The holidays are here, which means that you’re probably enjoying some delicious festive food, whether in a Disney park or at home!
We just finished up with one giant feast, but you know we’re already looking forward to the next one. To help you get ready for a fantastic Christmas Day meal — and put a little Disney spin on it at the same time — we’ve got a BUNCH of Disney recipes that work together to create the best Christmas feast ever.
Let’s start out with some bread for the appetizer. Since the holidays are a time for family and friends, what better place to draw inspiration from than ‘Ohana?
And it helps that this restaurant (located at Disney’s Polynesian Resort) has some of the best bread in town.
Pineapple Coconut Breakfast Bread from ‘Ohana
Yield 1 – 9″ x 13″ cake pan
Ingredients
1 3/4 C. Water
1 Egg Yolk
2 T. Shortening
4 1/2 C. High Gluten Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/3 C Sugar
1 T. Instant Yeast
Coconut Mixture
1 C. Crushed pineapple
1 C. Unsweetened coconut
1 C. Sugar
2 T. Cornstarch
Pineapple/Coconut Method
- Combine pineapple and coconut in bowl.
- Combine sugar and cornstarch in separate bowl and mix well.
- Add sugar and cornstarch mixture into pineapple and coconut mixture and mix well.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Bread Method
- Combine all ingredients in order of recipe in mixing bowl, and mix with dough hook until dough picks up on hook and the sides of the mixing bowl is clean.
- Let dough rise until it doubles in size.
- Roll out dough onto a floured surface until it is 2 inches thick.
- Next spread pineapple/coconut mixture over the top of the dough.
- Fold dough onto itself, capturing the pineapple and coconut mixture inside.
- Cut dough into pieces with a pizza cutter and spread out cut pieces evenly in a greased 9″ x 13″ pan.
- Let dough rise in warm oven (110 degrees F) – about half way up the pan.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Let bread cool, cut and serve.
You may want to brush on a thin, sweet glaze as well.
We’re taking a look at the main course next! Although turkey is a classic dish to have on Christmas, we just ate a ton of turkey a few days ago.
So we’re going to head to Hollywood & Vine in Disney’s Hollywood Studios for a little twist on the traditional food.
Turkey Pot Roast from Hollywood & Vine
Ingredients
5 lbs. turkey thigh meat, raw
1 cup onions, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 to 2 gallons brown gravy (demi sauce)
1 qt. burgundy wine
2 cups potato wedges (roasted)
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Heat oil in roast pan.
- Add turkey meat and cook until brown.
- Add onions, celery, carrots, continue cooking.
- Add flour and tomato paste, mix well.
- Add wine and bring to boil.
- Add brown gravy, bring back up to boil.
- Reduce heat. Cover and place in oven at 350° for one hour until vegetables and meat are cooked. (Note: the gravy is to cover meat and vegetables about 1 inch over top)
- Check seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste. When done, remove from pan and serve with roasted potatoes wedges.
And of course, you can’t have turkey without some stuffing to go along with it!
Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom has some of the best stuffing around.
Cornbread Stuffing from Liberty Tree Tavern
Ingredients
12 cups cornbread cubes
1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups turkey stock (chicken may be substituted)
Method
- In a preheated 400° oven, toast bread cubes 5 to 7 minutes or until barely golden.
- In a large skillet over medium/low heat, cook the garlic, onions and celery for 3 minutes or until softened.
- Transfer to a bowl and add the bread cubes, herbs, salt, pepper, and chicken broth.
- Toss well and adjust seasoning as desired.
- Additional broth may be necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
We don’t know about you, but where we’re from, macaroni & cheese is a staple for holiday meals.
We borrowed a recipe from Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge for this one, because Jiko‘s mac & cheese is absolutely to die for.
Macaroni & Cheese from Jiko
Ingredients
Mornay Sauce
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 quart whole milk
1 1/4 cups Quattro Fromage (4-cheese mixture of asiago, provolone, fontina, and gruyere cheeses)
2 pounds elbow macaroni
Method
- Prepare the macaroni according to the directions on the package.
- Make a roux with the flour and butter over low heat. Bring the milk to a simmer and work in the roux.
- Add cheese and salt to taste. Pour over the macaroni and heat through in a moderate oven.
OK, we know that The Wave…of American Flavors isn’t a thing anymore. This restaurant, which is located inside Disney’s Contemporary Resort, was recently replaced with Steakhouse 71.
