Thursday, November 16, 2017

15 Disney Gifts for the Kitchen

With Thanksgiving coming up next week, Christmas is just around the corner. Shopping for holiday gifts can be difficult when you don't know what to buy your friends or family. So, I've made up a list of 15 things Disney fans would love to have in their kitchens. They would make great gifts for the holidays or anytime of the year. The items are listed in order of price (lowest to highest).

1. Ice Cube Molds
 Mickey Mouse and Friends Ice Cube Tray
shopDisney $9.99
I've been eyeing this adorable ice cube tray in the Disneyland gift shops for a long time, but I still haven't purchased it. I love all the different shapes representing the different characters, the castle, and especially the Mickey ice cream bar. Since it is made of silicone, it could also double as a chocolate mold. 
Amazon $15.99
For Star Wars fans, I also found this set of molds with lots of different shapes to make ice cubes, chocolates, or even soaps. 

 Darth Vader Ice Mold
Williams Sonoma $19.95
This Darth Vader ice mold is also really cool for just one big ice cube for drinks that lasts a long time. There is also a Stormtrooper ice mold just like it.

2. Mug
 Winnie the Pooh Mug
shopDisney $10.00
A mug is always a good gift and it's even better when it features one of your favorite characters. This Winnie the Pooh mug is a cute way to enjoy coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I like that it has a lid that help your drink stay warm. There are also StitchMickey, and Cheshire Cat versions of the mug. If you are looking for a different character, there are literally hundreds of mugs on the shopDisney site.

3. Holiday Baking Set
shopDisney $14.96
For the person that likes to bake or for kids baking cookies for Santa, this delightful holiday baking set is a great idea. It comes with all the essential tools to make some yummy cookies. 

4. Spatula
 Stormtrooper Spatula
Williams Sonoma $16.95
Flipping pancakes on Saturday morning would be a lot more fun with a Stormtrooper spatula. You can also choose from a Darth Vader or R2-D2 spatula or you can get the set of all 3.

5. Measuring Cup Set
 R2-D2 Measuring Cup Set
Amazon $17.53
To help with making those pancakes or anything else, this R2-D2 measuring cup set would come in handy to measure your ingredients. This droid would also look great displayed on the kitchen counter.

6. Pancake Molds
 Star Wars Pancake Molds
Williams Sonoma $19.95
Another essential for making those pancakes would be a set of Star Wars pancake molds. Who wouldn't love to make and eat these awesome pancakes?

7. Cookie Cutters
Williams Sonoma $24.95
These Marvel cookie cutters will help superhero fans bake up some delicious cookies. 

8. Mug Warmer
 Mickey Mouse Mug Warmer
JCPenney $26
A mug and mug warmer set is great for keeping beverages hot. This would be a good gift for someone to take to the office. It also comes in a Minnie Mouse design.

9. Wooden Food Playset
 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Sandwich Playset
shopDisney $26.95
Little ones will enjoy this adorable Mickey Mouse Clubhouse wooden sandwich-making set by Melissa & Doug. I wish there were toys like this when I was a kid.

10. Waffle Maker
 Minnie Mouse Waffle Maker
JCPenney $24.99
Eating Mickey waffles in the parks is always fun, but why not make them at home whenever you want? I found this delightful Minnie Mouse waffle maker, but there is also a Mickey($29.99) version. If you're interested, there are quite a few other character waffle makers out there. Check out the Anna and Elsa snowflake($24.95), Olaf(29.99), Lightning McQueen($34.95), BB-8($39.95), and Darth Vader($39.95).

11. Popcorn Popper
 Mickey Popcorn Maker
shopDisney $29.95
A necessity for a Disney movie night is popcorn. The perfect gift for someone that often likes to watch Disney movies at home would be this Mickey popcorn popper. You can also choose from Lightning McQueen, Captain America, or R2-D2 versions of this popper. There is also a Pixar collection popcorn popper that pops a little more popcorn at once for about $5 more.

12. Trivet
 Mickey Mouse Trivet
Amazon $30.74
This Mickey Mouse trivet is an excellent gift for someone that likes a subtle hint of Disney in their decor. If you're not paying too much attention to detail, you probably wouldn't notice that there is a Mickey design in the center. It is great for serving your hot dishes at the holiday dinner table.

13. Apron
 Haunted Mansion Apron
shopDisney $32.99
A Disney fan that likes to cook or bake might enjoy doing so in a Disney apron. I really love this Haunted Mansion one that looks like the costumes worn by the hostesses at the attraction. It used to only be sold in the parks, but now it is available online. I've also always admired the Minnie Mouse apron. There's a holiday apron($26.99) and a Captain America apron($14.95) that I thought were worth checking out as well.

