Blue Bayou fans have some new dishes to try and can revisit classics that have been lovingly tweaked. No worries, the favorites are there, but some delicious creations have been added – like the new sweet potato biscuits that come to the table along with the popular sourdough rolls, perfect with the new herb-crusted rack of lamb.

 
Every meal at Blue Bayou starts with an appetizer – gumbo or salad. But now you can opt for a shrimp cocktail (for an additional $5.99). “We’re adding lighter dishes with the menu makeover,” says Christine Weissman, executive chef at Disneyland park. And even classics like the jambalaya get a flourish of healthful micro-greens. No worries, the Monte Cristo sandwich is still there, served with fresh fruit, a perfect complement to the rich sandwich. Also back is the braised short rib and Tesoro Island chicken breast, both tweaked just enough to keep the original flavors but bring a freshness to each dish.

Pan-seared salmon is no longer stuffed with cheese, but instead served with rich sweet corn risotto, tangy citrus mousseline and a dollop of salsa verde. The favorite of vegetarians, the portobello mushroom and couscous macque choux, is another keeper.

The new menu officially debuts today. For reservations, call 714-781-DINE or email dining reservation requests to dine@disneyland.com.


Look below for more posts about dining at the Disneyland Resort:

• Delicious Ideas for Mother’s Day at the Disneyland Resort
• Top 10 Favorite Cool Drinks at the Disneyland Resort
• Disneyland Resort Chefs Cook Up Tasty Vegetarian Dishes

Tagged: Dining, DL, DLR

Filed: Disney Dining, Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort

Temps are heating up, and no one will want to turn on the oven once summer arrives. Here’s an easy dish that uses the grill – but while your kitchen keeps cool, this simple sauce has a little kick from dried red peppers (up to you how many!).

Chimichurri is a green sauce that originated in Argentina, and it’s best made fresh – say an hour or two before you’re going to serve. This version comes from Chef Jeremiah Balogh at Disney California Adventure park, where it’s on the menu at Paradise Garden Grill.

With a little rice and a simple cucumber salad, dinner is served!

 
Chicken Skewers with Chimichurri Sauce with Rice Pilaf and Cucumber Salad
Paradise Garden Grill
Disney California Adventure Park

Serves 4

Chicken Skewers
1 pound boneless chicken breast
1 pound boneless chicken thighs
Olive oil, for brushing
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Chimichurri Sauce
3 cups packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup roughly chopped red onion
1/4 cup roughly chopped yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup roughly chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Rice Pilaf
4 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups white rice
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
Coarse salt, to taste

For chicken skewers:

1. Soak 10 wooden skewers in cool water for at least 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cut chicken into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Skewer chicken; brush with oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook on a grill over medium-high heat, turning often, until cooked through.

For chimichurri sauce:

1. Place parsley leaves, garlic, onion, yellow pepper, and red pepper in the bowl of a food processor; pulse until everything is finely chopped.
2. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; stir in vinegar, oregano, salt, lemon zest, pepper and red pepper flakes. Add oil, stirring to combine.

For rice pilaf:

1. Combine vegetable stock, cumin, and pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden. Add onions and celery; cook until vegetables are softened.

Carefully add hot vegetable stock mixture to rice mixture. Bring to a simmer, then place lid on pan. Cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving. Season to taste with salt.

For cucumber salad:

1. Combine cucumbers, red pepper, and green pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Whisk together lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk in oil until completely combined.
3. Pour dressing over vegetables; toss to combine. Refrigerate salad until ready to serve.

To serve:

1. Serve skewers over rice pilaf with cucumber salad on the side and with chimichurri sauce for dipping.

This recipe has been converted from a larger quantity in the restaurant kitchens. The flavor profile may vary from the restaurant’s version.

All recipes are the property of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc., and may not be reproduced without express permission.

Tagged: Dining, DLR, Recipe, Video

Filed: Disney Dining, Disneyland Resort

Sara Peterson, editor-in-chief of HGTV Magazine, will take the HGTV Designers’ Stage at the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival this weekend to talk tips on boosting your home’s curb appeal.

While she was here on Friday, she took time to sample a few of the Garden Marketplaces located around World Showcase. Check out her review below!

You can catch Sara at the HGTV Designer’s Stage at noon and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Tagged: Dining, Epcot, International Flower and Garden Festival, Video, WDW

Filed: Disney Dining, Epcot, Special Events, Walt Disney World Resort

Earth Day is April 22, but the entire week, April 22-28, has been dubbed Earth Week – and that gives us plenty of time to try all three of these sweet treats that are almost (almost!) too cute to eat.

Walt Disney World Resort pastry chefs have been busy outdoing each other with three versions of chocolate available only April 22-28. The Worms & Dirt tart topped with a smiling strawberry, fresh raspberries, and chocolate cookie “dirt” crumbs can be found at Tony’s Town Square and Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom Park, Kringla Bakeri Og Café and Sunshine Seasons at Epcot, and Capt. Cook’s at Disney’s Polynesian Resort.

The chocolate Worms & Dirt cupcake topped with a teensy flower pot and gummy worms is on the menu at ABC Commissary, Pizza Planet, Backlot Express, Studio Catering Co. and Starring Rolls Cafe at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Kusafari Coffee Shop and Bakery and the espresso and coffee cart at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Another version of a chocolate Worms & Dirt cupcake features an adorable little worm made with a strawberry and fresh raspberries, and it is only at one spot: Kona Cafe at Disney’s Polynesian Resort.

All of the Worms & Dirt desserts are $4.99 and Disney Dining Plan eligible.

