Post-Oscar debriefing

The final menu for the Oscar party deviated only slightly from what I’d planned. My friend B brought bacon salt dip, and gutless rumaki (bacon-wrapped water chestnuts). The squash soup was served sans greens, and the cheese plate was postponed. Also, no carrots.

The desserts went over well. I also had some ice cream to go with them for those who wanted.

I really enjoyed the broiled citrus topped with butter and brown sugar, in a shallow pan, broiled till browned and bubbly.

The poached pears also were pretty good. I tried a trick with them, and it worked pretty well. I did not want to spend forever peeling the pears, so I split them in half and scooped out the flesh with a melon baller. They were a little uneven, but came out fairly well.

Oh, the other thing I had was a champagne punch. This was based on a recipe I got 10 years ago but never made. I modified it a bit because there was no raspberry sherbert at the store, but otherwise it was pretty close to the original

Broiled citrus fruits
3 grapefruit
3 oranges
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter

Mix butter and brown sugar. Section grapefruits and oranges, reserving excess juice for another use. Toss sections into bowl to mix.

Spread fruit out in shallow baking dish so all fruit is in one thin layer. (can be done in advance to this point). Sprinkle brown sugar butter mix on top. Broil about 4-6 inches away from the heat for 5 minutes, or until the top is bubbly and just beginning to brown. Watch it carefully so that it does not burn. Serve warm.

Pear spheres poached in red wine
6 pears, firm, slightly underripe
1 bottle red wine
¼ teaspoon Chinese Five-spice powder
brown sugar or honey to taste, ¼ cup or more
orange zest from one orange

Cut pears in half. Using a melon baller, scoop out spheres, being careful not to hit the skin on the pears. (Can be done about a day aheadIf doing ahead, sprinkle with lemon juice and cover with plastic wrap). Add pears and the rest of the ingredients to large saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 45 minutes, letting the wine mixture reduce.

Using a slotted spoon, drain pears out of wine. Cook wine down a little bit more until it starts to get syrupy. Return pears to syrup, turn off heat. Serve warm, chilled or at room temperature. Can make a day in advance. Reheat or bring to room temp to serve.

Lemon Berry Champagne punch
Make sure all ingredients are chilled before you start.
1 bottle champagne
1 bottle rose wine
1 pint strawberry sorbet
¼ cup frozen lemonade concentrate
1 cup frozen raspberries

Mix all ingredients except for sorbet and raspberries. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop ice cream into punch. Stir to combine. Add raspberries and serve.

Dining at Disneyland

We had a marvelous, spontaneous lunch at the Grand Californian Hotel’s, Storytellers Café. It’s not the uber-fancy restaurant at that hotel, so the prices were pretty decent. The styling was elegant, but relaxed. Green, and marble, but warmed up by some wood accents. The floor carpet was all letters and trains. A great place for both kids and adults to enjoy.

The food was fabulous. I had a simple soup and salad, but it was so flavorful and fresh that it was just lovely. My one beef with the vegetable soup is the menu said the veggies were to be “fire roasted,” but there was no roastiness to be seen or tasted in the soup. But, they floated a goat-cheese smeared crouton on top, so all is forgiven. The salad had bits of hard cheddar, and crunchy things that made it a taste and texture sensation.

Oh, and they had our anniversary wine. The Iron Horse Fairy Tale Cuvee, a sparkling wine bottled just for Disney. Lightly sweet, but not cloyingly so.

It is my very favorite champagne.

We went in the mid-afternoon, so the restaurant was very quiet. Also, going outside the park to eat, where it was nearly deserted, was a wonderful idea. No ticket needed to eat there. I highly suggest getting to the Grand Californian to look around and eat at the Storyteller’s Café if you get a chance.

My other meal at Disney was not quite as good. We lucked out and got walk-in tables at the Blue Bayou, the restaurant in the Pirates of the Carribean ride. So, it’s all decked out like you are on the banks of the Missisippi in New Orleans at the turn of the century at dusk. Nice ambience.

The filet itself was fine. Cooked properly. But the béarnaise, dear god, the béarnaise. I didn’t mention this to my dining companions, because I didn’t want to offend them, but the béarnaise tasted like it had been made with, not butter, but yellow paint.

Blech.

I ate around the béarnaise and otherwise enjoyed the steak and potatoes, but I was sorely disappointed about the butter sauce.