Back in August of last year we gave you the skinny on the up-coming changes to the landscape of the Japan pavilion.  As the Yakitori House and the surrounding area was being converted into Katsura Gardens, the kiosks below were also undergoing a change.

Katsura Gardens area during rehab

The small gift shop on the walkway that featured trinkets and some snack food items (shown in the photo above still open during the construction) was converted into something much more appealing, a sake bar!

A nighttime shot of the same area after the re-opening

Now known as the Garden House, this small venue features several sakes, beer, plum wine and a variety of sake cocktails. The Partial Harem and I made our first visit here slightly after hours…

the doors were closed, but that didn’t prevent the ladies from beating on the glass trying to gain admission…

Sadly we had to wait until another day to sample the offerings there, but the wait just furthered our anticipation of the tastes to come…

Garden House Menu

We were mostly looking forward to trying the sake cocktails, and (strictly for research purposes for you, dear readers) we made the most of our chances to try them…

The friendly staff was glad to make their recommendations…

and our drinks were made to order…

Most of the sake cocktails are fruit-flavored – some of them (like the pineapple) are a bit creamy, while others are, well, not…

Over the next few days, most of the flavors were sampled, and the lime and pineapple were the favorites of the Harem.

Many people may be leery of these due to the inclusion of sake as the alcohol of choice… but these flavors have nothing to do with the cheep, hot sake many Americans seem to know. These cocktails are quite tasty and will be quite refreshing on those hot summer days in Florida. Once the word gets out I expect this to be one busy little place!

And speaking of busy places…

the outdoor margarita bar in the Mexico area of Epcot has long been supplying sweaty guests with acceptable, (mostly) frozen versions of the tequila-based libation… but of course the past couple of years has provided Epcot visitors with a much better option…

the glorious wonderfulness that is La Cava del Tequila!

Well, wonder of wonders, it was announced recently on their Twitter account (@cavadeltequila) that La Cava would be taking over the outside bar… I’m not sure when the change will come, but look forward to some better beverages now outside the pyramid!

And for the latest news about more adult beverage opportunities at Epcot we move over to Italy…

It was revealed that in April the Gusto Wine Bar will open it doors as part of the rehab to Tutto Italia. According to our good friend AJ at the Disney Food Blog, “The look and feel will be reminiscent of an ancient Italian wine cellar, complete with stone walls and floors and exposed brick arches throughout. The space will feel as though it’s underground, with a dark atmosphere, wooden furniture, and wine barrels supporting the bar counter!” Gee… sounds a lot like some other place in Epcot, now doesn’t it??? Can you say La Cava? I knew you could…  If they do half as good a job in Italy as they did in Mexico, the inner oenophile in all of us should be very, very happy…

For a more detail on the forthcoming Gusto, head over to the post at the Disney Food Blog.

So there you have it kids… drink up!

Back to the kitchen… and of course, the bar!

Dedicated Readers won’t be shocked that this is yet another creation from Suvir Saran’s “American Masala” cookbook. If you’re not familiar with Suvir (and you should be), take a look at my intro to his cornbread recipe here.

This recipe is one of those that everyone seems to really enjoy and it consistently garners compliments. It goes well with many types of food: Indian of course, but also great with Thai dishes or really most anything that calls for a side of rice – I’ve even served it alongside White Barbeque Sauce Chicken to raves! And even better, it’s easy to prepare and pretty much fool-proof. My version below varies just slightly from the original (which I’ll give you some notes on at the end), so now, Let’s Cook!

Coconut Rice

Serves 8

Ingredients

1/4 Cup Canola Oil

1 Medium-size Red Onion, thinly sliced

1 Tbl Mustard Seeds

2 Tsp Cumin Seeds

2 Cups Basmati Rice

1/4 Cup Shredded Coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

1 Can (13.5 oz or so) Coconut Milk (regular or light – be sure to use the stuff from the Asian section, not the sweet stuff from the drink mixer aisle)

2 1/4 Cups Water (about, see below)

1 Tbl Sea or Kosher Salt

Procedure

Shake the can of coconut milk well (before you open it please) then pour into a large measuring device and add enough water to total 4 cups of liquid and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.

