Posted December 28, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 2 Comments
I was bummed when I saw that December doesn’t have a fifth Thursday this year, which meant I wouldn’t be able to do a Grinch Who Stole Christmas bonus recipe. Still, when I sat down to decide whether I should make Who Pudding or Green Grinch Hot Chocolate as my dessert this month, I simply couldn’t choose. So I made both!
The pudding is based on a delicious homemade chocolate pudding recipe from Moms Need to Know (I also used some tips from Bunny’s Warm Oven). Of course, you can just add some food coloring to instant pudding if you want, but what kind of a food blog would I didn’t give real, from-scratch chocolate pudding a try? As for the hot chocolate, it’s a peppermint version of the white hot chocolate that’s going to appear in my cookbook next year!
So if you’re not quite ready for Christmas to be over, cook up some rich, chocolatey Who pudding and steaming Green Grinch Hot Chocolate for a sweet winter treat. 🙂
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Posted December 21, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 2 Comments
Is this more of an appetizer than a side dish? Probably. As soon as I started planning my Grinch Who Stole Christmas menu, I knew I wanted to incorporate Grinch hearts, but I wasn’t exactly sure how. It wasn’t until early this past week that I decided on making fruit skewers with dip, and by then I’d already made Who Hash for my appetizer. So here they are as a side dish! In the end, all that matters is that they’re delicious, right? 😉
And they definitely ARE delicious—easy too! Just cut your strawberries into shape with a small heart cookie cutter and slice the ends off your grapes at an angle. Slide them on a skewer, and you’re done! The fruit dip is easy too. It’s got a tasty coconut yogurt base blended with cream cheese and honey for added creaminess and sweetness. It’s a sweet snack you can feel great about eating, Grinch or not!
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Posted December 14, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 2 Comments
Ah, the roast beast! This wouldn’t be a Grinch Who Stole Christmas menu without it, right? When I first started planning this menu, I instantly knew we’d have roast beast for an entree, but I wasn’t sure what form it would take.
My first goal was to figure out exactly what kind of beast we’re talking about here. In the book, it’s drawn with what could be a hoof or a trotter, which had me thinking beef or pork. However, it also has what could be a tuft on its tail (or a chop holder like you see on lamb shank crown roasts). It DOES say the beast is rare, though this could be in reference to it scarcity, rather than its cook time. I’m sure all this vagueness was a deliberate choice on Seuss’s part, since the Whos would most likely be eating an imaginary animal, but it wasn’t super helpful from a meal-planning perspective. Since the source material left it pretty open-ended, I decided to go with beef, since it’s a hooved animal like the picture and can be cooked rare.
Instead of a pot roast recipe (which I’ve done before), I decided to try something different: roast beef sandwiches! I was intrigued by the idea of making French dip sandwiches in the slow cooker, which I hadn’t tried before, so I tracked down a great recipe from Celebrating Sweets and whipped it right up.
It was delicious and super easy! The broiled provolone drapes the juicy beef and tender onions in a blanket of cheesy goodness, and the French rolls soak up the au jus perfectly—making them soft and flavorful without falling apart. I am SO making this again soon! 🙂
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Posted December 7, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 6 Comments
Hey, all! December is here at last and with it our final Book of the Month for 2017: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I’ve been looking forward to this menu for a long time, so let’s get started!
Our appetizer for this menu is Who Hash, which the Grinch steals from the icebox on Christmas Eve. Dr. Seuss doesn’t give a description of it, so I decided to use it as a chance to get creative!
It seems a little strange that a few months ago I’d never made hash in my life, and now I’ve made TWO hashes in as many months (you can check out my Stranger Things Pumpkin Hash here). I decided to make a pepper and sausage hash this time, with an eye towards making it different from the hash I made last month. This hash features juicy Italian sausages that have been cut into disks and sauteed in an iron skillet with onions, red potatoes, and Christmas-y red and green bell peppers. It’s bright and satisfying with a bit of a kick—I can see why the Grinch would like it! 😉
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Posted November 30, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 5 Comments
Stranger Things bonus recipe time! I always love when months have a 5th Thursday, because it means I get to make a bonus recipe. I really enjoy the freedom I have with these since, unlike my standard recipes, they don’t have to fit a particular course of the meal (for example, my first recipe of the month is always an appetizer, so I have to make sure whatever I make could feasibly be used that way). But bonus recipes can be anything—a cocktail, snack, extra dessert, etc. Anything goes!
Strangely enough, I’m not sure what inspired me to make an upside down milkshake. I’ve made a lot of cocktails for bonus recipes, so maybe I was trying to avoid more of the same. Or maybe I wanted something kid friendly since the main characters in Stranger Things are kids. Either way, as soon as I realized I got to make an extra recipe, the words “upside down milkshake” sprang right into my head.
Of course, since it’s a tribute to the Upside Down, it’s literally turned on it’s head—with the cherries and whipped cream at the bottom with the shake poured over the top. But what flavor to make? I wanted something dark and rich, and I love the way chocolate and blackberries go together. A cool unexpected side effect was the fun way the berries made clusters of dark circles on the side of the glass. It reminded me of the giant spores that float in the air of the Upside Down.
Drink up…before the Shadow Monster gets to it! 😉
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Posted November 23, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments
Sheriff Hopper loves him a good doughnut, so there was no doubt in my mind that they’d be the dessert in my breakfast-themed Stranger Things menu. And I knew exactly what kind I wanted to make: apple cider doughnuts! I got the idea while watching the very first episode of Season 2. When Hopper walks into the police station in the morning, he goes straight for the doughnuts, but the secretary takes it out of his hand and swaps it for an apple. Hopper spits it out and tosses it after the first bite. So I thought it would be fun to use apples in a way he’d actually enjoy: doughnuts! Plus, they’re super festive, considering today is Thanksgiving! (Don’t worry, I’m not slaving over my blog today. I’m off visiting family and enjoying having a restful holiday. Yay for scheduling posts in advance!)
