding these brands is tricky, at best.  Substituting the bacon is easy enough...  Stick with center cut bacon, preferably just straight bacon, not low sodium, maple cured, thick cut, etc etc.  The beer, however, is a trickier prospect as it has the potential to change the taste of the whole dish.  I've used beers like Guniness or local favorites, pale ales, all with a lot of success.  This last time, however, I used the only thing I could find (and just happened to be Canadian) that was sold outside of a six pack...  Labatt Blue.  I have to say, I was disappointed as I wanted something a little more fun, authentic, closer to Moosehead, and less "commercial," but honestly, using this gave me the best batch of soup I've ever made.  I really recommend it.  As for the cheese, until recently Le Cellier has been using Canadian Black Diamond white cheddar.  If that can't be found, any medium/mild white cheddar cheese will work just as well.

Now, about the recipe itself...  When the soup was first introduced to the menu, it included very simple, core ingredients.  Cheese, beer, bacon, flour, and milk, along with seasonings.  As time has marched on, the recipe has changed to include more traditional soup base ingredients such as celery, onions, and carrots.  I honestly prefer the original recipe, which is essentially the same, just leaving out the extra veges, extra butter, and reducing the flour to about 1/3 cup.  Don't be afraid to make a double batch...  It reheats beautifully, only gets more delicious as it "ages," and with a splash of milk and/or beer, it comes back to life.  And if you're a bacon lover like I am, there's certainly no law against using the whole pound of bacon instead of the half pound...  

~~~~  °o°  ~~~~

Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup

As is served at Le Cellier Restaurant, Canada Pavilion, EPCOT

°o°  1/2 pound center cut bacon, cut into 1/2 inch strips
°o°  1 medium red onion, diced

°o°  3 celery ribs, diced

°o°  4 tablespoons butter
°o°  1 cup all-purpose flour

°o°  2 cups chicken stock
°o°  4 cups milk
°o°  3/4 pound grated white cheddar cheese, medium or mild (Canadian Black Diamond)
°o°  1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

°o°  1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
°o°  Salt and pepper, to taste

°o°  1/2 cup warm beer

°o°  Chopped scallions or chives for garnish, optional

In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until lightly browned.  Remove a spoonful to use as garnish.  Add the onion, celery, and butter, sauteing until the onion is softened.  Over medium heat, add the flour and stir, creating a thick paste-like roux.  Slowly whisk in the broth and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 1 minute, then reduce to a simmer, simmering for about 15 minutes, allowing the soup to thicken.  

After the soup has thickened, whisk in the milk and bring to a gentle simmer, not allowing the mixture to boil.  Remove from heat and whisk in cheese until the soup is smooth.  Add Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and beer.

Serve warm, garnish with scallions/chives and bacon.  To reheat leftovers, add milk and reheat until warm, not allowing the mixture to boil.

~~~~  °o°  ~~~~

Unknown

I know I said this would be 50's week, but I had to make one slight departure.  I was craving really good mashed potatoes to go with this weeks main meal, and unfortunately the mashed potato recipe from 50's Prime Time Cafe was unavailable for home use.  

So for today's recipe, I mentally traveled to my favorite park, EPCOT, to the restaurant that probably has all form meat with mashed potato down to a fine art: Le Cellier. 

I won't get too in depth as to how amazing Le Cellier is (that's best done in a series of posts!), but this restaurant does deserve far more attention than a minor mention in a side dish recipe.  Chances are anybody who's been to Disney and sought out fine dining has ended up here at one point or another.  The steaks, the famous cheese and beer soup, and the chocolate "moose" have made this a place to not be missed.  When I thought of great mashed potatoes to go with a hearty meat dish, I knew I just had to use Le Cellier's cream cheese mashed potatoes.

The nice thing is that these are easily adapted to your individual tastes.  If you like nice and fluffy, like me, just reduce the milk and mash using a masher.  If you like the creamier, more liquified version, like is served at Le Cellier, use a food mill or processor (or that handy dandy hand blender I used in the peanut butter and jelly shake).  Because they serve it fluffy at 50's Prime Time Cafe, I opted for the less milk and masher method.  What I got were heavenly, cloud-like potatoes that almost stole the show.

~~~~  °o°  ~~~~

Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

As is served at Le Cellier, Canada Pavilion, EPCOT

 

°o°  2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and chopped in quarters
°o°  8 ounces cream cheese

°o°  1 stick unsalted butter

°o°  1 tablespoon Kosher salt
°o°  1/2 cup warmed milk (you may not use all of it!)

°o°  black pepper, to taste

Boil or steam potatoes in lightly salted water until fork-tender.  Drain, but do not rinse.

Add cream cheese, butter, and salt.  For fluffy potatoes, use a masher and mash potatoes while slowly adding milk until reaching the desired consistency.  Stir to incorporate all ingredients.  For creamier, more liquified potatoes, use a food mill, mixer, or processor to incorporate all ingredients, adding enough milk to reach desired consistency.  

Add black pepper and more salt to adjust seasonings and serve warm.

 

Yield: 8 Servings 

~~~~  °o°  ~~~~

Unknown