Blizz-Flurry

Not yet Blizz-Flurried...

What is a Blizz-Flurry, you ask? Well, it's just a name I concocted a mere two seconds ago to describe the scrumptious, creamy dessert that every other fast food chain and their parent company carries - the good old soft serve ice cream with a specific topping mixed, swirled, or blended in. Since the majority of the names are copyright or trademarked, I blended two names together, corny pun intended. 

These genius little peanut butter filled pretzel concoctions were sitting idly around on the counter, begging to be consumed. But, since my taste buds were craving sweets, I nearly pushed the pretzel bites aside in favor of a good old scoop of chocolate soy ice cream. Oh the life of the lactose intolerant. 

Just as I retrieved the ice cream container, the cliched, animated lightbulb poofed out of nowhere above my head. Pretzel bites + peanut butter + chocolate ice cream...Blizz-Flurry it is! And thus my first Choco-nut-zel Blizz Flurry was created. I'm a bit shocked that this is the first time I created an ice cream version of a chocolate covered pretzel, but better late than never! The 3 step simplicity of this dessert is always a plus.

- Shortcake

Step 1: Crush!

Step 2: Scoop!

Step 3: Blend!

Cooking LIVE with Brent and Reuben!

"I think it would be great!  My mom loves Regis and Kelly and it's always hilarious when they try to cook on their show.  I think it'll be like that!" said Brent Dodge, as he was pitching the idea of having me come on his Disney video podcast, the WEDnesday Show.

This past WEDnesday, I had the pleasure of being not only the first LIVE, in-person guest on the famous WEDnesday Show Disney video podcast, I also had the chance to be there as a guest chef!  Brent had asked me the previous week if I would like to cook something with him for his occasional "Cooking with Brent" segment on his show.  I of course said yes; this would be an opportunity to practice my pastry skills, which have been somewhat dormant since I started living down in Disney World.  Also, this was a chance to see how I would fare cooking on a live show.

We want YOU to cook with Brent and Reuben!

Brent and I talked about what we were going to make the night before, but we didn't decide what we were doing until the afternoon before the show.  We decided on Chocolate Cookie Mousse from Disney's Beach Club Resort, but I warned him that it is easy to mess up because of the gelatin in the formula.  In my past experiences, gelatin was always a pain to work with because of its narrow working temperature range, especially when you need to incorporate hot, melted chocolate with cold whipped cream.  On the phone, I read the recipe to him to make sure we had not only the ingredients, but also the supplies. We needed not only Oreo cookies, but crumbled Oreo cookies.

"Do you have a food processor?...it's kind of like a blender but bigger and for more solid foods...no?...hmm...okay, do you have ziplock bags and a hammer?  Awesome, then we're set!"

And with those immortal words, I knew I would be in for an interesting night.  Needless to say, with having nothing prepared in regards to a script of some sorts, and with the impending doom and failure I predicted with this mousse, I really surprised myself by not being nervous for the show. It might be because I didn't have time to get nervous. A variety of factors throughout the day led to me being a little late to the show, so I was thrown right into everything as soon as I walked through the door of the WEDnesay Show studio.

Chefs Mickey, Reuben, and Brent Dodge

Even with the fear of mousse failure; a last minute, on-the-air search for bowls and a hammer to pulverize cookies; I believe the show was a smashing success.  It ended up being a really wacky show. I guess I wasn't too nervous, since this wasn't an actual Food Network-esque cooking show, but it was really really fun!  We separated eggs into sand pails, made double boilers out of two sauce pots, and embraced the unexpected elements that accompany the fine art of winging it on live television.  There was even a point where Brent said "we need a whisk...whatever a whisk is..." I was worried that our audience was wondering "Do they really know what they're doing?" but after an hour of madness, we came out with a pretty delicious white chocolate cookie mousse.  I was also quite happy and relieved to know how quickly the techniques and tricks from my pastry training came back to me.  It was a really fun night and I hope our audience enjoyed it as much as we did!