I’m kinda new to cake doughnuts (though I’ve made raised doughnuts before), so I used a recipe for apple cider doughnut holes by Lori from Recipe Girl. I decided to go with doughnut holes instead of full-on doughnuts because I lack both a doughnut cutter and doughnut baking pan, and I didn’t feel like buying one. Plus, making holes meant more surface area per bite would be covered in cinnamon sugar, which—c’mon, let’s be honest—is half the fun of apple cider doughnuts.
So fry up some festive goodness! These are perfect for dunking in your morning coffee as you contemplate the mysteries of the Upside Down. 😉
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Posted November 16, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 5 Comments
Pumpkin plays a key role in Season 2 of Stranger Things, so I knew it needed to make an appearance in my menu. I wanted to continue my breakfast theme, and pumpkin hash sounded like the perfect side dish to pair with my Fried Chicken Waffle Cones and Bacon Stuffed French Toast.
Pumpkin hash is a little unusual, but I managed to track down a recipe by Eat the Gains to use as inspiration. Like the original, mine starts with crumbled sausage, cubed pumpkin, and chopped onion (though I used red onion for a little extra color). Then I added a little garlic and sage since I’ve got Thanksgiving on the brain. Stir in some green onion for a pop of color and add some fried eggs on top, and you’ve got a hash Hawkins, IN would be proud to call its own.
P.S. Can I just say that I’m inordinately proud that, in the three recipes I’ve made for this menu so far, I’ve included FOUR kinds of protein? Chicken, bacon, sausage, AND eggs! Whew, I may need to go on a run when this is all over.
P.P.S. That’s a hilarious joke because I have, in fact, NEVER gone on a run.
P.P.P.S. Don’t worry, I won’t be putting meat in the dessert. 😉
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Posted November 9, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 4 Comments
The secret’s out: This whole Stranger Things menu is gonna feature breakfast foods! We started out with Spicy Maple Fried Chicken Waffle Cones, and now we’re moving on to rich, fluffy french toast.
This recipe is inspired by the French toast Sheriff Hopper serves to Eleven in Season 2. Granted, the version he made was a little more basic, but you know me—I can resist playing with my food! Stuffed French toast seemed like the way to go, and the bacon stuffed variety was perfect for health-food-hating Hopper.
This was my first time making French toast, so I took inspiration from several recipes: The Kitchn’s basic French toast, Spicy Southern Kitchen’s Bacon French Toast, and Bon Appetit’s tips for avoiding French toast mistakes. Although I’m not the biggest fan of French toast (hence why I’ve never made it before), I feel like this is a really solid recipe. It starts with thick slices of challah soaked it a lightly sweetened custard, filled with fried bacon and cooked in butter until golden. The texture on the inside was rich, faintly sweet, soft, fluffy, and moist without being wet. In fact, the inside of the bread reminded me a lot of a soufflé. It contrasted so well with the salty bacon in the very center. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and a healthy drizzle of syrup, and you’re all set!
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Posted November 2, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 4 Comments
Normally, I try to stick to classic books around here, but sometimes I like to shake things up and make a menu for a TV show or movie. Even then, I try to stick to the classics. Still, every once in a while a show comes along that is clearly an instant classic, destined to remain in our minds and hearts for years to come. Stranger Things is one of those shows.
I loved Season 1, so when Season 2 premiered a few days before Halloween, I watched eagerly with a pen and paper in hand, ready to write down anything and everything the characters ate. There was no way I was letting another season go by without making a Stranger Things menu!
To start things off, I wanted to serve a tribute to the food Hopper leaves for Eleven in the woods at the end of Season 1. He places what looks like chicken wings in a Tupperware container along with some plastic-wrapped Eggos on top. Instead of making straight up chicken and waffle, I decided to try a fun new version. I’ve seen fried chicken in waffle cones popping up on Pinterest, so this is my interpretation of that trend.
I started with the breading from my fried catfish recipe and used it to bread some cubed chicken breast. Then I fried them up, glazed them with a mix of maple syrup and sriracha, and scooped them into some waffle cones. Easy and delicious—perfect for the strangest of season premiere parties! 😉
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Posted October 26, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 2 Comments
I first heard of opera cake almost a year ago, and I’ll never forget how floored I was by the elegant appearance. It’s traditionally a thinly layered torte composed of joconde sponge cake, coffee syrup, coffee buttercream, and chocolate ganache. The delicate, refined style and the rumor that it was created in honor of the Paris Opera House had me transfixed. I knew when I got around to making a Phantom of the Opera menu, this HAD TO BE my dessert.
But truth be told, I was thoroughly daunted by the time and energy required to make such a cake (we’re talking joconde, flavored syrup, buttercream, and two thicknesses of ganache!). I had no idea how I’d manage it will a little baby on the verge of crawling, and I had a feeling a lot of my readers would consider it too much work as well.
I searched online for an easy version and couldn’t find one, so I decided to create my own! I went with a chocolate strawberry theme, in honor of the red, black, and white motif so closely associated with Phantom of the Opera. This recipe uses frozen pound cake from the grocery store, strawberry jam, vanilla buttercream, and chocolate ganache. I made my own buttercream, but you can even use the stuff in the can to save time. So in the end, the only thing you HAVE to make from scratch is the ganache! The final flavors are a delicious combo of sweet buttercream, rich pound cake, sweet-tart jam, and bitter-sweet chocolate. Sooo delicious!
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