What’s your favorite?


Find updates on our latest extra sprinkle of pixie dust on Twitter using hashtag #LimitedTimeMagic and on our LimitedTimeMagic.com web page.

Tagged: Dining, Limited Time Magic, WDW

Filed: Disney Dining, Walt Disney World Resort

We’re enjoying the new Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie and Monsieur Paul, the re-imagined upstairs restaurant at the France Pavilion at Epcot. But there’s more: look for the new L’Artisan des Glaces, Artisan Ice Cream & Sorbet to open by mid-June in the pavilion’s former bakery space.

This delightful little shop will offer 16 different flavors – 10 ice creams and six sorbets are on the menu (still a work in progress). “Everything will be made in-house with the simplest, fresh ingredients – milk, sugar, cream, eggs and fruit,” says general manager Eric Weistroffer.

The frozen treats will be available by the scoop in cups or cones – and for grown-ups, there’s the option of adding liqueurs, says Weistroffer.

Meanwhile, you don’t have to journey to Disneyland Resort to try one of the super-popular, savory cones from Cozy Cone Motel in Disney California Adventure park at Cars Land. They’re now on the menu at Marketplace Snacks in front of Team Mickey at Downtown Disney Marketplace at Walt Disney World Resort. Take your pick of the meaty Chili Cone Queso topped with shredded cheese and crispy corn chips (our favorite), or the hearty meatball cone. Both are served in a thick bread “cone” suitable for strolling while you enjoy.

Tagged: Dining, Epcot, WDW

Filed: Disney Dining, Epcot, Walt Disney World Resort

It’s the one day of the year mom really shouldn’t have to cook. So, whisk her away like a Disney princess to one of these spots for a Mother’s Day meal to remember.

The big event on May 12 is “Join Cinderella and Her Princess Friends for Disney’s Royal Buffet for Mother’s Day.” It’s an all-you-care-to-eat feast from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Disneyland Hotel Grand Ballroom, with visits by Cinderella and live musical entertainment.

The menu is over the top, starting with a glass of bubbly and expansive buffet: salads, artisan cheese, seafood, fish and meats. And, of course, divine desserts for mom including housemade pies. Little ones get their own buffet with salads, fresh fruit, chicken, pizza, mac ‘n’ cheese and “kid-approved desserts.”

Cost is $71.99 (not including tax and gratuity); $20.99 for ages 3 to 9. Premium Annual Passholders get a 15-percent discount, and all other annual passports get a 10-percent discount. Four hours of parking is free (then it’s $6 an hour).

In Disneyland park, three restaurants are creating special mom’s day meals. Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square is offering prosciutto-wrapped halibut with forbidden rice and a corn chowder ($39.00). Carnation Café has honey-mustard, lemon-roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and glazed baby carrots for $16.99, and Plaza Inn is serving fruit-glazed salmon with mango-kiwi relish, rice pilaf and baby carrots for $16.99

Over at Storytellers Café at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the brunch buffet has extra goodies for Mother’s Day, from seasonal berries and made-to-order omelets to beef au jus, brioche French toast and roasted salmon. Cost is $31.99.

For reservations, call 714-781-DINE.

Tagged: Dining, Disneyland Hotels, DL, DLR

Filed: Disney Dining, Disneyland Resort, Hotels & Resorts

After a family trip to Ireland, we jumped at the chance to re-live the experience over a shared meal at Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant at Downtown Disney – and not just any “order-off-the-menu” experience, but a traditional Sunday roast, much like families enjoy so much on the Emerald Isle.

With a minimum of six guests, Raglan Road’s “Host the Roast” is one of a kind in Central Florida – there are plenty of Sunday brunches and buffets, but Raglan’s is the only one that lets your host do the honors and carve tender prime rib, roast pork, roast chicken or roast leg of lamb (OK, you can just relax and let the chef do it).

My husband played along and put on the toque and apron to carve the perfectly roasted rib of beef served with Yorkshire pudding, horseradish cream and rosemary jus that we chose for our Sunday lunch. The food flows to the table – generous cast-iron bowls of balsamic-glazed carrots, tiny potatoes roasted super-crisp in duck fat, crunchy green beans, gooey potatoes au gratin with an extra bit of Dubliner cheese. If a side runs out, the server quickly replenishes. No one goes hungry.

Best of all, the champion Irish dancers and Creel, the house band imported from Ireland, bring a real joy to the place, a happy combo of tradition and flair. It’s hard to imagine such skilled, synchronized movement, especially while you’re sitting still, enjoying crispy potatoes and thick cuts of meat. Beautiful costumes and engaging Irish tunes are like a fancy bow around the family gathering.

We could have chosen the roast pork loin with cider port jus, applesauce and apple chutney (with an added side of decadent pork cracklins’). Or the roast leg of lamb stuffed with sage and onion, served with mint sauce and red wine jus. Or roast lemon thyme chicken with chicken and wild mushroom pie.

But that prime rib was just right – and the traditional Irish Sunday lunch favorite. And we finished with a generous Gran Marnier fruit and custard trifle (a strawberry and apple crumble is the other option, offered gluten free if desired). But the whipped cream and cool fruit seemed like the perfect ending – and segue to an afternoon nap!

Cost is $55 per person for roast rib of beef, $47 per person for roast pork loin, $45 per person for lamb and $35 for chicken. An 18 percent gratuity will be added.

To reserve a table for your family and friends, call 407-938-0300 at least 24 hours in advance. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Tagged: Dining, Downtown Disney, WDW

Filed: Disney Dining, Downtown Disney, Walt Disney World Resort