CARTOON CRAVINGS

My Love Story!! / Ore Monogatari!!

Posted on February 11, 2016 by cartooncravings

Episode: My Chocolate / Ore no Chokorēto
Takeo’s Valentine’s Day Chocolate

Hooray for Valentine’s Day! It’s the season of love and hearts and pink and chocolate! I’ve always loved this holiday. Not for the romance, but for the fact that I can shape all of my food into hearts and no one will look at me funny. Plus giving chocolates to people you love is fun. (Especially if you get some in return!) See, there’s that “L” word again. I’ve used it three times already. Since LOVE is what Valentine’s Day boils down to, what better love story to feature than My Love Story!! (Just look at that title.)

Takeo and Rinko love each other so much, but they’re always on the wrong page. They don’t think they deserve each other, but they don’t want to lose one another either. The series is so sugary sweet it makes my teeth hurt. It’s also so funny that I have trouble breathing. (Literally. I was wheezing after the plastic wrap thing.) The show is after my own heart. And stomach. Every time Rinko turns around, she’s got another mouth-watering dessert for Takeo. Valentine’s Day is no exception. Actually, she outdoes herself by making a monstrous chocolate tower. And that’s after teaching her friends how to make chocolate cookies and having a Valentine’s Day get-together with the boys. How she found the time to pull this off astounds me.

Recipe makes 1 tower of chocolatey goodness

Ingredients

Cake:

2 large eggs, separated

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup cake flour, sifted

1 ½ tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Mousse:

5 ounces milk or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped or melting wafers

1 tablespoon butter

2 large eggs, separated

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup heavy cream

White Chocolate Mousse

6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped or melting wafers

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup heavy cream

Chocolate Truffles:

5 ounces milk or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped or melting wafers

1 ½ tablespoons butter

¼ cup heavy cream

Chocolate Cigarettes and Other Shapes

½ pound milk or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped or melting wafers

½ pound dark chocolate, coarsely chopped or melting wafers

1 pound white chocolate, coarsely chopped or melting wafers

Pink food coloring

Yellow food coloring

Strawberries for Garnish

Directions

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a deep 6-inch round cake pan

Whip egg whites in a stand mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Add sugar 2 tablespoons at a time while continuing to whip. Once the egg whites are glossy and form stiff peaks, beat in egg yolks until incorporated. Use a spatula to fold in cake flour. Heat butter and milk until the butter melts. Pour this into a small bowl. Add cocoa powder and salt to butter and milk and stir until dissolved. Stir in vanilla extract. Fold this into the batter, a little at a time, until fully incorporated without overmixing. Pour cake batter into prepared pan and gently tap or drop on the counter to remove air pockets. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when the cake is tested. Tap the pan on the counter again and cool upside down for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and wrap completely in plastic wrap. This will help keep your cake moist. Cool completely on a baking rack.

Chocolate Mousse:

Slowly melt chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir in butter and egg yolks, one at a time, until incorporated. Remove from heat, add vanilla, and allow to cool slightly. Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture. Whip heavy cream in a stand mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until combined. Move mousse to the refrigerator and allow it to chill until it is set. If it’s still not solid enough to pipe, whip in a stand mixer until stiff.

White Chocolate Mousse:

Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until on the verge of boiling. Add the white chocolate and whisk until melted and incorporated. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Chill mousse in the refrigerator for at least an hour or until it begins to set. Transfer mousse to a stand mixer and whip until stiff.

Chocolate Truffles:

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir in the butter until melted and incorporated. Set aside. Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until on the verge of boiling. Remove from heat and add to chocolate. Stir together until combined. Pour chocolate mixture into a small baking dish and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Remove the baking dish and scoop out balls with a spoon or melon baller. Use your hands to form the truffles into an oblong shape. Allow the truffles to set for at least 30 minutes.

