Cozy Cone Motel

June 15th is a big day for Disneyland and California Adventure because Matterhorn will FINALLY re-open after undergoing major rehab and Cars Land as well as the Carthay Circle Restaurant will both be making its official debut. I've already made two reservations for the Carthay Circle Restaurant so I can try both of their lunch and dinner menus. Countdown till June 16 and 23rd!! Another restaurant that I cannot wait to try is the Cozy Cone Motel, which is located in Cars Land.
According to the Disney blog, here are some of the dishes that will be featured on the menu:

Cone #1: Churro bites with cinnamon-chocolate sauce, regular or cinnamon-spiced hot cocoa, and Ramone’s Pear of Dice Soda (desert pear and mojito flavorings topped with Sprite).
Cone #2: Soft-serve ice cream and “route” beer floats.
Cone #3: Breakfast features the bacon scrambled egg cone and scrambled egg verde cone. Lunch and dinner is chili “cone” queso and a chicken verde cone. Sip one of Fillmore’s Fuelin’ Groovy Ades (all-natural lemonade with wild berry foam, or pomegranate limeade with lemon-lime foam).
Cone #4: Pretzel bites with cheesy sauce. To drink, Red’s Apple Freeze (100% frozen apple juice with Red’s special flavoring topped with a hint of toasted marshmallow flavor, and passion fruit-mango foam)
Cone #5: With two flavored popcorns daily, you might find salt and vinegar, pickle, bacon and cheddar, sweet and spicy or nacho cheese. Also serving Doc’s Wild Grape Tonic (Sprite with wild grape syrup and wild berry foam).


I think this one is cone # 1? Either way, it looks mighty tasty and I can't try all of the cone selections. 

Disneylandia

Random Disney Fun Fact for the Day

Despite the security systems installed in all Disneyland's attractions (and the monitors being watched by park employees hidden from view) couples will still try to have sex while on the "dark" rides (such as Pirates of the Caribbean or It's a Small World), apparently not realizing that the cameras are infrared and can pick up their every move. On occasion they are stopped with a warning over the speaker; other times, as they exit, they are met with applause from knowing cast members.

Chocolate Whiskey Cupcakes

When it comes to alcohol, I drink like a dude. I like to drink wine but I'm really into whiskey, scotch, and recently, gin and tonic. My friends often tease me about my alcohol choices because those three drinks are usually drunk by old men. And whenever I drink with them or tell them what I'm drinking, they jokingly say that all I'm missing is a red satin robe and a cigar. Har Har. Anyways, I'm sharing this story because this morning I made chocolate whiskey cupcakes. I've made cupcakes with whiskey before, like when I made Chocolate Whiskey and Beer cupcakes. And since those were pretty tasty, I decided to make another kind of whiskey cupcakes. I found this particular recipe on Annie's Eats, which is a super awesome blog btw. I followed the recipe pretty closely. The only change I made was that I used my own vanilla buttercream frosting instead of her Swiss meringue buttercream. I don't have anything against meringue. It's just that I suck at making meringue, so I opted for vanilla buttercream instead.

Chocolate Whiskey Cupcakes

by Annie's Eats

Normal Cupcake Size


Bite Sized

Cupcakes packed for the road for my usual group of taste testers =)

I left my brain at home today

Here's what happened:

I woke up at 4:50 am this morning to bake some cupcakes; chocolate whiskey cupcakes to be exact. I took pictures when I was done frosting, put my camera into my purse and lallie da'ed to work. I wrote my post and was about to upload my pictures when my camera cord was nowhere to be found in my purse. The horror right?! Stupid me uploaded pictures over the weekend and left the cord on the floor in the family room. So, now my original post is in draft and will stay that way until I get home tonight. Major bummer dude.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

A year ago, I stumbled upon a famous New York Time's Chocolate Chip Cookitie recipe. Many people claim that this recipe produces the best of its kind. Now, I really love chocolate chip cookies because I LOVE chocolate and I think it represents the ultimate cookie. However, I was hesitant to give this recipe a try because it requires the use of chocolate drops as opposed to the usual chocolate chips. Chocolate drops are different because they are much larger than standard chocolate chips and the chocolate itself is of a higher quality. This means it's much more expensive and are harder to find. The recipe calls for 1 1/4 lb of chocolate drops and an 8 oz bag costs $8.00. Ouch to my wallet. Another daunting requirement is to allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours. I usually don't plan on making cookies that far in advance, thus this isn't exactly your spur of the moment cookie recipe. However, after baking these cookies, I have learned two things: One, Ghirardelli chocolate chunks or chopping up a chocolate bar will work just fine as a substitute for the chocolate drops, and two, the 24-36 hour rest time is totally worth the wait. This was definitely the best chocolate chip cookies ever!
To view the recipe, check out Kirbie's Cravings blog. She tried out the recipe twice and offers other helpful tips and suggestions as well. Oh and btw, this is the actual size of the cookie. No zooming or anything. This baby was HUGE.

