Posted July 16, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 6 Comments
Have you ever had one of those days: a day when you’re convinced that every power on earth has conspired to make everything go wrong? I had one of those days on Monday when I made these buns for our Secret Garden menu. My plan was to get up early to allow for the dough’s two long rising periods, so I started the day off right…by sleeping through my alarm. I also planned to make authentic British hot cross buns with golden syrup and flour paste crosses. Instead, the sugar for my syrup absolutely refused to caramelize (I tried 3 different ways), and the flour paste crosses spread into nothingness when baked. Long story short, I used an Americanized recipe instead. Add in the fact that I managed to lock myself out of my apartment halfway through taking pictures, and it’s really no surprise that 3 pm found me drinking a giant glass of wine.
Still, I have to admit, these guys are pretty darn delicious. 😉
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Posted July 9, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 1 Comment
In The Secret Garden, the cook at Misselthwaite Manor creates some darn tasty dishes, but she admits to pulling out all the stops when she makes this young fowl with bread sauce. We recreated the dish here by pairing thyme-seasoned roasted chicken with traditional English bread sauce (adapted from this recipe). An entree fit for a true English manor!
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Posted July 2, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments
This time last year, we were just starting our Anne of Green Gables menu. In a way, we’ve come full circle. We’re greeting July with a the story of a displaced young orphan girl who breathes vibrancy and life into her new home: The Secret Garden! But this time the home (Misselthwaite Manor) is breathing life into the heroine too. While Anne Shirley was flighty and dreamy, Mary Lennox is serious and grim.
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Posted June 25, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments
Oh, doughnuts. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:
- You give me that awesome sugar fix, reminding me that sweet things are of paramount importance.
- You’re so fluffy you make clouds jealous.
- You couldn’t be a better dessert for Tom Sawyer if you tried.
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Posted June 18, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 4 Comments
Here in the Midwest, cornbread is a very serious business, and anyone who comes from a cornbread eating culture will tell you that regional recipe differences are important (i.e. in the south, cornbread is make with white cornmeal and no sugar). So when I set out to find a Missourian cornbread recipe for our Tom Sawyer menu, it had to be authentic. I rounded up a bunch of potential candidates and ran them past my native Missouri friends, who selected this honey cornbread recipe from a restaurant in Branson.
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Posted June 11, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments
In so many ways, Tom Sawyer reminds me of Peter Pan. He’s not just a child; he’s childhood. He’s all the good and bad of that stage of life, given shape. He’s Instinct, Whim, Innocence…and more than a little Mischief. Never is this more evident than when he convinces his friends Joe and Huck to run away with him to an island in the middle of the river to become pirates. Smitten with the adventure of such a life, they spend their days eating catfish and searching for buried treasure, thinking little of home.
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Posted June 4, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 2 Comments
I read Tom Sawyer for the first time this past year. I’m a huge Mark Twain fan, so I wasn’t really surprised when I loved it. I relished Tom’s innocent yet roguish nature and the endless trouble he and Huck always seem to make for themselves. As the quintessential chronicle of golden boyhood summer, I selected Tom Sawyer as our Book of the Month for June.
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Posted May 28, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 2 Comments
I was really torn as to what to make for our Star Wars bonus recipe. Should I make another molecular gastronomy recipe? A skillet cookie Death Star? Admiral Ackbar’s “It’s a Trap” Wraps? In the end, I decided on this fun, easy Galaxy Bark from Life with the Crust Cut Off. Gotta love those funky colors…and the extra texture element added by the sprinkles! Plus, it’s chocolate, which of course directly translates to SUPER DELICIOUS. Enjoy!
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Posted May 21, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 1 Comment
Corny as it may be, I’m fiercely proud of the pun in the title. These colorful lightsaber popsicles are just right for our Star Wars menu: flavorful, easy to make, and perfect for the hot weather we’ve been having lately!
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Posted May 14, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments
I’ve always believed that Cloud City is hands-down the most beautiful location in all of the Star Wars movies. And maybe it’s supposed to be. Maybe the stark contrast between the heavenly views and the city’s dark underbelly act as a reminder that things aren’t always as they appear.
Luckily, these cloud-shaped cheese puffs (inspired by a recipe from BHG) have all the light, fluffy delicacy of Cloud City’s ethereal panoramas without any of the dark downsides…as long as you don’t burn them! 😉
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