14. Mickey Chocolate Fountain
 Mickey Mouse Chocolate Fountain
Amazon $35
Who wouldn't love a chocolate fountain? A Mickey chocolate fountain would be perfect for a Disney themed party or just to get chocolate wasted with the family. 

15. Soup Pot
 Beauty and the Beast Soup Pot
shopDisney $279.95
This last item is a little pricey, but great if you are willing to spare no expense for a Beauty and the Beast fan. This Beauty and the Beast Le Creuset Soup Pot is beautiful. It is the color of Belle's ball gown and adorned with red roses on the lid. The gold knob even reads "Be Our Guest". It is a limited edition of 1,000 pots made for the collaboration. Le Creuset is known for their high-quality cookware that can last a lifetime. I bet french onion soup would taste even better being served from this pot.

Well, I hope that this helps with finding some amazing holiday gifts this season. If you have any other awesome gift ideas, share with everyone in the comments below. Happy shopping!

*Prices may vary after time of posting. 
**DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the blog and allows me to continue to create posts like this. Thank you for the support!

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Disneyland Halloween Time Eats

Happy Halloween! This fall, I was able to make it to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure a couple of times during the Halloween Time celebration. Of course, I had to try out some the Halloween eats and treats in the parks. 
Disneyland California Adventure Halloween eats and treats
The first thing on my list to try was the Bat Wing Raspberry Sundae at Clarabelle's on Buena Vista Street. The white chocolate raspberry swirl ice cream is to die for. I didn't pick up on the white chocolate flavor too much, but the raspberry swirl was like having a little bit of raspberry sorbet mixed in with the ice cream. The chocolate bat cookies were delicious. I wish they sold some chocolate cookies like them in the candy shops. The sundae is served in a chocolate dipped waffle bowl, topped with a mound of whipped cream, and spattered with raspberry sauce. I'm going to miss this sundae.
bat wing raspberry ice cream sundae
One of the the treats offered in Cars Land was the Spoke-y Cone Macaron. It perfectly matches the theme for the location.
spoke-y cone macaron with marshmallow buttercream and candy corn
Inside the macaron is marshmallow buttercream and candy corn. It is very sweet, but oh so good. It is big enough to share. I would actually recommend that if you don't have a big sweet tooth. 
spoke-y cone macaron marshmallow buttercream and candy corn center

Just across from the Cozy Cone Motel is Flo's V8 Cafe where I went to try the Car-achnid Pot Pie. It's a chicken pot pie with dried cranberries and a spider crust. This was the only savory Halloween Time food item I tried and I was not disappointed. I wasn't sure how I would like the cranberries in the pie, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well the flavor combination worked. And most of all, I loved the buttery, flaky crust.
car-achnid chicken pot pie
The last Halloween-inspired treat I tried was the Spider Silk Ice Cream Sandwich from Clarabelle's Hand Scooped Ice Cream on Buena Vista Street. I've been wanting to try charcoal ice cream since it has become a trendy thing at a lot of ice cream shops. I figured I might as well try this charcoal-tart cherry ice cream sandwiched between a black macaron. It is also topped with raspberry sauce and popping candy. It was really messy, but worth it. I really enjoyed the cherry and raspberry flavors. And for the popping candy, I forgot about them until one popped surprisingly popped in my mouth. They definitely make the dish fun to eat. 
spider silk macaron ice cream sandwich with charcoal ice cream
I enjoyed all the the eats and treats that I was able to try this year. I'm impressed that they added so many food items to menus all around both parks this year, but disappointed that I didn't get to try out more of them. Now, I'm looking forward to what appears on menus for the holidays. 
Thanks for an epic Halloween season Disneyland!

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Disneyland S'mores Churro

Happy National S'mores Day! What better way to celebrate than with this sweet treat. Disneyland recently added the s'mores churro to the churro cart in Critter Country as part of the "Fantasmic!"-inspired eats and sweets offered in the park. With my love of s'mores, I had to try it out on my most recent trip to Disneyland. 
I knew I found where this churro was when I saw the line in front of the cart. 
 The s'mores churro is a dollar more than the regular churros, but I would say it's worth the $5.50 since it does have the chocolate and marshmallow dipping sauce. 
 It's hard to tell from the photo, but the churro is rolled in crushed graham cracker.
 Since the graham cracker churro is not as sweet as a regular churro, the chocolate marshmallow dipping sauce is the perfect addition. The warm churro with the gooey sauce is a delicious treat you must try if you are a s'mores fan.
If you will be going to Disneyland soon, check this item out. It hasn't been announced how long it will be available, so get it while you can.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

The Grey Stuff at Disneyland

Who hasn't wanted to try the Grey Stuff? Now, you can at Disneyland. Growing up, Beauty and the Beast was a classic Disney princess movie that most of us loved. As an adult (and now a foodie), my favorite part of the movie is the scene where Lumiere sings "Be Our Guest" and shows Belle all the foods that they serve. One of the dishes he offers Belle is the grey stuff. Many people have speculated what the grey stuff really is, but Disney has made their own versions for guests to enjoy in Disneyland and Walt Disney World. And with the release of the new live-action Beauty and the Beast film, Disney has temporarily reimagined the Village Haus Restaurant into the Red Rose Taverne. As soon as I heard about the changes, I was immediately excited to be able to finally try the grey stuff.

