Dining with the Mouse

The Bread Pudding at ‘Ohana is considered by many to be one of the best desserts on Walt Disney World property… it is so warm, sweet and delicious.  Perfect comfort food.  Here are some pictures of the actual dessert at Walt Disney World.

When I have dinner at ‘Ohana, I make sure I don’t eat too much of the meat and side dishes (even though this is hard to do!) because I would be very sad if I were too full to eat my bread pudding! 

The good thing is that this dessert is very easy to make at home.  Here is a peek at the ingredients.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Then, get the biggest mixing bowl you have and whisk together 5 large eggs, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg and 3 cups whole milk. 

Next, cut up one loaf of challah bread into 1/2 inch cubes (about 10 cups).   Add these bread cubes to the milk mixture along with 8 oz of canned crushed pineapple (drained).   The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of sweetened shredded coconut and an optional 1/4 cup of raisins, but I decided to omit both of those ingredients.   Stir to combine ingredients.

Then pour the mixture into a buttered (or sprayed) 13x9x2-inch pan. 

Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes.  After baking, let it stand for 5 minutes. 

While the bread pudding is baking, make the bananas foster sauce.  In a medium pan over high heat, combine 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup corn syrup, 1/2 cup unsalted butter and 1/2 cup heavy cream.  

Bring this to a rolling boil.

Boil for 10 minutes and then add another 1/2 cup heavy cream.  Boil 1 more minute. 

This is where it gets a little tricky… adding alcohol to the sauce.  For safety, take your pan off of your heat source.  Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 cup spiced or dark rum.  Flambe using a long-stemmed lighter.  Let boil until the flame goes out.  When I tried to light the mixture, nothing seemed to happen.  So, I stirred it up and tried again… whooosh… big flame.  Be careful!  I don’t have a picture because it is impossible to flambe a sauce and take a picture of it at the same time… safely at least 

When the flame goes out, return the pan to the heat and simmer.  Stir with a heatproof spatula.  Add 3 bananas that you have peeled and sliced.  Remove from heat.

Now for the good part… take a huge slab of pudding and put it on a plate.  Then douse liberally with the bananas fosters sauce and top with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Yum!  The taste is very close to the bread pudding at ‘Ohana. 

Make this tonight.  You know you want to

What do you think of the Bread Pudding at ‘Ohana?  Would you make it at home?

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One of my favorite meals at the Disneyland Resort is the Sonoma Chicken and Apple Salad that is found at the Pacific Wharf Cafe in Disney California Adventure.   Yes, it is a salad, but it is still hearty and filling because it is served in a huge, fresh sourdough bread bowl that is baked right next door at the Boudin Bakery.

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Have you ever been to the BoardWalk Bakery in Walt Disney World?  It is a tiny place, but they pack it full of wonderful treats!  Since everything looks so good, it is difficult to decide what to order.  However, now that I have had the Brownie Cheesecake, it is going to be difficult to order anything else!

Doesn’t that look delicious?  The brownie was dense and fudgy and the slightly tart cheesecake balanced the sweetness nicely.  It was really rich and well… just awesome!

So, I thought I would attempt to recreate this magical marriage of brownie and cheesecake at home.  Here are the ingredients…

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan.  Then sift together 2 cups of sugar, 1 1/4 cups flour, 2/3 cup cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp baking powder.

Put the flour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can use a hand mixer or mix it by hand if you like).  Add 5 eggs and beat the mixture until smooth.

Slowly add 2 sticks of melted butter.

Isn’t this a nice, glossy batter?

Next, fold in 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Yum!

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake around 30 minutes (until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean).  Remove from oven and cool.

When the brownie is cool, begin preparing the cheesecake.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Cream 3/4 cup sugar, 3 Tbs cornstarch, and 4 8-oz packages of cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add 1 Tbs lemon juice and 2 tsp vanilla extract.  Then add 2 eggs, one at a time.

Take the bowl off the mixer and fold in 2 Tbs heavy cream and 2 Tbs sour cream.

Pour the batter on top of the brownies in the pan.

Bake until firm and lightly browned, about 55 minutes.

Cool completely and refrigerate for at least 1 hour prior to serving. Serve with whipped cream and a decorative chocolate, if you wish.

