Making Bengal Bar-B-Que's Safari Skewer at Home

As I have been reporting this week, my little sister and her husband are at Disneyland and have been kind of taking me along by sending back frequent text messages and pictures. On Monday, she stopped by Adventureland's Bengal Bar-B-Que and had a Safari Skewer (bacon wrapped asparagus touched off by a squeeze of lime)  "for me" as she is not a huge fan of the $3.89 morsels of goodness. One of her complaints - the Bengal Bar-B-Que didn't have mayonnaise for her to dip the asparagus in. That's kind of .... nuts. Anyway she sent me back a photo (not the one above, that's one of mine) of the skewer either to salute me or stick it to me - I'm not sure which. 

I always have a Safari Skewer or two when I make my trips to Disneyland and there are others like me. For many people, it's one of the small hidden food gems that you can find at Disneyland though admittedly, some people don't like them at all (Mrs. DisneylandTraveler). If they are made correctly, it's a great snack with tender grilled asparagus wrapped in bacon that is just crispy enough then highlighted by a squeeze of fresh lime - good, good, stuff. The problem is Bengal Bar-B-Que tends to be inconsistent when making the skewers and sometimes you can get tough, stringy asparagus wrapped in flabby bacon sorely lacking in cooking time or care by the griller. If I had to guess, for every 4 skewers I have eaten, 1 may end up being sub-par and disappointing. You pay your money and takes your chances sometimes.

So yesterday morning I'm thinking about the bacon wrapped asparagus my sister ate at the park the previous day and held over my head. I'm thinking to myself "You know this isn't complicated, you can make this at home you idiot - go to the store and get some bacon, asparagus, and lime". So here is the recepe for my version of Bengal Bar-Que's Safari Skewer:

1 bunch of asparagus

1 12 oz. package of bacon

A little Olive Oil

Montreal Steak Seasoning

Lime wedges

Complicated, isn't it? Why haven't I made this before? (answer below)

Preparation: Preheat charcoal on a bar-b-que (I have a gas grill but for most foods, I use a charcoal Weber - a fine American made product if there ever was one). Cut about an inch or two off the base of the asparagus stalks and toss in the trash (or compost for you green people) as these really do tend to be tough and stringy. Cut the remaining asparagus spears into about and inch or inch and a half pieces. Throw the cut asparagus into a bowl and toss with a little olive oil and the Montreal stake seasoning (this is a great all purpose seasoning for just about everything that's primarily salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and some other stuff).

I should have said, you need to soak some bamboo skewers in water for about a half an hour before using them. Soak them while the charcoal is heating up. Cut up the bacon slices in pieces large enough to wrap around asparagus pieces. I didn't do it but putting the bacon in the freezer for a few minutes may make it a bit easier handle when forming around the asparagus (or maybe really good bacon may help). Skewer each piece of bacon wrapped asparagus. I did about 5 or 6 per skewer - the pieces should not touch each other on the skewer for better all around cooking. And here is probably why I have not done this at home - this is one slippery, greasy, time consuming job especially for someone who doesn't have cook's hands. More than piece of asparagus missed the skewer, hit the cutting board and slid off to the floor.

Cooking: I took my first skewer and threw it right over the charcoals which I had set up for both direct and indirect cooking. As one would suspect, the skewers laced with bacon fat and olive oil immediately began to flame up. This wouldn't work as the bacon would burn to a crisp long before the asparagus had a chance to cook correctly. So I dropped the skewers on the indirect part of the grill (no charcoal underneath) and covered with a lid. I was going to cook these slowly with the grill serving more as an oven. I let the skewers cook about 7 minutes, then flipped them over and reversed them so the skewer that was furthest away from the charcoal now became the closest, again covered the skewers and opened another beer (forgot that part before). So I cooked them about 7 more minutes. I reversed them one more time for seven minutes so now we are at a little over 20 minutes cooking time. Before removing the skewers from the grill, I moved them on to the direct charcoal heat for a little less that a minute the flipped them one time for a few more seconds of high heat. This helps in the final crisping process. Most of the fat will have been rendered out by this point which is probably a good thing.

Squeeze with lime and serve to the Boy. He was impressed. I told him to take a few pieces to Mrs. DLT and surprisingly she ate them and loved them. She wouldn't touch it a Disneyland but she ate mine. She was impressed. And when I sat down to eat mine, so was I.

The Bengal Bar-B-Que has got nothing on the Safari Skewers I made last night - they were as good if not better.

Trader Sam's Chinese Long Bean Recipe

Trader Sam's Chinese Long Beans - A Disney Parks Blog Photo

I was one of those who lamented the closing of the Lost Bar at the Disneyland Hotel last year.  In the current Disneyland Hotel renovation, the Lost Bar was demolished and replaced with a new casual meeting spot - Trader Sam's.  Now I haven't been to Trader Sam's yet but do look forward to making it over there someday hopefully soon.  In the meantime, the reports of the great atmosphere, dynamite tropical drinks, and a tasty appetizer menu that make up Trader Sam's offerings are regularly posted on Disney discussion boards. Disney Parks Blog recently posted the recipe for the fried Chinese long beans served at Trader Sam's.  I'll include it in my Disney recipe collection on this blog because it looks simple to make but also reminds me of something I need to try on my next trip.

