Akershus' Chicken Salad

I have been thinking about this recipe for over a month, and finally decided to just give it a try, it was well worth it! If you're wanting to remember either your Scandinavian roots, or a time in the World Showcase this is a good treat.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked and diced chicken
½ cup sliced, blanched and drained mushrooms
½ cup blanched asparagus

Dressing: 
¾ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice
to taste salt
to taste white pepper

Blanch the asparagus and mushrooms, and cook chicken. Mix together, and mix the dressing. Pour dressing  over the salad and mix well.

Dressing

All the essentials minus the dressing

Complete

Gode å spise (good eating)

       

Go to www.magicaldismom.com for another magical recipe with Krystal tomorrow.

Disney Delights

Photo by Dramowhisk

Thanks for coming back to week two of Disney Delights! A question was posed on Facebook a few days ago about favorite times to be in the parks. This got me thinking about some of the special access times I was allowed to be there. I have two favorite times, but for the purpose of this week's blog I'm only going to discuss one: late at night!

When I was part of the Walt Disney World College Program one of my friends invited me to an after hours movie shown in the theater in World Showcase, France. This was something they did every few weeks for the College Program kids, and since they were showing one of my favorite musicals (that particular night it was Phantom of the Opera) I jumped at the chance to go.

It was so much fun to sit back with my friends in such a beautiful space, munching away on our snacks, watching a great movie. The best part, though, was leaving after the movie. Imagine, if you will, the beautiful glow of Epcot at night. Now, remove all of the crowds and sounds and that is what my friends and I had laid before us: The park was left to us and the night workers, with everything lit  up and music quietly playing.

I remember distinctly the four of us skipping in the World Showcase, barefoot (the street cleaners had just come through) laughing and acting like little girls again. It is a memory I will always cherish, a group of girls I will never forget, at the place that means most to me.

Home Adventures of Epcot Style France

Back in December, my dear friend (and fellow Princess Procrastinator), Holly, decided to take me on a mini French Adventure for my birthday. I have always had a love of anything French, and was drawn in to Paris in Epcot. Holly had found a blog by a woman from France (for those interested in reading French Girl in Seattle) who missed home and was looking for local places to help ease her homesickness.

 The blog provided information about all the places to go to feel as though you truly were in France. So, we set out for the town of Madison (which is in Seattle). We started by eating at the restaurant Voila!. The service was incredible, as was the food. Their menu reminded me of Chefs de France in Epcot, and so did our waiter (a student who had spent a year backpacking through Europe).

Incredible menu from Voila!

Bristo Burger avec Brie, Truffle Oil, and Wild Mushrooms

After lunch we proceeded to go to Ines Patisserie for some wonderfully fresh made hot cocoa and pastries. The way the patisserie is laid out, customers can view all of the delectable sweets as they are being made. There is plenty of seating, and bright, inviting colors to just sit and people/pastry watch (think Boulangerie Patisserie, but even more quaint with a small home town feel). 

Holly and I with our hot cocoa's

Right before leaving Madison

Finally finishing all of our treats, we decided to head to City People's Mercantile for some shopping. The Mercantile is located near the U District, and has a wide variety of souvenir type merchandise with plenty of it being French. They were several sections of Eiffel Towers, Le Chat Noir pictures, French travel books (and information for traveling around the world), candles, and much much more.  

There was so much left in the town of Madison to explore that it would have taken us several days to see everything. For more information on all of the Frenchy things to do in Seattle, please go to the French Girl in Seattle's blog. A huge thank you to her for sharing her knowledge of little known places! The day was perfect, and had me imagining myself back at Paris in Epcot once more.

Epcot's Chocolate Crepes

Epcot Crepe with Mia style sauce

Welcome back to our 365 Disney Dining Challenge! As you can all probably tell, by now, I am in love with most anything French, and am always looking for extra excuses to cook the cuisine (or speak the language). So, I decided the perfect way to end this challenge week was by making chocolate crepes, like the ones at the kiosk in Epcot's France. Since crepes on their own are not as yummy as those with a filling, I decided to create my own (if you are just wanting the Disney recipe, stick with the top list of ingredients).


Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sauce (my own recipe, not found at Disney):
8 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup of brown sugar (can  use 1/8 to make less sweet)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons peanut butter
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon of butter
Bananas

Begin by putting all of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl, and then mix until well blended.The batter will slightly resemble pancake mix, only more on the runny side - for best results, let this mixture rest for about 20 minutes in the refrigerator prior to baking. Then, pour some into a pan and cook on low heat. Watch the crepe, and when you can see the edges starting to turn darker and pull up from the pan, gently flip over and cook for another minute on the other side. Repeat until all crepes are complete.

Combine all ingredients

Should look like pancake mix, but thinner

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and stir over low heat until melted.Remove from heat, and let thicken slightly (I usually prepare my sauce at the same time the crepes are cooking - everything is usually completed at the same time).

Combine all ingredients for sauce

Completely melted down

Once the crepes are finished, slice some bananas and places those slices over the crepes, then ladle on some chocolate sauce and you now have a wonderfully filling desert!

Finit!

Thank you for staying with us on our Dining Challenge journey! Krystal is up next at www.partnersbehindthemouse.com