Our Park Favorites – Epcot Family Ride

Our Park Favorites – Epcot Family Ride

With many things including our favorite parks closed down, I wanted to use the next Month to share some of my favorites with you.   For the next 4 weeks (1 park a week) I will be sharing some of my favorites with you and I invite you along to do the same and share your favorites with us.   Enjoy and stay safe!

  • Monday – Favorite Land or Park Area
  • Tuesday – Favorite Family Ride
  • Wednesday – Favorite Counter Service Restaurant
  • Thursday – Favorite Thrill Ride
  • Friday – Favorite Meal
  • Saturday – Favorite Table Service Restaurant
  • Sunday – Favorite Show

This week I will be going with Epcot.   

Our favorite family ride at Epcot is…… Frozen Ever After.  Although we truly miss Maelstrom, the creativity and fun that went into Frozen Ever After makes is a must ride for all family members.     The attraction is a boat ride through the icy blue world of the North Mountains with all our Frozen friends.   What’s your favorite Epcot Family Ride???

 

 

Our Park Favorites – Epcot Area

Our Park Favorites – Epcot Area

With many things including our favorite parks closed down, I wanted to use the next Month to share some of my favorites with you.   For the next 4 weeks (1 park a week) I will be sharing some of my favorites with you and I invite you along to do the same and share your favorites with us.   Enjoy and stay safe!

  • Monday – Favorite Land or Park Area
  • Tuesday – Favorite Family Ride
  • Wednesday – Favorite Counter Service Restaurant
  • Thursday – Favorite Thrill Ride
  • Friday – Favorite Meal
  • Saturday – Favorite Table Service Restaurant
  • Sunday – Favorite Show

This week I will be going with Walt Disney Worlds Second park, Epcot.

My favorite area of the Epcot is the Land area – not only does it have two of my favorite rides Soarin and Living with the Land, but it also has Sunshine Seasons, a great place to grab a bite to eat.    Ever since I was a child I loved “Living with the Land” it was then called “Listen to the Land” and had a song that stuck in your head similar to “it’s a small world”.   Sing along with me now – Just make believe… your a tiny little seed…. What is your favorite area of Epcot?   

 

 

Virtual Food and Wine Festival – Canada

Virtual Food and Wine Festival – Canada

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.

Canada - Le Cellier - Chedder Cheese Soup - DisneyDayByDay
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.

Canada - Le Cellier - Chedder Cheese Soup -1 DisneyDayByDay

 

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.

Virtual Food & Wine Festival – Apple Strudel

Virtual Food & Wine Festival – Apple Strudel

Germany Apple Strudel - DisneyDayByDay

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.

Germany Apple Farm-1 DisneyDayByDayIt’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:Germany Apple Strudel 9- DisneyDayByDay

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:Germany Apple Strudel 1- DisneyDayByDay

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

Germany Apple Strudel Dough - DisneyDayByDay. 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

Germany Apple Strudel Dough with Apples- DisneyDayByDay5. 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.Germany Apple Strudel 3- DisneyDayByDay

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!

Germany Apple Strudel 2- DisneyDayByDay

Thanks for stopping by – be sure to walk along our Virtual World Showcase and visit all our friends.

 

Virtual Food and Wind Festival


Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia – Travel on air at Epcot

Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia – Travel on air at Epcot

As they conceived Epcot, many new types of ride vehicles had to be invented, the standard omnimover would not give the Imagineers what they were looking for. One of these attractions ended up with a vehicle that is rotated on a bed of air. Which attraction would you guess that would be?

Universe Of Energy 2

The answer is The Universe of Energy! The new concept of the traveling theater allowed for something never done before at Disney, the combining of different types of experiences: film, live action, and special effects. But, it also added a level of complexity to the mix, how could they build the attraction with large traveling theaters which had to change directions easily in such a small space.

Disney developed the turntable. These turntables had to rotate 80 tons of traveling theaters quickly and quietly. The turntables are able to do this by using 60 air bags mounted under each turntable. The air bags are inflated which raises the theater about 1 inch and excess air provides a layer of air between the vehicle and the floor below. This process virtually eliminates any friction and allows for a small motor to turn the 80 ton theater.

So, have fun riding on the giant hockey puck next time you ride the Universe of Energy.

Looking for more Trivia – be sure to check out  TIGGERIFIC TUESDAY TRIVIA, hosted by Magical Mouse SchoolhouseMy Dreams of Disney, and Heidi’s Head! 


The Land – Gingerbread Tribute to Disney Parks

The Land – Gingerbread Tribute to Disney Parks

Throughout the Disney property there are many Holiday displays with lots of different ways to use gingerbread.   One our favorite finds this year is the Tribute to Disney Parks and Resorts from around the world on display in The Land pavilion at Epcot.

The Display is located between the Circle of Life entrance and the Garden Grill Restaurant.    Below is a short tour of this display.

The Land - Gingerbread Disney Parks - 4 The Land - Gingerbread Disney Parks - 2 The Land - Gingerbread Disney Parks - 1 The Land - Gingerbread Disney Parks - 5 The Land - Gingerbread Disney Parks - 7 The Land - Gingerbread Disney Parks - 3 The Land - Gingerbread Disney Parks - 6