Chocolate Cigarettes:

Melt white and dark chocolates in double boilers or bowls over pots of simmering water. Pour white chocolate onto a work surface. You can use the back of a chilled baking sheet or a cool counter. Spread the white chocolate into a long, paper-thin sheet with a palette knife. Allow the white chocolate to harden slightly. It should feel dry when you touch it. Move a combscraper across the sheet towards you to draw lines. Since I didn’t have the proper tools, I drew lines with a butter knife. (That’s why they look a little funny.) Pour dark chocolate over the white chocolate lines and spread over into a thin sheet. Allow the chocolate to harden until it feels dry to the touch. Clean up the edges so they are straight. Push the palette knife up under the chocolate at an angle. Push the knife through the chocolate and back to make the cigarettes. Allow the cigarettes to rest until completely hardened.

Chocolate Disks:

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Line a baking dish with parchment paper. Place large round cookie cutters on the dish and pour chocolate into cutters until you’ve reached your desired thickness. Tap the dish on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Chill the chocolate until it’s set. Gently tap the dish to remove the chocolate from the cutter. Chill the disks until assembly. You can also pour the chocolate straight into the baking dish, chill, and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter that has been heated.

Stars and Pink Heart:

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Use the same method as the chocolate disks to achieve the desired shapes. Before making the heart, add a small amount of pink food coloring to some of the white chocolate. Chill shapes until assembly.

Crosshatch Heart

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Mix in a small amount of yellow food coloring. You can use a spatula or fork to drizzle chocolate on parchment paper in a crosshatch pattern and cut out the heart shape. You can also pipe out thin lines of chocolate into the crosshatch pattern and cut out the heart shape. They are delicate so be careful. (Mine broke so many times I had to settle for drawing the pattern on a solid piece of chocolate.) Chill heart until assembly.

Putting It All Together:

Place your cake on your desired base, cake board, or plate. Pipe chocolate mousse onto the cake. I opted for small blobs that sit close enough to squish together. Place a chocolate disk on top of the mousse. Pipe the white chocolate mousse on top of the disk and cover with the second chocolate disk. Be careful not to sandwich the disks and mousse too much. (That’s why my bottom layer isn’t too happy.) Pipe a small blob of white chocolate mousse in the center of the top chocolate disk. Place strawberries, truffles, and stars in front of the blob. Place the pink heart and the crosshatch heart behind it. Stick the chocolate cigarettes out next to the crosshatch heart. To keep the decorations in place, I glued them down with a little melted chocolate and a bit of leftover mousse.

Variations:

I assumed that the fillings were mousse, but I could be wrong. You can use marshmallow, cheesecake, panna cotta, or anything you want. You can also use other decorations, like regular chocolate pieces in place of the truffles.

my love story chocolate (3)

Rinko must REALLY love Takeo because there’s a lot of work involved to make this towering chocolate. At least I got to try some of it. Rinko doesn’t even watch Takeo eat it. She’s feels rewarded just by giving it to him. She even apologizes for making mistakes. And that makes Rinko a much better person than I am. Not to mention that Takeo just wanted any chocolate from Rinko and was already satisfied with the cookies he’d gotten. He was already on his way out to buy her some expensive chocolate in return. Even though he wasn’t expecting anything else from Rinko, he was overjoyed and made sure to savor every bite. They’re just too cute! The couple is perfectly imperfect and show that love is difficult, but it’s the silliness and over-the-topness of it that makes it worthwhile.

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

The Princess and the Frog

Posted on February 4, 2016 by cartooncravings

Man-Catching Beignets

The year was 2009 and I was sitting in a dark theatre waiting for The Princess and the Frog to begin. I had been horribly underwhelmed by most of the Disney movies released over the last few years, so I had high hopes for this one. From the previews, it looked gorgeous and I knew it was in good hands, but I didn’t want to be disappointed again. I wasn’t. When I walked out, I thought it was a good movie. After sitting on it for a few hours it turned into a great movie. By the following day, it was absolutely fantastic. The magic I’d been missing so much had returned and brought with it beautiful music and wonderful characters, like Tiana. She’s got attitude and drive and knows just what she wants. (Maybe not what she needs but she figures that out.) She’s hands down my sister’s favorite Disney Princess and would be mine too if it weren’t for the fact that Belle’s held that title almost my entire life. But I do wish to emulate Tiana. Too bad I’ve got a little too much Charlotte La Bouff in me.