Add the onions, mustard seeds and cumin seeds and saute until the onions start to soften and the seeds are fragrant – 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the rice and cook another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice changes color a little and starts to smell good.

Stir in the coconut and cook another minute or so.

Add the liquid and salt and stir well. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot and cook for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes (it will stay warm a bit longer than that if needed).

Fluff with a fork…

and serve!

Suvir’s original recipe adds optional torn curry leaves (12 of them, heated with the onions) and uses a bit more salt (1 1/2 tablespoons). He also only uses 1 cup of coconut milk to 3 cups water, but I like to just use up the whole can. The recipe also calls specifically for unsweetened coconut, but it can be hard to find at times – I’ve made it many times with the sweetened version and it comes out great, so I’d say use whatever you can find.

You can certainly “fancy” this up if you want to… maybe add some sauteed mushrooms, little English peas wouldn’t hurt… stir in a little chopped cilantro, or even a bit of mint…

This recipe does make a gracious plenty, but it will keep well for a couple of days, and if you bring a bit extra to friends at work the next day they won’t hate you for it…

Coconut Rice served here with Mongolian Cauliflower (another great recipe for another day)

Add this one to your repertoire… you’ll find yourself making it often!

Back to the kitchen – see you soon!

Yes kids, it’s time for the obligatory Holiday Good Wishes post required of every blog, website, etc…

Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, the Winter Solstice or just (hopefully) a little time off from work, I think most people do feel a bit more kinship and love for their fellow man at this time of year… we (hopefully) get to spend time with our loved ones (or perhaps some of your perhaps dysfunctional families), we miss our family we can’t get to be with (and remember those that are no longer around to be with in person), we shake hands with and give good wishes to casual friends and relative strangers (and most of the time we mean it)… despite the commercialism, over consumption of calories and holiday-related stresses, I think most of us do get at least a little bit of the “warm-fuzzies” at this time of year… what I really wish is that we could all have a bit more of that holiday feelings and good will the rest of the year – the world might be a little bit better place…

Okay, I’ll get off my virtual soapbox… now for a little visual holiday gift… if you’re not already over the holidays as it is.

Let’s take a quick trip over to Animal Kingdom and follow the path down to Camp Minnie-Mickey.

The usual character meet-and-greet area undergoes a bit of a change this time of year:

the characters are adorned in their holiday garb…

When Chipmunks attack...

and all around the area are trees dedicated to various characters, movies, attractions and at least one seems to represent a resort.

Mickey's Tree

Of course each of the Fab Five have their own trees.

Minnie's Tree

Donald's Tree

Goofy's Tree

Pluto's Tree

The ornaments and details on most of the trees are amazing, you can spend quite a bit of time examining each of them looking for hidden treasures. Note the star atop the Pluto tree – it’s made of bones. Let’s just hope they kept Pluto away from the base of the tree…

Finding Nemo Tree

And atop the Nemo tree is a star of a different kind…

And if you need a little extra holiday cheer, in the form of moonshine that is, there’s the Country Bear tree…

Country Bear Jamboree Tree

If you’re a fan of the Wilderness Lodge, there’s a tree full of ornaments reminiscent of the American Northwest…

Wilderness Lodge Tree

including several “fishy” details:

The most distinctive tree is the one decorated for that impish alien, Stitch.

Stitch's Tree

I was sorely tempted to try and swipe one of the rocket ornaments…

That’s just a quick sampling of some of the trees and decorations at Camp Minnie-Mickey – hopefully you’ll have the opportunity to check out these, and the others, for yourselves in the time remaining this holiday season (or ones to come, at least until Avatarland likely takes over this area).