Panko-crusted Chinese Long Beans with Sriracha Mayonnaise

Serves 4

Sriracha Mayonnaise
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sriracha (Asian chili sauce)
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon cleaned and thinly sliced green onion, green part only
1/4 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Panko-crusted Long Beans
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon seafood spice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 pound Chinese long beans*, cut into 4-inch-long pieces
2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
4 cup canola oil, for frying
Coarse salt, to taste

For sriracha mayonnaise:

Combine mayonnaise, sriracha, vinegar, salt, green onions, lime juice, garlic and pepper in small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For panko-crusted long beans:

1. Combine flour, seafood spice, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.
2. Line a baking sheet with paper towels; set aside.
3. Pour oil in a deep pot to a depth of 1 inch. Heat over medium-high heat to 350°F.
4. Moisten long beans; dredge in flour mixture. Dip in beaten eggs, then roll in panko.
5. Working in batches, gently place in hot oil until golden brown about 2 to 3 minutes, using tongs or a slotted spoon to gently turn beans every 45 seconds.
6. Transfer fried beans to prepared baking sheet and season lightly with salt.
7. Serve with Sriracha Mayonnaise.

Another Recipe - The Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I sang the praises of Disneyland's Carnation Cafe Loaded Baked Potato Soup almost literally in an earlier post titled In Praise of a Bowl of Soup.  Tried the recipe and the family loved every last mouth watering calorie and there are plenty of them.  While I was posting the pumpkin muffin recipe in my previous blog entry, I thought it best to capture the soup recipe as well so I can keep these handy on this blog rather than having to go search for them.  So here is the Baked Potato Soup recipe.

Note: 32 oz. of half and half may work out better than the heavy cream and save a calorie or two. The heavy cream version is very rich.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Yield: six 8-oz portions

Ingredients:
4 large Russet Potatoes (peeled and small diced)
4 medium Red Potatoes (small diced)
6 oz (2 large stalks) Celery (small diced)
6 oz (1 large or 2 small) Carrots (peeled and small diced)
I medium yellow Onion (small diced)
2 oz unsalted Butter
1 lb. bacon (rough chopped) (*tip: place slices of bacon in the freezer to make it easier to cut. Will slip less)
16 oz Chicken stock or vegetable stock
32 oz Heavy Whipping Cream
2 oz Flour
1 oz vegetable oil
Salt/pepper to taste
*Small dice is ¼ In. x ¼ In.

Garnish with these items if desired:
Chives (chopped)
Bacon Bits
Sour Cream
Cheddar and Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)

PROCEDURE:
1. Place stock pot, (6-8 quart pot) over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil, butter and bacon. Start rendering the bacon (process of releasing the fat through cooking). The bacon will start to release its fat. Do not allow it to burn.

2. Cook bacon until crispy, remove and set aside on a paper towel; leaving the fat from the bacon in the pan. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Traditionally these 3 items are called the MIREPOIX. Sweat the mirepoix until the onions turn translucent. Add potatoes and cook for 4 minutes. Add the flour to make roux. Cook roux until blond in color, (about 5 to 7 minutes), while stirring constantly. Add chicken stock and half of the bacon back into the pan. (Reserve the rest of the bacon for garnish.) Season with salt and pepper.

3. Turn the heat to medium high, bring the soup up to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and tender. Mash some of the potatoes for thicker, creamier texture. Add whipping cream and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. You can adjust the thickness by adding water or stock for a thinner soup. It should have a creamy consistency. Adjust your seasonings.

5. Garnish with your desired toppings.

Sign of Autumn - The Return of the Pumpkin Muffin

Well, it's official. Disneyland has officially rolled into the Autumn season when the Pumpkin Muffin made its first appearance at the Blue Ribbon Bakery yesterday. Somewhere Mrs. DisneylandTraveler is doing a happy dance because she loves these things. We're probably not going to make it down there this HalloweenTime but depriving Mrs. DLT of the beloved muffin is not an option. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, here is the Disney parks pumpkin muffin recipe:

Recipe:

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing

Pumpkin Muffins:
2 cups pumpkin puree (canned)
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325 F.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla until well blended.


Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until just blended. Overmixing may result in less tender muffins.

Fold in the raisins until consistently distributed.

Portion mixture into muffin pans and bake at 325 F for 25 minutes.

Insert a toothpick into center of muffin and remove. If toothpick is clean, the muffins are ready. If not, allow muffins to cook an additional 1-2 minutes or until toothpick is clean. Allow muffins to cool for 30-60 minutes.

Cream Cheese Icing:
1 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Allow cream cheese and butter to soften at room temperature for about an hour.

Mix cream cheese and butter together until smooth.

Add vanilla extract, powdered sugar and cinnamon, and mix until well blended.

Remove from mixer, and cover and refrigerate until needed.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with icing.

Poke a hole into the center of each cooled muffin and squeeze icing directly into the middle of the muffin, finishing with a rosette on the top.

Pass the Slaw

Disney Parks Blog published the recepe for the Cole Slaw served at the Big Thunder Bar B Queue this week. It's the best cole slaw I ever had and I don't even like cole slaw. The chicken looks good too. It's late June, the start of summer. Maybe it's time to fire up the Weber and recreate a Big Thunder experience.

Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue Cole Slaw

Serves 6 to 8

1/2 cup white-wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound shredded green cabbage (about 1/2 large cabbage)
1 pound shredded purple cabbage (about 1/2 large cabbage)
2 carrots, shredded

1. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, celery seed, paprika, black pepper, and cayenne in a blender; blend on low speed until sugar is dissolved.
2. With blender running, slowly pour oil through top of lid, processing until dressing is combined. Set aside.
3. Combine shredded cabbage and shredded carrots in a separate large bowl. Add dressing, tossing to combine. Refrigerate for 2 hours, tossing occasionally, before serving.