Our finished mousse actually looks pretty tasty! And it was!

You can watch the cooking/pastry maddness (that's right with two "d"s) by watching the August 3rd, 2011 episode at the W.E.D.nesday Show's Archives and here is the recipe if you want to try it at home:

Chocolate Cookie Mousse:
"Creme-filled cookies add crunch to this luscious chocolate dessert that's a favorite at Cape May Cafe at Disney's Beach Club Resort.  Spoon into champagne flutes and top with fresh seasonal berries for an elegant ending.  Yield 6 servings."

6 chocolate sandwich cookies with creme filling
2/3 cup (5.5 oz) white chocolate
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp granulated gelatin
3 egg yolks

1. Crumble purchased cookies into fine pieces in a food processor.
2. Melt white chocolate in top of double boiler over hot water.  When melted, remove from heat.
3. Whip the heavy cream until medium-firm peaks form.
4. Pour 1/4 of the whipped heavy cream into a saucepan and sprinkle in the gelatin.  Let sit about 3 minutes, until the gelatin softens and swells.
5. Heat gelatin over low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved.
6. Remove from heat and gently blend in egg yolks.
7. Add melted chocolate, stirring fast to avoid lumps.
8. Fold the remaining whipped heavy cream and cookies together, then gold into white chocolate mixture.
9. Pour into serving bowls (champagne glasses or wineglasses work well).
10. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

(recipe from Cooking with Mickey and the Disney Chefs)

- Sandwich

Currently Craving: Gelati

This is what frozen indulgence looks like

The Midwest and East Coast have been experiencing a heck of a heat wave this week and it makes me thankful that Mother Nature has been ever so kind with the glorious 90F SoCal weather. So, if the summer sun is prickling your skin with the intensity of a blow torch, and you happen to be in Disneyland's Downtown Disney, follow me and skip on to Naples to find what I'm currently craving: cool and creamy Gelati.

While the chocolate was sinfully indulgent, and the berry refreshing, the vanilla was what stood out for me; it's not often I encounter a vanilla ice cream that delights me the way this did.

Gelati, or gelato if you want to go singular, is what most people dub as Italian ice cream. The semi frozen gelato's slightly higher serving temperature and lower air content account for its famously creamy texture. The reason most find the taste and flavors more explosive and incredible than "regular" ice cream is because gelato contains no eggs and very rarely, any cream. The base recipe calls for simply whole milk and sugar; so the absence of cream, eggs, or butter allows for a more indulgent flavor to dance on your sweltering tongue.

Stay cool this weekend!

-Shortcake

Chocolate Frogs

"Aw rotten luck. They've only got one good jump in them to begin with." - Ron Weasley

I guess the spell loses its effectiveness in our world because once I lifted the cover to the ornately decorated, pentagon box, the frog remained content to stay inside. Just as the movie scene implies, these frogs are made of pure chocolate, milk or dark, depending on your preference. Unlike the quintessential, hollow chocolate bunnies found in Easter baskets, these chocolate molded frogs are solid chocolate through and through. Hence why the box itself feels pretty hefty when you first pick it up off the shelf, and why a sturdy knife is required to break apart the torso.

The milk chocolate is unlike any recipe used in super market aisle, run-of-the-mill chocolate bars. My palette is more accustomed to the bitter sweetness dark chocolate offers, so I was surprised when the milk chocolate didn't make me want to run away from over indulgence of sugar. For me, this flavor resides one tiny notch above the semi sweet morsels often encountered in chocolate chip cookies.

The best part for many kids is the wizard card that nestles underneath the chocolate frog. Unlike the movie, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter only offers four different wizard cards, the founders and namesakes of the Hogwarts houses: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. I must be fated to be in the house of Rowena Ravenclaw, since this card isn't the first time I've been deemed Ravenclaw material .
- Shortcake

Elvis Wishes His Sandwich Was This Good

As I am sitting here writing today's Whip, I can't help but be jealous of last-week-Sonic.  He had a great dinner at Lamill Coffee, and I for one would not mind trading places with him in order to have that dinner again.  Last week, Sonic had a sandwich, chips, and some milk.  But it wasn't just any old sandwich, and certainly not Sandwich of the Trio.  "That is called cannibalism, my dear children," Willy Wonka would say.  "And is, in fact, frowned upon in most societies."