I think it turned out really well.  It wasn’t quite a pretty as the Brownie Cheesecake from the BoardWalk Bakery, but the taste was very close.

I think that the next time I make these (oh yes, there will be a next time!), I will bake the brownie portion for only 15-20 minutes or so.  Enough time to set the top, but I really don’t think they needed to be completely baked prior to getting the cheesecake topping.  They baked another 55 minutes and I think that made the brownie bottom overdone and a tiny bit dry.

Definitely give the cheesecake time to cool in the refrigerator before serving because the flavor only improved after chilling.

I hope you make these at home and let me know what you think!

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Top Five Disney Restaurant Tips  (with toddlers) –

Walt Disney World has great restaurants that are appropriate for children of all ages… especially your toddler.  You will be hard-pressed to find anywhere else that make families feel more welcome.

You really don’t be worried about bringing your toddler to a sit-down restaurant at Walt Disney World.   In fact, it is a good place to teach your child how to act in a restaurant, without being nervous about other diners being disturbed.  With the exception of the very fanciest restaurants on Disney property, everyone expects children to be present and probably has their hands full with their own kids. 

These tips can be applied to families with older children too!

1.  Think carefully about your dining times.  Try to keep your kids on the same dining schedule that they are on at home.  If you normally eat dinner at 5pm, don’t try to have dinner at 8pm in the Magic Kingdom… you are just asking for tired, hungry and grumpy kids.  

Also, since touring the parks can over-stimulate children, consider reserving sit-down restaurants for Breakfast or Dinner… and not for Lunch.  Hopefully, your children are rested at Breakfast and also refreshed for Dinner after an afternoon break at the pool or nap at the resort.   Lunchtime can be tough because kids have had a morning full of fun and the last thing they want is to be strapped into a high chair and have a relaxing lunch.

This is what can happen with a late dinner at California Grill… asleep in the booth before dessert!

2.  Choose a restaurant with some entertainment.  Character meals and the dinner shows are obvious favorites, but how about enjoying the traditional “Oktoberfest” entertainment at the Biergarten Restaurant (with an invitation for the kids to dance in front of the stage),  participating in coconut races at ‘Ohana, or watching film clips inside you “car table” at Sci-Fi Dine In?   Kids can also view the marine life in the huge aquarium at Coral Reef, see a belly dancer perform at Restaurant Marrakesh, watch their food being cooked right in front of them at Teppan Edo, see the Irish stepdancers at Raglan Road at and interact with the “in character” servers at Whispering Canyon Café and 50’s Prime Time Café.

Here is one of the dancers at Raglan Road (Downtown Disney)…

3.  Just like at home, be prepared with some small toys in your bag (Fisher Price Little People Disney Princesses and Thomas Trains work best for us) and books to keep you kids occupied while waiting for your meal.  The kids’ menus have activities and pictures to color, but they don’t change very often and your child may be bored if they have to color the same picture at each meal during your trip.

4. If you think your child may need to nap in their stroller during the meal, ask the hostess to park allow you to park it at the table with you.  When my child was very young (8 months old), she couldn’t make it through a whole dinner in the high chair, but would happily lounge in her stroller while we finished our meal.  

A Mommy-Daughter lunch at the Brown Derby.  While I enjoyed a Cobb Salad…  she was comfortable in her stroller… and with her book…

5.  For your Character meals, consider Family-Style or Plated meals instead of Buffets.    Buffets are great because you do not have to wait for your food… it is ready when you are.  However, they can be a logistical nightmare.  If you are lucky to have two adults in your party, you will have to have one “food runner” and one adult stay at the table with the children.   This means that the food will arrive a bit at a time, and it is difficult for everyone to eat together.   If you only have one adult and more than one child, I don’t recommend the buffets at all.   It is no fun to maneuver through a buffet line with children and multiple plates of food.

The Family-Style and Plated meal Character restaurants include Cinderella’s Royal Table, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (there is an appetizer buffet here, but the entrée and dessert is brought to your table), Garden Grill, and ‘Ohana Character Breakfast.   At these restaurants, you can have a seat… all together… and relax as your server brings you your meal and you wait for the Characters to greet you.

Dining at Walt Disney World with your toddler(s) is actually a lot of fun… there are a ton of entertaining restaurants and it is the most family-friendly place you can visit.   Does anyone have any tips to add to this list?

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