Beauty and the Beast Grey Stuff

Red Rose Taverne sign

So, on a little bit of a rainy day, I headed to Disneyland to try out the Red Rose Taverne. This was actually a few days after the takeover began. I lined up well before the restaurant opened (11 am) to avoid the huge line that formed the days prior.

Red Rose Taverne

On the outside, the building is the same but the Village Haus signs are now covered with Red Rose Taverne banners. 

Red Rose Taverne stained glass windows

Two of the windows at the front of the restaurant were changed to rose stained glass windows. 

Red Rose Taverne decorative curtain

This big curtain welcomes you as you enter while also hiding some of the Pinocchio decor.

Gaston's Famous Brew

I tried Gaston's Brew which is an apple-mango punch with passion fruit foam. It's so funny how much this looks like beer. It is really fruity and delicious. 

The Grey Stuff Gateau dessert at Disneyland

And finally, here is the Grey Stuff Gateau. It is a white chocolate mousse flavored with cookies and cream, red velvet cake with a raspberry and raspberry jam in the center sitting on a shortbread cookie, and topped with crispy chocolate pearls.

Inside the Grey Stuff

It actually is pretty delicious. The mousse is like a light whipped frosting with a hint of the cookies and cream flavor. It goes pretty well with the red velvet cake and raspberry. The chocolate pearls give a little bit of a crunchy texture to the dish. The shortbread cookie was like a little bonus that I ate at the end. If I'm able to eat at Red Rose Taverne again before it is changed back, I will have to try one of the savory dishes but also save room for more of the grey stuff. For now, the restaurant will remain indefinitely.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland Resort

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Disney Halloween Caramel Apples

Happy Halloween everyone! I thought I would show you a couple of the delicious Halloween caramel apples available at Disneyland. But first, here are some of the decorations at the entrance to Disneyland.
The pumpkin versions of Mickey and the gang are really cute.
I like Minnie Mouse the best.

The orange banners are very festive as well.
I love the partners statue surrounded by flowers in fall colors and pumpkins with some characters carved in them. 
Now for the apples. They are one of my favorite treats to get at Disneyland. I like to take one home since it can be very messy. Of course, I picked the witch Minnie apple. 
 When it's sliced open, you can see the layers of caramel, chocolate, white chocolate, and purple sprinkles, orange M&M's for her polka dots, marshmallow ears, and white chocolate hat with her bow.
 This pumpkin caramel apple is really cute also. This apple is caramel and then white chocolate to make the orange sprinkles pop. 
Picture from Mousewait.com
There is even a Dia de Los Muertos caramel apple this year. I'm a sucker for these seasonal goodies.
Check out the video above from the Disney Parks Blog that shared how they decorate the witch Minnie apple on YouTube.
I'll leave you with this shot of It's a Small World that I took during the Mickey's Halloween Party that I attended. It was really awesome to see during such a fun night. 

What is your favorite Fall/Halloween food or treat?

Monday, September 7, 2015

Cozy Cone Food in Cars Land

On a recent visit to Cars Land, my family and I decided to grab some food from the Cozy Cone Motel.  
We visited Cozy Cone #3. 
Don't mind this picture above that I took during Christmas time. (Cars Land looks amazing at Christmas.) Cozy Cone #3 offers chili cone queso, chicken verde, bacon mac and cheese, and BBQ pulled pork bread cones along with various drinks. 
 Above is the chili cone queso which has beef chili, cheddar cheese, and Fritos on top. You can get this cone with vegetarian chili if desired.
 Pictured above is the chicken verde cone with chicken, salsa verde, and queso fresco.  
 I forgot to get a close up of mine, but here I am with the BBQ pulled pork cone and the oil can souvenir sipper. The cone is filled with shredded pork mixed with barbecue sauce and topped with coleslaw and a pickle slice. 
A while ago, I also tried the bacon macaroni and cheese cone.  This cone has mac and cheese mixed with bacon bits throughout and topped with more bacon. 
 We all really enjoyed our cones. They are very filling and would make a good lunch or dinner on the go. You can easily get these and head over to wait in line for Radiator Springs Racers if there is a long wait (there usually is). 
Click here to see the menu of all the Cozy Cones. I also did a little tour of the Cozy Cone Motel over on my YouTube channel, so check that out below. 
What is your favorite treat at the Cozy Cone Motel or what would you like to try? Let me know in the comments.