Here’s sincerely wishing all of you Dedicated Readers the best during the remainder of this holiday season, and for the New Year to come – let’s do our best to keep the holiday spirit of goodwill to all in our minds and hearts throughout the year!

Back to the kitchen – see you soon!

The recipe comes from the December 2011 issue of Runner’s World magazine. The article by Jessica Girdwain features several healthy soups, all of which sound really good… I tried the one in question, not intending for it to be a blog recipe, but when I posted the picture of the finished product on Facebook there were several requests for the recipe, so here you go!

It was one of the rare times I didn’t take photos while cooking, so this time you’ll have to settle for a less-than-fantastic pic of the dish at the end, but I’m sure you’re all bright enough to figure out the steps without the usual visual aids… so now, Let’s Cook!

Spicy Sausage Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

4 oz (should be 1 link) of a Spicy, Cooked Chicken Sausage, sliced thin

1 Lb Sliced Mushrooms (your choice)

1/4 Cup Water (hope you have this on hand…)

1/4 Tsp Dried Thyme

1/8 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

4 Cups Chopped Kale Leaves

1/4 Cup White Wine (plus more for the cook as needed)

2 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth (plus more as may be needed)

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 1/2 Cups Cooked Wild Rice

Procedure

Over medium to medium-high heat, saute the sausage in 1 tablespoon of oil until brown.

Remove the sausage and add the mushrooms and cook until softened.

Add the water and deglaze the pan.

Add the thyme, red pepper, kale and wine. Cook until the greens are wilted – about 4-5 minites.

Add the broth and salt, bring to a boil and reduce the heat and simmer about 15 minutes.

Stir in the sausage and wild rice and simmer at least 5 more minutes. If not “soupy” enough, add more broth as desired.

Serve with a nice whole grain bread for dunking…

Spicy Sausage Mushroom Soup

Yummm (forgive me for quoting Rachael…)!!!!

Tasty, and good for you, give it a try!

We’re back to the kitchen, see you soon!

When it comes to the winter holidays, two colors are always associated with this celebratory time of year: red and green. And of course, I always think of tequila… so let’s combine some red and green with it and see what we get, shall we?

Our red is coming from the strawberry infused tequila we made for last month’s margarita, so if you don’t already have some of that good stuff on hand, go back and take a look… I’ll wait now while you make some… (insert the “Jeopardy” theme here… now it’s stuck in your head, isn’t it?).

Okay, we can move on now…

Sweet & Spicy Holiday Margarita

For each drink:

1 oz  Simple Syrup

1 oz  Fresh Lime Juice

2 oz  Strawberry Infused Tequila

1 oz  Cointreau (or other good orange liquor)

2-3  thin slices of fresh Jalapeno Pepper

3-4  leaves of  fresh Basil (heck, if you’ve got some mint around, add a couple of leave of that too)

The red and the green(s)

Muddle the jalapeno and basil in your drink shaker to release their juices. Add the rest of the ingredients and some ice and shake away.

Take a glass (you may salt or sugar the rim if you desire) and strain the drink in (straight up or over ice, as you prefer) – garnish as desired, and drink away!

Happy Holidays!

Enjoy your holidays! Best wishes to all of you from Eating (and Drinking) Around the World!

Back to the kitchen, and the bar… see you soon!

Island Breeze Ginger Cake

Ingredients

2 Cups Flour

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp Salt

2 Tsp Ground Ginger

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 Tsp Ground Allspice

1 Tsp Ground Nutmeg

1 Tsp Ground Cloves

1/2 Cup Butter, softened

1/2 Cup packed Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Molasses

2 Tbl Fresh Ginger, peeled and finely grated (pull out your trusty microplane!)

1 Large Egg

1/3 Cup Hot Water

Procedure

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spray an 8-inch square baking pan lightly with cooking spray and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients (the flour down through the cloves).

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer. Add the molasses and grated ginger and incorporate, then beat in the egg until well mixed.