Beer Dinner

Tonight, my sister and I are heading over to Downtown Disney for a very exciting beer dinner at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. I think this will be my fourth time eating there? It's hands down one of my favorite restaurants and I'm super excited for this beer dinner. I would LOVE to go on some rides afterwards, but unfortunately she doesn't have an annual pass. Bummer. Speaking of which, Disneyland pulled a very shady move by increasing their prices by the bucket load. Last year, the premium annual pass (the highest level) was $500. Now it's $649! So much for it being the happiest place on earth. Not cool.

Coca Cola Cupcakes

So, I've had a bottle of Mexican Coke hanging out in my fridge for the past few months because I don't know what to do with it. I know the simple answer would be to just drink it or make a jack and coke with it. But the problem is that I'm not really a soda person because all the sugar in it makes my teeth hurt. My solution? Make coca cola cupcakes of course =).  I found an awesome recipe on Adrianna's blog, A Cozy Kitchen. I made a few changes along the way due to ingredient availabilities in my kitchen, but for the most part I really liked her recipe.

Coca Cola Cupcakes

from A Cozy Kitchen

Here are the following changes I made:

The recipe states to use 2 cups of coke. The bottle is only 12 oz so I substituted the remaining 4 oz with Jameson Whiskey. 

Also, I didn't have any unsweetened cocoa powder left, so I used cacao powder instead.

Finally, I made vanilla buttercream frosting instead of her whipped cream frosting.  

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting 

by me =)

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

1 lb of powdered sugar

1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

3 tbsp of heavy whipping cream

Cream the butter in a mixing bowl until it's nice and fluffy. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Meanwhile, add the vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream. Continue mixing until the frosting is thick and whipped. 

This recipe makes a lot of cupcakes. I was able to make 24 cupcakes and had enough batter leftover for one more cupcake. Since I didn't have any cupcake pans left, I decided to pour the remaining batter into a mug and microwaved it for 1 minute and 30 seconds.  It worked out beautifully and made for a perfect snack while I was waiting for my cupcakes to bake in the oven.

When the cupcakes were ready, I frosted them and immediately gave one a try. It was delicious!

And then packed them all up to give away to my usual group of guinea pigs.

Sorry for the picture being so dark. The sun had not woken up yet.

Git in mah bellyyyyyyy!!!

Disneyland Moments

The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite rides at CA Adventure. I was there for opening day I think and went on it three times in a row. Later on I found out that the ride was shut down for half of the day due to it overheating. Hope I was part of the blame? Oh well. Here are the best parts of the ride, in my opinion:

"There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don’t got a lot to say
But there’s something about her
And you don’t know why
But you’re dying to try
You wanna kiss the girl ..."

I like this part too because it's so romantical but at the same time I find it kind of funny because it looks like Prince Eric is choking Ariel as he's snogging her.

Royal Wedding!!!

I personally wouldn't mind having my own royal wedding in front of the Castle during Christmas time. 

With reindeer serving as the ring bearer.

Can't forget about the necessary sign to protect my ring bearer. =)

Churro Cupcakes

On Friday, I went out to some creepy dive bar to celebrate my friend's birthday. When it comes to bars, I prefer nice lounge bars where you get dressed up and sit on pretty couches or seats. Think Gossip Girl. I know that probably sounds snobby, dramatic, and ridiculous but I can't help it. I like the whole process of getting dolled up and drinking/relaxing in a nice setting. This place, however, was more of a like a dirty hole in the wall where I was fearful of getting shanked or catching an STD. Think peanut shells on the floor and every guy wearing imitation Ed Hardy t-shirts. Eww

But I'm getting sidetracked. Okay, so after work I rushed to the supermarket to pick up flour, butter, and powdered sugar (completely ran out!) in order to make CHURRO CUPCAKES  for the birthday boy. Like many of the cupcakes I bake, I really wish I could take credit for this magical creation. But, unfortunately, it was created by the genius Lindsay Ann, who I believe was the first winner of Cupcakes Wars on Food Network and owns a few cupcake stores. I've baked these cupcakes before and they always prove to be a winner with friends, family, and my usual group of taste testers. I would go so far to say that they are the all time favorite for whoever I make them for. I follow the recipe pretty closely. The only difference is that I add cinnamon sugar to both the batter and the frosting to enhance the churro-ness. Okay, enough chit chat. Here is what these glorious cupcakes look like.