I wouldn’t say I have a gift like Tiana, but when I put forth enough effort, it shows in my food. She’s got a leg up on me just by living in a food paradise like New Orleans. Regrettably, I haven’t made my way down there yet, but when I do, I’m going to stroll right into a café and eat a stack of beignets. I know the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but that applies to me too. I wish I could hire Tiana to fry me up about 500 of her man-catching beignets, but that’s not happening. The only way to get what you want in this world is through hard work, so I guess it’s time to roll up my sleeves.

Recipe makes 3 dozen beignets.

Ingredients

¾ cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)

¼ cup sugar

1 ¼ teaspoons yeast

1 egg, beaten

½ cup half-&-half

2 tablespoons shortening (I use butter-flavored)

3 ½ cups bread flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Cottonseed Oil or Vegetable Oil

Honey

Powdered Sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes, or until foamy. Whisk in the egg, half-&-half, vanilla extract, and salt. Add the shortening and flour and stir until incorporated. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball again and place in a large, clean bowl. Lightly coat dough with oil and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours or until it has doubled in size. If you want to make the dough ahead of time, you can cover and chill for 6-8 hours and allow it come to room temperature before frying.

Preheat oil in a large pot/deep skillet or in a deep fryer to 370 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a ¼ inch thickness. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 2-2 ½ inch squares. Fry the beignets in small batches, flipping constantly or ladling oil over them, until golden on all sides, 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Dig in!

Princess and the Frog PatF Beignets

This plate of beignets is the best thing I never knew I needed. Okay, that’s a lie. They’re sweet, fluffy little pockets of fried dough. I did know I needed them. Hmm. Maybe I’ve got my wants and needs and haves mixed up again. Really, without these beignets, Tiana’s adventure, let alone her dreams would never get off the ground. If they can work that well for her, who knows what else they can do? Maybe we should stop wishing on stars and start wishing on beignets. Or maybe we should just eat them.

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Posted on January 28, 2016 by cartooncravings

Episode: The Great Divide
Egg Custard Tart

Avatar: The Last Airbender came into my life at the most opportune moment. My TV watching days and school life were both changing so drastically, that it was getting harder to find things to watch and even harder to find the time to watch them. I was busier than ever and didn’t have too much to look forward to except doing piles of homework. Then came Avatar. It’s so beautiful and different that I immediately fell in love with it. To me, it was so much more than just a cartoon and I was on pins and needles waiting for each new episode.

There are so many strange and wonderful places, people, and animals in the Avatar universe. And let’s not forget food! Out of all the tasty treats, the one that caught my attention as much as Aang’s is an egg custard tart. He was all goo-goo eyes for it because he hadn’t eaten since before he stepped into the Great Divide. Plus, I hear he has quite the weakness for these tarts. So do I.

Recipe makes one deep 8-inch tart or about two regular 9-inch tarts.

Ingredients

Crust:

1 ¾ cups cake flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) butter, cold and cut into chunks

1 large egg

Filling:

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

6 large eggs, room temperature, beaten

1 cup half-&-half, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

Crust:

In a food processor, pulse cake flour, powdered sugar, and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg and pulse until dough just comes together when pressed. If the dough is too dry, add ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time, and pulse again. Form dough into a disk and cover in plastic wrap. Let dough chill until firm, 30 minutes to an hour.

Filling:

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar completely dissolves. Let sugar water cool to room temperature. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, half-&-half, sugar water, and vanilla. Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer.

Putting It All Together:

Unwrap dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough anywhere from 10 to 14 inches across and place in a 1.5 quart, round casserole dish. Gently press dough into place. Trim excess dough or fold it back on itself. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Pour filling into crust. I sent it through the strainer once more to ensure no chunks or bubbles appeared on the surface of the tart. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 1-1 ½ hours, or until skewer inserted in it comes out clean. If the edges of the crust darken too quickly, cover them with foil. Remove tart from oven and cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Remove from dish and serve or just dig in!