No, this sandwich was better, and definitely acceptable in most societies.  Actually, acceptable is a huge understatement.  This was a monumental, earth-shattering, mind-blowing, weak-at-the-knees, politics-changing, taste-exploding sandwich.

I could try and spend time trying to find words to describe this decadent creation.  But this sandwich was such an experience that mere words simply could not do it justice.  How can I describe the peanut butter without using such predictable words like "perfect consistency"?  How do I talk about peanut butter at all without suddenly flashing back to my five-year-old self, watching "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" and eating peanut butter with a spoon?

And the chocolate?  Look at it.  Deliciously rich and milky Valrhona chocolate, direct from Tain-l'Hermitage, France.  What more is there to say?  Dare I talk about how its sweetness blended perfectly with the peanut butter?  Or how both of their meltedness provided a delightful contrast to the soft and chewy banana?  And that banana!  What can you say about a banana that hasn't already been said?

But the real kicker, the cherry on top of the sundae, the happy ending, was the milk.  This isn't your average in-the-fridge milk.  You dare not pour this milk over cereal, then toss it in the sink afterwards because it's gotten warm and cerealified.  No, this milk must be drunken, in tiny but effectively satisfying sips.  Too much and you're mouth will be spoiled and hate regular milk forever afterwards.  Too little, and your mouth will hate you for teasing it so.  This milk, this Madagascar Vanilla Milk, is why I am so so grateful that I am not lactose intolerant.  And even if I were, I'd suffer the stomachache later simply to be satisfied now.

Honestly, I can't find words to describe this meal.  Everything above only conveys my surface emotions.  There's more than meets the eye.  This meal changed my life.  It changed my beliefs.  It made me want to live.

Or, it's just all that chocolate and peanut butter and banana and milk messin' with my brain.  Put four fond comfort foods together in a meal like this and you're bound to go a little nuts.


- Sonic  

Trilogy of Flavors: French Pastries

It's a special edition of Whips of Dole this week!

In honor of Disney and Pixar's Ratatouille celebrating its 4th anniversary, we'll be highlighting and attempting some of our favorite French dishes and desserts this week! So let's kick things off with our favorite French pastry flavors! As you'll soon notice, each one involves chocolate, haha!

The Opera Pastry

Yes, this is one of Sandwich's concoctions

As mentioned in this post, any dessert containing some hint of coffee flavor is my weakness. With its coffee enhanced, nut meringue sponge cake and layers of chocolate buttercream and ganache, it's pure dessert bliss. - Shortcake

Chocolate Croissant 

I'm not a big breakfast person, but I'll gladly drop whatever I'm doing and munch down on a chocolate croissant. My favorite version is from Main Street Bakery in Walt Disney World. (Of course) - Sonic

Marjolane

Another pastry made by Sandwich

A classic french pastry, the marjolane is a rich layer cake made with jaconde (almond sponge cake), chocolate, and other flavored cream fillings. - Sandwich

Sweet Serendipity!

I thought I saw your face
In the evenin' sky

On a lonesome cloud

That was driftin' by
I wish I could fall

On a night like this

Into your lovin' arms

For a moonlight kiss

-"Moonlight Kiss" by Bap Kennedy

If you've seen the 2001 film Serendipity, you'd know that this song starts playing after Jonathan (John Cusack) and Sarah (Kate Beckinsale) part ways for the first time.  Jonathan realizes he lost his scarf and returns to Serendipity 3 to retrieve it, only to find that Sarah has also returned, having forgotten the cashmere gloves the two previously fought for at Bloomingdale's.  What a fortunate accident!

