Monday

Disney Themed Birthday Party

Hello everyone !

Today's post is about well... My 22nd birthday that I had this week ! As a massive Disney lover I decided to throw a Disney themed house party for me and my closest friends. As I was very busy with school work as well as with party planning it took me a week to decorate the place and cook and bake everything. I painted most of the decorations myself (with some help from my lovely friend) and also I challenged myself in the kitchen. I decided that I wanted everything from pasta to chocolate be done by me.

Invited people had to turn up dressed up as given at random sidekick characters from Disney movies. We had Pain and Panic from Hercules, Meeko and Flit from Pocahontas , Gus and Jaq from Cinderella , The Pink Pegasus from Hercules that Pain and Panic turned into to seduce Pegasus, Zazu and Rafiki from The Lion King and I was suppose to be Cri-Kee from Mulan but as I got stuck in the kitchen trying to finish everything on time I didn't manage to think of a costume. Looking at how busy I was I consider myself excused !

I decorated the apartment with my favourite Disney movies : Beauty and The Beast, Pocahontas, Little Mermaid and Tangled. I wanted to throw a couple of more movies in but they didn't make much sense together. Unfortunately I wasn't taking many pictures (it kept slipping my mind) so I'm posting the only ones I've got so far. Hopefully you'll be able to get at least a tiny bit of what the whole thing looked liked.




Food wise I made everything inspired by food in Disney movies. The menu consisted of : 

- Apples fresh and in Carmel (Snow White) 
- Watermelon (Aladdin) 
- Bananas (Jungle Book) 
- Cherries (Pocahontas) 
- Chocolate Chip Cookies (Tangled) 
- Cupcakes (cause they're awesome) 
- Sushi (Monster Inc.)
- Pizza  (Carpet from Aladdin) 
- Homemade Pasta with Meatballs in a Tomato sauce (Lady & Tramp) 
- Chicken Drumsticks (A lot of Disney movies)
- Ratatouille (Guess from which movie... And not exactly the same as in Ratatouille) 
- Corn (Pocahontas) 

Of course because I have friends who a) don't eat pork b) don't eat vegetables c) are vegetarians I had to make two Pizzas (one with no meat, second one with just meat and no pork) and also two different types of Sushi (some with prawns and some with a carrot instead of prawns). 

We played Disney music, we played a Disney game for children which is call "Headbanz", I opened up presents I got from my friends and we simply had a blast ! 

Here's a short video of how everything looked when first guests started arriving. Sorry for chaotic recording. I was in a rush. 





I hope you enjoyed that post and I hope it inspired you in any way :) 


Have fun !

Butterfingered Chef 

Sunday

Bake yourself a Cheese Cloud

Hello everybody ! Today I want to present to you a recipe for an edible cloud. It's called a Souffle ! I plan on baking many different flavours but today I'm writing about a Cheese Souffle. Yummy ! 



Ingredients : 
- Mature Cheddar Cheese (125g)
- Grated Parmesan Cheese 
- Plain Flour (45g)
- Butter (45g)
- French Mustard (1/2 tbsp)
- 5 eggs (5 whites and 4 yolks)
- Milk (225ml)
- Salt 
- Pepper


First I suggest preparing your space and your ingredients. I found it very helpful. Grate the Cheddar. Weight Flour, Butter and Cheddar and keep them in separate glasses so when you need one of them you just grab the glass. Separate the Egg Whites from the Yolks (remember that you need only 4 yolks, keep the fifth one in another container and put it in a fridge. You can use it later on for another recipe). Measure out the amount of Milk you need. Have the Salt, Pepper, Mustard and Parmesan close to you. You're ready to go ! 

By the way, I find a spiral whisk (http://homeware.fiskars.com/web/fiskarsweb.nsf/uk/utensils_functional_form_spiral_whisk_858150) the best to use when preparing the mixture for the souffle. 

In a small pot melt the butter. Add flour and stir until smooth. Cook it for a minute over a medium heat.
Pour in the milk and stir until the flour-butter mixture blends with the milk. When it's done bring it to the boil while stirring constantly until the mixture becomes thick and smooth. 
Remove the pot from the heat. Season it to your likings and add cheddar and mustard. Stir properly. Add the yolks bit by bit to the mixture and stir well. 
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Prepare a baking tray on which you will put the ready-to-bake souffle. 
In a large bowl whisk all the egg whites until it's stiff. Stir in a bit of the egg whites into the pot and stir well. Combine the mixture from the pot with the rest of the egg whites. Stir well. 
Grease the souffle dish with butter. Pour the mixture into the souffle dish. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top. Do not panic if at some point during baking, the souffle rises so much it breaks and starts to boil over. Just leave it alone, later on you can cut of the part that boiled over and eat them anyway. 
Bake for 20-30 minutes. 
When done serve immediately. The puffiness of the souffle goes away very quickly so you're trying to serve it as quickly as you can so your guests or family can see the souffle in a full glory. 


That's it ! Congratulations, you just made a cheese souffle ! 

Now hurry up and eat it while it's still hot. Enjoy this small piece of cheesy heaven. 


Bon Appétit ! 

Butterfingered Chef