So I had a little mishap when I went to remove my tart from its dish, so it’s not as pretty as it was when it came out of the oven. But someone in the Zhang tribe managed to carry an egg custard tart for an entire day throughout the largest canyon in the world and it stayed perfect. Tarts don’t really travel well, so I’d say in all actuality, my tart doesn’t look too far off from what it should be.

It’s funny, but I feel a bit like the Avatar when I’m in my kitchen. I have to master all four elements (I still need some work on my airbending.) to bring together ingredients from different backgrounds to create something grand. Although I’m not ready to take on the world just yet, I believe I can bring peace to my pantry.

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

The Powerpuff Girls

Posted on January 21, 2016 by cartooncravings

Episode: Beat Your Greens
Broccoli

The city of Townsville. It’s a nice, bustling metropolis which would be a great place to live if it wasn’t being attacked every day. Whether it’s monsters, aliens, or supervillains, the city’s got them. Or I should say they’ve got the city. I would’ve moved out a long time ago. Well, if I lived in the Powerpuff universe, I’d like to be a fourth Powerpuff Girl. Not like Princess or Bunny but a nice mix of Blossom and Bubbles. (I think I’m just a little too soft to be Buttercup.) I could be a good addition to the team who saves the world before bedtime. I’ve got the brains to outwit Mojo Jojo, the courage to scare away The Boogie Man, and the guts to take out The Broccoloids.

Speaking of guts, just like half the people out there, I’m trying to eat a little healthier and get back into shape. (Emphasis on trying because I’ve eaten pizza more than once this week.) I’ve never had a problem with eating my veggies like the kids in Townsville do. My problem is stuff like liver and onions. So what better health food to whip up than broccoli? Just like Professor Utonium says, “It’s exactly what growing superheroes need to charge up their powers.” I don’t know how the people of Townsville prefer their broccoli cooked, but I’m roasting mine. And just to add a little more pizzazz, I’m serving it over a rice pilaf.

Recipe makes 5-6 servings.

Ingredients

Broccoli

1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets and chunks

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt

Pepper

Rice Pilaf

2 cups white rice, rinsed

2 ½ cups chicken broth

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons butter

½ medium onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Broccoli:

Combine broccoli, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Spread out onto a baking sheet. Move the baking sheet to the oven and roast the broccoli until it’s tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Rice Pilaf:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a large, ovenproof saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice becomes fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken broth, water, bay leaf, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Remove saucepan from heat, cover with lid or foil, and transfer to oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let it rest for 15 minutes without removing the lid or foil. Remove the bay leaf and fluff the rice with a fork.

Putting It All Together:

Scoop and spread out rice onto a plate. Top with a hearty amount of broccoli. Time to eat it all up!

powerpuff girls broccoli 1 DSC_0740 (2)

I can pop broccoli into my mouth like it’s vitamin and mineral packed candy, so the Broccoloid Empire better be wary. And if I’m armed with cheese sauce…let’s just say it’s not going to be a pretty sight. Just like when the day comes where I snap and start eating the produce section at my local grocery store. I know that broccoli doesn’t have the same appeal as cake, a corndog, or a hamster (No, I don’t eat hamsters.), but it does taste good and it’s good for you too. Both in the bodily health sense and the prevention of destruction by evil broccoli-based aliens sense. So when you do get served some veggies, you better eat all of them because you can never be too careful.

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

The Great Mouse Detective

Posted on January 14, 2016 by cartooncravings

Cheese Crumpets

Before I ever heard the names Hercule Poirot, Kogoro Akechi, and C. Auguste Dupin, I was captivated by mysteries. I loved putting the pieces together to find out “Who done it?” I’d always pay extra attention to episodes and movies about detectives, so it was only a matter of time until I met the famous Basil of Baker Street. I didn’t even know about Sherlock Holmes yet, but I found the whole detective dynamic with the hero, his partner, and the villain absolutely brilliant. Especially when I wanted to root for Basil and Dr. Dawson, but Vincent Price kept pulling me over to Professor Ratigan’s side. I had good taste.