Churro Cupcakes 

create by Lindsay Ann 

For the birthday boy

For the chef. Gotta try one for quality control =)

Attack of the Sweet Tooth

Nothing exciting going on in the kitchen today BUT I am pretty excited to be going to Disneyland tomorrow where I plan on indulging on sweets galore. You know how people say they have a sweet tooth? I think I have sweet teeth. My love for chocolate, candy, desserts, and anything sweet is pretty hardcore. I never tire of sweets and make a point of eating dessert first whenever possible because by the time you finish eating your main course you are too full to eat dessert or fully appreciate it. So, whenever possible, I try to stick to my personal golden rule: Dessert First. Everything else second. Dessert, Appetizer, then Entree.
Anyways,  I cannot wait to re-stock on some Disney candy and gobble up lots of glorious, delectable treats. Here is a preview of what I plan on eating and buying tomorrow.

Beer for Breakfast

Sometimes people (ahem, not me) want to drink beer for breakfast but can't because it's kind of socially unacceptable. Luckily, for these individuals (once again, not including um me), there is a magical dish called Beer & Brown Sugar Pancakes created by Jackie Dodd on Tasty Kitchen. I did make a few modifications though to somewhat healthify it and based on the ingredients I have in my kitchen.  Ready? Okay, here we go.

Chocolate Beer & Brown Sugar Pancakes

adapted by Jackie Dodd on Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients

1 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 C cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 whole egg
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)
1 C chocolate stout

Directions

Whisk whole wheat flour, brown sugar, cacao powder, cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, egg white, and vanilla paste. Combine the egg mixture and chocolate stout with the dry ingredients. Heat up a pan and grease it with butter or oil. Pour 1/4 C of batter into the pan. Flip the pancake when the top starts to bubble and the edges appear dry.
 

Mickey Mouse head shaped pancake

Shooting Star

Chomp Chomp! MMMMMM

I topped my pancakes with cacao nibs, unsweetened shredded coconut, and honey. If you make this on the weekend or your day off, feel free to serve this with a glass of beer. Otherwise, it's a great way to satisfy that beer craving without the judgement. =)

I Don't Share

I am the youngest child in my family and therefore occasionally suffer from the coveted youngest child syndrome a.k.a selfish, spoiled brat syndrome. For example, I often use this as an excuse to not share or in an attempt to get something I want from my family. If they scold me for being spoiled I simply respond that if I am spoiled than it's really their fault since it is they who are spoiling me. So there.

Don't get me wrong. I am actually really nice and I do share for the most part. If I like you, I will spoil you and be generous with you. In fact, I often express my love through food. I try to find out your favorite foods and make them for you if the dish is within my limited culinary capabilities.

But in any case, I saw this during one of my many trips to the wonderful world of Disney. And this pretty much explains why I love Disneyland because this message was clearly meant for me.

Disneyland Fun Facts

 Disneyland's original Tinkerbell was Tiny Kline, a 4 foot 10 in tall circus performer and aerialist who was seventy one years old when she first flew down a zipline from the top of the Matterhorn to start the "Fantasy in the Sky" fireworks Show.

Crunching the Numbers

- $41,000 cost, per night, of the fireworks show above Sleeping Beauty Castle. 

- 100,000 light bulbs outlining the buildings on Main Street

- 54 full-time electricians employed by Disneyland

 

 

Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes

So, over the weekend I was supposed to brew beer. Sadly, this did not happen because apparently people cannot be trusted to save reservations. Let me back track for a moment. Last week, I called Brewbakers to make a reservation to brew beer for Saturday afternoon. The man on the phone said no problem. We'll see you at on Saturday. So, on Saturday morning, I called them just to double check my reservation when to my horror I was told that no such reservation existed. <Enter the expletives>. And to make matters worse, the entire weekend was booked. <Enter more expletives>. So, I decided to drown my sorrows by baking Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes. I found the recipe for it from Smitten Kitchen. I pretty much stuck to the recipe with the exception of a few minor changes. The recipe makes 2 dozen so I halved the recipe to which I ended up baking 14 cupcakes. I also used Boatswain Chocolate Stout instead of Guinness and I used heavy cream instead of Bailey's in the frosting because I didn't have any on hand.

The recipe suggested using an apple corer to cut a hole in the center of the cupcake but I don't have one. So, I just used a knife to carefully cut a hole making sure not to cut too far deep.

 After I cut the hole, I filled it with chocolate ganache and put the top back on.