Add half of the dry mixture and beat it into the butter mixture. Add the water and beat again.

Beat in the rest of the flour mixture until just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the greased pan and stick into your preheated oven. Bake 30 – 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan set on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan to finish cooling.

You can serve the cake slightly warm, at room temp, or even chilled. A bit of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream makes a nice accompaniment. A sprinkle of chopped candied ginger would be fun if you have some of that around.

With many of the “warm” spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves) that we associate with the fall/winter months, this would actually be perfect as an ending to a holiday meal. Give this a try, make it with your kids, and let us know how it turns out!

Now, as always, back to the kitchen!

The Confectionery on Main Street is, not surprisingly, filled with holiday-inspired goodies.

In addition to the holiday sweets, the infamous Turkey Leg makes an appearance in Rice Krispie Treat form.

Turkey Leg Rice Krispie Treat

Just down the way in the Main Street Gallery is a slew of new railroad themed merchandise, all of it looks to be very nice, so if you’re a train-nut, be sure to check these items out.

I really liked these (there is one for Land and one for World), printed on heavy wooden slats.

We were there on one of the days of the Christmas parade taping (yes kids, sorry to burst your bubble, but the Christmas Day parade is taped ahead of time…).

Cameras, lights and so forth were in place around Main Street to tape the musical acts (a big name that day… we’ll see more on that shortly…), the host bits (the boyishly handsome Mario Lopez replaced Kelly and the recently retired Regis this year), and the parade itself (and we have a few interesting bits for that to show you later as well).

Before eyeing some of the TV taping, we took advantage of the sparse crowds away from Main Street to take one last spin on Dumbo before it gets moved to it’s new home in the Storybook Circus section of the Fantasyland expansion.

The flying-elephant-eye-view provided Miss Bonnie and I with a few peeks over the construction walls where the massive Fantasyland expansion project is going on.

Sitting along the aforementioned construction wall is the fancy-dancy popcorn cart that was unveiled several months ago.

Recently added was a sign telling us that this unique popcorn-making-machine is yet another creation of Belle’s inventor father, the clever Maurice.

We took up a location behind the castle stage to get a view of the goings on. There had been much chatter around the park as to who the main musical guest was to be that day…

Santa Goofy showed up, but he wasn’t the name that was being uttered… crowds were gathering…

even one of the step-sisters was taken in by the excitement…

things were at, well, a fever-pitch… yes… Beiber-Fever was rampant at the Magic Kingdom!

Bieber's Back!

Mega-pre-teen idol Justin Beiber was awaiting his performance, and the (mostly) young ladies around us were screaming like, well, little girls… especially when the Beiber would turn around.

He must be waving just at me!

Apparently the Beiber-Fever causes strange marking to appear on parts of young ladies appendages…

I'd see a doctor about that rash...

Also in attendance on the forecourt stage was Jaden Smith, the offspring of Will.

Jaden Smith taking a picture of me taking a picture of him... wow... trippy...

We tore ourselves away from that excitement for a much more important issue… trying new food!

Sleepy Hollow Refreshments recently added waffle sandwiches to the menu, so we just had to try them… we’ll always take the bullet for you, dear Dedicated Readers!

We tried the Sweet and Spicy Chicken and Nutella and Fresh Fruit Waffle offerings…

Sweet and Spicy Chicken and Nutella and Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwiches

The waffles are big and freshly-made.The Nutella version was a big hit with Miss Bonnie – a generous amount of the hazelnut spread was topped with seasonal fresh fruit. This could easily serve as a breakfast or dessert item.

Nutella and Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich

The “spicy” chicken version was a bit on the bland side, but has potential…

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich

The chicken is a big, juicy piece, and the peppery greens are a nice touch, but the sauce defiantly needs a bit more bite (and I’ve had several people agree with me, not all of them being chilie-heads…) – so for the time being, bring along a bottle of hot sauce or your handy stash of ghost pepper salt…

During breakfast hours they are also currently offering an Omelet Waffle Sandwich (as well as some holiday special items all day).