Speaking of good taste, I need to talk about the movie’s unsung hero, Mrs. Judson. She’s an angel for being able to put up with Basil and his eccentricities. Not only that, she makes the most delightful looking cheese crumpets. Sure, hers are baked in muffin tins so they don’t have the classic shape, but they do keep their familiar nooks and crannies. Call them whatever you want. (Baked crumpets. Bread Muffins.) I call them delicious.

Recipe makes 16 crumpets.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups warm milk (105-115 degrees F)

¾ cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)

2 ½ teaspoons yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter, melted

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups bread flour

1 cup shredded cheese, cheddar or any other kind you want

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm milk and water. Let rest for 5 minutes or until foamy. Meanwhile, melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly. Add the salt, baking soda, melted butter, and both flours to the yeast mixture. Stir until well combined. Cover the bowl and allow the batter to rise for 30 minutes.

Add cheese to the batter and stir to incorporate it. Scoop the batter into greased muffin tins about two-thirds of the way full. Allow the batter to rest in the tins for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake the crumpets until they are lightly golden and done, 20 minutes. Remove the muffin tins from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the crumpets from the tins and enjoy!

Olivia Flaversham has her priorities straight when she fills her pockets with yummy cheese crumpets before going adventuring. The poor girl’s been through a lot. She deserves them. I need them just from watching Fidget kidnap Mr. Flaversham. That really frightened me when I was little. But in a good way because there isn’t a thing I didn’t like about this movie. That still holds true, so I figure it was only natural that I’d grow up to be a detective nerd. Well, I’ve got to run, so, “With time so short, I’ll say so long. And go, so soon. Goodbye.”

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

The Emperor’s New Groove

Posted on January 7, 2016 by cartooncravings

Kronk’s Spinach Puffs

We’re well into the first week of the brand spanking New year! After reflecting on the year that’s passed, people feel the need to do something different with the New one they’ve been given. Some try to learn or do something New. Others adopt New rhythms by which they live their lives, or their patterns of behavior, or as it’s known in some circles, their Grooves.

See where I’m going with this? If things went Kuzco’s way, Pacha’s family would be evicted and Kuzco would be lazing away his days at Kuzcotopia. Doesn’t sound very Disney-esque, does it? But when things go hilariously wrong, we get the story we know and love. And it’s all thanks to that loveable oaf, Kronk. The guy can’t tell the difference between poison and extract of llama (In his defense, all of Yzma’s poisons look the same.) and he’s got some real issues with the devil and angel on his shoulders. One thing the guy’s got down, though, is cooking. That and speaking to tiny woodland creatures, but that has nothing to do with food. (I hope.) He can take over as a diner cook at the drop of a hat. And what about those spinach puffs?

Recipe makes 12 servings.

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed but chilled

1 10 ounce package of chopped spinach, thawed

4 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature

¾ cup shredded, grated, or crumbled cheese; I used mozzarella, but feta or anything else is fine.

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup onion, finely chopped

1 tsp garlic, minced

Salt

Pepper

1 egg plus 1 tablespoon of water or milk for egg wash

Directions

Heat olive oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Set aside.

Squeeze out as much water as possible from the spinach. In a medium bowl, combine spinach, cream cheese, cheese, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add the egg and mix until well combined.

Unfold the sheet of puff pastry and cut into 12 squares. Slightly stretch each square or roll out with a rolling pin, so you have a little more pastry to work with. Divide the filling amongst the puff pastry squares. Shape the pastry around the filling. My method is to take a square and turn it so you’re looking at a diamond instead. Fold the point closest to you under the pastry enough so the front is a flat edge. Bring the two sides of the diamond together and pinch everything but the front together to close. Fold the back point of the pastry under itself enough so it has more of a straight or rounded edge. Repeat this with the rest of the squares and chill on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Beat the egg and combine with water/milk to make an egg wash. Brush each puff with the egg wash and bake until they are puffed and golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Move the spinach puffs to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve and enjoy!