 And then, I ate this delicious cupcake to help get over that brewing event. Totally worked =)

Chocolate and Sweets

So, last month I did some sightseeing in downtown LA and picked up a few goodies. Like this chocolate bar below. The flavors caught my attention because it sounded very exotic. I like each of those ingredients on its own but have never had all three of them together. I knew I was taking a risk by buying it but figured that you can never go wrong with any kind of chocolate. Well...sadly, I think that notion may have just gone down the toilet because it wasn't really good. The inside was sticky and sour and was not visually appealing at all. It actually kind of reminded me of a sour version of caramel? I ate 2 pieces and tried really hard to like it but I don't know if I can get over the sourness aspect. After I sampled it, I threw it in the freezer because I'm hoping that it will taste better. I'm praying really hard that this will improve the flavor of it because the bar was not cheap. Therefore, I am eating it regardless because it cost me a pretty penny. Let's just say that it cost me one hour's worth of pay. 

Okay, now moving on to better and brighter things. A few months ago, I purchased this book. It's about this woman, who is obsessed with desserts and Paris, receives an amazing opportunity to work in Paris. During her time there, she spends almost every waking moment eating her way through Paris. She goes into great detail about each sweet treat she eats, admires, and can't get enough of. I absolutely loved this book. My only complaint is that it was almost too descriptive because my mouth was watering through the entire book. Beware: do not read this on an empty stomach. It's just not a good idea.

In other news, I'm going to brew beer this weekend. Super excited. I'm totally brewing chocolate beer. Yum!

Mickey Mouse Shaped Waffles

Disneyland Fun Fact: Disney Management still refers to opening day as "Black Sunday." Temperatures were unseasonably hot (well over 100 degrees), drinking fountains were dry (thanks to a plumbers' strike), toilets clogged, food ran out, there was a gas leak in Fantasyland, and women's high heels sank into the asphalt on Main Street. To make it easier for female guests to get around, they were given free pairs of moccasins, because those were the only shoes Disneyland sold for adults

This beautiful plate of Mickey Mouse waffles came from Storyteller Cafe at Downtown Disney. My sister refuses to eat it because she can't bear the thought of eating something that's shaped like an animal or a cute character. Whatever. More for me I say. FYI - if you do ever eat here, ask your waiter to bring you a fresh plate. Otherwise, you will probably get waffles that have been sitting out for awhile.

Cupcakessss!!!!!

 I have many addictions or obsessions, depending on how you look at it. I personally like to view it as a fun hobby =). One of these fun hobbies consists of shopping at grocery stores. I know it's weird but I actually really like going to the supermarket, browsing each aisle, and finding good deals. Yesterday, I found myself drawn to the market after work and decided to pick up a few necessary items, like milk chocolate chips since I was completely out. This morning, I put those milk chocolate chips to good use in cupcakes I baked this morning. Actually, I baked 2 different kinds because I ran out of oreos. But I've listed the complete recipe for both flavors if you're interested.

Cookies 'n Cream Cupcakes: 

1 box cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 C oil
1 C water
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix, 1.4 oz size

Oreos
36 mini marshmallows


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the cake mix and instant vanilla pudding mix first. Then add the eggs, oil, and water. Whisk until just combined. Fill the cupcake liner a little less than 1/2 way full.  Top each one with an oreo and gently press down. Place 3 mini marshmallows on top of the oreo and spoon a little bit of batter to cover the marshmallows. Bake the cupcakes for 18 minutes. When it's ready, let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and transfer onto a cooling rack.

Frosting:

Beat 1 stick of room temperature butter in a mixing bowl until it reaches a soft, whipped consistency. Mix in 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of heavy cream. Slowly add 3-4 cups of powdered sugar at 1 cup at a time. Add more heavy cream if necessary. Top with cookies n' cream sprinkles.

Ooey Gooey Cupcakes:

1 box of cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 C oil
1 C water
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix, 1.4 oz size

1 C milk chocolate chips
1 C mini marshmallows

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the cake mix and instant pudding mix first. Then add the eggs, oil, and water. Whisk until just combined. Stir in the milk chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes and let it cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and transfer onto a cooling rack. 

Frosting:

Beat 1 stick of room temperature butter in a mixing bowl until it reaches a soft, whipped consistency. Mix in 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of heavy cream. Slowly add 3-4 cups of powdered sugar at 1 cup at a time. Add more heavy cream if necessary. Top with mini marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles.

All packed for delivery to my usual group of taste testers =)

 Disney Fun Fact of the Day:

The official address of Disneyland is 1313 Harbor Boulevard. Because there were no buildings (and hence no street addresses) in the neighborhood when the park was under construction, Walt was able to select the number. Some people believe that 13 stands for M, the thirteenth letter in the alphabet - thereby making the address "M.M.," for Mickey Mouse. But 1313 was also the number that Disney artists used as Donald Duck's address, and 313 was Donald's license plate number, so perhaps Walt simply liked "lucky" number 13.