by Sean | Oct 31, 2015 | Magic Kingdom
We had an amazing time at this year’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. One question we get from those that haven’t been to the party, is “Do adults dress up for the party?”. First of all we are all big kids and yes everyone is encouraged to bring out their inner child and have a blast at the party. Not only do adult dress up, they are also given trick or treat bags as they enter the park. You won’t leave w
ith your candy bag empty, guaranteed. We have started to pick a theme each year and dress to the occasion. This year our family decided to go as characters from Mary Poppins. My wife made an amazing Mary and had kids and adults stopping her throughout the night to get pictures with her. I was Bert and our 11 year old son reluctantly went as a penguin. The Halloween Party is one of our favorite parties of the year, if you are in the parks during this time of year be sure to get a ticket to the party. Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!! What or who are you dressing up as this year??
by Sean | Sep 22, 2015 | Epcot
It’s that time of year again when we circle the globe seeking out amazing food. This year’s Epcot Food and Wine festival runs from Sept 25th to Nov 16th. This is one of our favorite times of the year to visit Epcot, for both the cooler weather and the food.
But we know not everyone gets to visit, so why not bring you a virtual Food and Wine festival. Be sure to experience all stops along the Blog Hop for many different countries and varieties of food that you can make and try right in the comforts of your own home.
Our stop this year is Canada and Le Cellier, eh. I know you have heard me talk about the steaks on Favorite Food Friday, they are amazing, but this year we chose to make the soup.
At this year’s Canada food booth you will find the following:
Canada 2015 Food and Wine Booth
- Canadian cheddar cheese soup
- Chicken sausage with creamy polenta and Minus 8 onion jam
- “Le Cellier” wild mushroom beef filet mignon with truffle butter sauce*
- Moosehead® Lager
- Neige Premiere Apple Ice Wine
- Inniskillin Vidal Icewine
- Tawse Vineyard Cabernet Franc*
Mmmm a nice bowl of warm soup on a crisp fall evening. With the help from our friends at AllEars.net we bring you the recipe for Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup.
Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup.
Ingredients:
1/4 lb. smoked bacon finely chopped
1 medium red onion cut into 1/4 in. pieces
1/2 cup finely sliced celery
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
3 TB all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 cups chicken stock
12 oz. grated white cheddar Canadian Black Diamond
3 dashes Tabasco
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup Moosehead Canadian Ale, room temperature
salt and pepper to taste
1 TB thinly sliced chives
Method:
1. Cook the bacon in a large heavy-bottomed, non-reactive soup pot over medium heat until wilted but not browned.
2. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook until the onion is translucent and bacon has crisped.
3. Sprinkle in flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and stock, a little at a time, blending well to ensure there are no lumps. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in cheese, Tabasco, Worcestershire and ale. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with your favorite bread and top with chopped chives.
That’s the official recipe – being a guy that’s always looking for the quick and easy way around cooking I went with just a few changes. These changes, yielded much larger pieces of veggies and bacon than what you will find at Le Cellier. The recipe above calls for finely chopped/sliced veggies, I went with the chopped version that you can find at your local grocery store. The recipe called for finely chopped bacon, if anyone knows how to pull that off let me know, my bacon was cooked and then ripped up into the smallest pieces I could with my hands. White cheddar cheese, I went with the yellow variety and finally the Moosehead Canadian Ale, I went with Molson, hey it’s still from Canada, eh.
Overall my soup turned out pretty darn good. I enjoyed it with a bit of bread and it made for a great meal.
Our post is part of the Virtual Food and Wine Festival, be sure to take some time and check out more of the amazing foods.
by Sean | Jan 2, 2015 | Walt Disney World
Last year the focus was on your Disney Side, this year, or at least for January, Disney is taking a look at the Flip Side. Join Insider Sam as he explores how your favorite Disney characters show their Disney Side in fun and unexpected ways and don’t forget to enter daily for your chance to win a Disney World Vacation with a one night stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite. Don’t forget to bookmark the site and visit it daily – Click Here!
Let’s take a quick look at what Insider Sam is working on……
Your prize pack will include:
- 1-Night stay at the Cinderella Castle Suite in the Magic Kingdom Park
- 3 Nights at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel
- 5-Day Magic Your Way Tickets with Park Hopper and Water Parks Fun & More Options
- $500 Disney Gift Card
- Personalized “Disney Side” Welcome Basket
- Glass Slipper Gift inspired by the new live-action film “Cinderella,” in theaters March 13
- Round-trip coach airfare (If the winner resides more than 250 miles from the Walt Disney World Resort)
Be sure to enter daily on Disney’s Flip Side Site.
by Sean | Sep 29, 2014 | World Showcase
Willkommen to the Virtual Food and Wine Festival, we are the next best thing to being in the parks. Better yet, these visits visits are calorie free. Be sure to tour around the virtual festival by following the links at the end of this article.