DSC_0710 (2) DSC_0695 (2)

Yzma never liked Kronk’s spinach puffs, but she doesn’t count. Maybe she lost her sense of taste over her many many years. If Kuzco had gotten a chance to try them, he’d probably like them. Well, he wouldn’t like mine because of his whole, “Cheese, me no likey,” thing.

Cheese or no cheese, if Kronk spent a little less time focusing on these delectables and a little more on properly disposing of the emperor, Kuzco never would have to make that long walk back to the palace. Then he’d never realize that he was being heartless and selfish and there’s no point in being the hippest cat in creation if he has no friends. After all, a perfect world begins and ends with not just one person, but all of us if we do it right.

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

A Christmas Carol

Posted on December 17, 2015 by cartooncravings

Scrooge’s Hash Dinner

I can’t let the Holidays pass me by without mentioning Charles Dickens’ little nugget of joy: A Christmas Carol. I know it’s been said and done a million times, but it truly did help shape how we celebrate Christmas today. My very favorite animated version of the classic tale is this production right here. However, it seems to me that the rest world either hates it or doesn’t know it exists. But with its catchy tunes and stellar cast, it’s easy to see how I became captivated by it. I can’t even remember how the tape ended up in my house. Maybe Santa? It’s just always been here, waiting patiently for Christmas to roll around, so we can watch it over and over again.

Sure, you’d think I’d want to cook up something grand like the prize turkey, but I’ve decided to emulate pre-ghostly visitors Scrooge and make hash instead. He orders it all the time at his local tavern because it’s the cheapest thing on the menu. He doesn’t even notice when the waitress switches his order and gives him scraps while his dog, Debit, gets his meal. Yeah, hash is basically the king of leftovers and not too far from scraps, but it’s the tasty version and you can add whatever you want to it.

Recipe makes 5-6 servings.

Ingredients

Hash:

4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped

¼ cup milk, half-and-half, or heavy cream

Salt

Pepper

Granulated garlic

4 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 ½ cups cooked and chopped corned beef, fresh or canned

1 16 ounce can of baked beans

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

½ cup shredded cheese, optional

Carrots:

1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into medallions

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons honey

½ tablespoon lemon juice

½ tablespoon water

Salt

Pepper

Broccoli

1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets and chunks

2 tablespoons butter

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Hash:

Place potatoes in a large saucepan or pot. Add salt and water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes. While the potatoes are boiling, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and heat half-and-half in a small saucepan over medium heat until it simmers. Drain off the potatoes when cooked. Mash and add heated half-and-half. Stir together and season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add the corned beef, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add baked beans to a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes until warmed through and it loses some of its liquid.

Spread baked beans along the bottom of a baking dish. Layer the corned beef mixture over the beans. Spread the mashed potatoes on top. Bake for 30 minutes. If adding cheese, wait until the 20 minute mark to do so. Remove from oven.

Carrots:

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan or pot over medium-high heat. Add salt and carrots and cook until carrots are tender, 5-8 minutes. Drain off the carrots and add them back to the pan. Add butter, honey, lemon juice, and water. Cook over medium heat until a glaze forms and coats the carrots. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Broccoli:

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan or pot over medium-high heat. Add salt and broccoli and cook until broccoli is tender, 3-4 minutes. Drain off the broccoli and add it back to the pan. Melt butter and coat broccoli. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Putting It All Together:

Scoop out portions of hash, carrots, and broccoli onto a plate. Now dinner is ready!

DSC_0657 (2) DSC_0661 (2)

He tells the waitress that his “hash” isn’t fit for a dog, but I find the real thing pretty good. Maybe that’s the real reason why he orders it when he can afford a feast every night. You can’t really tell because he doesn’t seem to care about anything but his profits. But after his fateful Christmas Eve, he’s become older and wiser. He now knows that he’ll never find happiness in his stacks of money. True happiness comes from helping others and living and loving. Not just on Christmas, but every day of the year.