These sandwiches are a nice addition (even if some of the seasonings need to be tweaked a bit), and are a pretty good value – the waffles are big and the toppings generous.

We moved on to explore Adventureland and Frontierland, checking out some of the locations in place for the upcoming Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom interactive game.

SMK location near Pirates

SMK location near Frontierland Shooting Gallery

Closer view of SMK location near Frontierland Shooting Gallery

While in Frontierland we noticed that the Golden Horseshoe was open for dining during lunch hours… and it wasn’t just regular dining…

it was fancy dining!

Ohhh... fancy...

Castmembers at the Golden Horseshoe fighting off the massive lunch rush...

We then observed some of the filming of the Christmas day parade. Mario Lopez did the hosting duties on the stage set up near the train station.

Mario emerging from a visit to the men's room near City Hall.

Not sure what the sword is for... maybe to fend off the camera-toting stalkers outside the bathroom...

Up near the hub, we watched a few of the floats emerge for the parade taping.

Tow Mater and Lightening McQueen from the Cars franchise were accompanied by several young ladies in “Rust-Eze” garb.

Their outfits featured nicely embroidered logos on the caps and back.

Something's not just quite right about that logo...

Following the autos was the Pirates float.

The alluring Angelica

Accompanying the float were several not-so-sober pirates and some comely wenches who displaying quite a bit more cleavage than you’d expect to see in the Magic Kindom (not that I’m complaining, mind you).

Best parade ever!

Now I think I need some alone time, so we’ll end our visit to the Magic Kingdom here… see you soon!

This combo of good things that grow underground is from Senegal, and is essentially a version of what is known as Groundnut Soup (or stew). So without any further ado, Let’s Cook!

Zesty Peanut Soup

Ingredients

1 Tbl Vegetable Oil

1 Onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 Carrot, grated (about 1/2 cup)

1 Large Sweet Potato, peeled and grated (about 3 cups, see note at end of recipe)

The veggies...

3 Cups Water

1 (10.75 oz) Can Condensed Tomato Soup (like the one in the Warhol painting)

1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1 Tsp Curry Powder (or a bit more if you like…)

1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper (or once again, more if you like…)

Sour Cream or Plain Yoghurt, for serving

Garnishes as desired (chopped peanuts, minced green onions, cilantro, etc.)

Procedure

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the onion and carrot and saute until tender, 4 or 5 minutes. I added part of the curry powder during the saute (and yes, I used double the recommended amount of curry powder).

Add the sweet potato and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes until the potato is tender.

Stir in the tomato soup…

the peanut butter, curry powder and cayenne…

bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes or so.

Blend the soup until smooth, using an immersion blender or in batches as needed in a standard blender.

Reheat if needed and ladle into a serving bowl. Add a spoonful of sour cream or plain yoghurt and sprinkle with any of the desired accompaniments. You can always add a few drops of your hot sauce of choice if you need an extra kick.

Zesty Peanut Soup... it looks so good I had to include the picture twice...

The only laborious part of the recipe is the grating of the sweet potato – you could just chop instead (by hand or in your food processor), you’d just have to simmer a bit longer to get it tender.

This is also good at room temperature and even cold. I think any leftover soup would be great added to pasta for a warm or room temp dish – add some veggies (thin sliced broccoli, raw or sauteed; green peppers; whatever floats your boat) and sliced protein of choice if you so desire (cooked chicken breast; shrimp; firm tofu; etc.)… I haven’t tried this with pasta yet, but it should be a no-brainer…

This one is worth giving a try – if you do, please post your comments!

As usual, we’ve got to get back to the kitchen – see you soon!