It’s fall and every year we head out to our local apple farm to ride out into the apple trees and pick some tree fresh apples. As we sampled the many varieties and picked the apples we often think about how we are going to use all the apples we pick. This year I knew that some were going to make up the apple strudel that we love so much in Germany. I searched the internet and found the recipe at AllEars – you can visit the site and see the recipe shared below here.
First gather all the ingredients, luckily there is nothing out of the ordinary so you might not even have to make a trip to the grocery store.
What do I need for the dough:
½ cup bread flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 (one) egg yolk
¼ cup warm water
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
What do I need for the apple filling:
2 pounds apples, sliced
½ cup melted butter
4 tablespoons toasted breadcrumbs
¼ cup raisins
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
How to pull it all together
First we make the dough
. Mix together the bread flour, all purpose flour, and salt in a mixing bowl using the dough hook on a mixer.
2. Slowly add the egg yolks, oil and warm water on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl, but slightly sticks to the bottom of the bowl.
3. Remove from the mixing bowl and place in a sealed container covering with vegetable oil.
4. Place dough in refrigerator overnight. (We tried this and didn’t like how hard the dough was to work after being in the refrigerator overnight, so we made a fresh dough and continued on with the recipe)
Adding the apple mix to the dough
5. Remove from refrigerator and gently wipe off the excess oil from the dough. For best results, place a clean, lint free towel on the kitchen counter and gently pull the dough with your hands until the dough is paper thin, shaping into a rectangle.
6. Once you have stretched out the dough, place 3 tablespoons of the breadcrumbs on the long end of the dough closest to you approximately 3 inches wide.
7. Mix together apples and raisings and place on top of bread crumbs. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over apple mixture. Sprinkle remaining breadcrumbs over apple mixture.
8. With a pastry brush, brush melted butter on the dough that is exposed.
9. Grabbing the towel with the side where the apple mixture, roll the dough to the other end making sure that the apple mixture inside is even. Brush the outside of the dough with more of the melted butter.
10. Bake at 400ºF degrees for approximately 25 to 30 minutes or until dough is golden brown.
11. Let cool at room temperature for approximately 30 to 45 minutes, then slice with a serrated knife into 8 equal portions.
Enjoy!
Overall we loved our apple strudel, the one thing I think it is missing is some spice or added flavor to the filling. It seems a bit bland to me, but once mixed with ice cream anything tastes good!
Thanks for stopping by – be sure to walk along our Virtual World Showcase and visit all our friends.
by Lori | May 26, 2014 | Walt Disney World
Sure, you’ll find the typical sugary goodness of cotton candy, popcorn and those infamous Mickey ice-cream bars, but if you want something a little different at Walt Disney World, try one of these five sugary good favorites of DisneyDaybyDay!
#5- Sweet Pretzel with Almonds; Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe at Norway Pavilion in Epcot; about $5
If you’re excepting your typical pretzel, think again. It might be pretzel-like in shape but this is more of a sugary pastry. This pretzel contain raisins, icing and flakes of almonds making this one tasty and filling treat.
#4- Caramel Corn; Karamell-Küche at the German Pavilion in Epcot; about $3-$6
When you dip into your first bag of this caramel corn, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven. Made with melted Werthers caramel, it’s warm and buttery, practically melting in your mouth. Our only complaint – If you don’t get a fresh bag, it’s not nearly as good.
#3-Butterfinger Cupcake; Starring Rolls Café in Hollywood Studios; about $5
We at DisneyDaybyDay love butterfingers, so when we heard about this cupcake, we had to try it! Believe us, it doesn’t disappoint! The cupcake is not only topped with buttercream frosting and crumbled butterfinger, but it is filled with chocolate fudge frosting in the center. All this sugary goodness makes it an easy addition to our list.
#2-Citrus Swirl; The Sunshine Tree Terrace in Magic Kingdom; about $4
A lot of people love the dole whips, but our favorite is the Citrus swirl at Magic Kingdom. The Citrus Swirl contains vanilla ice cream mixed with frozen orange juice and is perfect for a hot summer day.
#1-Nutella and Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich; Sleepy Hollow in Magic Kingdom; about $7
The Nutella fruit waffle is more of a meal than a treat. This huge waffle is folded in half and stuffed with fresh fruit and covered with a chocolaty Nutella spread. This treat can definitely feed two. And hey, it’s got fruit, so it’s good for you…right?
As always these are only DisneyDaybyDay’s opinions. If you would choose another sugary treat as your favorite, we’d love to hear about it in the comments section!
We had an amazing time at this year’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. One question we get from those that haven’t been to the party, is “Do adults dress up for the party?”. First of all we are all big kids and yes everyone is encouraged to bring out their inner child and have a blast at the party. Not only do adult dress up, they are also given trick or treat bags as they enter the park. You won’t leave w