I wish you and yours the Happiest of Holidays!

I’ll be taking a break for the next couple of weeks.

Tune in next year for more Cartoon Cravings!

The Polar Express

Posted on December 10, 2015 by cartooncravings

Hot Chocolate

The Holiday Season is in full swing, so my family is quickly working its way through all the Christmas movies and specials we can get our little, sugar-coated hands on. The Polar Express is no exception. I’ve always loved the book, so I was excited to see it done up on the big screen. I wasn’t disappointed. (I know it’s got some flaws, but I don’t find it creepy.) And my dad loves it more than the rest of us. He gets mad if we go a season without watching it.

The Polar Express is a refreshing break from loud, silly/sweet Christmas movies with its beautiful dark tones and deep meaning. And just when those might start to scare someone off, something fun and lighthearted shows up, like a song about hot chocolate. If any beverage should have a song, it should be hot chocolate. It’s warm and creamy and did I mention that it’s CHOCOLATE? That’s all the reason it needs to be the refreshment of choice aboard a magic train.

Recipe makes about 5 servings or 2 really big ones.

Ingredients

3 cups chocolate milk

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Salt-just a pinch

6 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate milk, heavy cream, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar, cocoa powder, and salt dissolve and the milk mixture starts steaming. Don’t let it boil, though. Add about half of the chocolate and stir until it completely melts. Add the remaining chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Divide into mugs and drink up!

Every Christmas Eve, I look out my window before bed, hoping to see the Polar Express waiting to take me on a trip to the North Pole. It hasn’t shown up yet, but I won’t let that shake my belief in the “Big Man.” At least I’m always welcomed to Christmas Day by a nice cup of hot chocolate. This drink is fine all year round, but there’s something about Christmastime that makes it just a little bit sweeter.

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Little Audrey

Posted on December 3, 2015 by cartooncravings

Episode: Tarts and Flowers

Gingerbread Man

Gingerbread men have become synonymous with the Holiday Season, but when I think of those guys, my mind goes straight to Little Audrey. My grandparents had one nondescript little VHS tape titled The Gingerbread Man, and we watched it quite frequently. Tarts and Flowers easily became one of my favorite cartoons and it still ranks up there. I’m a sucker for anthropomorphic food and I’ve always been a sweet fiend. Needless to say, I want to live in Cakeland! Well, if I did, no one else would. I’d eat all of my neighbors.

Everything about this cartoon is just so darn charming. Angel Cake getting dolled up for her wedding with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and a cherry. And my favorite part is when Little Audrey busts out an egg beater and whips the Old Milk Stream to stop that nasty Devil Food Cake. And I can’t forget about that heroic, little Gingerbread Man. He was in a hurry because he was getting married and he invited Little Audrey to follow him if she could keep up. I was so used to hearing stories about a mischievous cookie, so the friendly one was a nice change.

The recipe that Little Audrey follows from her radio chef is kind of odd because she adds things like mustard and a cake of yeast. The Gingerbread Man also started out as batter before he went into the oven. I know that gingerbread can be made a thousand different ways, so I’m just going to stick with the rolling and cutting cookie dough method.

Recipe makes about 13 giant gingerbread men, but it varies with the size and shape of the cookie cutter.

Ingredients

Gingerbread Men:

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

¼ cup molasses

3 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon cloves (It’s a gingerbread must, but I don’t really like it, so I say optional.)

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

Royal Icing

2 large egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Black and Brown food coloring

If you want to avoid raw eggs, use these in place of the egg whites:

3 tablespoons meringue powder

½ cup warm water

Directions

Gingerbread Men:

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ground ginger in a medium bowl.

