The Super Hero Squad Show

Episode: Invader From the Dark Dimension!
Corn, Dirt, and Cabbage Spaghetti

“Ready, Squaddies?” Time to Hero-Wait! Too early in the blog. I didn’t even give a supervillain the chance to show up. That shouldn’t’ take too long though since Doctor Doom teamed up with almost every one of them and formed the Lethal Legion. And if the troublemakers in Villainville aren’t enough, there are plenty of other baddies out there with their own plans for wreaking havoc on Super Hero City, the Earth, and the entire Universe. With all of these villains around, we’re going to need a few good heroes. That’s where the Super Hero Squad comes in. It’s the Squad’s mission to prevent Doctor Doom from rebuilding the Infinity Sword by collecting all the Infinity Fractals before he does. Plus there’s all that other superhero business they need to take care of. Lucky for The Super Hero Squad, they have S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and other heroes to come to their aid. (“You can’t throw a cow in this town without hitting a superhero.”) Unlucky for the Squaddies, they all have to live together in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier.

Sure, you might think it’d be funny if Iron Man, Thor, Falcon, Hulk, Wolverine, and Silver Surfer lived under one roof, but actually…no, it is funny, especially when the other Squaddies have to deal with Silver Surfer’s cooking. The Surfer loves cooking, but his food tends to make his friends “bloweth mighty chunks.” When Baron Mordo possesses Iron Man, Thor blames Silver Surfer’s “freaky cosmic food” for Iron Man’s odd behavior and smell. Silver Surfer does admit that his food would be better if he had taste buds, but that doesn’t stop him from cooking. So when the Squad returns to the Helicarrier (Minus Falcon, Redwing, and “Iron Menace.”), Silver Surfer whips up a fresh batch of corn, dirt, and cabbage spaghetti for them. The Surfer calls it comfort food, but he still takes it into battle and throws it on Doctor Doom. It delights Silver Surfer when Doom picks up on the Parmesan because he finally found someone who appreciates gourmet cooking. Gourmet or not, the spaghetti looks a little scary, so this will be quite the battle for me. Hmm. I guess that means it’s “Time to Hero Up!”

Recipe makes about 9 cups.

Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons dried mushroom powder (Did you think I was really using dirt?)

1 cup corn

4 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced

8 cups beef broth

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cabbage and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add beef broth, dried mushroom powder, and corn and bring to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until the noodles have reached your desired doneness. Season with salt and pepper and add Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Super Hero CDCSSuperHeroSquad CDCS

Looking at the corn, dirt, and cabbage spaghetti makes me feel pukey, but it tastes much better than it looks. And now I know I can use it as a weapon during a fight. It’s a tactic called “Making someone sick with some home cooking.” Silver Surfer uses this when he starts throwing “truly powerful” meat pies at Abomination and Wolverine. Just seeing Surfer’s cooking is now enough to scare off Doctor Doom. Even though Surfer’s cooking is “deadly,” he loves it and that’s all that matters. Iron Man rewards him for assembling the Defenders and allows him to be cook for a day at the Stark Industries Café. This calls for a new name for Silver Surfer. Now he is the Cosmic Chef.

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

Tom and Jerry: The Movie

Éclair

I like Tom and Jerry: The Movie. There, I said it. I watched this movie all the time when I was a kid. I can still remember the exact spot where it sat at the video store. And that’s because I love Tom and Jerry. (Who doesn’t love Tom and Jerry?) And it was fun for me seeing them break from the norm and talk and work together. (Which looking at it now, okay, I can see why everyone gets so cheesed off.) But I still enjoy Tom and Jerry getting thrown into a very not-so-Tom and Jerry story. There’s a little runaway “orphan” girl, an evil “aunt” and lawyer, an animal-napper, a strange carnival guy with a hand puppet, and a seriously fat doggy on a skateboard. (I’m going to come clean right here and admit that Ferdinand has always been my favorite.) These sound like the ingredients for a nice, adventurey movie. Throw in some corny song and dance numbers and we’re all set. Oh, and some food would be nice.

Aunt Figg is a horrible, rotten person, but I have to give the lady credit for surrounding herself with food. (That’s what I’d do with all my money.) It seems like she always has cupcakes nearby and her kitchen is filled with all kinds of treats. (I can see how Ferdinand got so tubby.) Despite there being such a vast amount of delectables in the house, when Tom and Jerry come to stay with them, the “something special” they’re given is a scary, dripping bowl of who knows what. But out of all the food in the movie, the one that calls to me the most is an éclair. There’s just always been something about the scene where Aunt Figg is scheming with Lickboot over the phone and she squeezes an éclair to death.

Recipe makes about 7 éclairs.

Ingredients

Filling:

2 cups whole milk

4 egg yolks, room temperature

½ cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

Pinch of Salt

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature, and cut into chunks

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

 

Pastry

1 cup water

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

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup flour, sifted

4 eggs, room temperature, beaten

 

Ganache Topping

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

 

Directions

Filling:

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk until it simmers. While whisking constantly, pour a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Slowly pour in the rest of the milk, whisking constantly. When the milk and egg mixture are fully combined, pour this mixture back into the saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and just comes to a boil. Pour the cream through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap, letting it touch the surface so the pastry cream won’t form a skin. Place in the refrigerator and chill completely, at least 2 hours. Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream.

Pastry:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat until the butter is completely melted. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and add all the flour at once. Stir until the flour is completely incorporated. Return the pan to the heat and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. When the dough comes together in a ball, remove from heat and cool slightly. (Enough so the eggs won’t cook when added.) Move the dough to a bowl or stand mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The dough should be smooth and paste-like and shouldn’t cling to a beater or spoon when lightly shaken.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip (3/4-1 inch). Pipe 6-inch lengths of dough onto a greased baking sheet sprinkled with just a little water, leaving plenty of room in between them. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F. and bake for 30 minutes. (Don’t open the door.) Remove the tray from the oven and make a small hole in the end of each éclair to allow steam to escape. Bake an additional 5 minutes, or until the éclairs are crispy and golden. Remove the éclairs from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Ganache Topping:

Place chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir until the chocolate mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Putting It All Together:

Split each éclair in half lengthwise. Pipe or spoon filling into the bottom half of the éclairs. Dip the tops in the ganache. Close the éclairs and let the ganache set before serving. Enjoy!

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Now I really feel like a million dollars here with my éclair. Yes, I’m trying my best to squeeze money talk in here somewhere. But hey, a delicious, fancy éclair definitely beats chunky tuna from a trashcan. (That stuff is green!) At least Tom and Jerry don’t have to worry anymore about eating off the streets because of bad owners. (What’s up with that? And Puggsy’s family too! There’s a greater chance of me getting left behind during a move than one of our pets.) Actually, Tom and Jerry don’t have to worry about anything anymore, which leaves them plenty of time to do what they do best: play cat and mouse games.

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!