...just thought I would write a blog to blather on with my opinions of food, recipes and general cooking stuff...
Speaking of which, here is (from what I have heard) an authentic way of making guac...in a "molcajete". A mortar and pestle made of volcanic rock. Apparently by mashing the avocados, cilantro, lime juice and whatever you like in your makes the finished product better. Maybe it does but whatever it does, it's fun.
Have your mise en place ready with cilantro, salsa, guacamole, a squeeze of lime. To raise it up try using queso fresco cheese for a true authentic flair. Our American cheese smothered versions of tacos are far off the authenticity track, so usually this queso fresco...if used at all, is added sparingly.
The coals glow, becoming ashen in their pyramid while the biscuit dough with it's musty flour is mixed and kneaded. Flip, push, turn, push, flip. No rolling pin so I mash the dough with floured hands, more organic, more feel. I find a suitable biscuit cutter in the form of a Tupperware cup and cut a dozen round dutch oven ready pieces of dough, ready to be set inside the 12 inch cast iron heavy pot over the coals. The Lodge branded oven, new out of the box is being pre-heated, pre-seasoned and oiled for the biscuits. Eight briquettes under the oven, seventeen on the rimmed lid, same ratio for any Dutch oven baking, 1/3 under, 2/3 on top. Heat rises.
I quickly realize that dutch oven cooking is slow. Cooking which you have to pay attention to and yet leave alone at the same time. You have to pay attention to the heavy pot and it's temperature - do you have enough coals? Do you have extras at the ready in case you need to raise or maintain the temp? No turning a dial out here. Then when you have it set and your meal is cooking away, you need to be patient - don't lift the lid to check on your progress, you just let your valuable heat escape. Smell. Does it smell like baked biscuits? Certainly over time you will get a feel for it.
Growing up in So Cal, my family often visited Uncle Walt’s little backyard playground many times a year. Sometimes my brothers and I were fooled by our parents...”get in the car, were going to drive aimlessly around for hours on end looking at houses”. At least that’s what I heard, I am not sure if that is what they said. But on rare occasions…because if they did it too many times we wouldn’t get tricked…they would say those words, we pile in the Ford LTD and off we go. What seemed like weeks of driving non-stop, we would get near the Magic Kingdom, maybe my brothers weren’t fooled as easily as I...someone would blurt out: “I see the Matterhorn!” Those many visits combined with a few trips with my high school marching and jazz band to play and march inside the park and my stint in the summer of 1980 as a dishwasher at the now (and sadly) defunct Tahitian Terrace make it an extra special place. |
| Nice Prices! |
Right off the bat, it would have to be the Blue Bayou Restaurant in New Orleans Square as my hands down winner for most memorable spot to grab some grub at the park. The cool atmosphere…out of the heat in a sit down restaurant being waited on. Monte Cristo. Those two words bring salvation, salivation and a salutation to the chef. Crunchy, cheesy…just don’t eat too many unless you are a quart low on oil. They are also offered across the “street” from the Blue Bayou at Café Orleans, a bit cheaper at $17 versus $25 at B.B. but you won’t get the atmosphere. Someone has to pay for the fire-fly’s wages! A monte cristo is pain to make, I have tried a couple of times but here’s the recipe.
Next on my list would have to be a churro. Basically a long donut rolled in cinnamon and sugar. You can find them other places, even Costco but why take the fun out of someplace special? 
Another spot I like is the Bengal Barbecue also in Adventureland. They sell a few items at this grab and go place, most notably a few skewers, cheap and different.
Who hasn’t made Mickey Mouse pancakes? Who has had them at Disneyland? On road trip a few years back we went to Disneyland for 3 days and were able to slow down and enjoy many things it’s hard to do in a one-day-er. We got up, got to the park and went straight to…no, not Indy…no not Big Thunder, but to the River Belle Terrace in Frontierland for pancakes!...looking out over the Rivers of America as the Mark Twain chugs by.
I decided if I were going to the trouble of this recipe, I would make homemade fries…pomme frites. The key in making crunchy, perfectly cooked fries is double cooking them. I have a fryer that I am able to set the temperature so no need for a thermometer. Cut the fries to the desired size and soak them in cold water while you go on to do other things, such as setting up your “mise en place” [miz ɑ̃ plas], or putting in place or everything in it’s place. I find it well worth the effort to pre-prepare your recipes. Most times you will need measured ingredients immediately. You don’t want your sauce boiling over while you are pawing through your spice rack for Herbes de Provence or whatever. Slice, dice, mince, chop, measure and find all of your ingredients first before doing anything else…other than sampling the wine of course! By using this method all you need to focus on is your assembly. 