Beat butter and brown sugar together in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg, molasses, and grated ginger and beat together another minute. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time and stir until combined. Divide dough in two and flatten each half into a disk. Cover each disk with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Lightly dust a counter with flour and roll out a disk to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out desired shapes and place on a cookie sheet. Re-roll and cut until you run out of dough and continue this process with the other disk. Place cookie sheets in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. This will help your gingerbread men stay in shape.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place cookies in the oven and bake, rotating trays halfway through, until the edges are set, about 15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on their sheets for 2 minutes and move to a wire rack. Let them cool completely.

Icing:

Beat the egg whites (or meringue powder and water) and vanilla in a stand mixer until just combined. Add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to high and beat until the icing is stiff and shiny, about 5-7 minutes. Divide icing among smaller bowls and add different food colorings to each one.

Putting It All Together:

Transfer icing to piping bags and pipe features onto cooled cookies. You can also draw them on with a toothpick dipped in the icing. My gingerbread man has a simple face with a brown nose and small black mouth and eyebrows. Let the icing stand for just a minute to harden. Now they’re ready to eat!

When my grandparents decided to clean house and get rid of most of their videos, we were happy to snatch this tape up. It sits safely in my sister’s room and we still pop it in every now and then. With all the baking I do, I really hope that one of these days I’ll get to go on a magical dessert-themed adventure. My Gingerbread Man looks like he’s about to run off somewhere, but I think the only place I’ll be following him to is a glass of milk.

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Posted on November 19, 2015 by cartooncravings

Thanksgiving Dinner

“I watch Peanuts videos with my mom and dad. I watch Peanuts videos with my dog.” Yeah, I’ve got that commercial down pat. (I watched a lot of Nickelodeon videos.) But I really do watch Peanuts with my family, dogs included. We all grew up on them and no matter how many times you’ve seen them, they’re still fun to watch. I’m a bit like Charlie Brown, (Who isn’t?) so I can easily see me serving a Thanksgiving dinner of nothing but snack foods. I can make more than cold cereal and toast, but if I’m in a pinch, who knows? I know a lot of people have made up Charlie Brown’s “dinner,” but I surprisingly never did.

Thanksgiving has always been such a hectic holiday for my family with multiple dinners. I’d get up and my mom would already be cooking. I’d help her out with whatever I could and we’d watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, then my local parade, then the National Dog Show. The cooking still wasn’t finished by then, but we’d already be late for dinner at my grandma and grandpa’s. Thanksgiving is all done at my house now, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I usually have store-bought bread, pretzels, jellybeans, and popcorn hanging around in my kitchen anyway, so maybe one of these days I’ll just snap and serve this instead.

Ingredients

Butter

Bag of pretzel sticks

Bag of jelly beans

2 pieces of bread

Or:

Bread for Toast:

2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F)

1 tablespoon yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

5 cups bread flour

2 ½ tablespoons butter, cold, cut into chunks

Popcorn:

White popcorn kernels

¼ cup vegetable oil

Salt

Directions

Bread for Toast:

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes, or until foamy. Add the salt, flour, and butter and combine. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball again and place in a large, clean bowl. Lightly coat dough with oil and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size. Punch down the dough and divide in half. Shape each half of the dough into an oval or loaf shape and place in greased loaf pans. Let the dough rise uncovered for another hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake loaves for 35-40 minutes. Place the pans on a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes. Turn the bread out and let rest on a rack until completely cooled. Cut into slices.
Popcorn:

Pour vegetable oil into a large pan or pot on medium heat. Place one kernel inside and cover. Once it pops, add enough kernels to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover and gently shake. When the popping stops, remove from heat. Season with salt to taste.

Putting It All Together:

Place two slices of bread in a toaster and toast until they’ve reached the desired doneness. Butter and stack on a plate. Surround with a handful each of pretzel sticks, jelly beans, and popcorn. You may now feast.

You want me to eat toast and snacks for Thanksgiving Dinner? Sure! I better whip up a sundae to wash it all down. Who needs the turkey, and the mashed potatoes, and the cranberry sauce, and the pumpkin pie? Thanksgiving isn’t about the food. It’s about the people you share it with.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m taking a break next week, so tune in next, next week for more Cartoon Cravings!