Broken down into the typical Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert sections, this book contains a few traditional kid-favorites like Spaghetti and Meatballs, but the majority of recipes are for some more adventurous International fare (like Chinese Noodles, Senegalese Peanut Soup, Indonesian Beef Satay, Spanish Paella) than is usually expected on the plates of most of the “I’ll-only-eat-chicken-nuggets-or-die” youth. Some take a familiar style of food and add a different flair (Waffles with a ginger spicing, a Wrap with Greek flavoring, and Chocolate Chip Cookies turned into a pie).

Each recipe features the ingredients and directions on one page…

and on the facing page a big picture of the completed dish, along with a Fun Fact about some food item from the featured country.

For a slim volume, the variety of dishes is great, and every adult I’ve shown the book to has been quite taken with it and wanted to try at least one of the recipes contained therein – several of the recipes have already been tested in the Eating (and Drinking) Around the World Kitchens, and all have been met with positive results (and yes, we will try and share them with you sooner rather than later…). The seasonings are a bit muted for my personal tastes, but seem to be a bit more generously spiced than most other “for kids” cookbooks (of course you can “kick it up” to whatever notch you prefer).

The instructions often note to “ask an adult to help” at many points, but there are some steps in the book that most definitively would require an adults hand, but that caveat is missing there – a small quibble assuming that the idea of the book is that the kids and adults would be cooking together anyway. Another note is that there is a big typo in the ingredient list of the “Chicken, Pineapple, and Mango Tango” recipe (one column of the items are repeated from another recipe). Hopefully there will be future printings that will correct this.

The design and graphics of the book are very Small World/Mary Blair inspired, and portions of the sales go to provide vitamin supplements to children around the world that are in need of them. Other items, such as shirts and bags, also go to support the FEED project (take a look at the post over at the Disney Food Blog for some more info).

Get your little ones involved in the kitchen – with this book you can also introduce them to some different flavors from around the world (maybe they’ll be more likely to try them if they help to make them?), and you both may learn a bit about the other peoples of the world at the same time..

Available in the parks and online from Amazon, this inexpensive cookbook ($10.99 list) is worthy of being in your library, whether you’re trying to get your kids into cooking or if you’re a neophyte adult chef looking to expand their repertoire of dishes. Even the experienced home cook will find something here of interest, and your dollars also go to a good cause at the same time!

Back to the kitchen… look for recipes soon!

Cabana's Strawberry Infused Margarita

For this month, I’m sharing a recipe that we learned at the Modern Mixology seminar at this years’ Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic (and yes, before you start whining, I know I’m quite remiss in giving you posts on the Classic from this year… will get to it… now let’s move on, shall we?). The first thing we were served was this refreshing (and pretty!) drink, and it’s one well worth trying!

Now you will have to be a bit patient, as we have to first prepare the infused tequila. You’ll need a pound package of frozen strawberries (and we were told that frozen berries works much better than fresh for this application) and a 750 ml bottle of decent silver tequila (at the Cabana they use Hornitos Plata).

Put the strawberries in a plastic or glass container and pour the tequila over.

Cover and let sit at room temperature for about three days.

The strawberries have now given up their color, and of course their flavor as well – with their duty done you can now strain them out and summarily dispose of them. You can now return the pretty infused tequila to it’s original home if you’d like.

So now that we have the major ingredient, let’s do some mixing….

Cabana’s Strawberry Infused Margarita

For each drink:

0.25 oz  Agave Nectar (you can find in most groceries now, if you can’t find don’t sweat it, sub simple syrup or maybe even honey)

1 oz  Fresh Lime Juice

2 oz  Strawberry Infused Tequila

1 oz  Cointreau (or other good orange liquor)

Shake all together with ice and strain into glassware of your choice over fresh ice.

If desired garnish with the obligatory lime wheel and take a sip…

This is  a good one – a refreshing, summery drink (even if it’s November now) – give it  a try and let us know what you think! Keep this one around and try it also during those sweltering days at the beach or lake…

I think it might be good just a bit sweeter – try doubling the agave and see…

Back to the kitchen… and the bar… see you soon!