"When you find out who you are, you find out what you need "
- Mama Odie
Hardworking and ambitious, dreams of one day opening the finest restaurant in New Orleans. Her dream takes a slight detour when she meets Prince Naveen, who has been turned into an amphibian by evil Dr. Facilier. Mistaking her for a princess and hoping to break the spell, Naveen plants a kiss on poor Tiana -- thereby turning her into a frog as well. The pair hop along on an adventure through the bayous to seek the help of a powerful voodoo priestess.
In celebration of Black History Month I created a menu for Disney's first African-American Princess, "The Princess and the Frog." This movie has so many characters that I absolutely love! The beautiful music is deep rooted in Black American culture and don't get me started on the food! I mean the options for this menu were endless which is why this months menu has both a drink and an appetizer. I had a lot of fun experimenting and hope your family enjoys it as well.
THE MENU
Swamp Wata', Gator-Bites, Daddy's Gumbo and Voodoo Cookies
Swamp Wata'
Ray, the firefly is my favorite character from this movie. I wanted to dedicate this drink to his home and all his relations. So whats in this swamp wata? 1 scoop of powdered lemon lime gator-ade, blended with 1 peeled kiwi, 1 cup of water then top it off with some sprite for a refreshing sweet and tart drink. This recipe is for a serving of 1 so double or triple it as needed. For the fireflys I purchased these from Amazon, the great part about this product is that their water proof which means you can put them inside the drinks (except for the battery) for an added effect. My kids loved it, and now want to add it to all their drinks.
NOTE: If you're not a kiwi fan you can just serve the gatorade but if you want to add the bugs to the swamp water just add some chia seeds.
Gator-Bites
Louis, is another favorite character of mine and definitely the funniest so I dedicated this appetizer to him and I figured since Louis and Ray live in the same place why not make it out of the same thing right? Hope you guys like kiwi's
NOTE: If you are not a kiwi fan you can always make frogs out of apples instead. I created these for the Vise Versa menu as well. Tutorial can be found at kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com.
1. Peel the kiwi's
2. Start with the alligator head and slice (1) kiwi in half as shown above. To keep the head from wobbling slice off a small amount at the bottom of the kiwi to flatten it.
3. For the center of the body use only half of a kiwi (get a size smaller then the head)
4. For the nostrils poke it with your chop stick
5. Use another half of a kiwi for the bottom part of the body (try to get a small piece). Cut the part out for the end of the tail, feel free to add a curve to it. Once the body and tail are complete. Slice off the sides to square out the body of the alligator (shown in the dotted red lines above.
6. For the eyes use a fat straw (like the ones used for boba) and dig it into a half of a kiwi. Pull out the straw and blow into the straw the piece should come right out.
7. Once you have your eyes ...
8. Pick out (2) long chocolate sprinkles for the eye pupils
9. Push the sprinkles into the center of your gator eyes all the way till it digs into the head, this way it will hold them in place.
10. Cut out (2) hands and (2) feet
11. With your scissors make some slashes around the body to give it some gator texture
12. Last but not least, grab (2) rice grains and push them into the upper part of the head so they look like sharp gator teeth.
13. Enjoy your creation!
Daddy's Gumbo
I know, I know, how is making Gumbo easy for a working mom or dad? and the answer is, it's not. It's an all day cooking kind of meal but the good news is that this a very easy recipe to follow, it was my first time making this and I had no issues. This can be something you make a couple of days before or weeks/months before if you decide to freeze it. The best part, is that Gumbo is always better the day after and even better the day after that. Plus, how could I not have gumbo for this menu, gumbo was how Tiana and her beloved daddy bonded. It was their love for food that kept her working so hard to accomplish her dreams so I hope you understand why I had to put this in the menu, it's definitely a labor of love but I promise that you will love this recipe, it was delicious and an absolute hit with my family. I made sure to get an authentic Creole New Orleans recipe and it's the bees knees!!!
NOTE: I live in Southern California so even though this recipe included okra I unfortunately wasn't able to include it, I couldn't find it anywhere! but was still delicious.
NOTE: Eat this with a side of rice or cornbread. I of course ate it with both!
Voodoo Cookies
I know what your thinking...where are the beignets? just so you know I really contemplated on whether or not I should add them to this menu especially since it was one of Tiana specialties but these menus are suppose to be simple and easy and I couldn't have gumbo, which is neither of those things and homemade beignets in the same menu so I hope you understand that instead I went with voodoo cookies, it was after all voodoo that turned Tiana into a frog in the first place. These cookies are so easy that the kids can decorate it themselves and if you don't like cookies (hey some people don't) I also experimented with brownies and they were just as easy to make, its all a matter of preference. My kids loved the cookies but I preferred the brownies.
1. Push the jellybeans into the tip of the toothpick as shown above to make them look like the pushpins
2. For the brownies, make sure they are cooled before using the cookie cutter. Once your ready to decorate turn the brownies over so your not decorating on the flaky side.
3. For the cookies, flatten out the cookie dough on your tray like if your baking 1 very big rectangular cookie. Once they are done baking let them cool for 5 minutes or so but cut out your cookies while they are warm otherwise as it cools down the dough hardens.
Q&A with the kids
1. Why is it unhealthy to work too much? Is having too much fun unhealthy too? Why or why not?
2. The shadow man said he could make all your dreams come true but at the cost of ruining someone else's life. Do you take the deal? Why or why not?
3. What dish or bake reminds you the most of your mom, dad, or guardian? Why is it special to you?