And if you haven't seen Serendipity, get off the computer, go watch it, and come back here.

Clockwise: Kate Beckinsale, John Cusack, blender, crushed ice, chocolate malt balls, powdered hot chocolate mix, sugar, Hershey's milk chocolat bars, and milk. 

The restaurant featured in the film, Serendipity 3, is best known for its "Frrrozen Hot Chocolate," a delightfully sweet concoction that simply must be experienced first hand rather than read about on the internet.  Unfortunately, for the moment you'll have to read about it on the internet.  For the longest time, I've had to settle for reading about it on the internet.  Every trip to New York City, there was always the intent to go to Serendipity 3.  But it was always missed, largely due to time, distance, and the all-around feeling of "Oh my god, we're in New York City...what should we do first?!?"  So, after the last NYC trip was a bust Serendipity-wise, I decided I'd have to just make the darn thing at home.


Thankfully, the recipe for Serendipity 3's Frrrozen Hot Chocolate has been revealed, after years of being a trade secret.  They still keep mum on the official site, but the recipe (along with many others) is available in their official cookbook Sweet Serendipity: Delicious Desserts & Devilish Dish.  The recipe's been reproduced online as well, at Epicurious, Oprah.com, even ABC News.  Since I followed the directions largely to a T, simply check out the pictures that follow with the official directions.

Ingredients: 

6 half-ounce pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolates

2 teaspoons hot chocolate mix

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

3 cups ice

Whipped cream

Chocolate shavings

Preparation: 

Step 1: Do not drool into the chocolate.

1. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. 

Step 2: Do not dip your finger into the chocolate for a taste.

2. Add the cocoa and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended. 

Step 3: Do not drink the mixed chocolate by itself as it will be really really sweet.  Trust me.

3. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Step 4: Try to think of something funny to add here.

4. In a blender, place the remaining cup of milk, the room temperature chocolate mixture, and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. 

Step 5: Marvel at the fact that you've not only made Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, but that you've actually taken the DVD case for Serendipity and put it in a picture frame holder and took a picture like this for your blog.

5. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy with a spoon or a straw. . . .or both!


Sonic's Additions:

1. For my 6 half-ounce pieces, I used two bars of Hershey's Milk Chocolate (1.55oz each).  Each bar is made to be broken into twelve pieces, but since 1.55 + 1.55 = 3.10, I figured that was good enough.  Instead of using the full second bar, I ate a few pieces of it, and so I had to substitute in some Hershey's Special Dark we still had.


2. I really wish I had a good picture of pouring the milk (which was Lactaid 1%, thus allowing Sandwich to be able to have some).  But since it had to be poured whilst stirring, I couldn't get an effective picture.


3. The consistency wasn't like a daiquiri on my first attempt at blending.  This was because I had measured out two cups of ice for the picture seen at the top, then forgot to put the ice back in the freezer for a good ten minutes.  By the time I realized that, the ice was already crushed and melting.  I put it in the freezer quickly, and when blending time came, I blended the two cups of partially-melted ice with one cup newly-crushed ice.  Next time, I'll remember to not do anything ice-wise until it's time for blending.


4. I had some malt balls that I threw in during the blending process.  I intended to melt them with the rest of the chocolate, but wasn't sure how the malt would affect the consistency.  So I saved it for blending, where I threw in only three or four.  I also used one in place of a cherry at the end.  Instead of chocolate shavings, I used some caramel that Sandwich made.

-Sonic

Don't Lay a Finger on My S'mores

Butterfinger S’mores and Chocolate Peanut Butter

You read that right. Butterfinger S’mores. A good portion of you are probably tempted to skip ahead to feast your eyes on the recipe and the plethora of photos of the indulgent treat. Heck, I’m getting cravings right now just writing about it.

