Making a Dole Whip at Home!

The Homemade Dole Whip 
By: Barbie, co-writer of the Disney Musings Blog

A couple days ago, my husband Nick came home with a sack full of ingredients and proclaimed that we were going to make Dole Whips! I was highly dubious. After all, Dole Whips are such a Disney experience. Is it possible to recreate perfection?

Ingredients

1. 2 20 ounce cans Dole crushed pineapple with juice
2. 2 tablespoons lemon juice
3. 2 tablespoons lime juice
4. 1/3 cup sugar
5. 1 and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

Here are the directions:

Drain pineapple; reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice. Set aside in a small cup.

Place pineapple, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar and reserved pineapple juice in blender or food processor; cover and blend until smooth.

Pour into two 1-quart freezer zipped bags and store bags flat in freezer. Freeze 1-1/2 hours or until slushy. Whip your heavy whipping cream until stiff.

Stir pineapple slush gently into whipped cream until slightly blended, in large bowl. Return to freezer until completely frozen, about 1 hour. (thanks to Magical Recipes for the ingredients and directions)

So, is it everything we hoped it would be? Well, I personally would have only used 1 cup of heavy whipping cream or I wouldn't have drained the pineapple, because it didn't have the kick that a Disney Dole Whip has. But, it was delicious! The two of us couldn't possibly finish it all off in one sitting, so what did we do?

We filled up our Disney popsicle moulds with the rest so now we have 8 popsicles to enjoy later!

This article originally posted on the Disney Musings Blog, which Barbie co-writes with her husband, Nick.

Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel for Brunch

By Nicholas Maglio, co-writer of the Disney Musings Blog

Goofy's Kitchen is located in the Fantasy Tower of the Disneyland Hotel.

A very popular brunch, with plenty of food choices, including many breakfast item, such as "Mickey Mouse" Waffles & Pancakes, French Toast, Sausage & Bacon, a Create-Your-Own Omelet Station, Eggs Benedict, Fresh Fruit, Goofy's Famous Peanut Butter Pizza, Soft-Serve Yogurt with Toppings.

 

There are several lunch type items as well, since this is "brunch", such as an extensive salad selection, Chicken Breast Nuggets, pizza, and many other items.

But to me, there seems to be more desserts than anything else, including an ice cream bar.

 
To be honest, the food here, in my humble opinion, is mediocre.
I think the food at the Storyteller's Cafe buffet at the Grand Californian is superior, while their characters are not as varied.
At Goofy's, the characters are the draw, including Baloo, who joined us for breakfast:

  Barbie and Baloo

 The new super team, Chip 'n' Mulan?

 Dale:

Me and Dale

 

A character I've not previously gotten a picture with, Br'er Fox!

Pluto:

Rafiki:

And our host, Goofy:

As of January 2013 Brunch is 7am-12pm Mon-Fri and 7am-2pm Sat & Sun, prices for Adults: $32.99 and Children 3-9: $16.99 not including gratuity or sales tax.

Final analysis: The food, while not the best, is plentiful, and you won't go away hungry. Go for the fun.

This article was originally posted on the Disney Musings Blog, which Nick co-writes with his wife, Barbie.

Storyteller's Cafe at Disneyland Resort's Grand Californian for Breakfast

By Nicholas Maglio, co-writer of the Disney Musings Blog

My wife, Barbie, her cousin Jill, Jill's husband Zach, and I had breakfast at the lovely Storyteller's Cafe at Disneyland Resort's Grand Californian this past February.

We all chose to partake in the Farmer's Market Buffet which was $25.99 for adults. The children's price was $11.99.
The buffet included bacon, sausage, an omelet station, scrambled eggs, potatoes, fresh fruit, and a "baker's bonanza", cereal, salmon, etc., waffles are available from the kitchen upon request.

There are also entrees such as The American Breakfast: Two Eggs, Country Potatoes, seasonal Fruit, and Toast with choice of hickory smoked Bacon, Ham or spicy Chicken Sausage. Served with a glass of Juice, Steak and Eggs, several omelets, pancakes, french toast and waffles.

The characters are rotated out, and only a couple are out at a time. While we were there we saw, Chip, Terk from Tarzan, and, Koda and Kanei from Brother bear.

Barbie, Chip and me

Terk and me

Sadly I missed one of my favorite characters, Meeko. We also missed Dale and Pluto.

While the characters here are not as well known and numerouse as those at Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Resort, the food is much better.

Final analysis, if you want a very good meal, in a beautiful restaurant, with a smattering of characters, this buffet is for you. Stop back soon for a look at Goofy's Kitchen.

This article was originally posted on the Disney Musings Blog, which Nick co-writes with his wife, Barbie.