Although we LOVE the food at the new Steakhouse 71, we’re throwing it back to get this Southern Sweet Mashed Potatoes recipe from the Wave.
Southern Sweet Mashed Potatoes from The Wave
Ingredients
2 cups diced sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons whole butter
4 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons brown sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
3 tablespoons Jim Beam Bourbon
Method
- Steam sweet potatoes until well cooked.
- While potatoes are cooking, place butter, sugar, cream, and cook off bourbon on a small pot and heat up.
- When potatoes are done, place in oven for 5 minutes or so to get some of the moisture out of them.
- Place potatoes in a mixer with the whip attachment and whip away.
- Add cream mixture and then season with salt and pepper and taste.
- Re-season with more salt, pepper or Jim Beam as you see fit.
Since our parents are going to be at Christmas dinner, we probably should put some veggies on the table to make them happy.
We’re back at ‘Ohana for a delicious green beans recipe!
Green Beans from ‘Ohana
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
2 lb. fresh green beans
1 medium red onion, sliced ½ inch thick
3 cloves fresh garlic (whole)
3 TBS canola or vegetable oil
2 TBS low sodium soy sauce
2 TBS granulated sugar
½ tsp Kosher salt
To Taste – fresh ground black pepper
1 lb. bacon, crispy, crumbled
Method
- Wash green beans in cold water. Snip both ends and break in half.
- Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add beans and blanch for 1 minute. Strain.
- Heat a wok or fry pan over medium high heat. Add oil, then add garlic and sliced onions and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- Add green beans and stir-fry for 2-4 minutes depending on how well done you prefer your beans cooked.
- Add soy, seasonings and continue to stir-fry for 1 more minute.
- Adjust seasonings if desired.
- Garnish with crispy crumbled bacon pieces.
And just to make the meal a little more festive, we’re including a Cranberry Relish.
You can normally find this relish at the Garden Grill Restaurant, which is located in the Land pavilion at EPCOT.
Cranberry Relish from The Garden Grill
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups frozen cranberries, sliced
1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
½ teaspoon orange compound (dried orange peel – can be omitted)
½ teaspoon dried ginger
4 ounces mandarin oranges, in a can, diced
Method
- In a sauce pan, add olive oil and heat.
- Add cranberries.
- When the cranberries begin to break down, add the sugar, orange juice, orange compound and ginger.
- Cook ingredients until they are incorporated, then remove from heat.
- Add small diced mandarin oranges and chill.
- Store in air-tight container in refrigerator.
Now we’ve finally reached the most important part: DESSERT.
Let’s hop over to Disney Springs to get the recipe for Chocolate Fudge Pie from — who else? — Ghirardelli.
Chocolate Fudge Pie from Ghirardelli
Ingredients
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 1/4 cups Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 frozen pie crust shell (9 inches), unbaked
1 bottle Ghirardelli Premium Caramel Sauce (17 oz)
Method
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl, microwave the evaporated milk, chocolate, and butter on low for 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and combined, about 2-3 minutes total. (You could also use a double boiler or heavy saucepan on the stove to melt the ingredients, stirring constantly.)
- Whisk sugar and flour into chocolate mixture, stirring to combine.
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking just until blended after each addition.
- Whisk in vanilla and salt.
- Stir in pecans.
- Pour mixture into pie shell.
- Bake at 375°F for 34 to 36 minutes or until set. After 25 to 30 minutes, cover the pie with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning the crust.
- Cool 10 minutes. Drizzle the desired amount of caramel sauce over the pie and serve.
And now you’re all set to start chowing down! Keep following DFB for more delicious Disney recipes and all the holiday news from the parks.
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Which Disney recipes are you going to try? Let us know in the comments!
PAlterBoy says
What a great post! Thank you, and have a wonderful Christmas!
Louise Herrick says
I agree with PAlterBoy. Great post! I would do this if I fancied an American style dinner at any other time of year but my family would go nuts if I didn’t cook our traditional English Christmas dinner. That would be roast turkey, pigs in blankets (sausages wrapped in bacon), roast potatoes, roast parsnips, roast carrots, cauliflower cheese, steamed broccoli, mushy peas, mashed swede, stuffing (pork, sage and onion for us), turkey gravy and cranberry sauce. We don’t like Christmas pudding so usually have something like profiteroles, though this year I’ve bought an enormous ice cream cookie sandwich. That’s our nod to the USA.