Unintentionally continuing with last week’s theme about comfort foods and childhood favorites, s’mores automatically elicit dozens of lifetime memories. Ironically, only two or three involve the outdoor activities of camping or bonfires. The earliest memories consist of my brothers and me watching the microwave in anticipation, hoping for the heated marshmallow to follow in Mr. Stay Puft’s footsteps in Ghostbusters and blow up. Sadly, despite nearly always bloating to twice its size, the marshmallows never exploded.

Despite the lack of explosions, s’mores was probably the one dessert my parents were not fond of doling out to us. 1) It was the stickiest, messiest thing ever. 2) It was the sweetest thing ever. 3) It brought out the most overactive hyper-ness in all three of us. And all three of those reasons are probably why the delectable S’mores got its name. It leaves you wanting more, no matter how sticky or messy. Seriously, could anything be more fun and sinfully delicious than graham crackers, gooey chocolate and roasted marshmallows?

Well, of course they could. Enter the creamy goodness of peanut butter, my personal addiction. Another classic combination, peanut butter and chocolate have been joined at the hip for decades. The overwhelming popularity of the combination is what propelled the peanut butter cup to become a king in the candy aisle. So why not add the nutty butter to the s’mores family and make it a foursome?

Granted, I knew I wasn’t just going to replace a Hershey bar with a Butterfinger bar in this concoction. That would be too simple. And it would be way too difficult to enjoy, since Butterfingers are usually extra crunchy and almost always annoyingly stick to those back molars. I thought about using a Reese’s peanut butter cup, but its ratio of chocolate to peanut butter didn’t satisfy me. Plus, I wanted a taste of real peanut butter thrown in, none of that processed stuff.

I cheerfully experimented and came up with my own version of chocolate peanut butter. Some Butterfinger bars were crushed, marshmallows were roasted, and everything was sandwiched in between two glorious graham crackers. And boy was I reeling from the sugar high afterwards.

Butterfinger S’mores

Serves 2

• 4 Tb Chocolate Peanut Butter, recipe follows
• 1 fun sized Butterfinger or 1/3 Butterfinger bar, crushed
• 4 Graham cracker squares
• 4 marshmallows or 2 jumbo sized marshmallows

1. Make the chocolate peanut butter. You can also purchase pre-made chocolate peanut butter in stores such as Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. But I prefer the homemade recipe because of its similar taste to Butterfinger filling.
2. Crush Butterfinger bar into small, crumbled pieces; set aside.
3. Spread a satisfying helping of chocolate peanut butter on two graham cracker squares. Sprinkle and gently press down a layer of the crushed Butterfinger on top of one chocolate-peanut-buttered graham cracker. For extra sweetness, if you don’t mind the mess, go ahead and sprinkle a layer of crushed Butterfinger on your second graham cracker as well.
4. Roast the marshmallows either over a flame or use your oven’s broiler. I broiled them at 400F. Watch them carefully; it only takes a minute or two for the tops of the marshmallows to reach the beautiful golden brown color.
5. Layer two roasted marshmallows on top of the crushed Butterfinger graham cracker. Then press the second chocolate-peanut-buttered graham cracker on top of the marshmallow, chocolate-peanut-butter side down.
6. Enjoy the sticky, messy, peanut buttery sweetness.

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Makes 4 Tablespoons

• 1 heaping Tb semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 heaping Tb creamy peanut butter
• ½ - 1 Tb softened butter, as needed to soften
• 2 tsp Confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

1. Heat and melt the semi sweet chocolate chips in the microwave. Be careful not to scorch them. The best way to prevent scorching is to heat the chips at 20 second intervals and stir them after each interval. In my microwave, it took about 45 seconds to heat it to the desired soft, melty consistency.
2. Mix in the peanut butter, sugar, and butter into the chocolate. Start w/ ½ Tb softened butter and add a bit more to get the desired chocolate peanut butter to a creamy consistency.

Chocolate Peanut Butter (full recipe)

For people who want a larger quantity to save for sandwiches and other treats =)

Makes about 2 cups

• ¾ cup semi sweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup confectioner's sugar
• 4 – 5 Tb butter, softened

Follow the same directions as above

- Shortcake